good-natured.
“Faith?” I snapped back to reality when I realized I’d zoned out, leaving Parker and Marcus to stare at me, the former a tad irritated and the latter bemused.
“Sounds wonderful,” I said quickly, grinning in apology. We were in the middle of a deal and all I could think of were my worries. Parker was practically feeding me what might be an amazing payday. “Give me ten minutes to look presentable.”
“I think you look more than presentable right now, but I’m willing to wait,” he said. “It’s not as if I’ll get bored with all this ample entertainment.”
“Let me go put in a drink order for you, Marcus,” Parker said warmly, trailing her hand along his back as she started to walk away. “Faith, I’ll accompany you to the dressing room.”
“See you soon,” I said, batting my eyelashes at Marcus as we left. I was a little puzzled that Parker would want to accompany me anywhere. On any given night at the club, she was usually so busy that she couldn’t spare more than a handful of minutes for any and all kinds of much more pressing concerns. She caught my arm just as I was about to dart into the dressing room.
“Let me talk to you a minute,” she said, her voice still gravelly but lacking the sexuality it usually oozed. This was my boss’ business voice, and I made sure to listen up. “I’ve known Marcus for quite a while, and I know what it takes to please him. You’ve agreed to escort him, but if you consent to do all he asks, there’ll be a very fat paycheck in it for you.”
I swallowed. “Just how fat are we talking?”
“Thousands.”
I brightened instantly, but that only seemed to make Parker dim.
“Sorry, but thousands would help so much,” I said. “With Luke’s tuition, with rent, with everything. Do you not want me to do it, though?”
Parker seemed to pull herself free of something and forced a smile.
“Of course I want you to do it,” she said. “If you want to do it. And if you want to have a little something extra after you get your brother the best education possible. Have fun. Marcus is a great guy.”
She left to attend to his drink, and I hurried to my cubby in the dressing room, unable to shake the idea that my boss didn’t actually want me to escort Marcus. I wriggled out of my vest and shorts before throwing on the comfortable cotton dress I’d worn to work that day. It wasn’t exactly fancy, but it was at least better than jeans. Making a mental note to store at least one or two of my nicer outfits in my cubby for the next time I’d have to escort on the spot, I unbraided my hair, unclipped the extensions, and shook out some nice waves. I studied myself in the full-length mirror critically for a few moments before taking out my makeup case. My green eyes popped, but I was pretty sure I could go without all the glitter and eyeliner with Marcus.
Finally, I put all of my things away and grabbed my purse, firing off a quick text to Jennet.
“Surprise escort night,” I sent. “I’ll cut you in on the profits if you put Luke to bed.”
The reply was almost instantaneous, letting me know that my roommate had been poking away at her phone already — probably on Facebook.
“Do your thing!” she replied. “Good luck. Be safe.”
I breezed out just as Sol entered.
“Leaving already?” she asked, breathless and with a light sheen of sweat. She’d obviously been working the room after her performance. The clientele really enjoyed the cultural bits of her dancing. I had a small amount of influence in that department, encouraging her to think outside of the box when putting on a show.
“Parker asked me to do a special escort,” I explained. “He’s waiting, though, so I’ve got to go.”
My boss was sitting at Marcus’ table when I arrived, and I tried to walk slower. They looked to be deep in conversation, and I didn’t want to make my
“Faith?” I snapped back to reality when I realized I’d zoned out, leaving Parker and Marcus to stare at me, the former a tad irritated and the latter bemused.
“Sounds wonderful,” I said quickly, grinning in apology. We were in the middle of a deal and all I could think of were my worries. Parker was practically feeding me what might be an amazing payday. “Give me ten minutes to look presentable.”
“I think you look more than presentable right now, but I’m willing to wait,” he said. “It’s not as if I’ll get bored with all this ample entertainment.”
“Let me go put in a drink order for you, Marcus,” Parker said warmly, trailing her hand along his back as she started to walk away. “Faith, I’ll accompany you to the dressing room.”
“See you soon,” I said, batting my eyelashes at Marcus as we left. I was a little puzzled that Parker would want to accompany me anywhere. On any given night at the club, she was usually so busy that she couldn’t spare more than a handful of minutes for any and all kinds of much more pressing concerns. She caught my arm just as I was about to dart into the dressing room.
“Let me talk to you a minute,” she said, her voice still gravelly but lacking the sexuality it usually oozed. This was my boss’ business voice, and I made sure to listen up. “I’ve known Marcus for quite a while, and I know what it takes to please him. You’ve agreed to escort him, but if you consent to do all he asks, there’ll be a very fat paycheck in it for you.”
I swallowed. “Just how fat are we talking?”
“Thousands.”
I brightened instantly, but that only seemed to make Parker dim.
“Sorry, but thousands would help so much,” I said. “With Luke’s tuition, with rent, with everything. Do you not want me to do it, though?”
Parker seemed to pull herself free of something and forced a smile.
“Of course I want you to do it,” she said. “If you want to do it. And if you want to have a little something extra after you get your brother the best education possible. Have fun. Marcus is a great guy.”
She left to attend to his drink, and I hurried to my cubby in the dressing room, unable to shake the idea that my boss didn’t actually want me to escort Marcus. I wriggled out of my vest and shorts before throwing on the comfortable cotton dress I’d worn to work that day. It wasn’t exactly fancy, but it was at least better than jeans. Making a mental note to store at least one or two of my nicer outfits in my cubby for the next time I’d have to escort on the spot, I unbraided my hair, unclipped the extensions, and shook out some nice waves. I studied myself in the full-length mirror critically for a few moments before taking out my makeup case. My green eyes popped, but I was pretty sure I could go without all the glitter and eyeliner with Marcus.
Finally, I put all of my things away and grabbed my purse, firing off a quick text to Jennet.
“Surprise escort night,” I sent. “I’ll cut you in on the profits if you put Luke to bed.”
The reply was almost instantaneous, letting me know that my roommate had been poking away at her phone already — probably on Facebook.
“Do your thing!” she replied. “Good luck. Be safe.”
I breezed out just as Sol entered.
“Leaving already?” she asked, breathless and with a light sheen of sweat. She’d obviously been working the room after her performance. The clientele really enjoyed the cultural bits of her dancing. I had a small amount of influence in that department, encouraging her to think outside of the box when putting on a show.
“Parker asked me to do a special escort,” I explained. “He’s waiting, though, so I’ve got to go.”
My boss was sitting at Marcus’ table when I arrived, and I tried to walk slower. They looked to be deep in conversation, and I didn’t want to make my
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