The Escort Read Free

silence between them stretched.
    Risking a glance at him, he didn't seem to show any tension at all, but then she guessed he was used to this. Taking desperate women out for dinner, listening when they wanted to talk, and kissing them when they didn't. Wrong thought, heat crept through her body, and not only the good kind. What if there were damp patches under the arms of her dress? Now she wished she hadn't gone for the sapphire blue. It would give her away pitilessly.
    "So what do you like doing?" His voice cut through her reverie.
    "Doing? Well I work in banking, there's not much to like about that, other than the money I guess."
    "Life's not all about work, Max. What do you like to do, in your spare time?"
    That question stumped her. "Well, I used to like to dance."
    "Used to. Does that mean you don't any more?"
    "Work kind of took over my life. When I got promoted I was expected to be in the office before everyone else, and I usually end up leaving after them too."
    "So you enjoy being in charge?"
    "Not always." She blushed furiously, thinking how much she would love for him to be in charge of her body, of her whole self, bending her to his will. "But being a woman," she stumbled on, "It seems I'm expected to work twice as hard, put in lots of overtime, but I still don't get invited to the ball games. Try as I might, I will never be one of the guys."
    "Thank heaven for that. I much prefer you as a woman." He smiled at her obvious embarrassment. "You need to learn how to take a compliment. You're a very attractive woman Max. I can't believe you don't know that."
    "I... Oh. Is this part of your spiel, you know butter her up, flatter her to make her feel better about herself?"
    "You think I'm that shallow?"
    "No, but this is your job, isn't it? My line of work is money, and account numbers, yours is being nice to desperate women."
    "This is not a job. And I don't think you're desperate. I think you've spent a long time working on getting yourself where you are today. You should be proud. But you also need to see that life has more to offer than work."
    "You sound like Robin."
    "And who's Robin?"
    "My friend, the one you spoke to... she arranged all this."
    "Oh, Robin. Of course. So what's her advice?"
    "That I should change my priorities if I don't want to end up a lonely spinster. It was her idea, all this. I wanted her to come with me to tomorrow's dinner. She said we would look like a pair of lesbians."
    "And are you?"
    "Am I what?" Max suddenly realised what he was asking. "Oh. No. Not at all. No lesbians here. Not that I have anything against them," she hastily corrected.
    "I am glad to hear it."
    Max blushed, the intent in his voice obvious. But on this she was sticking to her guns. There was no way she was going to pay for sex."
    Silence covered them again, only broken when their first course arrived. It looked beautiful, it also looked far from filling, and her stomach gave an involuntary growl. It yearned for something satisfying and filling, she had only come here to impress her escort. It seemed faintly ridiculous now, and the expression on his face summed up her own emotions. A pizza would have been much better, but it was too late now.
    "That was delicious," he said, having finished his starter in two mouthfuls.
    Max giggled. "I hope the main is a little more substantial."
    "So you don't dine here regularly?"
    "No. One of my clients owns the place. I thought it would be a good place for us to talk, and get our story straight."
    "Ahh, our story. So how did we meet?" He lifted her hand and pressed his lips to it. Her body threatened to explode, her eyes dilated as she watched those full lips touch her skin lightly.
    "I... W... Where did we meet." She wondered what he had done to her, in that one moment he had shocked her body awake. Only when she looked up to see Phil crossing the restaurant towards the rest room did she realise what he was doing, and how she had over reacted. But he didn't let it her go, turning