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“Actually.” I pause. “I think I’m interested.”
“Really?” Her eyes almost pop out of her head.
“Well, no money in exchange for sex right? It’s all about the connection?”
“Of course. I’ve never slept with any client. A kiss on the cheek, but they need to ask first,” she explains.
“Okay, then yeah. I think I’m interested. I could really use the money.”
“Look, I’ll give you her number, but please don’t call if you’re not serious about it. Maybe take another day and sit on it. I don’t want you rushing into anything you’re unsure of.” She hands me a card with just a phone number on it.
“I just think I need a change and some money so why not do both at the same time?” I ask.
“I understand it, you just need to know the judgement that may come with it from your friends and family. My dad still isn’t speaking to me because of what I do for a living.” She sighs.
“This might be something I don’t necessarily tell everyone,” I ponder.
“That might be for the best.” She nods. “Well, I have some homework to do, but hit me up if you have any questions.”
I nod, looking at the card she handed me. The phone number is local, 212, but I doubt it is in the phone book. Not that people even have phone books anymore. I am impressed with myself for asking for the number but for wanting to call even more. I mean this is something I could do, right? I am a social enough of a person to be able to go on dates with people and talk to them, hear about their lives. It is just getting over the stigma attached to the job, but maybe that will come with time. I take a deep breath and decide this is what I need to do. Dialing the number, not knowing it is about to change everything.
Chapter2
Dylan
I’m sitting at my desk, like I do every Monday morning, when Lucy pops her head in. She is my best friend in and out of work. Someone I can count on to make these meetings less dreadful and more exciting if I had anything to do with them. Her long blonde hair cascades down her back, showing me she actually had time this morning, and I glance at the coffee in her hands.
“Is that for me?” I gasp. I’d already had a shot of expresso on the way in, but I would never turn down a coffee.
“Yes, I had time this morning since Noel is with his father.” I wrinkle my nose at the mention of Lucy’s ex-husband. It is just the fact that I always knew she could do better than him and then he was the one to cheat on her. The irony was not at all lost on it.
“You look great, Mr. Lefts might say something if he hasn’t already.” Our boss is known for saying inappropriate work comments. Usually about how much or little we work or how, for me, I should be married by now. I am pushing forty something and without a ring on my finger,ever. It is something that hardly crosses my mind but it bothers my boss for some reason. A comment he brings up whenever he can.
“Oh he has, he saw me walking in.” She rolls her eyes and takes a seat across from me.
“We have the romance presentation in a few hours, but I feel good about it, do you?” I ask, hoping she got a chance to look it over last night. I had made some changes after she left last night.
“I checked it this morning and everything looks perfect. I just updated the last slide and I think we’re all set.” I think about the last slide, but draw a blank. I pull it up in an instance, and she’s added a section about citing all the sources we’ve used. It’s unnecessary but smart. She is always adding things I’d never think of.
“Enjoy your coffee.” She waves and heads next door to her office. Despite the glass door, the rest of our offices are boxes with a floor to ceiling window and thick walls surrounding it. I like the privacy it provides when I am working, honestly.
I get back to working on the next few proposals I need to look over. Lucy and I basically run To Be Read Publishing ourselves, with the little help from the boss our board hired. I think they were worried Lucy and I would ask for more money considering all they did, so they hired a yes man to be “in charge” of us. I only say it like this because it is clear he is more of a window dressing than a boss. He is only around for the important meetings and the gala events more than doing any of the work Lucy and I do. If Lucy and I ever quit, it will go down in flames in a heartbeat. But besides his annoying comments about my single life or Lucy’s beauty, he isn’t terrible. Just unnecessary.
“Dylan? There’s a call for you on line two.” My assistant, Reba, smiles, poking her head in. She is older than I am, with graying hair and a hunched back from sitting at a desk most of her adult life, but she is also the kindest woman I’ve ever met.
“Thank you, Reba.” I smile and pick up the phone.
“Hello? Dylan Marsh’s office, how may I help you?”
“Hi, it’s Michelle Rosen, I’m hoping you might have an update on my manuscript today? You said to give a call if I haven’t heard from you by the tenth,” she explains softly. This poor girl. I am about to have to let her down gently, I hate these kinds of phone calls. I wish there was someone else we could hire to handle all the rejections.
“Hi, Michelle, I remember you.” I pause. “I’m very sorry we haven’t given you a call back.”
“My book was rejected wasn’t it?” She’s smart. I remember her book clearly, it wasn’t that it was bad, it was just that there was abettermoremarketablebook we had to take on.
“It was. I’m very sorry.”
She starts sobbing immediately, and I feel my heart clench. It is truly the worst part of my job, I swear.
