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I’m one of the first people from the office to arrive and I reward myself with a drink from the bar. Grabbing a mint mojito, I sip it lightly, appreciating the open bar, and look around for anyone I need to talk to. I wave politely to the people I know from the office but this is my chance to talk to the new authors and provide any updates to the older ones. It is held in the hotel’s dining room but all the tables are spread apart and there is assigned seating based on jobs. I don’t mind it except my table is usually missing a few people due to Lucy and our fellow co-workers skipping the dinner. Which means I will skip around and join tables I don’t belong to. I am looking for my place to sit when I catch Mr. Lefts eyes. He finds me before I can avoid him. Greeting me with a kiss on each cheek, like we didn’t see each other six hours ago at the office. It is disgusting to be kissed by a man, let alone this man child who has barely hit puberty.
“You here with anyone?” he asks, looking around me as if someone is going to suddenly appear.
“Nope.” I pop the P, tired of people asking me if I am seeing anyone or if I am ever going to settle down.
“Is your partner in crime here?”
“No, she has her son tonight,” I explain.
“Well, it’s about time I said something about this. You aren’t getting any younger, Dylan. For the sake of the company, it looks incredibly bad for one of our executives to be running around single at your age.” He huffs. There is the old Mr. Lefts. The one who speaks out of term and doesn’t respect anyone working for him.
“Excuse me?” I’m not actually surprised by his words, but his bluntness of them. Usually he does the curtsey of saying it a bit nicer.
“You need to think about bringing someone with you to the next event, and that’s not just a suggestion,” he says before walking away. I don’t have the chance to defend myself or say anything more. He’s across the room talking to someone from marketing when I see her run away crying. Yup, our old boss is back.
I know I am getting a little bit older but that doesn’t mean I need to settle down. Lucy is the same age as me and she isn’t settled down, at least anymore. I sigh, I know what he’s saying though. For the sake of the company, the board responds better to someone in a relationship. But would they respond better to me in a relationship with a woman? I have never disclosed my personal preferences, but they aren’t exactly hidden either. I just don’t know if the board is privy to information like that.
God, this whole night makes me want another drink. I down the one in my hand and grab another from the bar. Then I distract myself with small talk for the rest of the night. At least there are people who want to talk to me, not like everyone else who seems to be avoiding my boss. He is on a rampage and I want no part near that. He’s already done enough damage. It isn’t like he has to try very hard to be terrible, but somehow tonight he is excelling at it.
“This is my fiancé, Brad,” Casey, my newest romance author, says, introducing me. We exchange pleasantries and I smile.
“Are you here with anyone?” Casey asks curiously, but it strikes a nerve.
“Nope.” I grit my teeth.
“Oh, okay.” She looks at me uneasy and makes a face before making an excuse to talk to someone else.
Is it really that big of a deal if I don’t bring anyone to a work event? I mean would I even want to subject them to this kind of scrutiny? It just seems like a place I would bring someone I hate as a form of torture. Sure, I like it, but I am married to my work. I can take the heat with my boss, but could someone I am dating handle it too? It has been so long since I’ve actually dated someone long term where I considered bringing them to someplace like this. I think the only person who would come with me is if I paid them. Ha, could you imagine? The look on Mr. Lefts’s face if I paid someone to come to this with me next month? I mean it would kill two birds with one stone. I could get my boss off my back and not have to worry about having an actual relationship. All I’d have to do is find someone I could pay to come to a thing like this.
Chapter3
Bella
Iam on my way to meet Madame Angelica with Sara and I am almost sweating out of my clothes. Except they aren’t my clothes. Sara had insisted on dressing me for this meeting, which means I am wearing one of her lingerie tops under my motorcycle jacket and I am feeling a bit more exposed than normal. She says it is just so Madame Angelica can see the goods I have to work with, but still. I am out of my comfort zone but I am trying to embrace it. It isn’t like I am embarrassed to be dressed like this or anything. More so that I’m not used to it, but it is something I want to get used to.
“We’re here,” Sara announces and pays the cab driver with a hearty tip that makes him open the door for us. She smirks knowingly, and I wonder what he thinks about us. Do we come across as hookers? Escorts? I don’t know why it matters, but I am curious.
The building looks normal, nothing crazy or unique about the brownstone in front of me, but I don’t know what I was expecting. Probably something fancier than what is inside. I mean this woman probably makes millions and can do anything she wants. Sara knocks on the front door and we’re met by a younger gentlemen about our age with a blond mop of hair and a curious expression.
“Grandma! Door for you!” he calls out after looking us both over.Grandma?
“Thank you, sweetheart.” An older woman walks out. “Sara, great to see you, dear.”
“Hi, Angie.” Sara smiles and surprises me by hugging the old woman.This was Madame Angelica?
“Why don’t you both come inside and we can chat?” She smiles, and I get a better look at her. She has to be in at least her seventies with all gray hair and wrinkles to match.
We follow her inside, closing the door behind us, and walk down to a private room off the hallway. She takes a seat at her oversized desk and points to the two chairs in front of us to sit. We sit quietly, and I look around the room. It is a normal looking office for someone her age, pictures of her grandkids all over the place.
“So, Sara tells me you’re interested in joining the business?” She smiles.
“I—I am, yes,” I stutter. This is all a little surreal for me.
“What makes you want to be an escort, besides the money?”
“Well, it’s mainly about the money, but I don’t mind a job that pays in cash and I can keep my clothes on for,” I joke.
“She’s funny, I like her,” Angelica says to Sara.
