AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 1
Aurora
"I'm sorry, but that position was filled last week." The woman on the other line sounded sincere but it did little to ease the sting.
I ended the call with a sigh and dropped my head into my hands.
I'd been waiting to get word back on that waitressing job since my interview two weeks ago. Okay, maybe waiting wasn't the right word because I'd been looking into other jobs too, but it had seemed the most promising. I would have been waitressing at an upscale gentlemen's club and not like the polite way of saying strip club. An honest to God, gentleman’s club like they used to have decades ago: cigars, high-end single malts, exclusive memberships, and high tippers. I didn’t know they still existed until I stumbled onto the employment ad.
They hadn't even bothered to call or email me to let me know that the position had been filled.
If I didn't come up with something by the day after tomorrow, my landlord was going to evict me.
I couldn't even be mad at him. Signore Carbone hadn't been unreasonable. He gave me a two-month extension and said that I didn't even have to have the money to him by then. I just had to show proof that I had a job and would have the money soon.
It wasn't his fault that there were no jobs available that I qualified for, or that I had to drop out of college when my mom got sick so I could help take care of her.
Otherwise, I'd probably have a steady office job somewhere, doing what I loved instead of being on the verge of living on the street.
I flipped through the stacks of notes I'd taken, listing every job in a twenty-mile radius that I might even possibly qualify for. Each listing with an angry scratch through it as I had marked them off one by one.
As I moved one page, the one option I hadn't crossed off jumped out at me. It hadn't been arealpossibility when I wrote it, but at that moment, it was the only option left.
Signora Delphine's talent agency. She was essentially a madam though she found ways of hiding her true business under the guise of a legitimate escort and talent agency.
A girl I went to college with had worked for her to pay her way through school. She said the pay was fair, clients were upscale, and that Signora Delphine kept her girls safe.
The question was, could I actually do that job? It was a line that, once I crossed, I could never go back. And it was my only choice.
I'd written down the information three weeks prior. Chances were, the position was already filled.I'll call. If I get hired then it was meant to be.
I blew out a long, slow breath as I dialed the number and hit send.
"Signora Delphine's talent and escort agency. How may we serve you?" The woman practically purred, and I wondered if she'd been hired primarily for her sultry telephone voice.
I hesitated, took a deep breath, and contemplated ending the call when the woman's voice came through again.
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
"Ciao," I said nervously before clearing my throat and straightening my back.
You're just calling so that you know that you've exhausted every option.
"I was calling about the employment opportunity. I—um—I saw the ad online."
"Ah, yes. Do you have any experience as an escort?"
"No. I'm afraid not."
"As a model or actress?"
"No."
"I see. Do you have a portfolio?"
"A portfolio?"
"Headshots, professional photos, boudoir shots..."
