“Yes, a man,” I said.
“Good. Okay. As for now, your date is set for this Monday evening at seven. Once I find a man for you who can accommodate that time,” she said, handing me a card, “your appointment will be confirmed via text message. If you’re having second thoughts, you can cancel with no questions asked right through that text.”
“Okay. That’s—uh, wait a second.” I furrowed my brow at the appointment card she handed me. “This says you’re sending me to a hotel,” I said.
“Yes! And it’s a wonderful hotel as well. Four stars. Luxurious accommodations. And it has a kitchen that’s to die for. Since your ultimate fantasy involved a hotel, we’re going to give you that. Rose petals, dinner delivered to your room, a spa tub fit for two—the works.”
“You just booked all that?”
“We have partners who advertise with us, and with those advertising perks come the ability to use their facilities at an allocated cost.”
“How will payment work, exactly?”
“Should you choose to go through with the night, you and your partner will split a flat-rate fee. We’ll bill you, and you can either pay it outright or you can call us and set up a six- or twelve-month payment plan.”
“And how much will this cost?”
“Around three fifty for each of you.”
“That’s not bad, if split over six months,” I said.
“Good! Well, you have your appointment and I have my algorithm running. So, just leave the rest to us. Oh! And don’t forget this.” She held out a sheet of paper for me.
“What’s this?”
“A list of things you need to have done before the appointment. And don’t worry, the man has a list of what he has to do as well. We don’t believe in one-sided grooming, you know.”
My eyes widened at some of the things on the list.
“Uh-huh. Okay. Well, thank you for your time,” I said as I stood.
“Good luck, Miss Leary! And if you have a wonderful encounter, we would greatly appreciate referrals.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I walked out of her office wondering how the hell I was going to accomplish everything on this list in one weekend.
Logan
“Why the hell are we here again?” Hunter asked.
“Because Camilla’s working tonight.”
“I thought you said she didn’t want us showing up while she was working.”
“I want to keep an eye on her tonight.”
“Uh, dude, you’re sounding a little off. What gives?”
“Camilla’s been acting funny, and I want to surprise her. That’s all.”
“Uh-huh. You think she’s cheating, don’t you?”
“I know she’s not cheating, but I think our relationship could use a bit of spontaneity. I thought maybe coming to see her before yanking her into the bathroom for a quickie might spice things up a bit.”
“Trust me, she doesn’t have issues with spicing anything up.”
I shot Hunter a glare as we walked through the archway of the strip club. He threw up his hands in mock defeat as the haze of the club hit my face. The music was loud and a woman was already onstage, spinning around on the pole and working on raking in tips for the night.
“Come on. Let’s go find Camilla at the bar,” I said.
“I’ll meet you there. I’m going to go check something out first,” Hunter said.
He made his way to a seat right at the edge of the stage. I shook my head. I didn’t need him to help me look out for her anyway. I shuffled over to the bar and sat down in a darkened corner as my mind began to swirl.
We were supposed to have gone shopping. She even gave me a place to meet her. Then she never showed. Out of all the months we had seen one another, never once had she stood me up. At first I’d been worried. I had called her and texted her, thinking she had gotten into a wreck or something. Then I saw she had read all my messages and never replied.
Something was very off, and I wanted to know what it was.
I searched the bar for Camilla, but I didn’t see her, which was strange because she had said she was working tonight. A bartender I didn’t recognize came over and took my order, so I sipped on a whiskey sour and kept an eye out for her. Dancer after dancer hit the stage, and I watched Hunter blow all his money on them. I watched him get dragged into a room for a lap dance. I watched him get accosted by a bouncer for touching too much. I kept one eye on the bar and the other eye on him for two solid hours.
And there was no Camilla in sight.
“Come on. Let’s go,” I said.
“What? Are you serious? Candi’s about to hit the stage, man.”
“Hunter, let’s go.”
“But I singled out a whole forty bucks for her,” he said.
“You can come back another night, any night. But I’m ready to leave and I’m pretty sure you hitched a ride with me.”