Escorting the Billionaire - Part 1

A few minutes later, there was a knock on my door.

“What,” I said as Audrey came through the threshold. She looked twitchy and troubled.

“I’m sorry about before,” she said nervously. “It’s the escort in me. I guess I thought you didn’t mean it. What you told Elena.”

I raised my eyebrows at her.

“About the no sex thing,” she said, explaining. “So I figured I’d be the one to break the ice.”

“I appreciate that, Audrey,” I said and smiled at her. “You thinking of me.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to be sarcastic. I just wanted to say that I’m sorry. I crossed a line. Now that I know how you really feel, it won’t happen again.”

She looked at the phone in my hand. “Please don’t fire me,” she said, and I could hear real worry in her voice.

“I wouldn’t do that,” I said. I dropped the phone onto my bed, secretly guilty as charged. Once again, I’d underestimated her. I didn’t know why she needed the job so badly, and it was a failure on my part not to have considered it. “I told Elena I didn’t want to sleep with who I hired. That’s mainly because I’m trying to keep my distance from these two weeks. I don’t want it to get complicated—I want to be on auto-pilot,” I said. I figured I could be honest with her, at least partially. What did I have to lose?

She looked at me with those big beautiful brown eyes. “I won’t try to seduce you again, I promise. But if you decide you want to f**k me, just speak up. We can do it on auto-pilot.” She smiled warmly at me.

She was nicer than I was used to, and certainly nicer than I deserved.

“I’ll keep that in mind. We need to get ready for the dinner,” I said, adjusting my cuff links. “I’m going to change into a darker suit. Elena said she’d been shopping for you. I’d recommend a dress, something relatively conservative, if you have it.”

“Okay,” she said. “James, can I ask for a favor?”

“Sure,” I said, a feeling of relief flooding me. This, at least, was familiar territory for me—someone asking me for something.

“Can we eat something and have a drink before we go? I don’t want your family thinking I eat like a hippo, and I’m…”

“Nervous?” I asked, and smiled at her in spite of myself. “You should be. My family sucks.”

“Starving,” she said, embarrassed. “I’m starving.”

“Of course,” I said. The unusual sensation of sympathy flooded me. “I’m hungry, too.”

I led her into the kitchen and opened the enormous refrigerator. I’d never been grocery shopping in Boston. I had no idea where the housekeeper bought the food I’d had Nita request. Someplace organic and expensive, I was sure. I pulled out olives, cheese, grapes, and a bottle of wine. Dre opened up a cabinet, pulled out a platter, and got a knife, wine opener, and cloth napkins.

“You seem right at home,” I said to her.

“You can tell the hired help organized the kitchen,” she said. “Everything makes sense. Do you come here a lot? It seems a little…sterile.”

“It is,” I as**sured her. “I don’t spend a lot of time here. I prefer Los Angeles. I’ve always hated the winters up here.” I poured two glasses of Chardonnay and handed one to her.

“Plus, your sucky family doesn’t live in L.A. That makes it better, too.”

“Cheers to that,” I said, clinking her glass.

She grabbed an olive, and I tried not to watch as she put it into her mouth. I also tried not to look at her skin, which was smooth, perfect porcelain.

“So…what do you want me to do at this thing tonight?” she asked.

“For tonight, just smile and look pretty. Feel free to drink as much as everyone else, as long as you can handle your liquor.”

“I’m an escort. I can drink with the best of them,” she said.

“Then you should fit right in.”

Audrey

My clothes were delivered while we were eating. I excused myself and headed to my room. I selected a black lace co**cktail dress and small, black, kitten-heeled sandals. Fortified by the wine, I also wore a tiny thong and a gorgeous black bra. Just in case James changed his mind.

Back at headquarters, I’d been thoroughly waxed within an inch of my life. I’d had a manicure and a pedicure; my nails glittered like jewels in the fading afternoon light. Elena had packed some really beautiful clothes for me to wear over the next two weeks. I ran my hands over them. Dresses, suits, handbags, lingerie, and swimwear that surely cost more than all of the clothes in my closet put together, along with my rent for a year. At least I would look the part. I tried to find some confidence in that.