Heartbeats on the Hotline

"Jesus, woman, you moaned like a broken horn! If you're that desperate for money, you could clean the streets or work as a cashier. Why do you have to ruin my fun with your voice?" In the dim, narrow room, Joanna sat at the desk, head down, silently enduring the vile words from the man on the other end of the line. She was an erotic phone operator, and her customer expected to experience a special kind of service. She lacked experience and couldn't fully immerse herself in her role, so she ended up ruining this particular call. Joanna never wanted this job, but her despicable husband had cut off all her financial resources. She didn't have any other options. Her husband was a famous entrepreneur, womanizing, tyrannical, and insufferable. Three months ago, he even tried to imprison her at home. She had finally had enough and fled with their child. Settling down with her daughter had nearly exhausted all her savings, but thankfully, her landlady, Mrs. Olsen, had waived a month's rent and introduced her to this job. After the man finished his rant, Joanna silently hung up, losing any desire to speak. The endless cycle of making calls, faking moans, and getting insulted was wearing her down. She couldn't see the point of this job anymore. Just as she resolved to quit, her phone rang again. Hesitating for a moment, she eventually answered. "Hello, this is the special comfort line. I'm Joey. How can I help you?" Her voice was flat and numb, and she even decided that if her new customer complained about her moans again, she would curse him out and quit immediately. But after a brief pause, a gentle voice came through. "Hello, I'm W. Are you having a bad day today?" His calm, patient tone made Joanna sit up straighter after a brief moment of hesitation. "I'm sorry, Mr. W. It's not you... I mean, yes, I'm sorry that I'm not in a good mood, but it's not because of you." Joanna hurried to explain. Though he couldn't see her, her serious tone made him laugh. "All right, Joey, you've made me laugh. Now, can you tell me why you're upset?" His gentle, indulgent tone made Joanna blush. She wasn't infatuated with Mr. W, but his voice was indeed very soothing. Besides, he was a gentleman, polite and considerate of her feelings. Joanna had been providing him with her services for over a month. He had never made any inappropriate requests since the very beginning. Instead, he just talked about life and hobbies until he fell asleep. However, Mr. W usually called at night. Why was he calling so early today? She was about to check the time when her personal phone rang. It was Mrs. Olsen. "I'm sorry. I need to take this call." She intended to tell Mrs. Olsen she was working, but the urgent voice on the other end interrupted her. "Hey, Joanna, where are you? Someone blocked your daughter at the school gate! It's that bully John who's been harassing you! Oh, God, poor little Lily seems so frightened!" "What?" Forgetting about work, Joanna rushed out. Her daughter was her only family now. She couldn't bear to think about what might happen to Lily. When she arrived at the school, she found Mrs. Olsen pacing anxiously by the roadside. Seeing Joanna, she hurried over. "Thank God you're here. I was afraid Lily might get hurt, so I asked her to hide. But John is still there and wouldn't leave!" John Anderson stood at the school gate, looking cocky. When he saw Joanna, he even greeted her warmly. "Hey, Joanna, long time no see. Want to grab a coffee?" John walked towards her with open arms, making Joanna step back in disgust. "John Anderson, if anything happens to my daughter, I won't let you off!" John wasn't angered by her curses. In fact, he seemed excited by her fury. "Joanna, I've told you before. If you agree to please me, nothing will happen. But since you keep rejecting me, I guess I'll have to keep visiting your daughter." What a jerk! How could anyone be so shameless? Furious, Joanna took out her phone to call the police, but John grabbed her wrist. ***** Meanwhile, Harvey lay dejectedly on his bed. This was the third night he had been unable to sleep. He felt awful, thinking that he might be dying. His exceptional memory kept his brain constantly active, making it hard for him to fall asleep, especially after his parents died in a car accident. Their dying faces would replay in his mind, tormenting him. Harvey once thought he'd have to live with this for the rest of his life. But that night, during a bout of insomnia, he dialed that number and met Joey, who had a way of comforting him. Her voice was as clear as a lake, and she was awkward and inexperienced at flirting. Yet, she effectively eased his anxiety and headaches. Since then, Harvey had been addicted to her voice, needing to hear it every night to fall asleep. But today, something interrupted this routine... Anxiety swirled in Harvey's mind. He decided to get changed and go out for a run, hoping to burn off some excess energy. As soon as he stepped outside, he saw two people arguing. Wait... the man was rudely tugging at the woman. This was more than an argument. Harvey frowned and prepared to intervene. Even if they were married, a husband shouldn't treat his wife so roughly. "You bastard, let go of me! If you touch me again, I'll cut your d**k off and shove it down your throat!" The woman's words were fierce. But Harvey froze on the spot because her voice sounded extremely familiar.