The Escort: A billionaire Romance

Chapter 2

Ariel when I was growing up, I never in a million years thought that I would become an escort. It wasn’t who I was. I was a bright and intelligent girl who got straight A’s throughout school, graduated as class valedictorian, scored the highest number on the SATs, and got a full ride scholarship to any college I wanted. I didn’t come from money. My mother was a single parent who worked two jobs, sometimes three, to try and make ends meet, and it still wasn’t enough. We lived in a tiny one- bedroom apartment where my mother slept on the couch.

When I was eighteen, and right before I was scheduled to attend NYU, my mother was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo many rounds of chemotherapy. Because she was so ill and missed a lot of work, she was fired and lost the shitty health insurance she had right before she was diagnosed. I had to put college on the back burner so I could get a job and take care of her. The problem was, the job I got waitressing didn’t pay s**t, even with the tips. She was getting further behind in her bills. Not only her everyday living expenses, but also the high medical bills that were rolling in. We were on the verge of getting evicted. I did the best I could, but it was never enough and we were both sinking fast. One night, I ran into a woman named Marie who was having dinner with some people at the restaurant I worked at. When she stepped outside to have a cigarette, she saw me crying. She walked over and asked me if I was okay. I tried to play it off as if it were nothing, but she knew better. She got me to talk about my situation, and after she heard my story, she offered me some help. She told me how she was an escort and that she was getting ready to retire from it, but she didn’t want to leave her clients high and dry. She said I was a beautiful woman and asked me if I’d be interested in trying it out. I’ll never forget what she said.

“Listen, darling, you’ll make more money in one month than you do for an entire year working at this place.”

I didn’t have a choice at the time, and I knew it would only be temporary until my mother and I could get back on our feet. She coached me, taught me the ropes, and when I was ready, she sent me some of her clients. I hated it, but I loved the money. These men paid me well, which allowed me to pay off my mother’s medical bills and help us get back on our feet.

I escorted for two and a half years before I decided to get out of the business because of a man named David. He was, or so I thought, the love of my life and swept me off my feet from the moment he looked at me. We dated for a month and trying to hide what I did for a living was difficult. As far as he was concerned, I worked as a home health aide with crazy hours. So I quit and ended up getting an office job as a receptionist working 9-5. We dated for about six months and I was happy. Happier than I’d ever been, until I got pregnant. The night I told him, he asked me if I was going to keep the baby. I was shocked that he would even ask such a question. When I told him yes, he hugged me and told me he was happy too. That same night, he went out to get us food and I never saw him again.

I gave birth to Stephanie when I was twenty-one years old. The company I worked for ended up closing its doors when I was on maternity leave. I tooksome time off looking for another job because I didn’t know what I was going to do with Stella, and needless to say, the little nest egg I had saved from my escorting days ran out quickly between living expenses, hospital bills, and schooling expenses.

As I sat holding her in my arms and stared down at her precious face, I knew I wanted to give her everything she deserved. She didn’t ask to be born and she didn’t deserve her father abandoning her. I wanted a better life for my daughter than what I had, so I knew what I had to do. Only this time, it would be different.

Once my mother went into remission and was cancer free, she got a job as a secretary in a real estate office. She worked the normal 9-5 hours and made barely enough to support herself and help me out. I could change that for her. So after having a long conversation, she agreed to quit and take care of Stephanie while I worked. This time around, my job wasn’t the couple of hours here and there. Sometimes it consisted of two, maybe three-day weekends. But that was where I drew the line. I was never gone more than three days at a time. And when I came home, I didn’t work for three days so I could spend all of my time with Stephanie.

My mother knew what I did for work. We never kept secrets from each other. And even though she didn’t like me getting back into escorting, she knew I had to do what was best for Stephanie. Plus, she liked the money I paid her and the apartment I put her up in.“Mommy.” Stephanie smiled as she ran into my arms. Picking her up, I hugged her tight.

“Hello, baby. How was school?” I asked as I put her down. “Fine.”

“Just ‘fine’?” I patted her head as we walked to the car. “It was kind of boring. Hi, Kyle.” Her face lit up.

“Hello, little lady.” He grinned.

We climbed into the back of the car and Kyle shut the door and drove us

home.

“Take your backpack to your room,” I said as we stepped inside. “What

do you want for dinner?”

“Surprise me,” she said as she took off down the hallway.

I walked to my office, where I found my friend and personal assistant,

Phoebe, sitting behind her desk.

“How did it go?” she asked as she looked up from her computer.

“He couldn’t go through with it, so we just talked. I told him to take his

wife on a date and buy her some flowers.”

Phoebe let out a laugh.

“I’ll flag his account in case he wants to book you again,” she said. “Good idea, but I don’t think he will.”

“Mr. William called and booked you for next weekend. Friday-Sunday.

He has an event in Texas he needs to attend. He’s flying you out Friday morning and you’ll be back Sunday night.”

“Good. I like Texas.” I smiled. “Are you staying for dinner?”

“No. Not tonight. I’m teaching yoga over at the studio. In fact,” she glanced at her watch, “I better get going.”

“Stephanie, Auntie Phoebe is leaving. Come say goodbye,” I shouted down the hallway.

Stella came running in and hugged Phoebe goodbye.

“You’re not staying for dinner?” Stephanie pouted.

“Not tonight, missy. I have a yoga class to teach.”

Phoebe and I had been friends since junior high school. She

was there for me when my mom was sick and she was there for me with Stephanie. Not only was she one of my best friends, she was my personal assistant and helped out with Stephanie from time to time. As far as anyoneoutside my little circle was concerned, I was a freelance marketing consultant. After David left me, I took some college classes in marketing with the hopes of moving up in the company I had worked for. Little did I know they’d go under and it would become my perfect cover.