BEYOND THE CONTRACT

The First Tuesday

He looked up. She glanced his way. Her eyes locked onto two ice blue spheres. He stood and pulled out the chair in front of her. Her knees gave way and she settled herself. “I recognized you when you entered,” said the man.

“But my face wasn’t on the photo?”

“Faces can be misleading.” He held out his hand. “I’m Derek.” Arianne released the coffee mug and placed her trembling hand into his. He turned it over and kissed the back it. “Nice to meet you, Arianne. We can spend the time here talking. Or we can go to the apartment.”

“How about a bit of both?”

“Then I may as well lay everything on the table. Since this is a business deal I’ll be blunt. This whole thing is about me. You are an employee. Your needs are irrelevant. If the s*x isn’t satisfying to you, then the pay check should be. Do you have a problem with that?”

Andrea tugged on the zipper of her sweater and slowly lowered it. She discreetly opened it revealing her naked breasts.

A small grin passed over Robin’s face. He reached out and gently slid his index finger down her right breast and across her n****e. “They are beautiful. It will be a pleasure to become well acquainted with their feel and taste.”

She glanced down. Her n*****s were erect. “I am an honest hardworking person. If I agree to this, I will perform my duties to the best of my ability and hopefully to the pleasure of my employer.”

A puzzled look crossed his brow and he leaned closer. “Why are you doing this?”

“I need a job. This is a very expensive city and when you are unemployed it quickly becomes an unfriendly place to live. I am not a virgin and I am an adult. My body is mine to use as I see fit. You are offering me employment.”

“Very businesslike. Excellent.”

“Can I ask you why you are doing this? You are very handsome and could get any woman you wanted. You are well dressed so you must have a decent job. Stock broker or lawyer, I’d say.”

“I was angry at the entire female race and drunk when I placed the ad. Then I forgot about it.” Robin rubbed his forehead. “When I checked it out there were too many replies. Being practical, I said one of those women has got to be better than all the others I’ve dated. I think I went through the first fifty and found you. When you’re ready, I would like to take you up and show you the apartment. Here is my AIDS test. I am clean of that and any other STD.” Andrea read his certificate and handed him hers. He glanced at it and returned the paper to her. “Drink your coffee. I’ll finish my paper.”

While he read, Andrea watched his face. He has one of those serious brows. Makes him look all important. And a compassionate face. Gorgeous, but compassionate. He doesn’t seem evil or anything. Bet there are a couple of cute dimples if I could only get him to smile. I think he’ll be a fair boss, but look out if I piss him off. His eyes! Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen eyes that blue. Or that mesmerizing. I can’t stop looking at them. He can probably see deep down into my soul. She stifled a giggle. Gee, I’m getting all romantic and stuff here. Somehow I don’t think I could hide a secret from him. What secret? I’ve got nothing to hide and I’m about to get ass up close and personal on one can get.

“Done?”

Her attention returned to him. “Pardon?”

“Are you done talking to yourself? Or in other words, have I passed

inspection?”

Ignoring the embarrassing blush on her cheeks, he folded his paper,

stood up and put on his winter overcoat. Andrea zipped up her sweater and jacket and followed him outside. They rounded the restaurant to the back parking lot. Parked off to the side was a dark blue SUV, license plate Robin 3.

When both were seated, Robin said, “I am not going to make you sign a contract. I doubt either of us wants a paper trail. You have as much to lose here as I do. If you attempt to scream r**e or breach of contract or try to extort more money out of me, my lawyers can and will shred you into tiny pieces.”

“I understand what you’re telling me? I’m not naive. Having lived in this city too long, I’ve developed a good judge of character. You seem sincere and mean to use me only as an employee. I’m ready to go to the apartment.”

Robin maneuvered through the city streets and parked in an underground parking garage. They walked to the elevator. “You need this to make it work.” He handed her a small red card as he held his matching one. “Use this one. It’s an express. It only stops at certain floors.”

“And which floor is it supposed to stop at?”

“Fifty-sixth floor, but that’s already encoded into the card.” He handed her a second card which was blue. “When the elevator stops, slide this card through the reader and the front doors will open. It is part of the security. A person may be able to get up to the apartment, but they still have to get the doors open to get in.”

“Are these cards good all the time?”

“Until I deactivate ’em.” He slid his card through the reader and the doors opened.

Andrea peered inside. Robin Borders, polished brass and spotless mirrors adorned the sides, but the back was another set of doors. “Like a hospital elevator.”

Robin chuckled and pressed the pause button to hold the doors open. “I never looked at it that way. The back doors open into another apartment. There are only two on each floor.”

Looking at the blue card she held, Andrea puzzled it out then spoke. “This is like your front door key. You don’t have to give me your apartment number because when the doors open I’ll be at your apartment.”

He nodded. “I’m not going up. You go look around and make a decision. If you’re in agreement, send the elevator down empty. If you meet me at the bottom then I will know that you are unhappy and wish to terminate this deal. I’ll pay you, call for a cab and send you on your way.”

Andrea stepped inside and watched the doors close between them.

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