Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Brielle
Growing up, I never in a million years thought 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 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 before I was scheduled to attend NYU, my mother was diagnosed with cancer and underwent 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 her diagnosis. I had to put college on the back burner to get a job and care for her. The problem was, the job I got waitressing didn’t pay shit, even with the tips. She was getting further behind in her bills between her everyday living expenses and the high medical bills rolling in. I did my best, but it was never enough. We were on the verge of getting evicted and 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 she was an escort and 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 if I’d like to try it out. I’d never forget what she told me that night.
“Listen, darling. You’ll make more money in one month than a year working at this place.”
I didn’t have a choice then, and I knew it would only be temporary until we 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 quickly.
I was an escort for two and a half years before I decided to leave the business because of a man named Daniel. He was, or so I thought, the love of my life and swept me off my feet when 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 got 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 said yes, he hugged me and said he was happy, too. That night, he went out to get us food, and I never saw him again.
I gave birth to Stella when I was twenty-one years old. The company I worked for closed its doors when I was on maternity leave. I took some time off looking for another job because I didn’t know what I would 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 didn’t deserve her father's abandonment. I wanted a better life for my daughter than 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 regular 9-5 hours and barely made 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 Stella while I worked. My job wasn’t a couple of hours here and there this time. 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 to spend all my time with Stella.
My mother knew what I did for work because 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 Stella. Plus, she liked the money I paid her and the apartment I put her in.
“Mommy.” Stella 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, Ben.” Her face lit up.
“Hello, little lady.” He grinned.
We climbed into the back of the car, and Ben 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, Sasha, 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.”
Sasha 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. Willows 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.”
“Stella, Auntie Sasha is leaving. Come say goodbye,” I shouted down the hallway.
Stella came running in and hugged Sasha goodbye.
“You’re not staying for dinner?” Stella pouted.
“Not tonight, missy. I have a yoga class to teach.”
Sasha Hathaway and I had been friends since junior high school. She was there for me when my mom was sick and for me with Stella. Not only was she one of my best friends, but she was also my assistant and helped out with Stella occasionally. As far as anyone outside my little circle was concerned, I was a freelance marketing consultant. After Daniel left me, I took some marketing college classes to move up in the company for which I had worked. Little did I know they’d go under, and it would become my perfect cover.