Preview - At His Command #3
Hope is frowning at Bethany now, and Bethany’s smirk returns as she raises her eyebrows.
“I might have a better option for you,” she says, her voice like silk.
“Beth, don’t—” Hope begins.
Bethany raises her hand out of the water at Hope. “I know, you’re super protective of this gorgeous creature, but she’s an adult, Hope, she can make her own choices.”
My brow furrows as I watch Bethany. She shifts forward, spearing me with that dark gaze.
“I earn thousands of dollars a week, Amelia. Thousands. And if you’re willing to give a little extra, you can earn even more. My job is eight until five, lucrative as hell, and, depending on the clients, it’s also really enjoyable.”
Hope is stiff beside me, chewing on her lip.
“Bethany, I don’t think?—”
“What’s the job?” I blurt out, excitement rippling through me at the thought of earning that kind of salary doing EA work.
I’m organized and motivated, and I’ve worked in administrative roles before.
There’s no way I’d be underqualified. This could be my ticket out of my life and a way to help Annabelle all in one go.
“Like I said, executive assistant. But with benefits,” Bethany says, her voice dropping to a low murmur. She pauses for a second, swirling her champagne as though deciding whether to continue. Then she shrugs. “I work for an escort service.”
Dead silence follows that statement. Bethany is completely unapologetic, sitting up proudly, sipping her champagne, and waiting for my reaction.
And what is my reaction? I don’t even know how to feel about what she just said.
My instinct is to recoil. I don’t like the thought of a woman being taken advantage of by rich men. But then, Bethany doesn’t look like she’s being taken advantage of. In fact, she seems confident as hell.
“You mean like… a full-on escort?” I ask lamely, unsure how to ask her if she means sex or not.
“Yep. As in, I have sex with my boss. He loves it. I love it. It’s win-win. I don’t want a boyfriend right now, and I have an insanely high sex drive. I get laid regularly and thoroughly whenever I want, pretty much. Plus, I earn a ton.”
There’s a high-pitched laugh from the main room, and Bethany’s eyes move to the large window, lingering there for a second. The other girls are all in their bikinis, about to come and join us.
“A lot of the girls in there don’t know what I do. They think I’m just a regular EA, but I feel like it could work for you.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Why?”
“Because you’re working crazy hours just to survive, and that’s not sustainable.
You can’t do it forever. With this job, you could get all that precious time back, and your bank balance will be a lot healthier, too.
Plus, you’re gorgeous, and you look innocent as hell.
The clients love that. If you’re interested, I can give you the contact details for the agency.
It’s called Sterling House. It’s very high-end, and they look after their girls.
I work with eight or so other women who I know pretty well, and we all love the job. ”
I can feel Hope watching me, not sure what expression is on my face, but I’m sure I look as astonished as I feel. I want to refuse outright. The mere idea feels alien and wrong.
Can I really sell my body to someone like that? But then… is it all that different from an OnlyFans?
I stare at Bethany, dumbfounded, not sure what to say.
She shakes her head a little. “Don’t tell them you’re a virgin, though. They won’t hire you.”
I shoot a vicious glance at Hope, furious that she’s told her my secret, but she’s staring at Bethany in amazement.
“How the hell did you know she was a virgin?” Hope asks.
Bethany snorts. “Like I said, you can’t fake that innocent vibe, and you listened tonight, but you didn’t participate in the stories. You’re such a knockout, too. You’ll get a lot of work.”
I drain my glass.
“Think about it,” Bethany says, relaxing back in the tub. “No pressure, but it would mean regular hours and only one job. You’d never have to worry about money again.”
Chapter 3 - Amelia
“Are you absolutely sure about this?” Hope asks, as I signal to turn right, my GPS flashing for me to take the exit.
“Not really. But it’s worth a try,” I say, glancing at her smiling face on my phone screen. My cell is balanced precariously on my dashboard as I talk to her on speaker.
It’s been three weeks since the bachelorette party, and today is the day of my interview for my new job with Sterling House. Hope has called me repeatedly to try and talk me out of it, and she sounds no less worried than I feel.
“I can’t believe you took Bethany up on her offer. I thought you’d run in the other direction.”
I chew my lip. “I probably should have, huh? But the women at Sterling House were great when I went in to talk to them. I got good vibes from them.”
“They don’t know you’re a… virgin, right?” she asks.
“No.”
“So what exactly are you going to do when you have to fuck the guy?”
My stomach flips. “Uh… improvise.”
“Jesus, Mia, this isn’t a joke,” Hope murmurs.
“Bethany called me today to tell me who you’ve been assigned to.
It’s supposed to be confidential, but she did me a favor and found out from her friend who works the desk.
This Crawford guy… I don’t know. She says he’s pretty ruthless.
Goes through women fast and moves on. I just don’t want you to get hurt. ”
“They’ve briefed me on him. I know what I’m getting into,” I say, with far more confidence than I feel.
I have never been this nervous in my life.
Despite the lengthy conversations I had with the woman at Sterling House, I don’t really know what’s in store for me today. I’m a planner, I like knowing what’s to come, and being this far out of my depth is making me so anxious I might throw up.
That said, the benefits if I get the job are already apparent. I woke up this morning at a reasonable hour and didn’t have to immediately shower, dress, and run out the door.
I had time for a coffee and to make Annabelle a real breakfast. If it works out, returning to normal office hours could be a better perk than the salary.
I just have to focus on the money, not fucking some guy I don’t even know.
“I don’t like this,” Hope says tightly. “Bethany’s so confident, and she doesn’t take shit from anyone. When was the last time you even spoke to a guy who wasn’t your dad?”
“You’re not helping, Hope.”
“Sorry, I just… I love you, Mia. I don’t want you to lose your virginity to some rich asshole in a suit. I don’t buy all that bull about it needing to be ‘special’ either, but I was hoping you’d meet a guy who you really liked someday.”
“What, with all the free time I have?”
“I know,” she says, then brightens. “But you will have free time now, right? If you’re working until five, we might actually be able to meet for a drink occasionally. I could introduce you to my friend Phil. I have always thought you guys would get along.”
I chuckle. “Let me get through the interview first, before you marry me off to one your friends.”
She grunts good-naturedly. “I love you. If you get in there and you change your mind, you walk right back out, you hear me? You don’t owe this Crawford guy a thing, and he sounds like a huge dick.”
“Still not helping.”
“But maybe that’s the point, seeing as you’ll be getting an eyeful of it,” she says teasingly.
“I’m hanging up now.”
“I love you!”
“Love you. Bye.”
I hang up the phone, feeling as if rats are clawing at my stomach lining.
The huge skyscraper where Crawford’s office is situated comes into view amidst the Manhattan traffic. Our house is in Brooklyn, and even though I knew I’d be moving at a crawl, I decided to drive today to have some semblance of control.
Once I’ve gotten the hang of the hours, I’ll be able to get the subway to work, saving a fortune on gas. But today I wanted to have my own space, and arrive looking as put together as possible.
I’ve borrowed a suit from my mom’s closet. She hasn’t interviewed for a new job in years, but I knew she had one from a court hearing a few months back. It’s tan, not my color, and too big, but I didn’t have an alternative. I wore it when I went to the first meeting at Sterling House, too.
Pippa, the woman who onboarded me, was immaculate and looked like she’d just stepped off a runway. I was so nervous that I signed a bunch of forms before I even really processed what she was saying.
One of the first requirements was to complete a sexual health screening. And then I had to keep a straight face as she solemnly read through all their rules.
Bethany was right; the agency is high-end and takes the safety of its clients and the women who work there extremely seriously.
Pippa wouldn’t have known that the chances of me having an STI were as likely as finding a unicorn in Central Park, but at least she believed that I’d had sex a few times in my life.
Maybe for my next career I should become an actress.
The closest I’d come to a dick in recent weeks had been on my computer screen, looking at a bunch of porn sites. If I couldn’t practice on the real thing, I could at least do what I do best—research the shit out of anything I don’t understand.
Pippa had explained all of the rules around sex—and there were a lot. The main one being no sex without protection under any circumstances. Well, not for the normal price of admission anyway.
She explained that there is an elite service where clients can request unprotected sex, but they have to sign a guarantee that they’ll be exclusive to the escorts they hire. I could see why that option wouldn’t appeal to many of the finance bros who work with the agency.
I pull up into the driveway of the parking lot. A security guard checks my name, reads the email confirming I have an interview, and then waves me through.
The elevator up to the first floor is glass and spotless. As the doors open, I come out into a lobby filled with people, dozens of men in suits filing past, with women in super high heels sauntering in between them.
Are there other escorts here?