Greyson stood in utter silence, still. My hand remained extended towards his, not shaken. The seconds piled up in an awkward jumble, crashing into each other like cars on an icy interstate. I watched as his eyes traveled along the length of my body. Beginning at just below my knees, his pupils trailed their way along my thighs, up past my hips and my waist until at last they fell upon my breasts.
I found myself frozen in the moment, unable to move or do anything except hold my breath while his gaze lingered. My shoulder burned as I held my arm fixed and solid, directly in front of my body. After another second or two, Greyson’s eyes moved the rest of the way until they met mine.
A smirk came to his lips.
“Is that your best and final offer?” he asked.
I felt the vertebrae in the center of my spine straighten in resolve as he spoke.
“Yes,” I said, with the most businesslike nod I could muster.
The tiny cracks of the smile that had formed a moment earlier split into a full expression of satisfaction as he shook my hand. Squeezing it, he pulled me close and moved his lips to within an inch of my ear. His scent overpowered me. Fine hairs along the back of my neck stood in eager readiness. I sensed my torso begin to list towards him, desiring nothing more than to at last press into the hard physique that lay just beyond the confines of his expensive designer dress shirt.
When I’d almost neared the point of no return, a whisper from him broke the spell.
“I would have paid a hundred times more.”
After returning to the apartment, I intended to head straight to bed. The high I’d gotten from the ‘business deal’ I’d struck with Greyson started to dissipate as the adrenaline from the successful negotiation wore off. But, no sooner had I entered than Katy called out to me from the living room.
“Maddie,” she began. I heard her get up from the couch and begin to walk in my direction as she continued. “What in the hell happened to the microwave?”
“What?”
My roommate came into view at last.
Gesturing past me towards the kitchen, she said, “Um, the microwave? I came home tonight and the entire house smelled like a chemical fire. What happened?”
“Oh,” I said as my culinary misadventure returned to my consciousness. “Yeah, that. Well, I meant to leave a note and…”
“Leave. A. Note?” Katy asked, planting her hands on her hips. “Um, no, how about you are buying me a new microwave first thing tomorrow?”
As she finished speaking, a huge grin spread across my face.
“What the hell are you smiling at? I’m seriously pissed at you right now. Where are you gonna get the money to buy me a new oven? I’m not joking about this, just so you know.”
Still smiling, I nodded in understanding. “I know you’re serious. And, I am sorry. I will buy you a new one. I promise.”
Katy looked at me as if she were picking me out of a police lineup. She narrowed her eyelids in suspicion.
“Hang on a second. How come you’re not worried about money all of a sudden?”
I felt my cheeks tighten as a huge smile came to my face.
“Maddie… What?”
With that, I spent the next ten minutes or so recounting the tale of my negotiations with Greyson. Katy listened intently until, when I’d neared the end, she raised her hand to her chin.
“Wait, so he is paying you to be his… escort?”
“Well, yeah, but it’s not like that. Really. We shook on it.”
“You shook on it? You shook on what with Greyson Sinclair, exactly?”
“Well that he would pay me double the amount of the entire job quote I gave him and, and, and… he would have to deposit it in my bank account by Monday morning or the deal is off.”
“All right,” she said as she rolled her hand in a circle, encouraging me to outline the remaining details of the arrangement. “In exchange for?”
“My escort services?” I added, with an uncertain whimper.
Katy blinked at me but didn’t speak. A sickening awareness came to me as she looked at me in silence.
“So you really think that he thinks that I… that he… that we? For money?”
Katy pursed her lips. With a nod of her head she said, “Well. If it walks like a duck…”
I groaned at the implication. Feeling like a fool, I placed my forearms on the kitchen counter and rested my forehead on top of them.
Katy walked around behind me. Rubbing my back, she said, “No, no, honey. You don’t understand. I’m not saying that’s such a terrible thing.”
I lifted my head and looked at her, incredulous.
“What!?” I exclaimed. “Have you lost your mind or are you so desperate for a new microwave that you’d put me out on any street corner to get it?”
“Well, no. Of course, not. I’d never do that.”
Relieved, I shook my head. “Good.”
“I wouldn’t put you on any street corner. Greyson’s? Yes.”
“Katy!”
“Oh Maddie, you know I’m only teasing you,” she said with a smirk. “The point I was trying to make is how many times in your life have you given it up to a guy for less? And by less, I mean, way less. For nothing at all.”
“Yeah, I know. But that’s different. I had feelings in those situations. This is not like that.”
“Not yet,” she said with rising tone in her voice.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Well, nothing right now. All I’m saying is you never know what this could turn into if you just give it a chance.”
I scoffed. “Okay, but you’re making me feel like that’s not what’s happening here. On the one hand, you’re saying I’m pretty much a whore and then on the other, you’re suggesting that there's the potential for us to have a relationship? I am totally confused right now.”
“Well, like I said, it’s not happening yet,” she said. “In fact, there’s no way to know for sure without taking the risk.”
I threw my arms skyward in frustration. “You are talking crazy, Katy. Why in the world would Greyson Sinclair be interested in me? He can have any woman he wants.”
Katy paused for a moment. Nodding, she pointed her index finger in my direction and said, “Well, has he asked you to find him any other escorts?”
“No,” I replied. “In fact, I only managed to get one for him, which he hated. He tore up her picture and stepped on it in the floor of his limousine.”
Katy laughed. “There you go.”
“Where do I go, Katy? What does that prove?”
“Maddie, Greyson is communicating to you in his own way that he wants to spend time with you.”
“I’m so confused. If that’s true, why not just tell me that?”
“Simple.”
“It is?”
“Sure. If he asks you out and you say no, you win. But if he pays you and you say no, then it’s just a business deal that didn't work out. He doesn’t lose.”
“But, that’s not what happened.”
“Right, so you’re both getting what you want, for now.”
“For now?”
“Yes, you get the money you need and he gets the opportunity he wants. To use some biz jargon, it’s a win-win deal.”