HUDSON'S CHOICE

4.

Later that night while she luxuriated in a hot bubble bath; smelling the scent of the candles she had arranged, listening with a distracted ear to her favourite music from the speakers connected to her iPod in the living room and having a glass of wine to hand on the corner of the bathtub, she began to indulge her fantasies she had cultivated years earlier. Closing her eyes, she smiled, thinking about how her friends would be shocked, to say nothing of her husband, if they knew her secret fantasy.

Although she knew that by education and social conventions the idea should the abhorred, a rush of excitement and eagerness was felt in her belly. The same feeling she recognized when she was anxious about something—she was afraid, but also excited. Like the first time, I discovered an amusement park.

What the hell am I thinking? Nobody will ever tell me such things, and god knows what I’m going to do once I have it in my hands, anyway. My god, it’s been so long... Lauryn, you’re an i***t. Stop thinking about this nonsense. At once!

Early the next morning, an unusual sound signalled the arrival of a new message on Lauryn’s phone. The new email account she had created the previous night had a default sound different from the usual sound of her main account. The realization that this mail came from this account made her feel apprehensive. So much so that she felt her stomach rise at the mere idea.

Maybe it’s just junk mail. No, wait... it would have been removed by the spam filter, right?

Unlocking her phone, she let her finger slide over the mail notification and closed her eyes.

It was the wine. It had to be the wine. For what other reason would I send all those selfies to that agency. What was I thinking? Did I at least think?

Taking a deep breath, she tapped on the notification, opening the mail:

Lauryn,

Thank you for your query and photos.

Rather than waste our time and yours with emails, would you be willing to come to our offices to discuss further what we can offer you and what is expected in return? This will allow us to meet face to face and to see if there is a mutual interest.

I look forward to your reply.

Regards,

Claudia.

She looked at her phone for so long that it ended up self-locking. Then she understood. They had answered. Not only that, they want to meet me. ME. Why? What do I do now?

She knew what she was going to do. She had always known what she would do if they answered. She just didn’t expect them to respond, at least not in a positive way. Finishing her morning coffee, Lauryn began to think about her approach. The tone of the email was professional. She loved it and decided to act at the meeting in the same way.

It looked like any other company. It could have been a legal or accounting office, according to the decoration. Neutral colours, tastefully decorated by paintings, and some vases containing fresh flowers. Even the reception had a subtle design, giving no clue as to the nature of the services they offered.

“Hello. You must be Lauryn,” the receptionist greeted when she arrived. “We were looking forward to meeting you.”

“Thank you. I’m early. It’s a habit, sorry.”

“No problem. Please sit in the conference room. She’ll be with you shortly,” the receptionist said, pointing to an adjacent door.

A conference room? Do they have a conference room? Like a Fortune 500 company!

When she entered, the luxury of the room struck her immediately. A solid oak conference table dominated the centre of the room. All around the table were Eames leather executive chairs. A few original pieces of art were hung on the walls, softening the room without distracting from its business purpose.

Scarcely had she chosen one of the comfortable seats the door opened and a striking woman, looking very professional, entered the room. Her age was difficult to determine, but Lauryn immediately thought of the expression she had once heard to describe a woman who was more mature, but still beautiful. A woman of a certain age. Now she fully understood what the expression meant.

“Hello, I’m Claudia. Thank you so much for taking the time to come and meet us,” she said and held out her hand.

“With pleasure. Even though I must admit to being somewhat surprised that you asked me to come and see you,” Lauryn replied as they shook hands before returning to sit down.

“Really? I see. Anyway, before we start, I need you to sign a non-disclosure agreement. No need to worry,” she added, in response to the apprehension painted on Lauryn’s face. “It’s a standard contract and it prevents you from revealing anything that will be discussed at this meeting or any future meeting. It’s for your protection as well as ours. We are both bound by this contract.”

That said, Claudia placed the document in front of Lauryn and sat on the other side of the table, allowing Lauryn to read the contract before she would say more. After a few minutes, Lauryn took the pen that Claudia had placed in the centre of the table and signed the document before sliding it, along with the pen, towards Claudia.

“Thank you. I assure you that we only wish the best for you.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Lauryn said, sweeping the room nervously, intimidated by the size of the room and Claudia’s very business-like approach.

“I would like to start by telling you a bit more about how our agency works. Things you haven’t seen on our web page. First, we only select the most financially comfortable people. Our customers are all one of the top 1% of the country, and therefore they want the best and are always willing to pay the price.”

“What you may not be aware of, nevertheless,” continued Claudia, “is that just as we are selective of our clients, we are equally selective of the girls we use to entertain them. We believe that it’s by engaging only high-level girls that we will succeed in attracting the most refined customers inclined to spend large sums of money. Does all this make sense?”

“Well, yes, but that doesn’t answer the question that has perturbed me since I read your email. What does all this have to do with me?” asked Lauryn.

“I will try to explain,” replied Claudia with measured patience. “As I said, our clients want the best and are used to seeing their needs met. They have particular tastes and we have a fairly detailed idea of the type of women that match our agency.”

“Yes, but...” Lauryn interjected.

“You have this something,” interrupted Claudia. “I’m very good at discovering the potential in people, and you have it. You have a bearing and a certain quality that is difficult to grasp. I could see it in the photos you sent me, but now that we’ve met, I’m sure of it.”

“But I’m only a single mother. I’m not too bad looking and I know I’m in good shape, but a high-end call girl for rich and famous people? Come on. Seriously?” replied Lauryn, somewhat astonished by Claudia’s declarations.

“I think you see yourself in this way only because you have always seen yourself like that, and you’ve never had the opportunity to shine and be appreciated. I’m sorry to be a psychologist, but I honestly think that’s what we’re talking about here. Some of the most sublime women we hired sat in this same room and said pretty much what you just said.

If you told me how beautiful you are and how men always said you were to fall for then we wouldn’t have this conversation. It wouldn’t be the kind of girls we’re looking for that would be appreciated by our clients. As I mentioned earlier, our guests are distinguished, and they have refined tastes. They can find girls like that in any bar by showing a little of their money. They come to us because they know that we can offer them girls they cannot easily find, despite their high incomes.

This business is not just about s*x. This is a common misconception. Of course, there’s a market for this, but any girl in high heels with a tube of lubricant and a pack of condoms can work in that market. Here we propose something else. Here, it’s the whole experience, a connection with the customer, and that’s giving them what they want most. Of course, quality s*x goes without saying, but what I’m trying to tell you is there’s more than that. So, what we do now is give yourself time to consider my proposal and then you can telephone me directly when you’ve made a decision."