HUDSON'S CHOICE

5.

“I’m glad to hear it, Lauryn. We’ll organize another meeting to discuss the details and sign some documents. In the meantime, it’ll be necessary to change a couple of things so as not to waste time and be able to get you started as soon as possible.” Claudia sounded warm and welcoming over the phone.

“What kind of things?” Lauryn asked, grabbing a pen on the other side of the kitchen counter where she had breakfast.

“I will send you the details by e-mail. It’ll be easier. In the meantime, you can start thinking about a name. We always insist that girls come up with their names, which we must approve, of course. This is the best way to ensure that they don’t forget it. This can easily happen in the heat of the action as you can imagine.”

“Okay, I’m going to get to work on that and I’ll also expect your email,” Lauryn said, just before the line was cut.

I knew it was going to happen. I already have my name. It’s been mine for a long time. Now I have the opportunity to create a whole new personality that would go hand in hand. Like a mask to hide behind. It’s awesome!

A few minutes later, Lauryn’s phone turned on to signal that she had received a new e-mail. Claudia, always professional, had done what she had promised. A sign of the future. At least she hoped. Let’s take a look at what I have to do.

As she reviewed the contents of Claudia’s mail, Lauryn was pleasantly surprised. No breach of contract, even if a small part of her wouldn’t be offended. The phone call in which she had accepted Claudia’s offer seemed surreal to her, and she still didn’t know the terms of her new career.

She had tried to express some reservations, but Claudia had an answer for everything. One of her greatest doubts was the hardest to express. Her lack of s****l prowess. After so many years of being married to one man, s*x had become methodical and predictable, and long before their divorce, it had completely disappeared. She poured all this out to Claudia, almost in tears, feeling stupid to have solicited the role of a high-end escort. She had opened up to Claudia in the hope of hearing reassuring advice or termination of their contract.

“Everyone says the same thing,” Claudia explained patiently. “You are not the first to emerge from a relationship of this kind and to enter this world. Think about it. You are a beautiful, sexy, and highly desirable woman, despite your reluctance to realize it. You were married to a man who was unable to enjoy it and made you feel ordinary. Your sexuality was, more or less, a reflection of the way he saw you and you saw yourself.

When you are with a man who adores you and shows you how much with more than just words in the air, you will feel different and you’ll deliver the lioness that is in you, as never before.

Let’s stop these conversations where you continually get down, where I send you to the hippie section of your local bookstore, to read exclusively from Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer for the next month. Believe me, nobody would do that.”

“Okay, I’ll try, but you can’t blame me for having a little apprehension, though? It’s a huge thing for me. I’ve been a mother and housewife all my adult life.”

“Of course not,” Claudia replied. “As I said, you aren’t the first and your feelings are quite normal.”

Would she always think I’m normal if I told her I had never had a real o****m before? Certainly, that would be a reason for a breach of contract if I let the information escape.

She had never confided in anyone about her difficulties in achieving o****m. Tony had never noticed during their marriage. He was always too busy searching for his pleasure to waste any thought to hers. Not that she had not enjoyed the intimacy and physical sensations when she made love, but she simply had not experienced this special moment she had seen in the movies and read in detail in Cosmo. The little death as they called it.

Over the years, she had reached a certain level of acceptance of her problem and had focused her s****l energy on satisfying her husband. She had always found that a satisfied husband participated a lot in a pleasant and happy family life, and that’s how she found her interest in serving his own. After a while, Tony’s needs diminished as the financial crisis robbed him of all his energy and zest for life. They stopped completely when his cocaine addiction significantly impacted his s****l performance, turning him into a paranoid, irritable, and helpless man.

From what she had heard from the experiences of her friends, desert crossings of this kind were usually followed by the irrepressible need to use their battery toys for a little relief. Lauryn had often heard these comments at girls’ lunches or when they came together after work but had always been unable to identify precisely what they were talking about. She didn’t have a vibrator and had never felt the need to buy one. She simply didn’t understand the whole o****m story. Was it so important?

Returning to the contents of the e-mail, Lauryn rejected the thoughts of her s****l ineptitude and tried to focus on more practical problems, such as the general conditions of her new role. Everything was clearly stated in the e-mail. The dress code and conduct required during appointments. The rates to be paid by the customer and the percentage that she would receive. The procedure to choose and plan her evenings and when she was available to work. All matters concerning money as well as others concerning points much less obvious were stipulated in Claudia’s e-mail.

“Can I help you?” the saleswoman asked in a playful voice.

Oh, great. One of them. Exactly what I don’t need. Go away.

“No thanks. I’m just looking,” Lauryn replied, hoping she would understand the message.

“Are you looking for something in particular?” the girl persisted.

Yes, I’m looking for something special to wear when I get f****d by a total stranger.

“No thank you, I’m just looking. I’ll let you know if I need anything,” Lauryn said in a deliberately austere tone, hoping to have some time alone among the various clothing displays.

Having discovered that her wardrobe didn’t meet the standards of Pearl of the Sea, Lauryn had forced herself to invest her time and the little money she had in clothes. Dress elegant, but where you feel good, Claudia had suggested in her email. There were no rules set in stone. It was more a question of image and sense of style that suited both the agency and the girl.

Finding something in her budget proved more difficult than she had thought. Rows of pretty dresses abounded, but all at far too high prices. Lauryn didn’t like to wear pretty little dresses, anyway. If I had the body, I would be tempted to try. But look at these prices, she thought, remembering the unpaid electricity bills plastered on her fridge.

She finally found clothes on sale at the back of the store and walked discreetly, pretending to stop on the way to look in more detail at some dresses at full price. All the dresses sold were expensive, which made her start to panic at the thought of having to exceed her already tight budget.

“If you are looking for something in your size, I can show you some skirts and blouses from last season. I haven’t yet had the time to put the prices on and display them, but you can take a look,” said the young saleswoman after seeing the defeated expression on Lauryn’s face.

“That would be very nice. Thank you very much, Tiffany,” Lauryn said after glancing at her badge. “It’s embarrassing to come into such a nice store and not have the money to buy anything.”

“Not at all,” replied Tiffany. “No need to feel embarrassed. We all have our budgets. Wait a moment and I will see what I can find in your size.”

A few minutes later she came back with a white scabbard skirt with a pale blue vertical line and an immaculately white blouse highlighted by a subtly pleated front.

“Here, this elegant little skirt will fit like a glove. It’s from last year’s collection, but it’s a timeless style, so no one will know, will they?”

“I don’t think it’s for me,” Lauryn said discouraged. “I don’t have the body to carry that off.”

“Are you kidding? Come on, try it. You know you want to. The cut will highlight your buttocks and hips. Sexy without being vulgar, these are the comments that you’ll receive. I’ll put them in the fitting room for you. Follow me.”

Highlight? Why not rather hide completely? That would be much better.

Reluctant, Lauryn followed the enthusiastic saleswoman to the dressing rooms, secretly excited to try something flattering and a bit sexy for the first time in a long, long time. She hoped her new look, discreet but very sexy would be in perfect harmony with the name she had chosen for her new job.