Swipe Right - The Chronicles of an Unpaid Prostitute

Swipe Right - Chapter Five

"Maddie, good morning. I need you to call and set up a meeting with Ben Davis. He's the owner of..."

"Slice."

"Slice," she repeated, pausing as I cut her off. Oops. But Ben Davis was a big fucking deal – he was the newest hot shot, gazillionare business man around San Francisco. I didn't know much about him, only that his name carried a heavy weight. "You'll speak to his assistant to set up a meeting, I've emailed you my schedule."

I picked up the phone and dialed the phone number she'd emailed me. "Slice, how can I help you?"

"Hello, my name is Maddie and I'm calling on behalf of Melanie Moore looking to speak to Ben Davis."

"One moment please."

I tapped my fingers along to the on hold music before a younger than expected feminine voice filled the line. "Maddie?"

"Yes."

"Hi, I'm Val, Ben's assistant."

"Oh great, Mel had told me to give you a call so we can set up a meeting."

"Ah, a meeting of the minds."

I laughed. "Yes, exactly." I listened as she gave me Ben's availability and we set the date. "That's great, thanks for your help Val."

"Anytime, I'm sure we'll be talking soon."

"I'm sure we will be. Thanks again." I don't know what it was about the short conversation, but I had a feeling I really liked Val.

After work, I met Jamie and a few of my friends, Lisa, Angela, and Beth at a local bar around the corner. Lisa and Angela had grown up and lived in San Francisco all their lives; they were the typical Californian girl, blonde hair, blue eyes and perfect. They made me want to gag half the time and I would probably hate them if they weren't so damn cool. Beth was an immigrant like me coming from the great scapes of the Colorado Mountains who considered herself free to be her own person, one that loved the company of both men and women, if you get my drift, in Northern California. We'd all stumbled upon each other in the hallway of college where we became fast friends.

"Oh, here comes the slut now!" Jamie called to me as I walked toward the table.

"Why don't you say that a little louder? I don't think the guy on the sidewalk heard you."

"Hey girl, how are you doing?" Beth asked, as I sat down.

"Peachy. How are you guys?"

"Saw the Facebook status, making it official now," Lisa chimed in.

"I think it was official when I saw Aaron in a photo with two other girls."

Angela scrunched up her face. "What? He's disgusting anyways, you don't need him. But we did hear that you're a dirty skank now, congratulations."

"Oh, thank you so much, that means a lot." I held up the drink they'd already ordered for me and as they held up theirs, we cheers'd to one night stands.

"Was he hot?" Lisa asked, her eyes laughing.

"Yes," Jamie and I said in unison. "Anyways," I continued, not wanting to delve into my awkwardness of my first post-breakup sexcapade. "I think you'll all be happy to know that I decided to take the plunge into the virtual world of dating."

Jamie squealed, loudly and embarrassing. "You did?"

"I did," I confirmed.

For the next half an hour I heard stories only praising online dating; Lisa met her fiancé online and Angela met her current boyfriend from a popular site as well. Their stories made me feel optimistic about my decision and I knew I had to give it a chance. I couldn't sit and wallow in my misery, Aaron sure as hell wasn't.