Evie's Job

23: Evie

Evie thought for a moment, then cleared her throat. “You asked me why I was here,” she said. “Last time.”

“I remember.”

“Do you still want to know?”

Natalie shrugged, and sipped her wine. “If you like.”

“I mean, why I was here in the first place, before everything else. Before you said you’d pay me.”

Natalie nodded. “Go on.”

“For my career. In case you can help me. That was why I came upstairs.”

Natalie nodded. “That I’d assumed.”

“Yep,” Evie said. “I’d assumed you’d assumed. But I just wanted to say, in case you wondered. So you knew.”

“Don’t worry. I knew.”

“Is that terrible?”

“Is what terrible?”

“Me doing that. I was kind of using you?”

“Of course not,” Natalie said, actually sounding surprised.

“Oh,” Evie said. “Okay, well good.”

Natalie smiled, and sipped her wine, and then they both went quiet. Natalie seemed to be thinking. She looked up, then hesitated, as if there was something she wanted to ask she couldn’t quite bring herself to say.

Evie waited.

“Is that the only reason you’re here?” Natalie said. “To help your career?”

“Other than money?”

“Other than that. In the first place, I mean, before we were taking about money.”

“Not the only reason,” Evie said. “I like you, as well. But it’s all a little mixed up with thinking you might be useful, and I don’t really know how much it’s one and how much the other.”

Natalie nodded slowly.

“That’s why I’m not sure if it’s awful,” Evie said. “Because I can’t be sure.”

“It isn’t awful.”

“But I’m using you. At least, I might be.”

“And I’m using you back. I want to have sex with you, and I’m paying you for it. I can’t see how that’s any different.”

“I suppose not,” Evie said, but now she was wondering, too. “So what you just asked,” she said. “The same back. Is that the only reason I’m here? Like the only reason you called me? Because you can pay me for sex?”

Natalie sipped her wine, and didn’t answer.

“I was honest with you,” Evie said.

“You were,” Natalie said, then, “No. I like you too.”

“Oh,” Evie said. “I’m glad.”

“I am too.”

“So we like each other…”

“Apparently so.”

“But we’re still doing this.”

Natalie smiled. “We are.”

Evie thought. “We’re not very nice people, are we?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“We’re both being kind of selfish.”

“Selfish?”

“We’re both using each other.”

“Perhaps,” Natalie said. “Or we’re being honest. Saying what we each want. That’s more honest than most people are.”