The Escort

17 - Jackpot

"Excuse me, Mr. Jackson..." Sally entered the dim-lit office to find her young boss rummaging through piles and piles of papers. She thought he looked extra cute with his glasses on.

Michael finished reading the contract he was holding before looking up at his secretary. "Yeah?"

"Umm... Miss Janet is here. She said you were expecting her, but I couldn't find the appointment on your schedule."

"Oh yes, yes. I forgot to let you know, my bad. Please, send her in."

Sally smiled politely and turned around to call her boss' sister. Beautiful Janet walked to her brother with a warm expression and wide-open arms.

"Hey, applehead! I missed you."

The siblings hugged for a minute or two, feeling exceedingly contained and loved in each other's arms. Janet had always been super special for Michael. She was his baby.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice. Please, take a seat." He helped her to the chair in front of his and sat down.

He removed his reading glasses and rubbed his hands together, looking intently into his sister's eyes. "I need to ask you a very, very important thing. You're free to reject me, I won't hold it against you. But I really need your help with this."

"Anything, Mikey. You look stressed out, what is it?"

He chewed on his lips, staring at her. Her cute round face, her braided hair, her sweet eyes and honest smile... Did he really want to drag her into it? His frown deepened and he folded his hands in front of his mouth, placing his elbows on his desk.

"Michael, talk to me." She straightened up in her chair, officially curious.

"Jermaine and Joseph are blackmailing me into buying pop's company."

Janet let out a loud laugh and felt awkwardly out of place when she saw that her brother wasn't even smiling. She frowned. "Are you serious?"

"I really wished this was a joke, but it isn't. It's the awful truth, Dunk."

***
"Laura"

The battered young woman somberly approached Juliette and got her silver card. "Ava." The old lady chuckled when she saw her walking into the grooming room without her characteristic defying stare. She had successfully broken her.

Hannah didn't even dare to smile when she saw Laura's tired and sad face. Her cheeks were sunken, her eyes were shallow. She had dark circles under them and her lips were completely dry. She looked like a living dead.

"Y-you will be attending a bachelor party. It's a lawyers buffet. One of the partners is getting married."

Laura nodded, she didn't give a shit.

The car waited for her around the back as usual and drove her downtown to meet the men. Once in the building, she was pointed to one of the large meeting rooms at the far end of the floor, and she could hear increasingly loud voices and music. Showtime.

***
"And why did you get involved with her, Mike? Ugh, you were really needy weren't you?" Janet cringed and Michael's face turned completely red.

"It was a moment of weakness, ight? I'm positive that things happen for a reason... I was meant to find her and help her."

"You sure she ain't there 'cause she wanna? She makes good money according to whatchu sayin'..."

"Were you even listening?" He frowned and she waved her hands up in the air. "Okay, okay, yeah, her sister and shii..."