I refresh the web page a few times just to make sure that the balance online is correct. My heart drops as the amount remains the same, I have £4.82 to my name. I knew that being on my own would be hard while I was at university but I didn't realise that I would go broke so quickly. I wouldn't be getting another paycheck for 4 days and even with that it just covered my rent and a little bit of my food. My family had their own financial stress to worry about so I couldn't exactly ask them for money.
However, I don't have much time to dwell on this as I can't be late for my next lecture or else I will get in a lot of trouble. I stand up from the seated position in my bed and pull on a white blouse and a pair of black jeans. I have yet to do my laundry in the damp laundry room in the basement of my building and these are the only clean pair of pants I have. I take a quick look in the mirror before I leave, my long brown hair is a bit of a mess so I pull it into a tight bun to bring it out of my face. To be honest, I could have put more effort into how I looked and if I did, I probably wouldn't look too bad. The thought of makeup was intimidating as I had no clue how to use the stuff, I wouldn't even know where to begin. I sigh and grab my shoulder bag, ensuring that my laptop was inside as well as my books before making sure to lock the door behind me and head down the street.
Immediately I can tell that the jeans are a complete mistake, its the middle of summer in London and the heat on the backs of my legs makes me sweat all the more. The university campus is only a few streets away so its easy to walk there, I have no choice as I don't have a car and I personally don't like the busses here. I quicken my pace as the final few students enter the stuffy lecture hall and take their seats, I hurry up the back and sit down next to my good friend Heather.
"Hey gorgeous" She smiles as I put down my stuff next to hers on the floor, grabbing out my books.
"Hey girl, new bag?" I whisper smiling back at her. She nods grinning and reaches down to feel the material of her obviously designer red leather tote bag. It's beautiful, and the third new bag I've seen her with this month. In fact, most of her clothes are new and she even has a new watch that sparkles in certain lights.
"My daddy got it for me" She leans over in her seat to get closer to me. Her answer confuses me.
"Your father is a mechanic how could he afford all this?" I gesture towards her attire. I mean sure her father owned the mechanic's shop but surely they didn't make that much money right?
She laughs quietly, not worried about the lecturer at the front of the room who is answering someone's question, clearly oblivious to all the noise in the hall. "Not my father, my daddy" She grins at my confused reaction. "I'll explain after class" And with that, she turns her head forward and looks at the lecturer, who has cleared his throat and begun to speak to the rest of the room.
"What do you mean your daddy buys you this stuff?" I pull my bag over my shoulder and quicken my pace trying to keep up with her long confident strides, her heels clicking each time she hits the pavement.
"You can't judge me when I tell you okay?" She asks quietly as we sit down on the steps of the library. I nod quickly, why would I judge her? I pull my jacket tighter around my body as a cool chill brushes past me.
She sighs quietly. "Okay so basically I was in a tough spot for money a month ago and I saw an ad online for girls who need money. It's this totally legit agency, kind of like a matchmaking service. They take girls who need cash and older guys with money to spare and match them. It's like dating but you actually make money out of it." She takes in my shocked reaction which I have attempted to keep to a minimum. She hadn't even mentioned to me that she was dating anyone, let alone that it was someone older.
"Basically, I'm his 'girlfriend'. You know, we go to dinners, art galleries, functions. Some of them want to show off a pretty girl on their arm, others just like the company of younger girls. Either way, I get paid nearly four times what I would have been getting paid waitressing."
"Wait, have you quit your job?" I ask her and she nods. Heather had a job on the weekends at a cafe, she always used to moan about how crappy it was. When she stopped mentioning how sore her feet were or how obnoxious some customers were I just figured she had a good shift.
"Is it just one guy?" I'm worried my friend has turned herself into a professional prostitute.
She giggles. "It's just one guy. His name's Brad, he works in investments. He's in his late thirties I think, he's actually kind of funny which is good or else it would be a total drag"
"Wow that's um, that's interesting" I finally speak after a long period of silence. I don't know if one guy makes it better or worse. I can see the appeal of it all, and Heather's drop dead gorgeous. She's tall and slim with dark tan skin and bright blue eyes; guys have always fallen at her feet so I can imagine some gross old guy paying for her to hang out with him.
"Its not as bad as you think. He gives me a choice in what we do and he never pressures me into doing things. Plus he really showers me in gifts as you can clearly see. If I ever want or need anything, all I have to do is ask." As if on cue, my stomach grumbles loudly. Heather knows I have been having money problems for quite a while now, she was the only one I confided in, even I owed her some money for things here and there that she insisted she could afford. Now I know how she could actually afford them.
"You could do it too!" She grins softly, reaching over to grab my hands. "They would love me so much if I brought some more business!" Business? I'm not a prude or anything but I didn't think I would ever be in this desperate of a situation to think that this was a good idea.
"No I couldn't" I recoil and take my hands back frowning. God, it would be good to have some money though, but not like this.
"Come on Elena you are starving. You haven't been able to afford food for gods sakes, the paycheck they are giving you at the diner barely covers anything and most of your money goes on rent for that shitty apartment of yours. This is a good opportunity. I'll make sure they give you a really sweet guy, they'll do it because I brought them you. Plleeaaaasssseee"
I bite my lip and think, my best friend was pimping me out to some rich unknown stranger who I hadn't even met yet. And what if I got a bad one? Surely not all of these guys are doing this sort of thing for the right reasons, there must be some bad apples in the bunch. I don't want to be a story on the news; my lifeless body washing up on the Thames months after I go missing while on a date with a 50-year-old pervert. And if my parents ever found out about it they would be so disappointed in me, I would be disappointed in me.
But I am so broke and so hungry, it would be nice to have a bit of extra money. And what if everything went great? What if; Heather and I had enough money to actually enjoy living in London. Going to Selfridges to shop before eating lunch at fabulous restaurants, my stomach gives a low grumble in agreement; 'that would be nice'. I really don't know why I'm considering this; it feels like both a terrible idea and a no brainer all at the same time. I'm so confused, and still so hungry. What's the harm in just seeing what it's all about?
"I'll meet with them, I'm not saying yes yet" I sigh as she claps her hands happily.
"Fantastic! Let's go get you into something sexy and I'll take you to their offices" She stands and picks up her things.
"Wait, right now? You want to take me there right now?" I stand with her and quickly pull my bag back onto my shoulder. I have no more classes for the day, but this is all happening too fast.
"You are wasting away by the minute, the sooner we get you all ready the better" She practically drags me off the steps and books it to my apartment. The whole way she's talking me through her vision for my look. Heather gets like this sometimes; she talks at a rapid fire pace not because she is trying to have a conversation with you, but because her brain is running at a thousand miles an hour and her lips are trying to keep up.
It doesn't take long for us to get there, and when we do get there she is all business. I am ordered to climb into the shower and start shaving and shampooing as soon as we get inside. Thank god I paid my power bill this month, having to shower for something this important under cold water would have been quite horrible.
Whilst I do this, Heather digs through my closet to find me something to wear down to the 'offices'. When I do climb out, she has a short blush pink dress waiting for me and a pair of skyscraper heels, I wonder idly whereabouts in the mess that is my closet she found all this stuff. I dress quickly and she begins to help me with my makeup, I can't stop fidgeting.
"Would you relax? Everything is going to be fine. They'll get you a good guy I'm sure, guys love the young innocent girl" She reassures me and she brushes through my hair. While she perfects my make-up I try and push away the thoughts in my head; 'you're about to basically walk into a room and allow people to judge you before they sell you off like you're a cow at a livestock auction'.
I nod shyly as she finishes off my make up and steps away from the mirror so I can see myself. I'm unrecognisable, my normally plain and pale skin is now striking, silky smooth and free of any blemishes I had earlier this morning. My brown eyes pop under a heavy application of mascara and my lips are a pale pink covered in a light layer of gloss. When I flutter my eyes, I can see a faint shimmer of pink glitter resting on the top of my eyelids.
"Wow" Is all I can say, how the hell did she do this? She grins at me in the mirror and examines her handiwork.
"I am an artist" She giggles. "Now hurry up, I'm so excited for you" I stand up and wobble slightly in my heels as I take a small bag she has prepared for me and leave my apartment. I try not to wobble like a giraffe on ice as we walk the block to her car. Climbing into the passenger seat is rather difficult, the dress is quite tight and makes navigating my legs into the car without flashing passers-by rather tricky.
The drive takes just under half an hour and I am mostly silent throughout the drive. I am suddenly overwhelmed with nerves. I specifically avoid these sorts of social interactions with people I don't know because of my shyness. I was born shy, I grew up shy and I know for a fact that I will die shy. I have a few close friends and my family; those are the people that I feel I can be myself with, everyone else gives me major anxiety.
We pull up to a small building right in the city centre. It looks like the kind of building a legitimate business is run from, people on the streets below are probably unaware as to what really goes on inside. I climb out hesitantly and try to summon whatever deep hidden confidence I have within myself and follow Heather up the stairs and into the building. We wait for an elevator to arrive in the mostly vacant lobby and ascend to the 16th floor. She takes the lead and approaches the woman at the front desk when we arrive.
"My friend here is interested in your business" A small smile crosses her face and the woman returns it after she glances at me for a moment before she begins to loudly type on her keyboard.
"Grace will be out shortly, if you'd like to take a seat she'll be out to get you soon" The receptionist warmly tells us and gestures towards a sea of white couches and armchairs. Heather sits beside me on one of the couches as I take in a deep breath. This is actually happening, what the fuck am I thinking?
The wait seems to take hours instead of minutes, but we finally hear the soft pattering of high heels on the concrete floor. From around the corner, a busty redheaded woman appears and flashes a bright white smile at Heather who stands up and greets her with a welcoming hug.
"Heather darling it's so wonderful to see you" Her accent catches me slightly off guard, it's incredibly poised and sophisticated. When I thought we were meeting the woman in charge, I imagined her to be quite rough with a smoker's voice and perhaps a tattoo or two. But this woman appears like any other business woman you would see in London; dressed in a black pencil skirt and matching blazer with her hair in loose soft curls over her shoulders. As they break their embrace she gives me a warm smile.
"And who is this pretty little flower?" She turns to scan her eyes up and down my body, I wonder what her inner monologue is saying about me.
"This is my good friend Elena, she's interested in talking about being matched with someone" Heather proudly responds and places a hand on my shoulder. Grace extends her hand and introduces herself as I shake her hand.
"Elena, welcome. My name is Grace, I'm the owner of the London Angel Club. Follow me" She turns on her heels and leads both Heather and me down a long white hallway to an end office. It's very sleek and modern, nothing in the interior design gives any indication as to what this business actually does. "We have over three thousand clients within the London area who use our services" She continues to talk as she gestures for us to sit in front of a large desk across from her in two leather armchairs.
"Our speciality is finding lovely young women like yourself someone to look after you. Someone who will make your life one of enjoyment and wealth and success. Tell me, Elena, what do you want to do with your life?" The question is a loaded one, one that has been asked to me hundreds of times by relatives and friends. I've given them all the same answers, a very vague one at that.
"Well, I'm studying business and media at university and..." Grace leans forward in her seat and shakes her head, resting her hands on the large mahogany desk.
"No no, my darling, not what you are doing right now. What is your truest and deepest desire? If the sky were the limit if anything were possible. If you were granted a wish for a life, what would you be doing in it?" I pause for a moment and really think, but the answer comes out of my mouth before I can reel it back in.
"I would love to write; I've always thought it would be incredible to be a screenwriter, you know, writing for television and movies. But I'd also love to write books" My cheeks immediately redden once the words are out. That's not something I've ever told anyone before, not even Heather knows. I don't want to look over at her and see her reaction, in case she thinks I'm an idiot. Grace grins, this was apparently an answer she wanted.
"Beautiful, just beautiful. And obtainable as well, many of the men are looking for women like you who appreciate the arts. They want someone who sees the world in a unique way and can actually hold an intelligent conversation. You need someone who is able to give you the luxurious life that you deserve; so you don't need to work tireless jobs to pay the bills when you can instead be writing and creating your dream life. I can find you someone really special, Elena. I can find you someone who will go out of their way to make sure you are treated like a queen. Now doesn't that sound like something you want?" I mentally tell myself not to fidget with my hands and my fingers as she awaits my response. I nod my head, of course that's what I want, I think that's what everyone wants out of life. But not everyone gets it like this.
"Do you have any questions dear?" Grace asks me with a beaming smile. Uh yeah, about a million, but I'm having trouble saying the words.
"Uh, how would this all work? If I decided to do it?" I ask, trying not to mumble my words.
"You would fill out a form telling us about yourself, then we make you a profile and our system will match you with the people we think you would be compatible with. And because I see something in you that just delights me, I would personally go through your matches and choose the one that I think would be best for you" She reaches into her desk drawer and takes out a stack of papers attached to a white clipboard, like one you would fill in at a doctors office.
"Um, one more thing, would I have to be uh, you know, sexual with these men?" My voice stutters as I ask the question and I can feel my cheeks burning red as I watch Grace's reaction, one of slight amusement.
"Well that is something you would need to discuss with your match. If both you and your partner decide that you are happy with your match then you would begin a process of negotiation. This is where we sort out things you are and aren't willing to do, nights you are available for dates, certain rules your match may have for you, that sort of thing. This is also when we discuss what kind of payments you would be getting from your match" She gives me a lot of information in one statement, but one of those bullet points jumps out at me.
"Rules?" I squeak.
"Some of our clients prefer to have a set of rules for their match, a list of personal preferences as to how you would behave with them, what you would wear or eat, things they would allow you t do, etcetera. It's one of the ways we like to make things easier and it does help our matches last for longer than most other agencies; better to get these things out in the open than discover you aren't on the same page" Her lips stretch back into a gentle smile, I take a deep breath. Heather reaches over to my armchair and gives my hand a soft squeeze.
"I know this is a little scary, but trust me girl, this is going to be the best thing that's ever going to happen to you. You deserve more than what your life has been giving you lately, and it's not like you're doing it all on your own. That's one of the great things that Grace and her team do; they are constantly giving you support and help, they are on your side." Heather reassures me gently.
"That's right. We are here for you through every step of the way. And if you decide that this isn't for you, then you can walk away at any point" Grace leans her body slightly over the table. I'm very overwhelmed. There is no way that this whole thing is as good as it seems, I can feel from somewhere deep down inside me that this is a bad idea.
"Okay, I'll do it."