Emily's Dilemma (5 page)

"First time here. I have a guest pass from my
friends. This is nicer than any gym I've seen." Emily replied.

"You should join. It's a real slice of life
here. A good place to work out and see new people," the older woman
said. She used the corner of her small towel to wipe a bead of
sweat from her forehead.

"I can't afford it. I'll just use the school
rec center. It's got treadmills," Emily replied.

"You'll only meet other students there. Here
you can meet lawyers, congressional staffers, lobbyists...you name
it, and they’re here." The older woman's face was kind and caring.
Emily wondered why she would be concerned about who she knew. "It's
never too early to be connecting and networking, even if you're a
freshman."

Emily told the nice lady she would think
about it, but didn't know how she could do it. Emily thanked her.
The lady was about the same age as her mom, but attractive, happy,
and fit, and without the years of punishing poverty and desperation
that showed in the lines on her mom's tired face. I never want to
be like my mom, Emily thought. I never want to turn out like her.
She loved her mom, but she was no example of what she wanted to be
when she grew up.

"I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere," the
lady said. Within a minute, she returned with a card. "Here's my
card. I want you to call me. I'd like to see you join this gym.
There's a way you don't have to pay for it, but you'll have to call
me. I can get you some work that will help see you through school.
We can talk about it over coffee. Okay?"

Emily didn't know what to say except "Thank
you." The woman smiled and walked away.

****

The second semester began and Emily was all
set except for buying books. She spent all her remaining money on
them, and had nothing left. She needed new clothes but couldn't
afford them. Her running regimen at the student rec center was
productive physically, but she couldn't stand the students who used
it as a pick-up joint or to show others how smart or political they
were. It was crowded with them, and often treadmills were
unavailable because some bearded Philosophy major was slowly
walking on one while chatting up the girl running on the next
one.

But her baby fat was disappearing and
transforming into lean muscle. Running helped her think things
through. She thought about the nice lady at the expensive fitness
center. She had her card in her desk drawer. When she returned to
her dorm room, she found the business card and looked at it for the
first time.

Laura Worthington

President

Special Occasions LLC

Georgetown, VA

Emily called the number. Laura picked up,
saying, "Special Occasions, this is Laura. How can we be of service
to you today?"

"Um, hi Laura. This is Emily Chastain. From
the gym a while back."

"Emily! So good of you to call me! Thank you
so much for thinking of me. How are you?" Laura said.

They talked for a few more minutes before
agreeing to meet for coffee at Laura's office nearby. Emily hung up
the phone and felt good that she got up the nerve to call Laura.
She also felt good that she was doing something about her financial
predicament. But she was curious about Laura's business and how she
could help. We'll see, Emily thought.

Emily's first semester's grade report was
straight A's. That part was easy. It was living day to day that was
difficult and stressful. Emily found out her mom was undergoing
treatment for blood clots in her legs and was worried about the
costs. Her mother had to take time off from work to rest and heal
from the surgical procedure. Her mom didn't want to divulge
anything to Emily, but finally did. She didn't want to burden Emily
with her problems. She wanted Emily to focus on her college
studies, something she never got to do after getting pregnant at
18.

Emily found the brownstone office of Laura,
took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. A pretty woman about 35
opened the door with a smile and welcomed her into the grand
hallway. Marble tile and chandeliers graced the entry. Emily was
stunned. She had never seen anything like this except in
magazines.

"My name is Christina. I'm Laura's personal
assistant. Welcome, Emily. It's so good to meet you. Come this
way." Christina walked in front of Emily and into another room
through rich mahogany double doors. A spacious room filled with
antique furniture surrounded a large Victorian desk in the middle
of the opulent room. Off to the left was a sitting area with
several comfortable upholstered chairs and a round coffee table
with a silver coffee set and exquisite china cups and saucers.
Flower arrangements were sprinkled throughout the large, open room.
The fragrance created a very feminine, welcoming atmosphere to
Emily.

"Please make yourself comfortable, Emily.
Coffee?" Christina asked.

Laura entered the office from an entrance in
the back and walked quickly to the sitting area. She had a warm
smile on her face as she greeted Emily. Emily rose to shake her
hand.

"Please sit, Emily. So good to see you again!
Thank you for coming to see me. You look so good!" Laura gushed.
They sat and Christina poured coffee for both, asking what Emily
wants in hers. After doing that, she immediately treated Laura's
coffee in an efficient manner, as if Christina knew exactly how
Laura takes her coffee. Christina told Emily is she needed anything
to just say the word, and then exited the room. Laura put Emily at
ease quickly, as the conversation centered on her college life and
experiences. Laura was focused and interested, and her ability for
easy conversation came naturally. Emily relaxed and was consumed by
this wonderful lady. In the back of her mind, she was curious about
Laura's grand lifestyle.

That's when Laura pivoted the conversation to
how she could help Emily through her college career.

"Emily, I can help you achieve your dreams,
or at least get you through your college years without undue stress
and worry. I run a business. It's a unique kind of business. As you
can see, we do pretty well. I'd like for you to do well, too. You
are a smart, young lady with great potential. One day you will see
your dreams come true. I can help you along the way. Are you open
to someone helping you out? Would you like that sort of help?"

Emily thought of her mom's growing debt, her
own struggle just to buy the books she needed, and the day-to-day
sacrifices she experienced. But mostly her thoughts went her poor
mother, alone, lonely, and the daily hardships she had to face,
which paled in comparison to her own.

"Yes, I'm interested," Emily replied
cautiously.

"Excellent, Emily!" exclaimed Laura, as she
refilled their coffees. Laura drew herself together to explain the
job she wanted Emily to take on.

"Emily, I'm in the people business
first of all. A specialized business. A very quiet business. We
stay under the radar. Few people know about us. We like it that
way. We do well keeping it private. We deal with individuals, not
companies. Ours is a high-security, high-privacy business. We go to
great pains making sure that both client and company maintain the
highest secrecy. Our clients have money and they're willing to
spend it. They
want
to spend
it. I cannot keep up with demand. That's why I recruit special
people like you. Our clients come from all over the world. Often
they are just here for the quick business trip or on some
government-related event. They bring their problem, and we solve it
for them. Your time investment will be minimal, if you're worried
about how you can balance your studies with a job. But we need
bright people, ones that can use their brain. I think you have a
very good head on your shoulders, and there's something about you
that makes me feel you can do this, and do it well."

Laura continued. "For a few hours of work per
week, expect to make roughly $3000. Let me repeat: $3000 per week.
You can make more if you want. Cash, paid weekly. Let me know if
you're interested." Laura went silent, and took a sip of her
coffee.

Emily sat, her eyes transfixed on
Laura's.

"This sounds like..." Emily's voice trailed
off.

"Yes. But we're not talking street corners
here. This isn't gutter. These are the most powerful men in the
world. They're sophisticated. They're rich. They're clean. They're
professional. And they have even more of a reason to keep it secret
as you do. They have to trust me. They have to trust you. And
they're willing to pay dearly."

She went on, knowing that Emily knows what
the game is now.

"I call you about an appointment. I tell you
where to meet him. Usually, it's at a nice hotel in the area. He
might want to take you to dinner, like a real date. Sometimes they
want someone on their arm to go to parties. You tell me how much
time you have and I'll work around it. I demand proper behavior
from my clients. No weird stuff. I demand they groom themselves and
are meticulous in their appearance. They are successful men," Laura
said.

Emily looked down and stared through the
shiny coffee set. Laura let it all sink in.

Laura finally spoke. "And if this is not
something you want to do, I understand. All I ask is that you keep
this meeting and my business secret. And for that and your time, I
want you to have this." At that precise moment, Christina walked
into the office with a silver tray. On it was an envelope. She
offered it to Emily with a gentle, loving smile. Emily slowly took
it and looked up at Laura. Laura smiled.

Emily looked into the envelope at thirty
crisp one-hundred dollar bills.

"I think you could use this," Laura said.

Emily tried to compose herself. "I've
never...been with a..." she stammered.

"I know. I could tell. That's why you will
make a lot of money," Laura explained.

"Successful men don't want cheap, slutty
women from the streets. They're a dime a dozen and easily
available. They want unspoiled women even without experience. It's
that quality that is so rare now. They would gladly sacrifice
sexual skills for untainted, wholesome innocence. It's what makes
you perfect for this job."

"All I want you to do is to think about it.
And take the money as my thank you for your time. I appreciate it
so much, darling." Laura looked at Christina and nodded. Christina
walked Emily to the door and out into a different world than she
remembered.

Mitch Ashton's dad was so good at being a
salesman in the pharmaceutical industry that when he transitioned
into his lobbyist career he quickly achieved his usual success.
They lived in Fairfax County, Virginia in a large house in a high
status neighborhood, complete with a luxurious pool ideal for
entertaining. The three-car garage held all Mercedes. Mitch and his
dad were two peas in a pod. Both were sporty and sociable with
outsized personalities. Both told jokes a little too loudly at
parties and always wanted to be the center of attention. His dad
thought very highly of himself, and his son was a perfect clone.
Both Mitch and his dad assumed life was there to be lived their
way, taking what they could from it, because they could. Mitch's
dad passed onto his son the aggressiveness he felt was required to
win in this world. Mitch assumed his father's traits, both good and
bad. His dad couldn't be happier or prouder of his son. He even got
people to call him "Senior" because he wanted people to know he had
a son just like him. He figured that this would help pave the way
for his son to follow in his successful footsteps.

Mitch was going to graduate from Georgetown
in a few months and his dad wanted to do something very special for
him. He already had given him a Mercedes upon graduating high
school, so he had to think of a unique gift idea.

One day at his office on K Street in D.C.,
the idea came to him. He picked up the phone and dialed a number he
knew by heart.

"Special Occasions, this is Laura. How can we
be of service to you today?"

"Laura, this is Mitch, Sr. I have a special
request." He went on with his idea, describing it in detail. Their
conversation went on for another few minutes. Laura had some
concerns.

"Your son is not our typical client, Senior.
He's young, and may not be discreet enough. You're paying for it,
so he's got nothing on the line. I never do business with young,
irresponsible, horny men."

She knew she was going to lose this argument
since Senior provided a huge amount of business for her. "You have
to promise me there will be no issues. At all. And your specific
request is tough, but I think I have someone who fits. This is not
going to be the usual rate."

"Whatever it takes, Laura," Senior said.

Laura responded, "Five thousand. $2500
upfront immediately. I need some capital for this one."

"Done." Senior exhaled as he hung up. Mitch,
Jr. better get his money's worth for this, he thought. He was very
pleased with himself.

"And, Senior, if I
ever–
ever
–have a problem
arising out of this, then you have a problem," Laura said tersely.
"I promise you that."