Susan was picked up Friday morning and taken to stylist who completed her hair and makeup. They gave her a designer scent that they claimed was created just for her. I could see that Susan had never been handled like this before and she adored the experience. At lunch, Rebecca had handed her the scholarship letter and told her that this would be her last night and I would be her last customer. Susan was getting teary again, I guess she was having second thoughts about trusting Rebecca’s word. When she described what happened when she walked into the restaurant I knew that I wasn’t going to let Rebecca and Samantha let her down.
“I mean, I have always had men look at me before but, rarely above my tits. I walked into McDewitts and I felt like a lady. Men were looking in my eyes and the women smiled. Walking to the table took forever, I think I was 50 shades of pink by the time I got there. And when I saw you with the rose, I nearly died. You were beaming and everyone knew you were there to see me. I almost forgot I was working girl.”, she was animated again. She looked so cute remembering the previous night.
There was a knock on the door. I let Rick in the room and he embarrassingly nodded to Susan and said “Good morning mam.” Susan smiled at the honorific and returned a good morning.
“We are trying to figure out few things from last night, Rick.” I said, “was my assistant the one who booked the room?” I think I knew the answer so I worded as such.
“Yes, Samantha stopped in on Tuesday and made all the arrangements. She also made sure that the car was available for Ms. Darla. She was quite efficient. She asked me to stay on post til you returned from your evening. Just to see if you two needed anything.” He realized what must of happened and interjected, “Did she forget to touch base with you before Friday, is that how we all got confused?”
“Something like that.” I smiled, “I will make sure you’re compensated for your efforts Rick and I want to thank you for your continued discretion.”
“No need, Mr Timmins. Samantha already got me two tickets to that sold out Russian ballet thing downtown.” he laughed , “I hate the ballet but, my wife hasn’t stopped thanking me. I’m kind of her hero right now which is better than gold these days.” I didn’t even know he was married. How did they know that tickets for his wife was the way to go? They were good, real good.
I thanked him again anyway and he left with the remnants of our breakfast. Susan looked at me, “Who are these women?” I now knew Susan’s secrets and I saw no issue with her knowing some of mine. I explained the strange interview and desire to have me wait until Monday before making a final decision.
She listened to the story and came back with an succinct observation. “Fuck, thank god they weren’t working against you.” She was right. I still had no clue how they figured out so much about my dealings. But what bothered me the most is how they guessed what was in my head. I began to wonder if I could have them running loose in the world. A pleasant thought ran through my mind. It was time to throw a wrench in the works.
I called down to Rick and told him I forgot my phone and asked if Samantha happened to leave her number. She did, efficiency would allow no less. I gave Susan a devious smile and dialed the number. Samantha answered and I place her on speaker.
“Samantha, you are on speaker with Ms. Howard and myself.” I cherished the imagined expressions, “Does Rebecca happen to be there.” There was a slight pause as the their phone as put on speaker.
“I am here Robert”, she answered tentatively, “We were expecting your call but, I must say we were not expecting Ms. Howard to participate.” I was jumping happily inside. I didn’t want to be as predictable as they had proved last night.
“I have just offered a Ms. Howard a temporary position with my firm,” Susan was shaking her head no while trying to figure out where this was headed. “She is my current head of staffing and will be conducting the final interviews for the position.” I was smiling ear to ear watching Susan’s questioning look. “She has a few questions for you.” I leaned into Susan’s ear and whispered, “Get all the answers you need.”
Susan was silent for a moment then found her confidence asked flat out. “Rebecca, did you lie to me?” Direct, just as I hoped. If these two were going to fuck with us, they deserved to be brought to task. There was a short pause before Rebecca came back with a response.
“No Ms. Howard, I never lied to you. I will admit that I left out some important facts but I never lied.” It sounded sincere.
“Vasar is real?”, That’s my girl. Keep them on their toes.
“Absolutely, we would never falsify that. Two of our sisters at Delta Phi have been tasked to acclimate you to the environment if you choose to follow through. They are unaware of your history but, they have been informed that you haven’t been exposed to some of the things you will encounter there.” Damn, they are thorough. They planned more than her attendance, they were laying the groundwork for her success.
“Why would you do this for me?.” A valid question. Looking for motive before applying trust. Smart girl. Rebecca wasn’t caught off guard.
“It took us only two days to realize you are in the wrong profession. You have dreams beyond your means and have the brains to achieve them. Truthfully, your past is the only thing standing in your way. We didn’t feel right about leaving you with only one path in life.” Rebecca didn’t even fumble the answer.
“How did you know so much about me? How did you find name?” I was really interested in the answer to this one. Keep digging girl.
“Um, I guess I have to apologize about that.” Susan was intrigued, “While we were shopping and you were trying on clothes, you left your phone on the bench. It was fairly simple to identify your mothers number. Your hometown libraries collection of high school yearbooks gave us a good start. It didn’t take us long to put your past together after that.” Resourceful simplicity. I was kind of impressed. I was also trying to think about what clues I had been leaving around. Susan didn’t seem impressed. .
“You didn’t speak to my mother did you?” Susan looked and sounded angry.
“No, we would never do something like that.” Susan relaxed. I suspect her mother was blissfully unaware of her current profession. Susan calmed and switched gears.
“We both feel that we have been deceived. What made you believe this would improve your employment prospects.” Bam! Lay it on the line. I only hire the best I smiled to myself.
“Deceit is a strong word. I believe you both were intending the same evening you experienced before we augmented it. We didn’t make any of the major decisions and we certainly didn’t change any of the plans. If we had failed in improving the evening I suspect we wouldn’t be talking now.” She was prepared for the question, “Did you not enjoy the evening?” she pushed it back to Susan.
“It was as wonderful as you suspect but, the mornings revelations were a bit traumatic. Are saying that future employment with Robert will be wrought with second guessing and more traumatic mornings.” She was getting good with this. She might make a good lawyer.
“No, there is quite of difference when you know what’s coming. We would never keep our manipulations secret once employed. We will simply remove the trivial considerations of his life and allow him to enjoy the rest.” Rebecca made a good point. I had to admit that last night was whole lot nicer when they stuck their noses into it.
“How does Robert know that you will remain loyal. Secrets like last night have a way of coming back and ruining a man. You would be in a great position to maximize damage.” Sarah was thinking ahead. The girls were right when they said she had a good head on her shoulders.
“Unfortunately, trust can only be built over time. Last night was an example of our commitment to Robert no matter the subject. We could have attempted to use it as leverage but, instead we participated and enhanced its execution. We will be loyal to Robert alone and in time Robert will recognize that for the fact that it is.” Susan was undeterred.
“Why Robert?”
“He is successful, unattached and has no family. He doesn’t want a wife or any of the emotional attachments that type of commitment brings to the table. We can work best in that kind of environment. As you could tell last night, it is difficult to remain objective when your loyalty has to stretch to multiple people.” Susan nodded her head and continued.
“Your target criteria and that of a gold digger seem aligned.” Susan left the comment open and waited for response.
Rebecca and Samantha laughed. I was no longer sure who as answering. “We would not have choosen Robert if it was that easy to part him from his money. We really have no need of his fortune. Our references should attest to the fact that we come from very old money. Our family is very well connected. If employed, we would have a vested interest in making sure that Robert remains wealthy and lives a long life.” They were answering everything but, not really answering anything at all. I was only certain that I didn’t want these ladies as enemies.