8|Aunty Viv

Recruitment exceeded Natalie's expectations with their turnaround time.

The owner of Dreams personally called her from an undisclosed phone number hours after she sent through her application. But thinking it was a sales consultant trying to sell her life insurance she couldn't afford, Natalie ignored the three consecutive calls and poured all her energy into the graphs and pie charts in her report.

Around midday, as she was about to head to the staff canteen on the ground floor to grab something to eat, her phone rang again.

This time she picked up, and she wasn't very nice. "No, I don't want any life insurance, and I don't have any friends I can refer you to. So can you please stop badgering me with all these calls?"

"I like your fire, doll!" A breathy voice purred on the other end of the line. "This is Aunty Viv. I've tried three times this morning to reach you."

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. I thought it was the telemarketers," Natalie apologised, convinced she'd blown her chances.

 Aunty Viv laughed, "Totally understandable. You sent through a request to become a Dreams girl?"

"Yes. I did, and I'm so happy you called me back. To be honest, I didn't think you would," Natalie replied with a little too much enthusiasm.

Aunty Viv brushed off her excitement and got down to business. "So I had squeeze through your application. I like your look, and I like your story too. It has heart. And you need plenty of heart to join this business."

Natalie held on to her desk, her legs shaking so badly she thought they'd give in under all the anxiety swirling in her tummy.

"Are you there?" asked Aunty Viv.

"Yes, I am."

"As I was saying, I like you, and I like your motivation. So let's meet tonight. Emily will bring you over. How does 6:00 PM sound?"

6:00 PM sounded excellent.

Besides watching reruns and washing her oily hair, Natalie had nothing planned.

The meeting was in Rock Castle, the pinnacle of all affluent suburbs in the city, where all the bigwigs lived and played.

As she and Emily drove through the cobblestone streets, Natalie couldn't help but think the air around here smelled better too. It was the sweet smell of power and old money.

Heat, the Asian fusion restaurant where Aunty Viv had reserved a table, had minimal decor and an equally short menu to match.

Emily made the introductions, chatted with Aunty Viv for a bit and headed to the bar to pass the time.

Aunty Viv opened the interview with a round of martinis. Natalie's first-ever. Like wine, gin had a terrible effect on her tummy. But the cost was the real reason for not trying it out in the past. Her shoestring budget and conscience would never allow her to splurge on something she'd pee out later.

"Your headshot doesn't do you justice," Aunty Viv began after a waitress had delivered their drinks and made herself scarce. "You are gorgeous!"

"Thank you," Natalie said shyly, unsure what to make of the compliment. She rarely received any from women.

The owner of Dreams was a stunner herself. She was in her early forties, but her face belonged to a twenty-year-old. Thanks to her three weekly pole dancing sessions with a personal trainer, she had the body to match it.

She had warm brown eyes and a flawlessly straight nose. Long brunette hair framed her elf-like face. Her mouth, painted a nude colour, was full and pouty. But her most striking feature was her sculpted cheekbones. They were so sharp they could cut glass and too defined to be natural—

"I wanted to meet you and hear more of your story," Aunty Viv took a sip and set her glass down, tapping her French-tip nails on the side of the table. "It's been a while since I met someone with your motivation. I have thirty companions. Most of them don't need the money. They simply crave adventure and excitement."

Natalie had gathered as much from the questionnaire.

"Tell me about your brother," Aunty Viv said, leaning forward.

Natalie stared at her cleavage spilling over the black bandeau dress.

Was it real?

Like her cheekbones, it was too perfect to be real.

Following her gaze, Aunty Viv laughed. "Oh, they cost a bundle and some change. I know a good surgeon."

Surprised by her honesty, Natalie giggled and played with her drink.

"So?" Aunty Viv leaned back and tapped a long, slender finger on her cheek.

"Well, Jamie's sixteen—" Natalie began and summarised her life in under ten minutes.

"Your love for your siblings is awe-inspiring."

"They're all I have."

"Family is everything," Aunty Viv said. "And at Dreams, we are family."

Their waitress appeared with their starters and set tiny-sized plates in front of them.

"I hope you don't mind. I took the liberty of ordering for you."

Natalie didn't mind. No matter how expensive it was, she wasn't planning to eat the gooey cube. It reminded her of something straight out of a science fiction novel. But when another waitress brought their main course, she was surprised to find her plate empty when she looked down. She wiped her mouth with a napkin and sipped her cocktail.

"Do your siblings know you want to go into this line of work?"

Natalie shook her head. Until a few hours ago, she didn't know she wanted to go into this line of work.

"Okay, so anonymity is important to you. Don't worry. We'll protect your real-life identity. And in cases like yours, we recommend an alias."

"Do I have to choose one right now?" she asked as she looked through the dessert menu.

"Yes, we'll need one to process your application."

Heat's signature dessert looked as imposing as her starter cube. But she liked its name.

"Noelle," she said, smiling at Aunty Viv.

"Are you sure you want to eat that? It's awfully sweet!"

Laughing, Natalie shook her head. "No, I meant I'll go with Noelle for an alias."

"Charming!" Aunty Viv clasped her hands, dazzling her with her veneer smile.

Was there anything real about her? Natalie wondered as she took a small sip from her glass, trying to look somewhat sophisticated.

"Now—" Aunty Viv sat straight and crossed her legs, a look of concern in her eyes. "Is there any significant other we need to worry about? A spouse, children, etc.?"

Natalie shook her head. "No."

She had enough responsibility with Jamie. A spouse and children sounded like too much work.

"So, what are you comfortable with? What are you willing to do?"

The question caught Natalie off guard. She hadn't thought that far ahead. When she sent through her application, she simply wanted to test the waters.

"Okay, let me give you an overview of the rates. Dinner is the lowest, starting at five thousand. Optional extras can bring in as much as fifteen since you're a beginner. We'll never push you into anything you're not comfortable with. You can go at your own pace."

Natalie liked the sound of that. She was more of a dinner pace and no optional extras kind of girl. 

"Only dinners and event dates for now. I am not comfortable with anything else."

"Understood." Aunty Viv nodded.

A waiter stopped by with a fancy bottle of champagne. Natalie still hadn't done much damage to her martini. This place was too posh for her to guzzle it down like she would have if she was at Saints.

"Last question. Are you open to a girlfriend experience?"

Natalie already knew what it was from her research, but Aunty Viv explained anyway.

"I guess. If I'm attracted to the person, and we get along," she replied.

"That's fantastic. It's always good to have options!" Aunt Viv popped the bubbly and poured two glasses.

Natalie had obviously passed her interview with flying colours.

"Welcome to Dreams! I knew I'd like you the moment I saw your application," said Aunty Viv as she raised her glass.

"Thank you for the opportunity; I won't disappoint you." Natalie smiled, tipping her own glass in the older woman's direction.

"The only person you'll disappoint is yourself. I don't care what you do or don't do. I still get my cut."

"Of course," Natalie agreed. It was just business. No need to get sentimental and bring feelings into it.

Her new boss filled her in on the next steps over dessert and more champagne.

Her contract would be ready in a day or so. But she'd have to attend a mandatory three-day training course soon—as in this week soon—before she could start seeing clients.

Aunty Viv encouraged her to take some form of self-defence class. She knew the owner of an exclusive boxing gym right here in Rock Castle and was happy to make the arrangements for her.

Natalie declined. Exclusive boxing gyms sounded costly. Besides, getting punched around didn't sound appealing to her. But investing in pepper spray and maybe a taser gun wouldn't hurt.

"Your choice, doll. But my offer to put in a good word for you with the gym owner still stands."

Convinced the leopard print coat must have cost her entire month's salary at Chassis, Natalie could only gawk as Aunty Viv stood up and threw it on.

"I promise no animals were harmed!" Her boss chuckled as she pulled her to her feet and hugged her. "Now, let's make some money!"

Natalie watched in awe as Aunty Viv's bodyguards held the restaurant door for her, leading her to an older model Jaguar befitting a woman of her power and class.

"Wow. I can't believe you are a Dreams girl!" Emily shrieked, drawing Natalie into a gigantic hug.

Still reeling from her interview, Natalie confessed, "it feels so surreal."

But as excited as she was, she wasn't naive or stupid. Underneath the glamorous facade Aunty Viv had presented, a whole new world, where all kinds of dangers lurked in the shadows, awaited her.

She might never make it out of this business alive, but she planned to make as much money as possible while she was.

She would go on thirty dates every month for the next six months just to give Jamie a fighting chance.

"Let's go celebrate!" Emily suggested. "We need to get smashed!"