Breaking Into the Business by Hadley Knox Page A

said. “I have decided something that I needed to tell you.”
    “Okay,”
he said apprehensively.
    “It’s
not that major of a deal, but I have decided that I don’t like the term pimp.
From now I want to be referred to as a madam.”
    He
didn’t stop laughing for an annoying minute. I stared ahead at the road,
holding the phone a short distance from my ear while he finished further
embarrassing me.
    “What’s
wrong with that?” I asked when he finished laughing.
    “Nothing’s
wrong with it,” he said. “It’s just funny that you’re so uptight that you’ve
spent energy worrying about your job title.”
    “It’s
important.”
    “No,
what’s important will be the money that we start raking in.”
    “I
meant to ask you earlier. Do you want to keep your normal hourly rate, or
should we increase that.”
    “Two
hundred dollars an hour is a lot,” Greg said. “Do you think that people will
pay more?”
    “For
what I had last night? Sure.”
    “Was
it that good?”
    “You
know it was.”
    “What
about this morning?”
    “Nothing
happened this morning.”
    “That’s
not what I remember.”
    “Look
Greg,” I said. “That was great, too, but you have to be strong. You and I
cannot be anything more than friends while we are working together, and I mean
it. I enjoyed being with you in that way, but once I start booking your
appointments and sending you off to spend nights with other women, there is no
way that I will be able to handle dating you.”
    “Who
said anything about dating?”
    “Me,”
I said. “I may be discovering this new side of me and all that crap, but that
still doesn’t mean I don’t have dreams of finding another man that I can settle
down with. I have my kids to focus on and this new business. Worrying about a
boyfriend who sleeps with one or two women a night is not something I need on
my plate right now.”
    He
was silent for a moment and I worried that I had jeopardized our business.
“You’re right and I’m sorry. I’ll do my best to keep our new relationship
professional.”
    “Thank
you,”
    “Any
leads on some new men to add to the business?” he asked.
    “I’ve
got a few in mind, but I want to take that part slow. I just got the calendar
set up for you and I don’t even know how that’s going to work, so I want to
make sure that I can handle more.”
    “Smart
move,” he said. “We should probably get together on a regular basis to go over
business stuff. I can’t tonight because I put on the calendar that I’m
available for clients, but I’m available tomorrow night. Want to get some
dinner?”
    I
almost accepted his offer, but then realized that I had just made plans earlier
that morning. “I’m sorry, Greg, but I can’t.”
    “Why,
you got a hot date?” I could tell by the tone in his voice that he was just
kidding. But what he didn’t realize was that he was spot on.
    I
guess he assumed the answer by my silence.
    “So
you do?”
    “Yes,”
I said. “It was a guy I met at work a few days ago before I met you. He wants
to take me out to dinner, and he finally called me this morning to schedule.”
    “I
have to be honest. I’m a little jealous.”
    “I
can’t control how you feel, Greg, but you have to understand that if we’re
going to be platonic friends, I might date other men. Just like I can’t get
jealous of you seeing clients.”
    “I
know,” he said. “It’s just a little hard to hear after what we shared.”
    “I
understand. I feel strange going out with him, too. But I really do have to
move on.”
    “But
what if I quit the business?”
    Wow,
I thought to myself. In the short time, we had known each other, that prospect
had never been anything he would have entertained. I didn’t think he was
serious, but to hear him say those words was crazy.
    “You
would never do that,” I said.
    “You’re
right,” he agreed. “We can’t quit when we just started. I just wanted to know
what your hypothetical answer would