“Get your hands off her!”
They both whirl to face me, and a look of horrified alarm comes over my friend. The man drops her arm, but he doesn’t step away from her.
“Amber,” Mandy says, sounding shaken, “this is Mr. Davies… Ryan. He’s Jack’s dad.”
It sounds as if she’s expecting me to introduce myself. I don’t.
“We’ll talk about this later,” Ryan tells her. He gives me a brief nod on his way past, and then he’s out of the door.
“What the hell was that about?”
Mandy slumps back against the wall, tilts her head back and lets out a frustrated sigh. Then, like a puppet whose strings have been cut, she slides down the wall until she is sitting on her haunches, her head in her hands. I walk over and take a seat beside her.
“You need to tell me what’s going on, Mandy.”
She sniffs, keeping her face hidden.
“Did he hurt you?”
“No.” A soft mumble.
I take hold of her hands and pry them apart. Haunted eyes peer up at me.
“What. Is. Going. On?”
Another low sigh.
“Ryan and I are… we’ve been seeing each other.”
“You’re dating him?” The thought of Mandy dating anyone is mind-blowing. I remember the old man she was with last night and a horrible thought occurs to me. “Did he catch you cheating?” I ask, as gently as I can.
“What? No! Why would you say that?”
“I saw you last night,” I admit sheepishly. “Outside the Ritz. That wasn’t Ryan Davies you were with.”
“You saw me? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I figured you must not want me to know. Who was that man? Are you cheating? You can tell me. I’m not here to judge you, but I do need answers, especially after what I just witnessed. Are you in some sort of trouble?”
She licks her lips. “It’s complicated.”
“I’m going to need a little more than that.”
“Ugh!” she groans. “I’m an idiot. I thought I had everything all figured out, and then Ryan came along and now it’s all gone to shit. Turns out I’m not so good at leading a double life.”
I smile. “I’m not one to jump to conclusions, but when you say double life, I can’t help but think undercover FBI agent. There’s no way I can go into witness protection, I’ve seen the movies, they have bad stylists and get given names like Olga or Peggy.”
Mandy bursts out laughing. “Maybe double life is a bit of a strong term.”
“Look, you don’t have to tell me, but you do have to talk to someone. Trust me, keeping things bottled up is never a good idea. Maybe Kate”
“No.” She shakes her head frantically. “Kate isn’t like us, she wouldn’t understand.”
I wait while she deliberates. Then, in true Mandy fashion, she shakes the slump from her shoulders, leaps to her feet and grabs my hand. “If we’re doing this, we’re going to need Vodka.”
Twenty minutes later, we are sitting at our usual table at Calico’s. Mandy orders a double, and downs half of it the second it hits the table. She hasn’t said a word since we left the school, but now she gives me a wry grin. “Dutch courage,” she says with a shrug of her shoulders, “it’s a genuine thing”.
I mirror her actions, feeling the burn of too much soda down my throat, and hail the waiter to bring us each another.
Mandy gives me a grateful look. “There is no judgment in this circle, right?”
“We agreed on that a few days into this friendship, and we haven’t deviated yet.”
“Okay.” She bobs her head. “I’m an escort.”
My jaw drops. “An escort? Like a prostitute?”
“Oh, God, no! An escort like an escort. I accompany people who can’t find a date, or who are just plain lonely. I provide company - nothing more.”
“Okay.”
“It sounds odd, I know, but you’d be surprised how many men are craving female companionship.”
“That doesn’t surprise me at all, but I find it hard to believe they wouldn’t want any more than that.”
“Oh, some of them do,” she admits openly, “but they don’t get it. And if they aren’t happy with that, they get banned from my books.”
“Your books?”
She downs the last of her drink and starts on the second.
“It’s sort of a business.”
“Mands. It sort of sounds really bad when you put it like that. How did you even get into something like this?”
“I took it over from a girl I met shortly after I arrived here. Cindy worked at the Prada store, and we became friends. She was killing it here – always wearing expensive clothes, lived in a penthouse apartment – well, you know the drill.”
“I certainly do,” I say, recalling Mandy’s lavish lifestyle.
“At the time, I was struggling to afford my rent, let alone designer clothes.”
“I know that struggle well.”
She grins. “Anyway, one night she said she was leaving Beijing. Her visa was expiring, and she couldn’t extend it. Plus, I think she was ready to go home – she lived in the States, too – and she offered me the business. I jumped at it. I was tired of living on cabbage and beer.”
“You certainly don’t live on it anymore,” I point out, with a pang of envy. I may be feeling more fulfilled than I ever have before, but that doesn’t mean I don’t miss life’s creature comforts.
Mandy gives me a knowing look, which tells me she knows exactly what I’m thinking.
“It’s not even difficult, honestly. Just a small list of exclusive clients prepared to pay a ridiculous amount of money to spend time in the company of a beautiful woman. When Cindy left, I took over the lease on Cindy’s apartment, the list, and that was that. I’ve been doing it ever since.”
“If it’s so simple, why are we here? I assume meeting Ryan wasn’t part of the plan?”
“Got it in one.” She takes another sip of her drink. “I honestly didn’t mean to fall for him, but the heart wants what it wants.”
“Is he making you give it up?” It’s an educated guess, but, to my surprise, Mandy shakes her head.
“Not in the way that you think. Ryan is fine with the business. You really need to believe me when I say it’s not sordid in any way,” she adds wryly. “Most of my customers are genuinely nice people who lack the social skills to interact with women. I feel sorry for them. I like to think I help – it’s like a training course. I equip them so that they’re better able to handle women in the real world.”
“You’re a bona fide saint, Mands.”
“Laugh all you want, but it’s the truth.”
“Ryan?” I remind her to get back to the point.
“Yes, Ryan. I honestly didn’t mean to fall for him, but he’s so damned charming, and a widower – his wife died when Jack was two – which breaks my heart, and he treats me like a princess.”
“It didn’t look like that from my perspective.” My mood darkens as I remember how he had grabbed hold of her wrist. “He was manhandling you.”
She waves my concern away. “It looked worse than it was. We’ve been going through a bit of a tough time, we’re both cracking under the pressure.”
“What pressure?”
“Ryan’s contract here is coming to an end, and he’s moving back to Canada. He wants me to go with him.”
I sit back in my chair, stunned. “How the hell have you been in a relationship this serious and yet Kate and I know nothing about it? I mean, I get why you didn’t tell us about the business, but why would you keep having a boyfriend a secret?”
“I don’t know. I guess I figured when I finally admitted it, it would make it real, and I’d have to make a decision one way or another.”
“You’re a freaky little weirdo, you know that, right?”
“I am,” she concedes. She takes another swig, and I join her. “What do you think I should do?”
“It’s not my call.”
>
“I know, but I’d like your opinion.”
I think about it. Try to find the right words, and then settle for the most obvious question. “Do you love him?”
She bobs her head, almost embarrassed to admit it.
“Then I think you should go. You’ll regret it if you don’t.”
“Shit. I was worried you were going to say that.”
“Then why’d you ask?” I laugh. “Besides, what’s the worst that could happen? If it doesn’t work out, you could always come back here, or go home.”
“I don’t think I’d want to come back.” She gives me a look more solemn than anything I’ve ever seen on her face. “I think this is the real deal, Ambs.”
“Then you should definitely go. What’s really holding you back?”
“You’re going to laugh at me.”
I hold up my hand.” I swear I won’t.”
“It’s the business. Not the money,” she quickly clarifies, “but the people. Some of these men have become real friends. I’d hate to let them down.”
“I’m sorry, Mands, but I can’t help you with that. But at some point, it’s okay to be selfish and put your own needs first.”
“I guess.” She doesn’t sound convinced.
“Tell me more about Ryan,” I say, and the frown lines on her forehead smooth instantly, as I knew they would.
12
Thankfully, the following morning, Kate is so distracted by the imminent arrival of her fiancé, that she doesn’t notice that Mandy and I are unusually quiet. After last night’s revelations, my head is still spinning, and after the copious amounts of vodka we’d consumed I have my first real hangover since the night I’d met Ben at the Forbidden City.
Around mid-morning, I receive a summons over the communications system to please see Principal Chen during lunch, so as soon as the children have left the classroom, I make my way to her office.
“Wei’s parents have agreed to the private tutoring,” Bianca tells me the second I walk through her door. “You can start tomorrow. I proposed Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, right after school, as we discussed. Are you happy with that?”
“Absolutely.”
“They’re happy to reimburse you privately for your time, rather than through the school, and I think logistically that would be easiest. They’re hardly struggling, so I’d recommend you put in a decent fee.”
“I wouldn’t have a clue what a decent fee is.”
She frowns, thinking. “I have a few contacts who are private tutors. Let me get in touch with them and find out. I’ll drop you an email as soon as I know.”
“Perfect.”
I float on air for the rest of the day. Not only am I thrilled that I’ll be working with Wei, but my finances just improved significantly. I might even be able to buy myself a little car to get around in.
Mandy throws me a few meaningful looks at lunch, but I have no idea what they mean, and Kate is in a state, constantly checking on Tim’s flight details to see if there’s going to be any delay.
“When do we meet him?” I ask as she checks her app for the tenth time.
“I was thinking maybe dinner next week? We’re going away for the weekend.” Her grin stretches from ear to ear.
“No doubt you have a lot of catching up to do,” Mandy teases.
“Dinner next week sounds great,” I add, as Kate blushes to the roots of her dark hair.
Mandy, I presume, must have a date scheduled tonight, though whether with Ryan or a client, I couldn’t say, because she doesn’t propose any Friday night plans. I’m happy to get takeaway, which I eat with chopsticks, and go to bed early.
I wake up to a loud banging on my apartment door and yank it open to find Mandy on the other side. She’s wearing jeans and a Cheshire-cat grin, and her eyes are glittering with ill-concealed delight.
“What did you do?” I ask, catching sight of my watch as I wipe the dried drool off my cheek. She breezes past me.
“I’ve got it! I’ve got the solution to all of our problems!” She is speaking so fast I can barely make out what she’s saying. “It just came to me, in a moment of brilliance! I, my friend, am a genius!”
“Whatever you’ve been smoking, I want some,” I grumble, as I make my way to the living room and sink onto the couch.
“I’m high on life and wisdom,” she replies gleefully, taking a seat beside me. She sits for only a few seconds before she’s back on her feet, pacing the small space.
“You’re giving me whiplash.” I throw a cushion at her. “Sit down, you raging lunatic, and tell me what’s going on.”
“I think you should take over the business!” she blurts it out without preamble.
I blink, twice. “I beg your pardon?”
“It’s the perfect solution! I don’t want to let anyone down, and you need the money – no offense.”
“None taken,” I mumble, intently aware of my abysmal apartment.
“I’ve given this a lot of thought,” Mandy continues, “and I’m deadly serious. You’re perfect for this. You’re like me… only less glamorous.” I look up to find her grinning. “Just checking you were paying attention, you looked like you’d fallen asleep.”
“I’m flattered, Mands, I really am, but I don’t think I can”
“You can! I know you can. It’s a shit ton of money for minimum input. You get free dinner, free drinks. We can even scale down, so you’re not overwhelmed. There are a few men in my list who are ready to fly solo, and I’m just spoiling them.”
“I can’t just pretend to date a bunch of strangers. What will we even talk about?”
“To be fair, they do most of the talking. You just need to sip on champagne and look pretty.”
“You admitted yourself that this lifestyle was taking a toll on you – all those evenings out.”
“That’s because I had Ryan to take into consideration too. And let me tell you, that man knows how to keep a girl up at night.”
“Mandy,” I groan, covering my ears.
“Sorry, too much information. My point is, you’re not seeing anyone. And if I’m gone, you’re not going to have anyone to party with anyway. You’ll be at a loose end most nights.” That much is true. Kate never instigates our evenings out. It suddenly dawns on me that Mandy might actually be leaving Beijing and I feel an inexplicable pang of sadness.
“Have you told Ryan you’ll go?” I ask.
“I said I’d try. I’m going to give Bianca my notice on Monday, and I’ll leave with Ryan at the end of the month. I’ll be back in a few weeks though,” she says, catching sight of my crestfallen face. “I have a bunch of stuff to wrap up, and I’ve told Ryan that if I’m not happy, that’ll be my dramatic exit. I just won’t go back.”
“You’ll go back,” I say, with complete confidence. She has that look in her eye – one very similar to the one Kate gets when she speaks about Tim.
“Obviously, but it never hurts to keep them on their toes.”
“I’m happy for you. But I still don’t know if this is a good idea.”
“Amber.” She sits down and puts her hands on my shoulders “I am doing you a favor. This is a pay-it-forward scheme and you’re lucky number three. You’ve got to get through the year, right?”
I nod. My father was very firm on that. One year, not a day less.
“So, you do this until you’re ready to go home. You make a bunch of money, live in a great apartment, and then, when you’re ready to go, you hand it over to someone else. Someone deserving,” she adds, as if this is a great honor.
“Do you have any idea what my father will do if he finds out about this? He’ll send me to social Siberia, for the rest of my life.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean why?”
She shakes her head. “You still don’t get it. You’re not doing anything wrong. You’ve got to get your head around the fact that it’s not an escort agency, not in the way people think. You’re blowing it out of proportion.”
I tug my lip between my teeth. She’s got a point. I have evenings free, and I can make some real money. It’s not like I’m going to be expected to have any physical contact with these men. Mandy pounces on my moment of weakness.
“Just give it a shot,” she says. “Go on one date. If you don’t believe me after that, we’ll call the whole thing off.”
“And you’ll leave it at that?” I ask, but I’m pretty sure she can already tell by my tone that I’m going to do it.
“I’ll never mention it again,” she vows.
“Okay, fine. One date, that’s all I’m committing to.”
“Yes!” she fist-pumps the air. “I knew you’d come around.” A wicked grin. “Which is why I already set it up. You better dust off your heels, Miss Holland, because you start this evening.”
13
“I am not wearing that.”
Mandy and I are in her bedroom. She insisted I get ready at her place, so she could make sure I looked the part, and I’m coming straight back here after my date. Apparently, ‘looking the part’ requires me to wear an orange and white striped shift dress with a statement gold zipper running down the front. Mandy holds it up against me, checking the size.
“I said I’m not wearing that.”
“Orange is Basil’s favorite color,” she says, not caring in the slightest. “Part of the job is knowing what the client likes, and dressing and behaving accordingly.”
“You also said he likes cats. Do you expect me to drink wine from a bowl and meow at him during dinner?”
“Amber,” she groans. “Just trust me, okay?”
“I’m not wearing it.” I stride across to the closet and start rummaging through it. I’ve brought nothing with me except my pajamas and a comfortable change of clothes for tomorrow morning. My hands fall on a soft, coral cocktail dress. The color is only slightly more orange than pink, but the fabric is heavenly.
“I’ll wear this one.”
Mandy tries to stare me down, but I hold her gaze, unflinching.
Awkward Abroad (Awkward #2) Page 8
