by B. M. Hardin
But for whatever reason, at that moment, I found it hard to be appreciative.
This world was designed to keep us down, so it was up to me to pull myself up.
And I was going to do it the only way that I knew how.
Tearing up the approval letter, I was agreeing to give my life and my body to the hotel and as hard as it was, in order to get my life on the right track, I knew that it was the best thing for me to do.
But I was only in it for the money…and I was going to make that crystal clear.
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Chapter THREE
“Envy, you’re late. Follow me, I need you to come chat with me for a second,” Carmen said.
I’d only been on the thirteenth floor for about a week and so far I hadn’t been ordered.
So, for the four days a week that I was required to work, I’d just sat around in my room and done nothing.
I hadn’t bothered fixing up.
To me, fixing it up would suggest that I was comfortable and that was the last thing that I was.
It was already a nice room; nicer than the rooms on the floors below.
And adding to it or making it as though I was here to stay was pointless.
I’d passed by some of the other rooms and saw that most of them were rather lavish; but the standard look to me was just fine.
It didn’t matter what I put in the room; it wouldn’t change the fact of what I had to do while in the room.
Since taking the position, I’d signed up for online classes to become a medical assistant.
I figured that by the time my year was up at the hotel, I would be certified, and I was sure that finding a new job would be a piece of cake.
So far I hadn’t become too acquainted with any of the other women on the floor.
And honestly, I didn’t really plan to.
Actually, none of the women were all that friendly with each other. You hardly ever heard a whole bunch of chatting and I rarely saw any of them really engaging with each other or even mingling in the common areas.
You saw it some…but not too much.
It wasn’t like I thought it was going to be.
It was as though all of the women were there to do their dirty deeds, make their money and go home.
And that was just fine with me.
Finally Carmen and I made it to her upstairs office and we both took a seat.
“So, Envy, you’ve been ordered,” Carmen said.
My heart immediately felt as though it’d fallen out of my chest into the pit of my stomach.
“Now, the good news is that he isn’t married. Just like you wanted,” Carmen said.
I let out a deep breath.
At least she was sticking to her word on that one.
Slut maid or not, there were some standards and some things that I just wouldn’t do and I was not going to screw someone else’s husband.
“Now, I wanted to talk to you because this is your first time and…”
Oh, no, I didn’t like the sound of this.
“He ordered what we called the Brown Sugar Boom; which means he wants the works. He wants to be able to do whatever he wants to do to you. And he wants the same in return. Meaning vaginal and oral sex, possibly, and who knows what else. Basically, he wants to get his freak on. Now since you are new, I was hoping that your first time would be something simple or basic, but there’s nothing that I can do except deliver you as he requested. He’s already here. And I’ve already placed him in your room. He’s been waiting for a few minutes, so we have to wrap this up so that we can get you ready. Your cut will be a little over three thousand dollars plus whatever he tips you; and he is a regular and a very good tipper. He’s a billionaire. He has more money than he, his children and even his children’s children will be able to spend in their lifetime. But there is something else that you should know,” Carmen said.
I was already feeling dirty, and not in a good way, and I hadn’t even done anything yet.
And I was sure that whatever she was going to say next wasn’t going to make me feel any better.
“He’s almost 70 years old.”
Did she say 70?
As in seven decades?
Ugh…how gross!
First of all, his old ass needed to sit down somewhere and go roll around in a wheel chair or something.
He was supposed to be somewhere praying and preparing to die. He had no business at a hotel, trying to get a piece of ass!
There was just no way in hell that I was going to be able to do this.
I was already uncomfortable and out of practice, but this was just way too much.
And he wanted to do it all?
Oral and all?
Oh hell no!
My mouth was going to surely fall off!
Considering that I had been with Keymar pretty much my whole life, I wasn’t exactly sure if I was the best sexually.
I was sure that I was decent and Keymar always seemed to be satisfied, but I wasn’t so sure if another man would feel the same way.
And on my only other sexual encounter I hadn’t done a thing except lay on my back, so I was sure that I needed a lot of work and improvement in that department.
This man was probably going to be bored to death!
Good…maybe he would never order me again.
“Envy he makes a lot of this happen. He knows a lot of important people, with a lot of connections. I tried to push him in the direction of one of our more experienced maids, one of his regulars, but he wants you. He specifically said: I want a piece of those curves. And come on because I’m sure that he’s ready for you,” Carmen said, standing to her feet.
I can’t do this.
I don’t want to do this.
I thought about how much of the money from the sign-on bonus I’d spent.
I’d paid every bill that I could so I knew that I didn’t have the whole thing to give back to her if I changed my mind and broke the contract.
Not to mention, all of the other goodies that I had taken home and hidden in my closet over the last few days.
I guess I’d only imagined that it would be young, rich, and attractive men that would be into something like this.
Never did I consider that someone as old as dirt would be up here trying to get his freak on.
And he wanted me to suck it?
Yes, he was definitely about to be disappointed.
But this was just my luck.
I had no business doing something like this in the first place.
Carmen got me dressed, sprayed a particular fragrance all over my body, handed me a whip, handcuffs and a bottle of expensive champagne.
Her face didn’t appear to feel the least bit sorry for me but as she pulled my hair to the top of my head, her touch told me that maybe she felt just a little bit bad for me.
I could tell that she was concerned.
But whether it was concern for me or for the client, I wasn’t exactly sure.
Regretfully, I followed her down the hall and soon she stopped in front of my room.
She looked at me.
Her face was so hard to read.
But I was sure that my face said exactly what was on my mind and in my heart.
I was disgusted.
“I left my key in my purse,” I mumbled.
Carmen looked at me, and placed her key in the slot and then turned the knob.
I was sweating bullets but I entered the room and with no hesitation, Carmen closed the door behind me.
The next thing that I saw was enough to spoil a person’s appetite for the next five years.
What in the hell…
To date, that had to be the longest three hours of my entire life!
The things that the old man had done to me were unheard of and the things that he wanted me to do to him were unspeakable.
I’d had to swallow my own vomit a couple of times just to try and get through it all.
I was so disguste
d with myself that for the past hour or so, I’d been soaking in one of the soaker tubs, damn near trying to scrub my skin off.
I’d swallowed a whole bottle of mouth wash, and I was on my second bar of soap but no matter how many times I washed or gargled, I still felt filthy.
How could any woman, in her right mind, do something so degrading?
I’d never felt so used or worthless in all of my life.
Never did I imagine that I would be so desperate for money that I would become a very expensive, prostitute-maid.
This was not how my life was supposed to be.
I was supposed to be happily married with at least two kids by now; not somewhere selling my body on the top floor of a hotel just to get on my feet financially.
But the was no point in crying about it because for the next year, this was my reality.
After silently shedding a few tears, I realized that this is the decision that I’d made and it was time that I faced the facts and learned how to deal with it.
The hardest time was the first time, and it was over.
I’d made it through it.
It had shamed me but it hadn’t killed me.
After another few minutes, I got myself together and changed into my regular maid outfit.
As soon as I was dressed, Carmen called my name.
She stared at me.
“Here, take this tonight,” she said and handed me a pill.
“It will help you sleep.”
I didn’t say a word, I only shook my head.
Carmen then handed me another envelope.
“$3100, that’s your cut. I’m sure he tipped you pretty good too. You made it through and you made a good bit of money too. Go on home. Get yourself together. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.
I nodded my head, put the pill and the money in my purse and headed home.
As I walked, I thought about the maids that were ordered two and three times a day.
How on earth did they do it?
Why didn’t it bother them to be used time and time again?
I overheard one maid telling another that she’d taken as much as $10,000 home in one day.
I could only imagine what she’d had to do for that type of money and just the thought of it started to make my stomach turn.
The things people do for money.
It started to thunder and I could smell the rain coming so I picked up the pace.
It was time for me to look into getting my car fixed or maybe even getting a new one.
Considering what Carmen had just given me, I had more than enough money for some kind of down payment.
Walking up on the house, I saw that the house that Rodney and his wife once shared was now up for sale.
I was hoping that whoever bought the house this time would at least be normal.
I didn’t need another set of psycho, perverted neighbors.
I had enough problems on my plate already.
Checking for the mail, I took a deep breath and headed into the house with a smile on my face.
I left my hotel troubles outside of my front door just as I’d said that I would.
“How are you feeling?” I asked Tia later on that evening.
“I’m okay. I got my schedule worked out today. I only have classes three days a week and I got them as late as possible so that I could work with your schedule. You may have to see if you can go in a few hours earlier so that it all works out,” she said to me.
“No, whatever it is will be fine. With my raise at work, I’m going to put Horizon in daycare. You may just have to get her there some mornings, or help pick her up some evenings. Or maybe she can just go part-time, on the days that you have school. That would save money,” I said to her as if money was still an issue.
I was sure that I would be able to afford daycare, finally, but I didn’t want to raise any red flags.
“Only if you have the money,” Tia said.
She was so sweet, but just like anyone, she had another side to her.
But after replaying the way she’d spoken to Rodney and his wife that day, and the way that she’d handled the gun, I was sure that she was just as bad as I was if she was pushed to a certain point.
I couldn’t help but wonder just how mean she could actually be. Maybe she was just as good as I was at keeping things hidden.
I had always been different; and not in a good way.
My mind was always somewhere that it wasn’t supposed to be and I’d always had a side to me that was cold hearted and cruel.
It wasn’t that I wanted to be.
Sometimes it just seemed as though it was out of my control.
Anyone who knew me knew that I am extremely overprotective and I love my family and my sisters with everything in me.
I would do anything for them.
I would lie for them, cheat for them…and even kill for them.
My sister, Josephine, who was only a year and a half younger than me, had been my best friend growing up.
As we got older, of course we went in other directions, but we still had a bond that was unbreakable.
Before she’d gotten married to her current husband, she’d been madly in love with a guy named Roger.
But the catch to it was that Roger was madly in love with someone else.
I’d spotted him on several occasions being inappropriate with the same woman and when I approached him, he simply denied that anything was going on.
He walked around, pretending to love my sister and no matter how many questionable things he done, Josephine just could seem to see him for who he really was.
So, I asked him nicely to leave her alone and let her be but he simply told me to mind my business.
Little did he know that she was my business!
So, one night as he walked to his car, he was hit and killed by what the police called a stray bullet.
But only I and Keymar’s younger brother knew that it wasn’t exactly a stray.
And he was now doing thirty years for drug charges, so it wasn’t like anyone was ever going to find out our little secret.
As I said, I would do whatever I had to do to protect the people that I loved; even if it hurt them or someone else in the process.
Tia and I talked for a while longer and then we went our separate ways.
The rest of the day went by with a breeze and before I knew it, it was time to lie down and prepare for it all to start all over again the next day.
With Horizon already asleep, I kissed her forehead and then headed to my bedroom.
I locked the door behind me and then retrieved the envelopes from my purse.
I hadn’t bothered to look in the one that I had received as a tip from the old client.
He’d just thrown it on the bed as I started to clean the room after he was finished with me.
I opened it and found that it was another thousand dollars.
Strangely, I smiled.
In less than a week, I had touched more money than I’d seen in forever.
Hurriedly, I took half of it and put it in my secret stash along with some of the left over sign-on bonus money.
No matter what happened or how much money I made, I was positive that the hotel or Room 313 wouldn’t get a day over a year from me.
I hid the box of cash back in the closet and then pulled out the pill from my purse.
I swallowed it without any water and then headed to shower even though I probably didn’t need one.
Briefly, I thought about my failed attempt to give the old guy oral sex.
I must have been doing a horrible job because after only a minute or so, he’d asked me to stop.
I was so happy that I could have screamed but instead I was told to lie on my back so that he could do me.
Right on time, the shower water started to get cold and my thoughts of the ordeal abruptly came to a pause.
Thank goodness.
I needed to forget the memories…not relive them.
Step
ping out of the shower and heading back into the bedroom, I didn’t even bother to dry off.
I was feeling sluggish so I simply laid on the bed soak and wet.
I guess I should have at least asked her what kind of pill it was before accepting it, but I could only hope that it was something to help ease my mind and take away the awful thoughts of what had taken place in that hotel room that day.
My bedroom started to spin and my mind started racing.
And then all of a sudden…everything went pitch black.
The next morning I woke up with a major headache. No matter what I tried, I just couldn’t shake it.
There was no way that I was going to be able to go into the hotel.
I called Carmen to tell her that I wasn’t feeling well.
I was surprised at how understanding she was, and with only a few questions, she told me to take the day off.
Good, I really needed to get my mind together.
“You’re off today?”
“I wasn’t. But I needed a day.”
“Why? You just went back,” Tia asked and grabbed a spoon and a tub of ice cream.
It was nine o’clock in the morning, but I didn’t say a word since she was pregnant and all.
“Well, I need to look into some daycares and go look for another car,” I said to her
“How? You haven’t gotten paid yet.”
“Oh, I thought I told you. I got a sign-on bonus.”
“They give maids sign-on bonuses?”
“Head maids and office managers yes; because it’s a salaried position.”
“Oh,” Tia shrugged and walked away.
That was pretty easy.
Next, I grabbed a phone book and called around to a few junk yards.
Within the next hour or so, I was being paid a few bucks and my old, useless car was being towed away.
There was no point in trying to trade in a car that was already broken and over fifteen years old.
Afterwards, we all got dressed and headed to the bus stop to begin our journey.
Hopefully this would be the last time riding the bus for a while and maybe even forever.
Maybe it was a bit tacky to arrive at a car lot by bus, but as long as I left with a car, I guess how I got there really didn’t matter.
As we sat on the crowded bus, I glanced at the woman who sat across from us.
