Chapter One
Giselle
“Mama, please,” I let out a heavy sigh and sunk back into my couch.
“Mija, you don’t need to pay my bills.” I could tell by the faintness in my mother’s tone that she was on the verge of tears.
“It’s okay. Don’t cry, mama. It’s only money.”
“You work hard for your money. You should spend it on yourself. I’ll… I’ll be working again in no time. I’ll pay you back.”
It broke my heart to hear her lie to me. I knew she wouldn’t be able to pay me back because the doctor hadn’t cleared her to go back to work. My mother’s cancer had taken a toll on her, my siblings, and their finances.
“You don’t need to pay me ba–”
“Please, Giselle,” my mother interrupted. “When I am back working again I will pay you back.”
“Tell her I can get a job and pay her back!” Lydia, my sixteen-year-old sister, shouted in the background.
“NO!” my mother and I screamed.
“No need to yell. Sheesh. I even heard you Giselle!” Lydia sassed, making me laugh and my mother groan.
“You need to focus on your studies,” my mother told her.
“I know, but…” Lydia’s words drifted.
“You two are going to make me cry,” I sniffled, wiping away a fallen tear. “Just accept the money, be happy, and worry about getting healthy, mama. Money is replaceable. You aren’t.”
“Oh, mija,” my mother sniffled. Hearing the sadness in her voice and knowing she was crying broke my heart.
My mother was a strong woman. When my father left us when I was five, Lydia was one, and Luis was only a few weeks old, my mother gathered all her strength and raised us as a single mother. Not once did she show weakness or try to throw in the towel. She was a warrior, who took on the world and showed no mercy. Now, cancer had turned her into a woman I barely recognized.
“I have to go. My boss is coming. I love you. Bye,” I lied through my teeth and hung up. The tears streamed down my face and I clenched a nearby pillow. It killed me to lie to my mother.
The money that I gave to her weekly came easy to me. I barely did anything to make the money. Simply, shook my ass to some good music and collected a paycheck. Life of an Atlanta stripper
"Ugh," I groaned at the wordstripper.
Never in a million years did I think I'd end up as a stripper; however, when life decided to strike my mother, I held back no punches. There was nothing I wouldn't do for my mother, Lydia, and Luis.
Ding.The sound of my laptop's email notification pulled my attention away from my pity party and to my laptop a few feet from me on the coffee table.
I swiped the last few flowing tears from my cheeks then leaned over to see my computer screen. It was an email fromMadameLilith. I recognized the name. She ran Innocence Abundance Escort Service, an escort service I had heard about from one of the dancers at work, Stacy.
She said it paid five times as much as our paychecks and we didn't have to be groped by any men. The escort service looked out for the girls. When I asked Stacy, why she hadn't applied to work there, she told me that she was no longerrocking the v-card.Before I could ask her to explain, she hurried out of the dressing room and onto the stage. We didn't cross paths the rest of the night, however it didn't stop me from doing my own research later at home on my laptop. Turned outv-cardwas the simple way of sayingvirginity.
I was still carrying myv-card.I hadn't yet found a man, who made my panties drop. Sure, I had seen and dated sexy men but there was only a physical connection. The emotional and spiritual connection was almost non-existent.
After I read through the escort service's page, I decided it was worth a shot and filled out the interest form and submitted a few pictures. That was two days ago. I didn't expect to hear back from them so soon. Or ever.
My eyes scanned over the email Madame Lilith had just sent. She wanted to schedule me for an interview and a physical exam. All of the applicants had to be screened by a doctor to ensure they were virgins.
"What!" I gasped.
They were really serious about the wordinnocencein their company name. But was I really about to let some stranger inspect me?
Who the hell am I kidding?I thought as I hit reply to the email and typed:I am available any day 9am to 5pm.
