The Bound Bride (3 page)

And there she was, shaking and sober, before the logo on the fourteenth floor.

Chapter Four

Cassandra looked up and saw a perfectly coiffed woman waiting behind the desk. She finished a phone call and raised her eyes to Cassandra’s waiting face. In her gray skirt and sweater combo, she expected only a snarky sneer. But the receptionist gave her a warm smile.

“Hi there!” she said as she extended her hand. Cassandra was slow to take it. The receptionist stepped from behind her desk and rubbed Cassandra’s arm.

“Are you okay?”

She was trembling all over. It was all more real than she could have imagined. The space, the light, the kind-hearted gatekeeper. Cassandra started to lose her footing as the receptionist wrapped her arms around her and held her in place.

“Easy, baby. Nothing to be scared about. We’re all friends here.”

She wasn’t so sure. But she leaned against the blonde woman without an ounce of fat on her body and tried to catch her breath.

“Better?” she asked.

Cassandra nodded and let the receptionist guide her to the sofa, black and shimmering against all the brightness. Once Cassandra was settled, the receptionist moved away and swiftly returned with a bottle of water. Dasani. Cassandra twisted the lid off and drank like a weary desert traveler. She arched her head back and kept swallowing to keep the water from staining the outfit that she’d carefully selected for the occasion. Careful meant
all that was available
. And all that she could afford. She left the bottle and wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve.

So much for protecting her wardrobe.

The receptionist stroked her hair, bound in a tight bun, and looked into her eyes.

“Wow!”

What
else
had she done wrong?

“What?”

“Green eyes. Never actually saw them. A least not on a
cat
. You got claws?”

She did. And she could use them.

The receptionist smiled and patted her cheek.

“I think you’re
in
,” she said. “And
you
are?”

Cassandra tried to remember her name.

“I’m… Trixie Carol.”

The receptionist cocked her head at the info, then returned to her computer and stared intently at her monitor. She clicked through what had to be endless applications until she stopped on a smile. She looked back at Cassandra with a warm grin.

“So you want
a chance
?”

Already
everyone
knew.

Cassandra had no words as she nodded.

The receptionist stretched up the entire length of her long and lean frame and moved back to Cassandra. She wiped what was left of the water from Cassandra’s mouth and smiled again.

“Take a deep breath,
Trixie
. I’m Shay.”

Of
course
she was. Cassandra tried to quickly figure out what
Shay
was short for. Could be Sharon. Or Shannon. Or possibly Sheila. More likely it was a pet name, and she didn’t have the time for an origin story. Cassandra just nodded and tried to catch her breath.

“Hi… Shay.”

Shay took her hand.

“A little nervous?” she asked.

Cassandra no longer feared that she was surrendering to a kind of prostitution. What scared her now was that she wouldn’t be
good enough
for the clients awaiting every promised pleasure. Who was
she
compared to the Shays who looked like models and smelled like lavender?

“A
lot
.”

Shay patted her knee. She returned to her desk and announced the
stripper name
.

“Ms. Masters? Ms.
Carol
to see you.”

Cassandra waited for the call to enter. It soon came with a soft
yes
, and Shay rose again to guide Cassandra deeper into the LeaseALady world.

She was inside an office of white walls and abstract art. Cassandra caught a hint of Kandinsky all around her. She thought of sharing this bit of insight with Ms. Masters.

Another woman emerged from a private washroom, blonder and tanner and
thinner
than Shay, Cassandra forgot everything she thought she ever knew about art.

Ms. Masters waved Shay back to her desk. Shay squeezed Cassandra’s arm. It was a vote for luck. Cassandra took it and watched Shay fade from her sight.

“Sit. Ms.
Carol
.”

Cassandra did as she was told. She crossed and uncrossed her legs as Ms. Masters scanned a printout, still warm. She read through it, slowly, then gazed over the page at Cassandra.

“
Trixie Carol
? And here I thought you wanted to keep it
real
.”

She had lost the chance before it even started. She was only here to be mocked by
prettier
girls who were wanted by LeaseALady regulars. She started to her feet when Ms. Masters whistled for her to wait. Cassandra clutched the arms of her chair.

She waited.

Ms. Masters looked through the pages again. Cassandra feared an insult. It was coming. Any minute now.

Ms. Masters dropped the printout and smiled at Cassandra.

“So you want a
chance
?”

“I… yes. Please.”

Ms. Masters opened an unseen drawer and steadied a small camera before Cassandra’s nervous face.

So still life wasn’t enough. They needed her living, breathing. Sweating.

“I… I didn’t know I’d have to be filmed…”

“Our clients like a taste of what they’re about to get themselves into.”

Cassandra could say the same thing.

“You ready, Trixie?”

Ready enough to be real.

“It’s… it’s Cassandra. Cassandra Dodd”

Ms. Masters smiled.

“Prettier. It suits you. But the username is fun. Keep it until you’re with your first guy. Care to answer a few more questions?”

Why not? She had already come
this
far.

Cassandra crossed her legs again and steadied herself where she sat.

“Shoot, Ms. Masters.”

Cassandra saw her eyes grow warmer.

“Don’t be so formal. It’s Mary Lynn. Okay?”

Already everything seemed easier.

“Fire away, Mary Lynn.”

The camera rolled.

“Great,” Mary Lynn said. “Cassandra?”

She felt ready for any question.

“Yes?”

“What do
you
look for in a man?”

What was the
right
answer? Wasn’t this all about
pleasing the customer
? What did it matter what
she
thought?

“I… I didn’t think…”

Mary Lynn looked away from the lens.

“Didn’t think what?”

“That it mattered what
I
wanted.”

Mary Lynn laughed.

“We traffic in all that’s
mutually
enjoyable. Everyone wins, Cassandra.”

She relaxed against the statement. It would be more than money. She’d have her own good time when all was said and done.

Cassandra smoothed her face with her hands and prepared her answer.

“What do
I
look for?”

But she’d ask the question one more time.

Mary Lynn returned to the lens. Cassandra couldn’t see her eyes as she smiled and nodded.

“Go on, Cassandra.”

What
did
she look for? What did she
want
? On a superficial level, she wanted beautiful. Who didn’t? She wanted firm and strong and
eager
against her hands.

But she wanted more.

She wanted smart. She wanted kind. She wanted strong when she was threatened. She wanted comforting when she was scared. She wanted smart and funny. And maybe a little crazy now and then. She wanted someone who would hold her close. And never let her go. She wanted to stay with whoever
he
was
forever
.

“I…”

“Come on, Cassandra. Just like you did in your application.”

So the single sentence
had done
the trick. And now she had to keep it going. Somewhere,
someone
, was in the market for all that she was. And he didn’t need a paragraph. Cassandra took a deep breath and stared into the camera. She could already feel her face, glowing, before unknown eyes. A single pair might hold the key to all that she
wished
for.

Make it brief.

“I… I want someone who’ll keep me…
safe
.”

She bowed her head as Mary Lynn held her focus. Then she snapped the camera off, made an unseen note on the printout, and offered Cassandra a card with a smile.

“Very good.”

Cassandra tentatively took the stiff piece of paper. She saw her zip code and an array of Lab Corp collection sites. One was barely a stone’s throw from her front door.

Convenient.

“I’m… I’m supposed to… what am I supposed to do with this?”

Mary Lynn’s smile grew wider.

“Take a piss. Need to make sure you’re clean. But somehow I think we don’t even
need
the test. I’m guessing you’re safe.”

She was. No needles in her veins. No STDs lying in wait. But…

“I drink.”

Mary Lynn looked to the printout.

“Yes. Yes I know. Beer. Some boys
like
that. It’s okay. It’s permitted. But you might want to expand your tastes. Fine wine is the flavor of the day.”

Cassandra signed the necessary papers and went for the test. She was told that the results would reach Mary Lynn in no more than two days. Or less.

Twelve hours later, she was a
Leased Lady
. She whirled about her studio and clapped at the prospect of men and money. She emailed Mary Lynn Masters and inquired about what would come next. Cassandra was already waxing and primping at the thought of an instantaneous date. She received a reply and fell to her keyboard.

Welcome, Trixie.

So she really
couldn’t
shake the username.

We are pleased to inform you that you are now a part of the LeaseALady family! Your profile is now LIVE
for
our customers. Who knows? Your first date could be TONIGHT!!!