By Babatomiwa Seriki

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“Your call has been forwarded to voicemail; leave a message after the beep.” I tried her line for the umpteenth time and if I burnt calories for every time I did, I would have deceased into a walking-dead. Months had passed and I heard nothing from Discreet Consultancy, I would have endeavoured to drop by at the office but I held the boss by her words, and for every time I tried reaching her by her direct line, I was directed to voicemail. My mum offered to take me in for a short period after my rent had expired so I packed the little things I could and awaited a friend who promised to drop me off at her place. Right in front of my apartment, a black car pulled over and a man in suit sprung out and walked towards the front porch where I sat, his image became more distinct as he approached and turned out to be Greg from Discreet Consultancy.“Hey champ, surprised to see me? Here have it, the boss wants to speak with you” he handed me a phone as he sat beside me.“I admire your patience Alex, you passed your test. Naturally we expected you to come by the office but you didn’t, you held me by my words and waited till we reached you. That’s an attribute we haven’t seen in a while. Greg will put you through the next stage, welcome to the circle.” And as usual, she ended the call abruptly.I felt the knot in my gut loosen by the comforting news. I reached for my phone and cancelled my free ride and also called my mum to inform her I was running late after Greg requested I went with them as my first day as a consultant had already started counting.  I got into the car and we took a long ride through the city to a renowned tailor’s shop; Richard Styles, even I of all people knew from his several works on celebrities and public figures. Greg greeted the man with what seemed like an accustomed form of greeting; it was apparent he was the company’s stylist. I tried on several suits until I arrived at a tuxedo even the large mirror in the room agreed to as a perfect fit. I walked out of the shop with clothes worth more than my mum’s house, her car and her yearly earnings. We stopped by a beauty shop and several trims and cuts at different spots on my body were applied. The final step was a session with a sex therapist, “do I really need this,” I thought. I had several sessions throughout the month and each day, one stylist or the other, shape builder or even a yoga instructor made appointments too; body and soul cleansing they called it.–so I could sully it later on? I had a full month of training and I was given a new apartment and a car. I eventually moved out of mum’s place.

The efforts exerted to ready me for a place in the circle were eventful enough to hold account of and even if I wasn’t picked or perhaps dropped at any point, I was cognizant of the new, somewhat odd experiences of being a “male escort.” The months of grooming had ended and I was ready as Freddy; a call came in from “work,” and it was Sarah, she placed the call as requested by the boss who needed to see me. My eyes grew wistful as I heard her silvery voice, the last I heard her was during the long hours of interview, “okay,” I responded with a gruff so to speak, so as not to sound tremulous like our first meeting.

I walked into the building and just like deja vu, almost similar experience repeated itself; Sarah excused her gaze from the computer she worked on and looked in my direction, and in resemblance with the previous time it felt as if she could sense the heat as I walked into the floor, but unlike the first which she gave the jeering look, this time was ecstatic. Her mouth fell open and her big blue eyes widened as I stirred towards her desk, she etched her gaze at me following each advance from one foot to another and if her thoughts could come into view, a perfect illustration will be likened to this– he strode down the floor in a fancy grey suit that outlined his perfect, broad chest narrowing gradually down his waist. The heat in his cocky appearance torched my skin from my face to my toes, his brown eyes glistened as he leered, thus raced my heartbeat like a charm aiming to steal my soul. His surly but yet compelling voice called out to my consciousness buried deep in lust and earnest desires– “Sarah! Sarah!”   It took her several seconds to respond to the call and when she finally did, she held my hands and chewed on the side of her lower lip, “good to see you Mr…” She took a better look beyond my waist and added, “Alex.”  We shared an intimate hug and exchanged numbers then she handed me my key card afterwards.

I took a deep breath in front of the red door just before I slid my key card through the device. I must say I was a bit nervous being my first day at work and in part because at a point Greg told me how the boss turned down countless employees even after several months of training due to their lack of appeal and charisma. I walked into the room and straddled right in the middle with my hands filled in my pants’ pockets, she withdrew her gaze from the large TV screen in the room then took off her glasses and squinted at me for a while, “you clean up well, have a seat.’’ She offered me a glass of drink and we engaged in a conversation: “So you have your first client,’’ she handed me a file with details and pictures attached inside.” All you need to know about her are right there, take your time to read through her likes and dislikes, her dos and don’ts and most importantly, her preferred act; you don’t want to make a bad impression on your first job. She will call you when she is ready. That’s all for now.” I finished up my glass of drink then a question I had always wanted to ask came to mind, “Is your real name boss, cause everyone seems to feel comfortable calling you that,” she smiled and added “I’m Evelyn but I will prefer the boss to stick. Have a nice day Alex and don’t forget to play by the rules; never get attached to a client, make it a rhyme if you have to, just don’t mess this up.” I nodded to indicate an agreement then I left the office.

It’s a moony evening. I stood right in front of my window as I stared at the beautiful scenery of the night life in the city, a view I never thought I could experience outside the pages of magazines and TV screens. My dream had finally came true and my fear of morality kicking me in the butt had somehow disappeared, perhaps during my months of training, they had given me some sort of anti-morality pill, I wouldn’t ascertain but I felt so comfortable with my new job. Moments later my phone beeped, it was a message alert which read “My driver will pick you up by 7pm tomorrow, try to look sharp xoxo.” I didn’t need a caller identifier to know it was from the client earlier. So I took more time to study her profile over and over again; she’s a single mum in her late 40s, married twice; first to a business mogul and then to a retired defence lawyer. She owns a makeup line and several television royalties from a reality show aired around the country. She is “open to a new experience in bed,” as stated under her preferred act section in the file. It was a great deal for me having such social figure as my first job but I could only hope not to screw things over.

I woke up quite early the following day. I reviewed the several steps my yoga instructor outlined to do well with any client, be it a big-name or an average–take a deep breath, pace the anxiety off, tell yourself it’s just a woman who believes you to be incredible at what you do, this will help you believe in yourself– It’s almost evening, I had a new suit tailored and a bunch of flowers as a polite gesture. In no time I was all good and ready, I heard the doorbell ring and it was the client’s driver, he led me to the car and gave me the utmost respect I wouldn’t attribute to a male escort. We got to the location; no better words to describe the house but glamorous and money well spent; it was a huge mansion sitting on a large estate with no neighbours. I stepped out of the car and she was already waiting at the entrance to the luxurious home, she wore a black see through night gown that fitted perfectly into her form, it was few inches below her thighs and the calm evening breeze fluttered the lace end of the seductive dress. I made way to her spot and she gave an impressive look as I handed her the flowers accompanied by a kiss on her fore arm. She walked me through the living room and poured us glasses of wine, a little catching up and several impulsive touches as the drink played its part led to more intimate conversations and closer proximity between us. She rested her empty glass of wine on the table after a while and slowly took off her dress as she walked past me into the bedroom; I followed her trail and picked up her dress from the carpeted floor. I walked into the room and there she was lying naked on the bed–the scenes after this probably requires a certain age restriction but imagine what happens when a naked guy and a woman who didn’t have that much intimacy in years are alone in a dark room with scented candles–

Mission accomplished. I got out of bed early after the eventful night, I was dressed and ready to leave but I took a second to watch her stretch beneath the sheets enjoying the fineness of the cotton material on her naked skin. She swept her hand through the empty side of the bed allocated to me and her peaceful eyes gradually twinkled as the bright morning sun fell on them, “up so early handsome, why not stay a while and spend some time in bed with me,’’ It was an offer I wouldn’t pass on but I had a timeline to obey, 12 hours from the moment you step into a client’s house, make your way out, said the rule book. I graced her thighs with deep kisses and she moaned for more but my time was almost up so I bade her farewell and left.