First Date (The Hollywood Dating Agency Book 1) Read online

  “Can I offer you another girl for the evening?”

  “No,” I shouted angrily and nearly hung up. On the other hand… “Actually Madame Blanchard, yes you can, but I’ll need her for a full week. She needs to be at the Mistdale Urbis Express station at 7pm tonight. Make her blonde!” I growled and hung up the phone.

  Two can play at that game. I‘d been faithful to Ember for eleven months and here she was carrying on behind my back. I have to admit, it hurt.

  I might have been sleeping with a woman I paid but at least I had the decency to not sleep around on her.

  I guess she was right when she called herself a whore!

  Back at Montague Hall, I threw my clothes into a bag angrily, before pulling them all out and folding them carefully. No point looking like a dog just because I was livid.

  Solstice

  “Solstice, can you go and get Storm for me, I have a job for her.” The Madame, or Mama as the girls called her, hung up her phone with a huge grin on her face like the cat who’d got the canary. No doubt to some rich jerk who had to pay to get laid.

  “I’m sorry Mama, that’s what I’ve come to tell you. The girls are sick. Storm’s been throwing up for the last hour and the other girls have got it too.”

  “Sick?” Mama adopted a look of concern. She might have been a madam in a brothel but she was fiercely protective of her girls. Strangely, we were a family.

  “She thinks that it was the food they all ate last night.” Last night, an incredibly rich prince had held his birthday party in After Dark’s bar and brought all his friends to sleep with the girls. Unfortunately, his choice of caterer left something to be desired. All the girls had gone down with food poisoning.

  “Shit! I knew I shouldn’t have let him bring his own caterer but he’s a royal, what can you do? Are they all ok?”

  “They’ll be fine.” They would be. It would be me that would have to clean up vomit and mop brows for the next 48 hours. Being a cleaner in a brothel was hardly my first choice of vocation and let’s be honest, could sometimes be downright disgusting but the pay was astronomical for a cleaning job, I could work my own hours and Mama and the girls had become a family to me. It was paying my way through college and giving me enough left over every month to save up which was almost unheard of in Cerce where everything was ridiculously expensive. It also came with room and board.

  “Oh dear, oh dear. What about Ember, is she still with her client?”

  “I’m sorry Mama but Ember is sick too. They all are. I’m afraid we are going to have to shut After Dark for a few days. I’ve already made sure the…er...guests have left. I’ve closed and locked the doors and I’ve checked on all the girls.”

  “Solstice, what would I do without you? You truly are a godsend.” She came out from behind the reception desk and enveloped me into a hug. I could smell her strong perfume, something flowery and pungent.

  “Oh!” she said, stepping away and looking flustered. I’ve just promised Lord Club a girl.”

  “Lord Club? The one that’s been paying Ember a fortune?”

  “That’s the one. Silly girl. I told her she had a good thing going but she couldn’t help herself, she kept coming back here. I think she’s lost him. Well, I have no intention of losing him. His money was what kept this place afloat. There must be someone who isn’t sick?”

  “They are all sick. Can’t you tell Lord whatsit that he’ll have to go elsewhere?”

  “I don’t want him going elsewhere child. There must be someone?” She really looked panicked now and I felt sorry for her. I knew how much she depended on the aristocracy’s money. What with the war looming, they’d all been caught up in royal duties and After Dark had taken a hit. She really couldn’t afford to lose a well-paying customer.

  She put her head in her hands and for the first time since I’d met her, she looked defeated. My heart went out to her.

  “Do you know any other girls who would take this on?”

  “No, if all my girls are ill, there’s no one else. Not at this short notice anyway.”

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help Mama.”

  “Don’t worry. You’ve been a great help. I guess I should call a doctor for the girls. I can’t have them all out of action too long, it’s will cripple me financially.”

  “I’ll call the doctor. You go into the bar and pour yourself a brandy.”

  “Thank you child.” She turned to walk away but before I made it to the phone she ran back to me, her face full of hope.

  “I’ve just had a wonderful idea! You could do it.” She clapped her hands together in glee as if she’d just come up with a wonderful solution.

  “No.” No way, not a chance not ever!

  “He pays very well. Extremely well. I’ll forgo my cut if you keep him happy.” She was pleading. I’d never heard her beg for anything before.

  I sighed. “Mama. I clean. I don’t do… you know.”

  “Ember tells me he often comes to her just to talk. They don’t always have sex. Just listen to him, be nice to him, stroke his ego.”

  “I don’t want to stroke his anything.” I replied, disgusted. “I’m not that girl.”

  “Solstice. I’m going to be honest with you here. If we lose him as a client, After Dark will have to close. The girls will be out on the street with nowhere to live. I’m not asking you to sleep with him. Just be company for him.”

  Urgh, way to go on the emotional blackmail.

  “You are sure I won’t have to sleep with him?”

  “You get to make the rules Solstice. He’s a gentleman. He’ll respect your wishes.”

  A gentleman huh? I’d met many so-called gentlemen since working here and very few of them were anything like gentle. Still, she had me backed into a corner. I couldn’t let After Dark close. I couldn’t afford it for a start, not if I wanted to keep on my college course. Plus I lived here. If After Dark closed, I’d be out of a place to live as well as a job. Besides, one night at a restaurant couldn’t hurt as long as I told him the truth during the meal.”

  “Fine. But I’m absolutely not sleeping with him.”

  “Solstice, you are a darling!” She hugged me again, nearly crushing me to death in the process.

  “He wants to meet you at the Mistdale Urbis Express station at 7pm. He’s taking you to Notston in the Spadelands. You can borrow some of the girls’ clothes, he’ll want you to look smart but sexy. Oh, and can you dye your hair blonde? Thanks love.” She kissed the top of my head and then ran out to check on her other charges, leaving me alone and in a state of shock. What had I just gotten myself into?

  A week in a foreign Kingdom with a Lord who would be expecting me to sleep with him for lots of money. Just great!

  I ran up to my room and threw some of my own clothes into a bag. There was no way in a million years I was going to wear any of the other girls’ outfits. Nor was I planning on ruining my hair by dying it blonde. I threw on a hoodie to cover my long brown hair and left to catch the next zeppelin to Mistdale.

  Orion

  By the time I arrived at the Urbis express station I’d calmed down slightly and to be honest, was beginning to regret asking for another girl. I didn’t sleep with hookers. I only slept with Ember because she’d promised to sleep with me only. I’d thought of it as an easy way to have a girlfriend without all the ties. Paying for women just for the sake of it was not a hole I wanted to fall down metaphorically speaking. Still, Idle curiosity had me checking out the people in the line waiting to board the zeppelin to The Spadelands. It was much quieter than usual. The threat of war had people scared. A blonde haired girl would stand out a mile in all the brown haired Clubbians. Very few Clubbians dyed their hair and fewer still of the other suits visited the Clublands. I scanned the line but she was nowhere to be seen, just an old couple who looked like they might have been going on their holidays, a couple of families with young kids, a student wearing a hoody with a small bag, and an assortment of business people.

&nbs
p; I checked my watch, just ten minutes to take off. She was cutting it fine! A slap on my shoulder had me turn around to find Juniper, or Jay as he preferred to be called, flanked by two bodyguards. I threw my arms around him.

  “Jay, my man! What’s with the guards?”

  “Mother insisted. They are just here to escort me to the station. Don’t worry. The royal suite is booked so we can get straight on.”

  The small cabin in the zeppelin was actually split into two equal parts that had a small door between the two to allow for the cabin crew to go between them. The royal suite as it was known was at the front and had its own private entrance. I followed Jay up the gangway and as I entered, did a quick scout behind me. Wherever this After Dark woman was, she was late. There was no sign of her. I have to admit, I was more than a little relieved.

  The Royal Suite held six extra wide comfortable arm chairs and a huge table in the centre. Thanks to The Hearts, it also held a huge TV, something which no one, not even the royal family in the Clublands owned. In fact, the cabin was more luxurious than any room in the dilapidated Club castle. As well as the tv, it also had a fully stocked bar and its own private wait staff. It was called the Royal Suite because it was incredibly expensive. Usually only the royal families could afford it although it wasn’t reserved for just royals. If you had the money, you could hire it out.

  “Looks like your father has pushed the boat out,” I said, contentedly relaxing back on one of the armchairs. “Doesn’t he usually make you ride scum class?”

  “It’s important business. He thought it would look more impressive if we hire the Royal Suite. He told me you were bringing a girlfriend. You kept that quiet! Who is she?”

  I stood up and walked over to the bar. An immaculately dressed young woman smiled a fake but dazzling smile.

  “Can I get you anything?”

  “Two beers.” I threw one of cold bottles over to Jay before the barmaid had time to open them. I grabbed the bottle opener and sat back down next to Jay, opening my bottle first then passing the opener to him.

  “The King is mistaken. It’s just you and me. A boy’s vacation.”

  I held out my bottle and clinked it with his just as the zeppelin juddered announcing that we had left the ground.

  “Keep those beers coming love!” I shouted over to the barmaid who just smiled back. Had she been blonde, I might have gone for her but she was a brunette, way too fake, and her plastered on grin was already beginning to annoy the hell out of me.

  I grabbed the remote for the tv and sank back into the super soft chair. This was going to be a week of fun, just my best buddy, a few beers and me, utter bliss! I’d just about figured out which was the on button when there was a knock on the door separating us from the other cabin. I sat up in my chair knowing that the middle door only opened in case of emergencies. A quick peek out of the window told me we already had enough height that a crash would kill us. The barmaid seemed less worried than I as she opened the door to another one of the cabin crew. I watched as they had a brief whispered conversation then the barmaid came over to me.

  “Excuse me sir, there is a lady in the other cabin who tells us she is with you.”

  I saw Jay arching an eyebrow out of the corner of my eye.

  “She’s mistaken.” I said forcefully. Now that I’d calmed down, the last thing I needed was one of the plastic tit brigade from After Dark spoiling my lads vacation.

  “Well, she does have a ticket for the Royal Suite. She says it was you that booked it.”

  Fuck!

  “I’m afraid she is mistaken,” said Jay butting in. “My father booked this suite for us. I am the Seven of Clubs and this is my cousin, Lord Club. No one else is travelling with us today.”

  Worry lines appeared on the hostesses face which I’m sure went against company policy.

  “The thing is sirs,” she began worriedly. “She does have a valid ticket. I understand that you don’t want to be disturbed but she has rightfully paid for this cabin.”

  “Fine!” I growled “Let her in.”

  It looked like I was going to spend my week with a blonde bimbo after all. Just great! I was just about to explain the situation to Jay when the girl walked in. It was the student with the hoodie I’d seen earlier. Relief flooded through me. It really was a mistake. Girls from After Dark did not wear hoodies. Nor did they wear jeans and flat shoes like this girl appeared to be wearing. She had her back to me as she spoke to Jay.

  “I’m sorry,” said Jay to the girl. “You can’t come in here. I think you may have made a mistake with your ticket. The king booked this cabin exclusively.

  “Madame Blanchard asked me to come,” she said quietly then gave an awkward curtsey “She said a man named Orion had asked for my company.”

  I opened my mouth in shock as Jay raised his eyebrow once again and looked at me as if asking what was going on.

  She pulled her hoodie down to reveal long flowing black hair as she pulled a ticket out of her pocket to show Jay.

  What on Vanatus was Madame Blanchard playing at. I’d asked for a blonde for a start. I didn’t do dark haired girls. Not since…

  “This seems to be above board,” said Jay cutting off my thoughts. “Do you know a Madam Blanchard?”

  Double fuck! Now I was going to have to explain who she was and worse still, I’d have to spend a week with this grungy chick.

  “It was a mistake. I think Mrs Blanchard has got the wrong end of the stick.”

  “That’s fine by me,” said the girl turning to face me “Just give me a ticket home and I’ll go back on the first zeppelin. I’m not going back into the other cabin though. I’ve got a ticket for in here and I’m going to use it.

  I didn’t hear the last part of what she said as I’d just been punched in the chest. She was the most stunningly heartbreakingly gorgeous woman I’d ever laid eyes on, but it wasn’t that that was going to be the end of me, it was the fact she was a dead ringer for Bluejay, the only girl who’d ever broken my heart.

  “You can’t stay in here,” I said forcefully, once I’d gathered my composure. She had the balls to sit in one of the armchairs and grab one of the beers that the barmaid had left on the table for us.

  “Do you have a bottle opener?” she enquired as though she’d not just ripped my heart out of my chest.

  It was uncanny. She looked so similar, heart shaped face, almond eyes, and long hair that cascaded down over her shoulders. If it had been twenty years ago and she had been wearing a tiny skirt and tight top, I’d have almost believed they could be the same person. This girl wore a baggy top, hiding her assets and her jeans looked like she’d bought them in the man’s section of the clothes shop. She put her feet up on the table revealing faded worn sneakers.

  There was no way she was an After Dark girl. She’d curtseyed as was appropriate in the company of royals but then she’d all but forgotten who the hell she was with. Like we were fucking commoners!

  What the ever living fuck was going on?

  Jay handed her a bottle opener with a sly grin on his face.

  He was enjoying this, the bastard.

  “I’m sure we can sort out return travel for you miss…”

  “Hollyheart. Solstice Hollyheart.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Hollyheart.” Jay held out his hand which she shook.

  If there was one thing I knew for sure, Miss Solstice Hollyheart was going on the first zeppelin home. How dare she come in here, looking like Bluejay, rip me to shreds and then just sit down and put her feet up as if it was her house. Now I just had to figure out a way to ignore her for the rest of the journey.

  I turned my armchair away from her and looked at the view out of the window, trying to get thoughts of Bluejay out of my head. Bluejay had been my nanny, twenty years previously. She’d flirted like crazy and I, for my part had fallen hard for her as only fourteen-year-old boys can. The flirting had ended somewhat abruptly when my mother had caught her fucking my stepfather in the
stables, pretty much destroying me in the process. That had been the end of both of them. She’d been fired, he’d been kicked to the curb and we’d not heard from either of them again.

  The six-hour journey was utter torture. I could hear them both chatting. At least Jay was enjoying himself. At one point I grabbed the remote and turned the tv onto some mindless channel so I could ignore the pair of them.

  I’d even ignored lunch as the thought of sitting at the table with them was enough to make my blood boil. Madame Blanchard was going to get a strongly worded letter about this. Actually, fuck that. When this week was over I was going to go to After Dark and tell her what I thought of her, and if she thought I was going to pay for this disaster, she had another thing coming. Bloody Ember! If she could have just kept it to herself then I wouldn’t be in this mess. Ok, she was about as fake as you could get but at least I could pass her off as my girlfriend. Jay wouldn’t have believed it for a second but at least he wouldn’t have questioned it. This, however, I was going to have to explain to him. When the zeppelin touched down, I was the first one off. I marched over to the ticket counter and bought a ticket on the first zeppelin out of here. Feeling particularly mean, I bought the cheapest ticket. She’d had enough luxury out of me.

  “There you go.” I handed it to her while trying not to look at her. Why did she have to pull her hoody down? The long waves in her hair were driving me crazy and I didn’t like to feel crazy.

  “It doesn’t leave for five hours,” said Jay, checking the ticket.

  “So? I’m sure there is plenty to do in this dump of a city. Here’s twenty Solvos. Get yourself something to eat or something.”

  I tried handing over the note but she refused to take it. What kind of whore was she that refused money?

  “Stop being a grump,” said Jay. “I don’t really understand how this mix up occurred but I hear there is a very nice restaurant in the hotel. I’d be honoured if you could join us for dinner Solstice.”

  “What are you doing?” I hissed as I pulled him out of earshot of the girl. “You do realise she is a whore!”

  I saw him flinch at my language but I didn’t care.