It was a quiet Saturday night. No client, for a change. Sly and I had gone out to dinner on one of the occasional "dates" I insist on and which he has reluctantly come to enjoy. We were just sitting around his apartment, talking business when abruptly seemingly out of nowhere he said, "Yo, Princess, you ever heard of some book character called James Bond?"
I tried desperately to stifle my amazement. I know Sly dislikes being reminded of the wide gulf between us as far as formal education goes. But I couldn't help myself this time.
"Jesus, Sly, everybody knows James Bond, the fictional British superspy. Ian Fleming created him. Fleming had worked in naval intelligence in Britain during World War II. He wrote eleven hugely popular novels about Bond. There've since been something like twenty-five movies based on the character, with a combined gross worth in the neighborhood of eight billion dollars."
"Well fuck you, Princess. Not all of us have taken waddyacallem 'English Lit' courses in college! Some of us have had to make a living."
I bit my tongue.
"Sorry, Sly. It's just that he's so famous. Sexy as hell, too, at least based on the guys that have played him in the movies. Sean Connery was the first and the best, for my money."
"Yeah, well, okay. Some of us didn't have the time to watch old movies."
After a moment he smiled. "Sexy, hunh? Y'know, you can be a real girlie girl sometimes, Babe."
I decided to cut my losses and let that one ride. Anyway, I was glad to see his smile. Sly's really a good guy under his tough, streetwise, and cynical exterior, but big and rough as he is, he's got a male ego that's easily punctured. Guys and their egos. Still, I didn't want to hurt him. He's been good to me ever since we teamed up.
Yeah, unlikely as it sounds, we're a team. We sell sex. Well, I suppose to be precise, we sell me. Part time, anyway: I've got a regular day job with a law firm in the city. In my nighttime profession Sly's my agent. He finds clients for me and protects me in what is a potentially very rough world. For all that he mocked and still mocks my upper-class upbringing, he's come to respect me as a person, and not just because of my sexual abilities and earning power. He accepts me as a co-equal partner in our little enterprise. Not easy for him. For most of his life women were disposable commodities, not people. It took a while for him to come around. I'm rather proud that I've earned his rarely given respect.
"Anyway, Sly," I said, getting down to business, "I assume you've got a client for us that has something to do with James Bond?"
"Yeah, Babe, I do. Kind of a nerdy guy, wants to pretend that he's this Bond guy. Says he wants a beautiful and mysterious woman to play the role with him. Ya think you can do it?"
I raised my chin and threw my shoulders back and looked as mysterious as I could and put on my best Russian accent.
"Natasha cannot reveal all her secrets, Darling. Lest I must kill you."
He ogled my uplifted breasts and smiled. "Great. You'll do. Here's the deal...."
A week later I was sitting at the Blackjack table in a big casino not far from the city. No, unfortunately not the Monte Carlo in Monaco as I had originally suggested, but elegant enough for the purpose. I was dressed in a slinky off-the-shoulder cocktail dress with lots of cleavage and a nice slit up the side to show off my long stocking-clad legs. My hair was black and coiffed in an elegant updo. Oh yes, and I was winning with the cards, too. I was up a few hundred.
A rather plain and somewhat pudgy man in a rented tux sat down next to me. I recognized him from the description Sly had given me, but as part of my role I ignored him. He signaled the dealer and placed a $50 chip in the bet box. The dealer dealt him two cards. He took a quick surreptitious look at them. He smiled conspiratorially at me. I smiled back.
"Double down," he said, and added another chip to the original. He took another card. He looked at it and threw it down in disgust. The dealer collected his chips.
And so it went for several more hands. I won a few and he mostly lost. He was getting frustrated, so I thought I'd better intervene.
"Perhaps you need to let the cards cool down a bit," I said to him. "Would you care to buy me a drink?"
He recovered his cool and smiled at me.
"Delighted". He looked at me hopefully. "The name's Bond," he said. After a pause, he added "James Bond."
"Tatiana," I said, smiling. "Tatiana Romanova".
We collected our chips (mostly mine by then) and headed for the bar.
He didn't ask what I wanted. James Bond was in charge.
"Two martinis," he told the bartender, "Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large, thin slice of lemon peel."
The bartender took his eyes off me for the first time and looked at 'James'.
"Oh 'Vespers', eh?" he said with a smile.
'James' looked confused.
"Yes, yes, of course," he said. "Vespers. That's what I meant."
No Sean Connery or Daniel Craig, this one.
We retired to a small table with our drinks. I tried mine. It was really good.
"So, Tatiana," he said in a low voice, "I know what brings you here. You're working for Smurfs, aren't you? Don't deny it."
I bit my tongue.
Back in character, I looked around, as if afraid of being overheard.
"Yes," I said in as conspiratorial a voice as I could manage. I leaned in close to give him a good look at my cleavage. "We at SMERSH have had you in our sights for some time, now. Does it not concern you that I've been sent here to seduce and kill you?"
I love role-playing. It's a fun part of my job.
"Many have tried, Tatiana my sweet. Yet here I sit with you." He was trying his best to look supremely self-confident, but I could see in his eyes that he was desperately hoping I'd follow his lead. Hey, I'm a professional. I know how to weave fantasies for clients. I get well paid for this stuff and I'm good at it. So, I didn't miss a beat.