Alexandria Foster is your name. You are a graduate student at the University of San Francisco. You are working towards a masters in psychology. You have been working as a Barista for four years, since your 20th birthday, to pay your way through undergrad and grad school. But the bills are piling up regardless. It seems no matter how hard you try you can't get on top of the bills. Your rent was late again last month, and your landlord said if it's late again he'll kick you out. You've had to take out several student loans, and at this point you are almost 75k in debt.
Frankly you are getting a bit desperate, and so you signed up for an online service. It's called "seeking arrangements." Basically, it's a... dating service where the people involved come to a... financial arrangement. It took you an hour or so to make yourself look perfect for the profile picture. Hey, beauty sells -- and here, that's what's being bought.
~~~
And... today is the big day. You are meeting with Wallace Fullmore today. You've chatted with him online a bit. He's a 54 year old businessman right here in SF. He has a large mansion overlooking the bay. There is a cast-iron gate flanked by a hedge wall as you exit your Uber ride. You are looking your best today. You tried to dress to match the profile picture as best as you could. What if you changed something and you changed what he liked. Best to be safe rather than living on the streets. Rent is due in about a week, and frankly if this doesn't go well you don't know what you are going to do.
You ring the buzzer next to the call box, and a voice comes over the comm. "Yes? Can I help you?" "Mr. Fullmore?" you inquire.
The voice on the other side of the line chuckles "No ma'am, I am Rene, Mr. Fullmore's butler. Might I ask whom you are?"
Butler? Do people still have those? Apparently so "um... I'm Alex. Mr. Fullmore is expecting me."
"Ohhh! Ms. Foster, yes Mr. Fullmore said you would be stopping by today. Please, come in." There is a buzzing noise as the door next to the gate unlocks. You pull it open and go inside, walking up the front yard towards the house.
The house is huge, three stories tall. It has a large overhang providing a sheltered area in front of the house for cars to pull up to the front door. The yard is large, and surrounded by tall hedges. There are several fountains and flower beds scattered around the lush green lawn. As you walk towards the house the door opens and you see Rene standing there. He reminds you of Alfred from Batman. You really didn't think butlers were still a thing, but apparently they are.
"Right this way Ms. Foster, you can wait for the Master in the sitting room to your right."
You thank Rene and walk past him into the house. Frankly you are stunned by the lavish display of wealth. It's a beautiful home. The sitting room wraps around the side of the house to the back, and it has a full view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the water. You stare in disbelief. You gingerly sit down on the couch. It looks extremely expensive, as does the rest of the house. You glance down at yourself. You are wearing your blue shawl and a low cut shirt to show off your bosom. You have a short skirt that cuts off above the knee and high heeled shoes. None of it is very expensive. The whole outfit cost you less than 50 dollars. Your grandmother knitted you the shawl...
Suddenly you feel incredibly self-conscious. Maybe you should just leave... If you do your lab work in the evening you could take an extra shift in the shop... you'd still be able to get... 4 hours of sleep? Maybe? For the next... month?
You sit up straight and smile as you hear someone coming into the room. "Hello Alexandria, I am Mr. Fullmore. For a man in his 50s you have to admit he doesn't look half bad. He's a bit of a silver fox actually -- not that you would ever date him under normal circumstances.
The two of you talk for a while. He asks you about your program, and seems to be genuinely interested as you explain your work to him. He talks only briefly about himself, always directing questions back and somehow turning the conversation so you are talking about yourself. Frankly you actually enjoy having someone interested in what you do for once. Your deadbeat parents don't seem to ever care, and you lost a lot of friend by putting school ahead of them...
Eventually the topic of conversation switches to money and you mention your rent. 750 due in four days.
"Oh! Right, of course. How silly of me, I almost forgot." He digs into his suit pocket and pulls out a check book. He quickly scrawls away at it, then tears it off, handing it to you. You look down and your jaw drops open in disbelief. It's a check for four grand.
"I.." you stammer before he speaks over you.
"That should cover your rent and money for an outfit to wear this Saturday evening. I do believe you said you were free? I'm having dinner with some Japanese Oil Tycoons at Saison. It's the culmination of a week long business talk. More of a formality really. They won't be around much, so we can have dinner just the two of us. Rene can drive you to the tailor so you can pick out something to wear.
All you can do is nod. Four grand! He handed it to you like it was nothing! You suppress the shaking of your hands. The next few hours are like a whirlwind. You feel a bit like a Disney princess as you are whisked away in a limo by Rene, off to the most luxurious cloths shops you have ever seen. After hours of trying things on, you buy a black dress worth almost three grand, and shoes to match. Rene drives you home at the end of the day and drops you off in front of your apartment. You carry your new things inside. You drop them in your room then go pay the landlord. He seems happy that you got his money to him ahead of time this time.