Lara was single and bored. She had a job that didn't pay well, a small apartment, some friends and little else. One of her friends was a part time escort, a job that paid very well and Lara had joined her on a couple of 'double dates', the reviews were good and she was considering doing more escort work. It was Erica who found a mystifying, brief advert on Craig's List and shared it with Lara, they decided to call and see what it was about.
Women wanted call – this number- no chancers, no amateurs, will be paid well.
That was very interesting she thought, and exciting – she would love to compete with professionals, if the professionals were who she had in mind.
"Spress." A male voice said, she couldn't tell if he was drunk, high or simply spoke fast.
"Hi, my name is Lara, I'm calling in response to the Craig's List ad?" She spoke as if she was asking if she had called the right number, more horrifically; she wasn't trembling – she was shaking like a leaf! Hell, she thought, what possessed me? And she almost put the phone down, but the man had begun speaking.
"Hang on. Due to the nature of the arrangement, if you wish to participate, I must inform you that you will need to sign a non-disclosure agreement and you will have to present a social security card for insurance purposes. All payments will be made in cash, ten percent upfront and the remaining ninety percent on completion. This is not negotiable... H'lo? You still there?"
"Yes...Yes..." She stuttered, not sure what she was agreeing to if she was agreeing to anything. "I'm... I'm sorry, could you repeat that please?" She asked politely.
"Don't you bitches listen the first time?" He said rudely, after a pause he continued and she realised he was reading from a sheet of paper.
"Due to the nature of the arrangement, if you wish to participate, I must inform you that you will need to sign a non-disclosure agreement and you will have to present a social security card for insurance purposes. All payments will be made in cash, ten percent upfront and the remaining ninety percent on completion. This is not negotiable." She was ready this time.
"I agree." Lara said.
"Because those are... what? What did you say?"
"I said 'I agree'. Who's not listening now?"
"Don't be a cheeky bitch. Are you a pro? I don't think so."
"If you're looking for a drug mule, yes I would be an amateur. If you're looking for an escort, I'm a professional. Do you want references?" Lies, lies, lies and damned lies! She looked at Erica who was looking at her with eyes opened wide in shock. Silently her friend punched the air and laughed.
"You're still being a cheeky bitch. Some guys might like that, I'm not one of them. Remember who's doling out the dough here, doll."
"Okay, sorry." She was insincere and she meant it. They put their heads together so that Erica could also hear and with Lara's hand cupped over the phone they giggled.
"Works like this, I email you a contract, you sign it and email it back. You get your ass to St. Joe in Missouri by six pm Missouri time on the date in the contract. I don't pay to get you here, I pay you back when you make it here, so make sure you keep slips, however you get here. The rest is in the contract. You get ten percent of your fee in St. Joe, the rest after the job in Sacramento. Got it so far?"
"Uh huh..."
"The rest is you doing your job doll. Easy money, rich clients. What's your email address or do you have to get to an internet café first?"
"Um, no...but can you send to two addresses? One is for a friend."
The man sighed. "No. Give her the number, she can call me. So shoot, what's your address?"
She gave it to him and then asked,
"What's your name? Just in case I need to know."
"You don't need to know, call me Buffalo Bill." He laughed at his joke and put the phone down. Fifteen anxious minutes later, in which they had discussed what 'their job' would entail, an email appeared in her inbox. Lara took a deep breath and opened it. There was a letter attachment and instructions and then the contract.
'Please find herewith the attached contract for you to sign and the instructions you need to follow should you choose to accept the proposal as stated below.
Your services are required from June the tenth until June the twentieth. This is a business trip arranged for discriminating clientele who wish to re-enact the travels of the Pony Express. We require eighty escorts for eighty clients with various tastes. Departure is in St. Joe, Missouri at eight pm, arrival is scheduled to be in Sacramento, California on June twentieth at six pm. Transport is by luxury coach, custom made for privacy.
We require the attached information and two recent photographs (one full length, one head and shoulders) additional to the contract. Your attributes and skills will ensure you a place. The signed contract and information must reach us at the address specified above within forty-eight hours of us sending the contract. Responses after the time limit is reached may re-apply to same number as the advert you responded to, however no escort's place guaranteed until you are extended a formal invitation to join us, indicating your application has been successful.'
Erica phoned immediately, she rolled her eyes at Lara as 'Bill' read his sheet of paper again and she gave him her email address. Lara printed the contract and the attachment and together they filled it in. She emailed it back – Attention: Buffalo Bill. Erica reported to Lara the following day that she had also sent her signed contract back. The next fortnight was torture, each time they spoke they speculated on this misadventure and wondered if they'd ever hear back from Buffalo Bill, as he'd designated himself.
The second Wednesday after she had sent back the contract she was sending an email to a friend when a new email appeared in her box.
'Attention: Miss L. G. Foust.
You are cordially invited to Buffalo Bill's Pony Express. Date and time of departure and arrival are as discussed. We are delighted to have you on board. See you there!'
That was it. The whole 'formal' invitation. She read it three times before it finally sunk in and then she jumped out of her chair, screaming "Yes!" An onlooker would be forgiven for thinking she'd won the lottery. Two months, she kept repeating to herself, two months and I escape this prison. She called Erica and told her to check her mail and Erica phoned her within an hour, she had also been accepted. That was a reason to go drinking and to plan strategy. Both women immediately began a strict diet and exercise regimen. They played around with their make-up trying to achieve a sultry, slightly slutty look. Lastly, both of them bought revealing negligees.
By the beginning of June both Lara and Erica were beside themselves with excitement. They looked good, they felt good and they were ready to be wined and dined and be an escort for a rich man for ten nights straight. On the tenth they threw their bags into Erica's car and drove down to St. Joe, when they arrived at the hotel and conference centre, they followed the signs reading Pony Express and came to a room which was open. In it a man who was certainly trying to look like Buffalo Bill and a woman Lara guessed would be Annie Oakley were sitting behind a desk drinking coffee, they was a open pizza box between them with two triangles of pizza left inside.
"Hi, we're here for the Pony Express." Erica spoke because she felt a lot more confident than Lara.
Buffalo Bill signed and picked up his clipboard, simultaneously licking a crumb off his fake mustache.