THE COMPANION Ch Four
The Diary
I have been working with Toni, mother's interior decorator for a couple of months now. I only stopped to see BA, TV, RE, and CF. I had asked CF quietly to look into RE's business and life. I warned him to be careful, but he looked at me like I was a newbie at investigations. We'll see.
I went along with Toni to several of her meetings with her clients and I watched her sell some expensive shit. I didn't think they had to buy the top of the line in everything, but Toni had told me these people want ONLY top of the line. I wrote the last job I went with her up myself and she was pleased with how I handled the customer and the sale.
She finally sent me out on a call by myself. She said it was a simple sale, and I should have no problem with it, just relax and have fun. Funny, that was the same advice I had been given when I started my other job. Relaxing didn't turn out to work so well then and I doubted it would now.
The job did go well, and I made the sale. It was a simple outdoor gazebo by their pool. I put in an expensive Tropical couch and chairs set that included a matching table. I also gave them a built-in barbeque set with a nice fridge and wine cooler. It made Toni a quick $9,000, and a promotion for me.
She told me I was on my own now. She would give me clients and I would make the sale. She would give me the credit but kept most of the money. I was okay with that; I didn't want to start really selling this stuff. If the accountant had invoices and pay stubs, I was good.
During this time, mother finally gave me a couple of clients. And they were different from what I had before.
Tony Herrara KR
Mother gave Lorelei an address and told her to tell the bouncer she was there for "Tony" and wait. When she arrived, she discovered it was a nightclub and when she told the bouncer she was there for Tony, he nodded and took her into a side room, away from the partiers.
A few minutes later, a twenty-something young Latino man came to see her. "Are you Lorelei?"
"I am, you must be Tony."
He looked her up and down and smiled at her. "I must be. Forgive the location. I am only in town for three days and I had to meet someone here. We can leave in just a minute, if you don't mind waiting here?"
"I'm fine right here. Just come and get me when you are ready."
He smiled at her, squeezed her elbow and left.
The bouncer was watching her. She didn't know if it was to protect her or keep her there, but she was in no hurry.
Ten minutes later, Tony came out with a couple of guys, and he led her out to a large Uber. The four of them got into the van and were off. "We have to just drop these guys off and then we can talk." She nodded and waited.
They went to the Bronz and dropped the two men at a nice Hilton. When they were alone, he smiled at her. "Thank you for being so patient. You are stunning, just like mother said."
"You know mother?"
He laughed, "All of us on the team know about mother."
She had a puzzled look on her face. "Team? What team?"
He sat back and looked at her carefully for a couple of minutes before he finally spoke. "You mean you don't know who I am?" She shook her head.
"Should I?"
"I guess that answers one question. You're not a baseball fan, are you?"
"Nope, I have other interests."
"I play for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team. We are in town to play the Yankees."
"I've heard of them, but I don't think I have ever seen them play."
"Bless mother's heart. She didn't send me a groupie."
"Excuse me, a groupie."
"You know, a girl that follows the players around hoping to hook up with one of them when they are in town."
"I am sure mother doesn't do that. I certainly have never met a baseball player, much less followed one around."
Tony looked her up and down again. "I am sure you would not have to follow anyone around to get their attention. So, what are you then?"
"I am a professional companion. I am not a streetwalker that is in and out in less than thirty minutes. I am arm candy for whatever the client wishes to do, only I come with guaranteed benefits."
Tony let out a slow breath. "I can certainly see the benefits. You are stunning. Leave it to mother, she knows her clients."
"Do others of you enlist the services of mother?"
"Yeah, two or three others, the ones that can afford her. She is not cheap, but, as I look at you, it is worth it. Forgive me for being rude. My name is Anthony Herrara, and I play in the outfield for the Orioles. Would you like to go to a game?"
"Tony, I will go with you wherever you wish me to. How long am I to be with you? She told me you would tell me."
"We are in town until Sunday night. I would be grateful if you could stay until after the Sunday game when we leave town."
"If that is what you wish, I'd be happy to accompany you until Sunday night."
"Ok. We can go to tonight's game. I have a suite with a couple of the other players. You may have one or two other ladies with you. They would be much like you. We don't mix with the families. We try to respect the children."
"That's nice of you."
"It's more about our health than anything. You don't want to mix wives and "girlfriends". Everyone loses, especially when they are short term girlfriends."
"I can see your point. You come here often, sailor?"
Tony let out a belly laugh. "My god, you have a great sense of humor."
"In this job, if you don't laugh, you will cry."
"I'm sorry for that. I promise there will be no crying in baseball tonight."
"Wait, wasn't there a movie that had that in it?"
"Who says you don't know baseball? It was "A League of Their Own, and starred Tom Hanks. It is about a female baseball team in the old days."
By now, they were at the ballpark. He led her into Yankee Stadium and handed her over to one of the clubhouse managers. "Bobby, please take Lorelei to my suite, and take care of her. Get her whatever she wants. I will pay for it, okay?"
The young man nodded. "Miss, please follow me."
"I'll see you after the game." And he was off.
The young man took Lorelei up an elevator until they got to a walkway going as far around the stadium as she could see. There were numbered doors every so often. The young man showed a guard his badge and showed him the badge he had for Lorelei. They went down the hall until he stopped at a door and opened it with a key.
It looked like a standard concert suite. It had a table with food, and a wine chest, and a refrigerator. The seats were comfortable, and he told her there was a phone on the wall. He gave her his number and told her to call him if she needed anything. He told her he thought there would only be one other lady in the suite with her tonight. And he was gone.
Lorelei put her badge in her purse and looked around. There was one team on the field, warming up. She knew more about baseball than she let on, but she wasn't going to be called a "groupie" under any circumstances.
She had just picked out a nice Chardonnay when the door opened and another beautiful young lady came in. She wasn't shy. "Hello, my dear. I think we are alone tonight. I hear Tom had a falling out with Susie."
"And Susie is..."
She laughed. "She's one of the us, dear. Who are you here with?"
Lorelei laughed. "Tony Herrara. We are fixtures around here, huh?"
"Just for two or three of the younger players that don't have wives yet. They will all get married and there will be a new generation of players after them. We have been with ball players for a hundred years. By the way, my name is Beverly."
"Lorelei." They hugged.
"That's a pretty name. I'm here with Wally." They sat and talked for two hours about mother and her business. Lorelei learned more from Beverly than anything mother or Bryon had told her. She learned the workings of the business. "Listen, dear. Mother may only charge fifteen per cent up front, but her "costs" can kill you. Watch your expenses to make sure she isn't slipping anything on yours that's not yours."
Lorelei only stopped to watch Tony bat. He had a single and a homerun.
Beverly laughed at her. "You're getting something special tonight. Whenever he has a big game against the Yankees, he celebrates hard. You might have an easy night, if he gets too drunk early."
"Does he ever hit the women?"
"Not that I've heard."
"How about Wally?"
Beverly looked down. "He has a few times, when he is in a bad streak. Mother had to warn him to stop it or lose her girls."
"I'm sorry about that. I've been put in a hospital a couple of times before I met mother."
"Then you will love her. She protects us and doesn't allow monkey business. We think she has muscle, but we don't know for sure."
Lorelei knew for sure, and she knew who mother's muscle was. A little extra on the side never hurt.