"How do you say this word?" Katya asked her friend and tutor.
The attractive brunette moved in close to her friend of 6 months. She and the lovely Dane had become immediate friends when Katya had started working in the coffee shop Sara frequented. Katya was taking night classes to improve her English, yet she was still struggling with idiom. Sara herself spoke three languages, one of them being French, which Katya also spoke. They were able to communicate and the curvy brunette was able to help the slender, 5'9" blonde immigrant. They met for coffee every other day and discovered they had a lot in common. Both were divorced and their divorces had cost them a great deal.
"That word is
degenerate
," Sara explained to her friend.
"What does that mean -- degenerate?"
"Like your ex-husband," Sara laughed.
"Oh, it means like asshole pervert," Katya grinned and laughed along with her friend. Baron Frederick la Cour had seemed the very picture of debonair, suave and charming when Katya had first met him. Only a few years into the marriage did the then-25 year old blonde ex-model discover she had given up a life of pleasure, travel and fun to marry a man who was cruel, twisted and wished to use her for his own amusement. Katya was far from prudish, but her 25-years older husband viewed her as a possession. Free will was not to be tolerated. If he wanted her to have sex with several of his business associates and their wives, she would be expected to do just that. With the help of one of his kinder and more influential associates, Katya was able to leave Denmark and come to Canada. She liked the flavor of the country and when she settled in Toronto, she found work and with assistance, was able to take classes to improve her English. One of her customers at the coffee shop was a lawyer and he was helping her
pro bono
. Katya would have suspected he had a thing for her had the gentleman in question not been 65 years of age and a happily-married grandfather of 2.
Frederick's lawyers were almost as devious and underhanded as the man himself. It had been a blessing for her to meet Sara. When Gerard couldn't come to represent her, Sara would come to any court hearings or meetings to make sure Frederick's "pond of scumbags" as Katya called them, were not trying to pull any fast ones. The attractive ex-photographer could well have been a lawyer herself, not one thing slipped past her. Even Gerard commented on how agile Sara was and what meticulous notes she took.
"There's nothing wrong with a little perversion," Sara giggled, leaning in close to Katya. She smelled the Jasmine perfume Katya wore, which was her favorite. Katya was also wearing the lilac scarf Sara had given her for her birthday last week and a pair of 3-inch heels that made her so breathtaking and tall. She wanted Katya to pose for her someday and Katya had promised that she would when things were more tranquil. Sara intended to hold her to that promise. A woman like Katya could easily be a muse to a talented photographer and Sara Jordan was nothing if not talented. Although she had fallen on hard times, it was not her doing. She had put her trust and her love in a man that had deserved neither of those things.
Geoff Patterson had been a younger, very funny and hip young photographer's assistant who knew how to lay on the flattery -- with a trowel. He had told his boss that she was the best photographer he had ever seen and that her erotic photos could make her wealthy. That was true enough. Geoff had excellent contacts at several magazine and Internet publishers. Sara's workload doubled and she was able to take on her new assistant full-time. The 22-year old hunk was soon able to worm his way into her bedroom as well.
Geoff had one good point, he was a fucking machine. The sultry brunette had never found any man who could perform foreplay with the style that Geoff could and then get one of her patented, never-fail blowjobs and get off and THEN fuck her for a solid hour. She found herself smitten with the handsome, sandy-haired surfer dude. He was always praising his lady and telling her she was the best at everything she did.
That
probably should have been her first clue. There was never any doubt in her mind that he believed that and when he proposed marriage, the 4-years older Sara let herself be swayed. Sara had never been as successful as she was while working with her new husband. The work was coming in daily and so was the cash. She wasn't sure how to handle it all and when Geoff offered to help his new wife manage the business, she accepted.
Like Katya's husband, Geoff had a dark side. His involved gambling and the crazy, free-spending lifestyle that went with it. He had embezzled nearly $200,000 from their business accounts before Sara discovered the losses. She found out because the creditors came a-callin' and Geoff was long-gone by then. With some minor financial assistance from friends, she was able to stave off repossession of much of her equipment, but the damage was done. Even her divorce was granted with Geoff in absentia. To this very day, Sara didn't even know if Geoff Patterson had been his real name. She resumed working as Sara Jordan, but a lot of her contacts were no longer calling. She was angry, her work was as good as ever, but the scandal had caused her professional reputation to suffer. Every so often, she would allow herself to wallow in self-pity. She'd have a few too many drinks and cry. When Katya came along, those times lessened considerably and now her biggest indulgence when melancholy was a big hunk of cherry cheesecake AND ice cream on the side.
"Has Gerard made any progress with your landlords?" Sara asked as Katya brought them more coffee.
"No, I think it's a -- what is the expression? -- a lost cause," Katya sighed. She had found a lovely condo in Queen's Quay and lived there for a year until Frederick's attorney froze all of the few accounts she had been able to access. She had not yet been able to find a better job and truly wanted to become a Canadian and learn about the language and the people. She loved her customers at the coffee shop and the owners treated her as one of the family. She didn't want to have to move to a smaller, cheaper place. If she could have found work as a model, she would easily have been able to afford it, but again, Frederick had reached out. All her European contacts had dried up and she wasn't a known commodity in North America. Sara had offered to shoot a nice portfolio of her for free, but work would be a while in arriving.
"I have some good news, then," Sara smiled. "Gerard and some of his detective friends were able to find some of my missing money. Not a lot, only about $50 thousand, but it's enough for now. There are some lovely loft apartments for sale very near here and they're easily big enough for two. If I put down the down payment and we both share the costs, we should be able to afford it for a while, at least until we're both back on our feet. I know I can rebuild my career and it would be nice to have a friend to come home to. Plus, you make better coffee than I do," Sara chuckled. "Please accept -- or else I'll end up one of those dotty old women with 8 cats."
Katya didn't answer Sara; in fact, she looked away and stood up. Sara went to follow her and when Katya turned to face her, there were tears in her lovely, pale blue eyes. "After all I have been through, to find someone who has made me such a part of her life and is willing to help me achieve my dreams; I did not believe this would happen. Of course I accept. How could I not?" When she finished, she hugged Sara and both of them were crying.
They decided not to waste any time and went to look at one of the lofts the next day. It wasn't huge, but the view of Lake Ontario was beautiful and the price was actually a bit less than Sara had anticipated. There were three rooms and one of them offered so much light that Sara knew she would be able to use it as a studio. Another nice plus was their landlady was a recent divorcee who also turned out to be a very close friend of Gerard's. She promised them she would do anything she could to make this deal happen. The two best friends knew this place was for them and the papers were drawn up for them to sign after Gerard had looked them over.
"I'm going to be living with my best friend," Katya smiled. "Now it doesn't seem so frightful, being divorced and living in a new country."
"I don't know how you do it, you constantly amaze me," Sara told her as they went to the Olde Spaghetti Factory for lunch. "When I found out about Geoff, all I wanted to do for a while was curl up into a little ball and hide."
"Why are so many gorgeous people such swine?" Katya asked as their server approached. The girl was a lovely young thing of about 19 who frowned as she heard that. "We didn't mean you dear, we're talking about our exes," Katya laughed. The girl laughed as well and said she had one of those as well. She took their drink orders and left.
"That's not true, you're the sweetest person I know and you're stunning," Sara told her. "Once we're moved in and are all settled, I'm going to shoot your portfolio. If they aren't beating down the doors to use you, I don't know my job."
"I'll try to insist you take all of my photos, we'll be a team," Katya laughed. They clinked glasses when their server returned and sealed the deal.
With Gerard's assistance, they were approved and the loft was now theirs. The two friends moved in as fast as they were able. Both had some very willing, eager young men assisting them. Some from Sara's group and many of Katya's customers and friends from the coffee shop. When some of the other locals saw the two beauties that were moving in, they soon had a squadron of helpers.
"I love this place," Katya sighed. She looked out at the sun over the lake. "How beautiful it is. Do you know, this is the very first place that is actually mine? I moved from my parent's home to Frederick's. I was only leasing the condo with an option to buy. I'm going to love living here with my best friend. Who knows, I might even get a social life, if I ever stop working and studying," she laughed.
"A social life? What is this of which you speak? Oh yes, the thing I had before I married the surfer-swine," she chuckled. "We'll have to work out a code if we bring a guy home -- hang a tie on the door or something," she teased Katya.
"What if we bring home a
girl?
" Katya winked. "Panties or bra on the doorknob?"
Sara blinked for a second. In all the months of their friendship, it had never even occurred to her that Katya might be bi-sexual, although she knew a lot had gone on during her marriage. Some of the models she had photographed had made passes, although Sara had never succumbed to them. Oh well, if Katya liked women, that was just ducky with her. Anything her friend wanted and that would make her happy was fine. So why was she feeling odd about it? There had to be a reason, she just had no idea what was bugging her. She let it go and started moving some of the furniture around. She was having professional movers handle her equipment in a few days and she would supervise. She didn't want anyone but insured professionals handling her stuff because she could not afford to start over again.
Over the next few weeks, the roommates and friends settled in. To Sara's surprise. Katya's mind for business far exceeded her own. When Sara was negotiating with new clients, Katya would listen in. Several old clients were returning as well and trying to negotiate lower fees with the lovely photographer. Katya saw it all and wasn't impressed. If she would frown, Sara would excuse herself and let Katya explain herself. "You're underselling yourself," she told Sara. "If they're coming back to you, it's because they haven't found anyone as good. Make them pay for screwing you over. Raise your rates. A few of them might not like it, but the ones who really want your work will pay."
