Page 13 of Yours to Conquer

“He stalked me. Then he hired me to attend a fundraiser with him.”

“What do you mean, he hired you?” David asks. He places a bite of meatloaf in his mouth and chews.

I look across the table at Anthony and see he’s enjoying this. The merriment dancing in his eyes is unmistakable. I’ll have to figure out a way to make him pay for my discomfort.

“I was an escort.”

CHAPTER NINE

You could’ve heard a pin drop after my statement. I look around the table and see that both of his parents have stopped eating, and Anthony can barely contain his laughter.

I hear a slight cough coming from Claire, so I look in her direction. “Do you mean, like, a prostitute?” She says this calmly and without judgment. Her eyes are staring directly at me.

Anthony bursts into a full belly laugh while I’m left speechless. Claire’s eyes move slowly to look at her son.

“No, Mom, she’s not a prostitute. She attends social functions as a platonic companion. It’s a great service to use when you need a date that doesn’t expect dinner and flowers. I saw her at the Los Angeles Food and Wine Festival, and I knew I wanted to date her. We went to Damon’s cancer research fundraiser together. I asked her out, but she said she wouldn’t mix business with pleasure, so I fired her. I was no longer a client, and she was free of her conflict. The rest is history.”

“That will be an interesting story to tell your kids,” David says as he puts another forkful of meatloaf in his mouth. At the mention ofkids, my eyes dart to Anthony, and he is still beside himself, laughing.

“I love interesting stories, but I have to say that this one tops them all for me,” Claire comments. “How did you ever get started in that business, Emma? It’s not your average career.”

“It’s a long story, but the short version is I lost my mother at a young age. I had an absentee father, and at eighteen, I had to support myself.” I take a sip of wine and continue. “My mom always told me to make sure I could take care of myself. I remember her telling me not to let any man take away my options. I met a nice man at a coffee shop, and he needed a date for a holiday party—the rest is history. In hindsight, I was careless in going out with a stranger, especially since he was so much older than me.” My eyes meet with Anthony’s as I say the word “older.” “I was fortunate. He turned out to be a nice man who ended up being a lot of help to me. All of my clients have come from that initial meeting. I only escort people who are referred to me. I don’t date people I escort.”

“Are you still in the escort business?” Claire asks.

“No, I quit after the first date with your son. I work for Anthony in the marketing department of Anthony Haywood’s.”

“She does an amazing job in our marketing department. Now that Ahz has opened, things have slowed down. I’m afraid she may get bored and want to leave me.” Anthony looks across the table at me.

“Since you brought it up. Kat says they will be hiring a public relations representative for Ahz, and I’m thinking about applying. I like working at Anthony Haywood’s. However, fetching coffee and checking print ads isn’t quite as fulfilling as I’d hoped it would be. It’s not why I spent four years in college.” I see Anthony is not happy with this information. He knew I was getting bored, or he wouldn’t have mentioned that he was afraid I’d leave him.

“I think it’s great you went to college, and you’re chasing your dreams. In my day, women were breaking free of the traditional wifeand mother roles. I was more of a traditionalist. I loved staying home and taking care of my boys––Anthony and David are my world.” She smiles warmly at her husband and then at Anthony. “I would’ve entered the workforce as a secretary if Anthony didn’t sneak in there.” She looks at her son with pride.

“My mom was the same. She was a stay-at-home mom until she passed away.”

“We’re so sorry to hear you lost your mom at such an early age. Aren’t we, David?” Claire asks. David stops eating his meatloaf long enough to nod his head.

“Oh… Emma,” Anthony says. “We’re going to the Los Angeles Food and Wine Festival in a couple of weeks. I kept meaning to tell you, but I always forgot. Will you go with me?”

I love the way he says we are going but then asks if I want to attend.

“Of course, I’ll go. You’re talking about food and wine, two of my favorite things. There’s no way I’m missing it.” They have the best food and wine available. Who would pass that up?

“How is Damon?” Claire asks as she cuts her meatloaf in small bites as she waits for one of us to answer.

“He’s great. He just got back from Hawaii.” Looking up, he winks at me. “He’s engaged to marry Emma’s former roommate, Katarina. No date’s been set, but I don’t see Damon waiting too long.”

“Oh, my goodness, he’s engaged? How exciting.” Claire claps her hands together. “I can’t wait until the day my son comes home and tells me he’s engaged.” She looks straight into Anthony’s eyes. “You’re not getting any younger, and neither is your father and me. We’d like some grandchildren someday.”

Now it’s my turn to bust into a full belly laugh. Anthony’s mouth drops open in shock.

“On that note, I think it’s time to clean up and get on the road.Em, and I have work tomorrow.” He stands, picks up a few dishes, and heads to the kitchen.

We help clean up the dinner mess and gather our things so we can leave. Claire bags up some cookies for us to eat later. She clips a few yellow roses and then wraps the stems in damp paper towels and foil.

“It was such a pleasure to have you for dinner, Emma. My boy is pretty crazy about you.” She gives me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you for having me. I’m pretty crazy about your son.” I look up into the face of the man that has stolen my heart. Our eyes connect for only a minute, but that’s all I need to see that Anthony Haywood loves me.

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