Chapter 36

I met with Lillian the next day to meet her dad, her biological one. We stood outside the barbecue restaurant looking in through the window. I pointed him out to Lillian who looked at him as if he held the moon. Her gaze followed his every movement. He was talking to an employee about something and smiling.

"Are you ready to go in?" I asked her after a few seconds of staring continued.

"You're not coming in with me?" She asked puzzled.

"It's not my place nor would it be right. I turned him away from you, remember."

"And now you're bringing me to see him. It's the least you can do, remember." Lillian mocked me. She was wearing a plain pink shirt that showed her belly and dark blue jeans with white Nike's. Her hair still in the braids Talia had done was up in a messy bun.

"You'll be fine. He wants to see you." I assured her.

"He didn't seventeen years ago. What if he has a family himself? I don't want to ruin my family or his. What if it's better this way?"

"You'll never know unless you go in there and guess what?"

"What?"

"You have a sister. A little sister and I bet she can't wait to meet you."

Lillian's face went through a variety of emotions from happiness to sadness. "Just go." I urged her more, pushing her toward the door.

"Ok. OK. The other night you said something."

"What of?"

"About school. What happened at school?" Lillian implored.

"Here he comes. Bye." I ran and got into my car as her dad approached. He looked at her and then at me. I should have driven away but I watched the sweet exchange. He gathered Lillian into a papa bear hug. Her feet rose from the ground as she curled into him. I wiped an eye. I had one last thing to do.

"So you've gotten caught up." She said. We sat across from each other as we did almost a year ago. I met her at Peachtree University. She introduced me to SitForMe but also the darker aspects of exploiting my customers. I didn't know much about her aside from the fact that she didn't work for SitForMe.

"I did. I'm done." I answered, drinking my white hot chocolate. I didn't even know her name. She was listed as She in my phone and so I referred to her as she or simply nothing.

"I didn't peg you for the type to give up so easily."

"You pegged correctly," I replied. She was breathtakingly beautiful with dark brown eyes, full glossy lips, straight black hair and sleek, laid eyebrows. She made my lungs stop contracting. She wasn't the woman for me. I had asthma. I needed every breath of air I could get.

"So what will you do now? Are you going to take me up on my offer?"

She hadn't told me much about her offer but then she said if I could exploit people and not get caught I'd be perfect for the job. "I got caught."

"Doesn't matter. You learned all the necessary skills. Patience, observe and not be seen, confidence and the ability to warp the minds of those who are assumed to be greater than you. Have you learned these things?"

"I have so what's the job?" I said with a slight gulp. I licked my lips any job with her wouldn't be by the book. I was supposed to be starting a new life. A new start. Addictions die hard.

"My business is a lot like SitForMe. Clients come to me looking for sitters or nannies and I offer them and they pick. I get a fee for each job and they pay a registration fee as well." She said simply sipping her mocha latte.

"What are the differences?"

"My clients are wealthier and more high end. They pay more and desire more. My employees are qualified sitters both also pleasers who enjoy the finer things in life-"

"Oh my gosh, you can't be saying-"

"They have relations with the clients. It can be sexual and just sex but some have formed relationships with their sitters or nannies and employ only them. They provide their nanny or sitter with extra cash, gifts and some live with the clients."

"So basically their whores." I said.

"Don't be so childish. Whores don't babysit and that is mainly what the sitters do. They just provide extra and it's all consensual. My employees are twenty-one and over and know what they're getting into and can stop at any time. It's a win-win for them, the clients and me. We get paid and they get-"

"Laid." I filled in.

"Precisely but they get more. A connection with someone who wants what they want and that isn't easy to find. They get a reliable sitter for their kids and a noncomplicated relationship."

"You can't seriously be asking me to be a sitter for you? I'm not even twenty."

"Nor do you meet the qualifications. You're pretty but you're a virgin and my number one rule beside being at least twenty-one is that you can't be a virgin."

"How do you know I'm a virgin?"

"You look it." She simply said.

"So what's the job you want me for?" I said taking a bite into my bagel.

"Now as you can imagine this business isn't known by just anyone. So even though it brings in a profit it's not my only business. I have an online magazine. Bite it. It's a female run magazine and I'm looking for a head writer/editor. I've seen your paper Chocolate vs. White: Why is Strawberry always left out? You write about how black and white people are daily discussed in media, books and life but other minorities such as asians and hispanics are rarely brought up.”

“How did you read that? I submitted it for the School of the New York Times,”

“I have a writer who also works for them. I can put in a good word for you if you accept my job offer.”

“I think I’ll get in without your help.” I boldly claimed not entirely sure but if she liked my paper then they were probably interested as well.

“Perhaps, perhaps not. Are you willing to take that gamble?”

I finished my toasted, plain bagel topped with cream cheese. I had gotten kicked out of school but I also got my loans paid off. I had gotten caught by Lillian but I did help her to see her dad. My cards weren’t looking so good but the circumstances could have been a lot worse. I smiled at She and sipped my chocolate.

“You didn’t mention,” I began. “How are the benefits?”