“Is this twenty-five thousand for sure?” I ask.
“I won’t let you work a job unless the pay is solid.”
I can barely swallow. “I want a guarantee of some kind. Paid upfront.”
“You don’t get paid until I get paid.”
“What happens if the client doesn’t pay as promised?”
“That’s what you’ve got me for. I go with all the talent to the auditions to make sure everything goes according to plan. If a talent is selected, the client has to pay fifty percent right then or he doesn’t get the talent. Simple.”
“How am I paid? Cash? Check?”
I realize I haven’t thought through all the details. Checks could bounce. Cash could be counterfeit. And inconvenient. Only drug dealers would carry around that much cash, right?
“Once I have the down payment, I can deposit your cut into your bank account. Sheesh.”
“Okay, let me think about it.”
“You gotta let me know now. The audition’s tomorrow. I’m driving all the talent up in the morning. You in or out?”
My pulse races. I hesitate, trying to think fast. Only my brain draws a blank.
“Okay,” I blurt.
“Be at my office by eleven o’clock. And make sure you look your part.”
“What’s my part?”
But Dan has hung up.
I quiver on the inside. I can’t believe I’m doing this. It all happened so fast. I thought I would get more time to sort out my buyer’s remorse.
No need to get too worked up. I haven’t even been chosen.
I take a deep breath. I’ll have to miss work tomorrow. If I don’t get selected, it will have cost me a day’s wages and study time. If I do get selected, well, I’ll make more in a week than I would working months at the hotel. If I lose my job, I could find another.
And I can still bail, even after getting selected. Dan won’t be happy, but if he thinks I can command that kind of money, he may not want to kick me to the curb, provided I’m still interested in trading in my virginity.
Feeling slightly better, I make it home. Sitting on my bed, I crack open my economics textbook, but there’s no way I can study.
“Get changed. We’re going to check out this new bar on Polk,” Talia says as she enters the room.
“Actually, I think I’m going to stay in,” I reply.
“You said you were going to go out with us tonight.”
“I know, but I’m not feeling so hot right now.”
It’s not a lie. I don’t feel good.
“You sure?”
I nod. “I might even skip studying and turn in early.”
“All right. Hope you feel better.”
I take a shower to calm my nerves, but I can’t sleep, though I pretend to when I hear Talia and Alexia stumbling into the house around two in the morning. I’m a private person, and though I like my roommates a lot, I don’t feel comfortable sharing what I’m up to. I can’t think of anyone I would tell.