Breaking Into the Business Read online

  Madam of Suburbia

  Book One

  Breaking into the Business

  Hadley Knox

  Maidenhead Publishing

  Madam of Suburbia Book One

  Breaking into the Business

  A Maidenhead Book

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2012 by Hadley Knox

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher or author, excepting brief quotes used in reviews. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without permission of the publisher or author.

  ISBN-13: 978-1-938345-88-3

  ISBN-10: 1-938345-88-6

  First Maidenhead E-Book Printing: September 2012

  Printed in the United States of America

  Books by Hadley Knox:

  Madam of Suburbia

  Breaking into the Business

  Family Affair

  Gigolo Murder

  Note from the author:

  This book is not meant to promote or condone prostitution in any form. Any viewpoints expressed by characters are meant purely for entertainment purposes and do not reflect my personal ideology.

  All characters in this book are completely fictional and not based on any real individuals.

  During sexual encounters, it is not specified in the story whether or not characters use any sort of protection. I have left it up to each reader to decide if this occurred.

  Chapter One

  I cringed with shame as a man whose name I couldn’t recall undid my bra. He kissed the nape of my neck as I searched my memory bank for where we had met. The night began at a restaurant, before my friends and I had moved on to our favorite bar. I gave up my search as he ran his finger down my stomach towards…

  The alarm blared in my ear. I rolled over and slammed my palm on the snooze button, hoping for just a few more minutes of sleep. The sun had broken its way through my window, trespassing into my room and reminding me of the time in a much more subtle way than my annoying alarm.

  I sat up in bed and pushed my legs out from underneath the covers. A knock sounded on my door and Jake poked his head in.

  “Mom,” he said. “Are you just now waking up? We have to leave for school in five minutes.”

  “I’ll be ready, dear,” I said, wiping my face before rolling my neck around to work out the kinks.

  The night before, I had stayed up late working on my latest pile of manuscripts, but even after I went to bed, sleep had been elusive. Once sleep had finally decided to grace itself with its presence, it hit me like a ton of bricks.

  As I walked to the bathroom, I realized that my heart was still pounding. Sex dreams had become more frequent lately. I chalked it up to the fact that it had been months – no years – since the last time I had sex. After Frank left the kids and me, I just lost something in myself and another man was the last thing on my mind.

  There wasn’t enough time to complete my morning ritual before I had to leave. There was a time many years ago that I never would have left the house without makeup or fixing my hair, but life had a way of beating that sense of self-worth out of me.

  I tried running a brush through my tangled brown curls, but gave up, and just pulled it all back behind my head and put it up in a ponytail. The sweats and t-shirt I wore to bed would work for the morning, since I only had to drop the kids off at school and come right back.

  Before leaving the bathroom, I stopped and checked myself in the mirror. Other than the fact that I had quite apparently just woken up, I felt good about myself. At thirty-two, I could still count myself slender, a fact that I never took for granted. Despite my best friends’ proclamations that I was pretty, I thought of myself as one of those people who could be attractive if I spent just a little time on myself.

  I slipped on a pair of sneakers and bounced down the steps to the first floor. Jake was finishing his cereal while Mallory sat in her usual spot on the couch, her fingers working vigorously on her cell phone. I could never understand how she had so much to say or that she had enough friends that it required so much of her time. Luckily, I was smart enough to buy a cell phone plan with unlimited texting.

  “You ready?” I asked them, grabbing my keys from the ceramic bowl on the bar.

  “Um,” Mallory began. I could already hear the attitude boiling up and preparing to blast me in the face. “We’ve been ready for a while, Lana.”

  “Excuse me, young lady,” I said, staring her down. “I’ll call the phone company right now and have your phone cut off.”

  “Sorry,” she replied between clenched teeth. Then she added the word that I had been looking for. “Mom.”

  “That’s much better,” I forced a smile. “Now get your mean butt in the car.”

  Mallory may have taken after me physically, but her personality was the spitting image of her asshole father. Indifference and disrespect. Those two words characterized Frank the best. In fact, he was so good at those two words that he had packed up and left two years earlier with only a hastily written note as his explanation.

  The drive to the school was quick, which only made me question why the kids couldn’t just walk to school. I knew that wasn’t an option, because none of the other children walked. That was one of the biggest hang-ups about living in this neighborhood. All the other families had loads of money, and with that money, came a whole bag of prestige and snobbery. I would never allow my children to be victims of that hate.

  I stopped in front of the school and they both jumped out of the car. Jake was thoughtful enough to tell me goodbye before he grabbed his bag from the floorboard and set out. Mallory didn’t say a word.

  As frustrated as I could get with her, I had to remember that she was at that difficult age of fourteen when her entire world was changing. On top of that, she had to deal with the loss of her father.

  Jake had handled the whole business of Frank’s departure much better than I ever thought possible. The similarity between father and son stopped at the physical. Emotionally, Jake was more like me, and I thanked God every day for that fact. We were tough eggs to crack, resilient to pain.

  I turned into the driveway and nearly hit the little red pickup parked there. In the short time since I had left to take the kids to school, Derrick had arrived to clean the pool. He was such a sweet boy and his rates were the cheapest I had found. He was prompt with his three visits each week and on the occasions, I was at the house, he was courteous and respectful.

  When I walked into the house, I peeked out the back windows, but couldn’t see Derrick. When I walked into the kitchen, I set the keys back in their place and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. I nearly knocked over the giant stack of mail on the island.

  My heart sank. I knew exactly what happened. Every week or so, Mallory would have to go the mailbox, because if she didn’t, the lid would not close. I hated checking the mail more than anything. All that came recently were bills and more bills. They were stacking up so fast that I could practically make enough money on recycling them to pay the mortgage.

  I wanted to scream and ram my hands through the pantry door. Frank was such a bastard. At least he had been kind enough to leave me every cent in the bank account, but he had also left me all the bills. I made a fair salary as an editor, but it still wasn’t enough
to maintain our previous lifestyle.

  The savings began to shrink the day after Frank left. We had a sizable nest egg put back, but it went fast when there was only one income for a family accustomed to upper middle class living. Fast forward two years later and there wasn’t much left. The kids and I had made an agreement to cut back where we could, and so far, we had done a great job of it. Both Jake and Mallory agreed to purchase their clothes from a second hand shop two towns over that sold name brand clothes at a fifth of the price, and we had all agreed that we didn’t need all the movie channels. As the savings dwindled, we tried to cut back more, but I was willing to allow my children to sacrifice only so much.

  The worst thing that could happen was for us to lose the house. I was not prepared to face that one eventuality. The whole reason Frank and I chose this neighborhood in the first place was the school. Out of all the schools in the state, Stone Park High School was the best. If Jake and Mallory continued with the grades they were making, then their potential for success after high school would be secured.

  No, I wouldn’t lose the house. Living in this damn uppity neighborhood was the only way to make sure they could still attend. Maybe I would take on an extra job.

  Setting the bottled water down on the counter, I walked to the back of the house. Four enormous windows provided a remarkable view of our spacious, extravagantly landscaped backyard. Jake and I completed that project a few weeks before. For only a few hundred dollars, the two of us had made the backyard beautiful enough to be featured on a magazine cover.

  I scanned the side of the pool and there was still no sign of Derrick. A slight hint of worry crept up, as I hadn’t seen him when I first walked in either. He might have gone to his truck to get something, but he would have been back by now.

  Reaching up and grabbing the handle, I slid the glass door back and walked outside. Immediately I saw the bucket of chemicals and the cleaning net resting on top. However, there was no sign of Derrick.

  I walked past the two lounge chairs and towards the edge of the pool. I let out a breath of air when I saw him in the water.

  When his head broke the surface, I saw his shoulder length blond hair was wet and mashed against the side of his head. He lifted his hands and pushed it away from his face, but he still hadn’t opened his eyes to see me.

  As he stepped out of the pool, I watched the water drip off his deeply tanned, well-toned torso. His dark complexion had come from hours in the sun, and his rippling arms were the result of slinging that cleaning net around everywhere. I felt something in my chest flutter, but I couldn’t turn my gaze away.

  He looked like an angel. His face was perfection, with his strong jaw line, high cheekbones, and those pretty blue eyes that sparkled even in the dark.

  I could have slapped myself. He was practically a child. Well, actually, he was only five years younger than I was, but somehow that age gap seemed more than it really was. Somehow, I couldn’t escape the slight feeling of creepiness as I lusted after the pool boy.

  I tried to divert my gaze and actually managed to turn to the left for a split second. When I turned back, I saw that he was now completely out of the pool.

  And he was completely naked.

  I gasped out loud. He noticed my presence for the first time and stepped back, nearly falling back into the pool.

  “Lana, I’m sorry,” he said quickly. He stared back at me like a deer stuck in the headlights. I almost blushed when I saw that the cleaning net wasn’t the only thing he could clean the pool with.

  He didn’t even bother to cover himself up. What the hell? At some point in life, had he lost all of his shame? I could barely manage to be naked in front of a mirror and here he was just parading around my backyard without a stitch of clothes.

  “It’s no problem, Derrick,” I said. I wanted to turn away, but I couldn’t. I suddenly didn’t feel so creepy anymore.

  He walked over to where he had left his bathing suit on the side of the pool. I got one or two more quick looks before he put it back on. No tan lines. So this must be a frequent activity for him when cleaning pools.

  “I’m really, really sorry,” he repeated. “I don’t do this all the time.”

  “I promise that it’s okay,” I said.

  “I don’t do this all the time,” he said. “I got my suit wet and my seats are cloth, so I was letting my suit dry out.”

  “Seriously, Derrick,” I said. “Stop apologizing.”

  Had his face not been so tan, he might have been blushing, but it was hard to tell.

  “I can go,” he said.

  Poor thing, I thought. He was more embarrassed than I was. That was an interesting turn. I almost laughed out loud, but thought better of it. It would only make things worse. I couldn’t let him leave, because there was no way to find someone as cheap as him that did that good of a job. Not to mention the fact that there were many worse things I would rather find in my pool.

  “Are you done cleaning the pool?” I asked.

  “No,” he shook his head. “But I’m sure you’ll want to find someone else.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “You just caught me in your pool naked.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not replacing you. Skinny-dipping is not that big of a deal. I’ve done it many times before.”

  That was a lie. Having kids at such an early age, had left Frank and me little time for the traditional honeymoon phase of our relationship. Nevertheless, the lie seemed to work.

  “So you’re really not that upset with me?”

  “I’m not going to say this again,” I said. “This is not that big of a deal.”

  “Okay,” he nodded, seeming to relent. “I guess I’ll finish up here.”

  While he finished up with the pool, I went back inside and grabbed two bottled waters. When I returned to patio, he was depositing the last of the chemicals into the pool.

  I sat down in a lounge chair and patted the one next to me. When he sat down, I handed him one of the waters. I watched the rise and fall of his chest as he drank the water. I had the sudden wish that he would pour the rest over himself.

  “I’m really glad you didn’t fire me,” Derrick said when he finished. “I need this job bad.”

  “Is everything okay?” I asked.

  “Money is just a little tight,” he answered. “Most of the people around here use the bigger companies to maintain their pools. It’s hard for a guy like me to compete.”

  “Did you ever apply to that college?” I asked.

  “Still saving up,” he said. “I check every semester, but the prices go up faster than I can save the money. I think I might have enough to start when I get done this summer.”

  I took a drink of my water and watched him stare out at the pool. He was such a smart kid and just needed a break. If Frank was still here, and we could afford it, I would definitely give him the money he needed to start his education. However, I suspected that Derrick had more in his savings than I did.

  “I hope you get to go,” I said. “I wish I knew more people to refer you to.”

  “You’ve already gotten most of your friends to let me take care of their pools,” Derrick said. “Without you, I don’t think I would have half the money saved that I do.”

  “Good,” I said with a nod.

  I liked helping people. When I had disposable income, I could do it more frequently, but when it came to living off of savings, I had to be a little more frugal because my children came first.

  “So seriously, you’re not mad at me?” Derrick asked again.

  I actually laughed out loud that time. “Think nothing of it. Just please make sure not to do this when my kids are home.”

  He smiled. “Wait, so you’re giving me permission to skinny dip in your pool in the future?”

  “I wouldn’t want you to get your cloth seats wet,” I said with a smirk. My response was clever, but it was not what I wanted to say. It had been so long since I had been with another man, and the ur
ges were gnawing at my mind. What I really wanted to say to him was, “Be careful, because next time, I might just join you.”

  Chapter Two

  When I finally went back in the house, my heart was beating so fast I thought it might burst out of my chest. We had spent another half hour outside talking and the entire time he had not bothered to put his shirt on. I was forced into staring at him the whole time.

  What was wrong with me? When had I turned into this lecherous older woman? I really needed girl time right now. Betsy and Pearl – especially Betsy – would tell me the truth about this whole situation. Both of them were much more comfortable with sex and they had been prodding me to get back into the saddle since Frank had left.

  Was it really so bad that I was lusting after the pool boy? The fact that it was so cliché was not lost on me. How many dirty movies had featured just this scenario? Yet it had happened to me. Well, not really, because pornos had sex in them, and the movie I had just made only had longing stares.

  Damn, I was boring.

  I heard Derrick start up his truck and leave. I went upstairs, showered, and dressed for work. This was one of the few days where I had to go into the office. That was the main reason I had stopped fixing myself up too often, because most days, I stayed in my pajamas and worked from my home office.

  Wrapping a towel around me, I walked into my closet to pick out an outfit. After the situation with Derrick, I decided that today I would dress a little nicer than I normally do. By nicer, I meant younger.

  I found a black skirt tucked away on a shelf in the closet and slipped that on. I don’t think I had worn it since Frank left, but it would finally see the light of day again. A light blue top with a lower neckline matched the skirt, and a pair of blue two-inch heels finished off the outfit.

  As I walked down the steps, my phone rang. My heart fluttered on the first ring. The strange phone calls had started two months ago, and like clockwork, they had continued every few days. At least this one was during the day.