The Bastard Daughter of Aphrodite

Chapter 1

Please read the A/N at the end. Enjoy the reading!

Lauren was currently sitting in a waiting room that looked oh so terribly familiar. The white walls felt like they were slowly shrinking around her, the black leather sofa was seemingly sucking her into its soft padding and all of this was giving her a nauseous feeling of claustrophobia.

It was almost comical the way that the room looked so stereotypical. Was she fitting in that environment? Did she look stereotypical too? She really hoped not, but she quickly banished those thoughts from her mind to prevent another panic attack like the one occurred in the train that brought her there.

The fact was that Lauren still couldn't grasp on the idea that she had been selected. She had been chosen among dozens of other girls for this role, while she was still trying to understand why she had auditioned.

It all started almost like a joke: her best friend, Dinah, was mocking her for her lack of experience in that department and suggested teasingly that she should get into the business to gain more knowledge.

So here she was, sitting anxiously in the waiting room of a porn studio.

While she was trying to concentrate on the ticking lancets of the black clock on the wall, in a desperate attempt to make her heart follow a steady rhythm, the door on her left swung open, revealing a tall man with his head bowed to peer at the papers he held in his hand. After apparently deciphering what he was searching for on the papers, he raised his gaze to look directly at Lauren with a half smile.

-Lauren Jauregui?-

The girl just stood up, not bothering to correct the wrong pronunciation of her surname, and gulped loudly, trying to get rid of the lump in her throat that prevented her from acknowledging the man in any way.

He kept the door open for her, shifting slightly to permit her access to the other room.

-Please, make yourself comfortable-

The man kindly indicated a chair on the opposite side of what was probably his desk, and proceeded to follow the girl inside. Sitting in front of Lauren, he stretched his hand out with another warm smile plastered on his face.

-Nice to meet you Lauren, my name is Shawn and under this contract you will report directly to me-

The girl just took the hand giving it a light squeeze, still unable to speak. Shawn, maybe sensing Lauren's discomfort, quickly retrieved his hand and put an end to the pleasantries, starting with the main topic of discussion: -So, I've read the report the agency provided us. You are completely inexperienced, but your physical qualities and your young age convinced us on giving you a chance. I may add, honestly, that I'm a little curios on why you presented your request. Even if I just said you are young, you are already 22 and usually girls try to make it in the business as soon as they turn 18. So why are you interested in joining us, Lauren?-

The girl cleared her throat, still trying to gulp that annoying lump, and succeeded in making her voice less crackly, even if all her anxiety was still perfectly evident in her stuttering.

-I...I've just thought that I needed to gain more experience in... in this... in this.-

Her inability to even give a name to that working environment showed all her embarrassment and probably her inadequacy for the role. She tried to quickly put an end to her explanation, to ensure she still had a decent possibility of obtaining the job.

-I'm trying to write a novel that happened to have a lot of... a lot of physical... physical interaction among the characters and I'm willing to give my fantasies justice while describing them.- She suddenly stopped, blushing furiously in realization of what she had just admitted. Shawn chuckled lightly, seemingly amused by the girl –So you are using us like a test bench... literally-