The Temptress

Chapter 1

"The second I became a sugar baby, I quit school, and now I'm happier than ever."

Carla hummed to acknowledge her friend as she absentmindedly scrolled through the internet for any decent job offers. The on-campus job that paid her minimum wage wasn't enough to cover her school expenses, and although she had numerous interviews and offers lined up, she couldn't accept any of them, given the fact that she couldn't make the long drive without a car.

"Denny thinks that his babies are empowered when they're well taken care of."

Carla hummed again.

"Carla," Gloria said, snapping her fingers in front of the laptop screen. "Are you listening to me?"

Carla swatted her hand away and shut her laptop in frustration. She had been staring at the same useless pages for over an hour. "I'm not quitting school to be a sugar baby."

"You need the money, don't you?"

She nodded at Gloria. "That's why I'm looking for a new job. I can't put sugar baby on my resume."

"Why do you hate the idea so much?"

"I don't. I just don't have the time to cater to a man right now."

Gloria rolled her eyes. "He caters to you, dummy. Just as long as you sit down and have dinner with him once in awhile, he'll give you everything you've ever wanted."

"I just can't," Carla said, ruefully smiling.

She had met Gloria two years ago during their freshman orientation, and since then, they've done everything together — from moving into the same apartment to getting matching tattoos on their ankles. But Gloria had unexpectedly dropped out before the start of their spring semester. It wasn't until a month later when she finally confessed to Carla that she'd been seeing a man. Except that man was just Denny, and according to Gloria, they had met at a family event where he openly spoke about his sugar daddy life.

"Denny knows a few people," Gloria told her friend. She could see the defeat in Carla's eyes after a long day of job hunting. Although Denny had made her swear never to tell a soul about his new creation, Gloria couldn't just sit and watch her best friend drown in debt. "He's the creator of this new app that allows for interaction without having to be physically present. You'll get paid for every conversation, and you never have to meet the men. They haven't been able to find very many women for their trial yet, but I really think with your inexperience, you'll be the best candidate."

Carla scratched the back of her neck and frowned. "I don't know about this."

"I trust Denny. He seems really proud of it, and I can convince him to let you be one of the first to try it out."

"So, the men are just happy to pay a stranger to talk to them?"

Gloria nodded. "That's how this business works, babe. It doesn't have to be sexual. The men he's using for the trial are just a bunch of his friends and colleagues. I can set up a meeting with Denny tonight."

Carla twisted her lips and squeezed her eyes shut. She wasn't against the lifestyle. She just couldn't see herself successfully holding a conversation with elite men, despite the fact that they, too, were normal human beings like she was. She did need the money if she wanted to finish school and stay in her apartment after all, so she nodded her head.

"Set it up," she said, emitting a sigh. "I'll give it a shot."

The photos of Denny that Gloria had shown Carla did not do him any justice. He appeared to be older in them, aged and tired. But as Carla approached the couple in the back corner of a 50's styled diner, she was surprised to see that his flawless, sienna skin wasn't marked by a single wrinkle. From a short distance, she could see the gleam of his dark and captivating eyes, and Denny was suddenly the only light in the diner. He was smiling at something Gloria had said as Carla slid into the other side of the booth, but the smile on his face quickly disappeared when he turned to the intruder.

She was still in her uniform, which only consisted of black yoga pants and a large university t-shirt. She was required to under-dress for her tutoring job with local high school students, but behind her long curtain of black hair, baggy shirt and thin layer of makeup, Denny could see a potentially dangerous woman. She was perfect, just as Gloria had promised.

"Baby, this is the friend I was telling you about," Gloria said, reaching over the table to take Carla's hands into hers. "She just left work, but she usually cleans up better. Isn't that right, Carla?"

Denny frowned. "Carla, it's a pleasure."

His voice was deep and gravelly, but even with just four words hanging in the air, she quickly learned that he had wooed women with his sweet drawl. "Missouri, I presume?"

He grinned and then nodded his head. "Born and raised. Have you been there?"

"I lived there for about a year of my life," she explained to him. "I moved around a lot."

He raised a brow, but he didn't press her on the topic. "Well, let's discuss business."

Gloria removed her hands from Carla's and tucked herself under Denny's arm, pressing her lips to his cheek to offer him kisses. She was highly affectionate, and it was a surprise to Carla, considering all of Gloria's interactions with men only lasted for one night. "He was a little upset that I told you about the new app, but he was happy that they had found a trusting, young woman for the trial."

"I'd still like to ask you some questions first," he added. "Gloria spoke highly of you, so it helps."

Carla nodded. "Ask me anything."

"Temptation is trying to appeal to a young generation of women who haven't tried this lifestyle yet, and this is the safest way. Have you ever been involved in this sort of relationship before?"

She shook her head to respond.

"Are you willing to negotiate prices with the men you talk to, exchange photos and even sign confidentiality agreements with them?"

"What kind of photos?" she asked him.

"That's up to you and the clients. We won't ever store images or messages." He sat up, creating distance between him and Gloria. "The men have to follow your rules, Carla. Even if you put a price on the images and the messages, you cannot put a price on your time. That's priceless and cannot be bought."

"I'm willing to do those things then."

He smiled, pleased with her response. "You will be one of the first to try this, so we will need you to sign confidentiality agreements with us and with the men you are matched with."

Her brows furrowed. "Matched with?"

"We have a certified relationship therapist who will conduct a chemistry test and match you with up to fifty clients," he explained. "Consider this your bubble. It's best to stay inside of it with your matches, but if you find yourself wandering outside of that bubble, everyone else on the outside would have to manually match with you. It may be more difficult to negotiate a fair price with those clients."

"Like Tinder," Gloria chimed in. "You can swipe right, but they might not like you."

"I got the idea of it," Carla said to her friend. "Am I ever required to meet up with them?"

"No," he quickly responded. "For the trial, we ask that you and the client never communicate outside of the app. We can't see what you are sending each other, but we can see when you are active and interacting."

Gloria was practically bouncing with excitement. "Maybe I should give it a try, too."

"Have I not been good enough to you?" he asked teasingly.

She adoringly smiled at him. Carla could see that it was more than just the money for Gloria, but she couldn't say the same for Denny. At least not yet. "You're perfect."

"Come by my office tomorrow for lunch, Carla," he said, extending a hand to her. She reluctantly shook it. "Gloria can show you where it is. I'll get the paperwork organized in the morning, and before you leave tomorrow, you'll be an active member on Temptation."