Chapter 0118

Janeen seats me at the kitchen table while she fixes us both another drink. When she slides into the

seat across from me, her face is gentler and more considerate than it was before. I sigh, grateful for it –

Janeen has always teased me, and I don’t really care about that, but this is the big sister I came to see.

The one who I know has my back through anything.

“Fay,” she starts gently. “Does this contract make you feel like a whore?”

“Um,” I hesitate, awkward, but really considering her question. “I guess…that was my knee jerk

reaction? That he was asking me to be his whore, to pay me for sex?”

“And would that be a…bad thing?” she asks carefully, her hands wrapped around her drink. “To be paid

for sex?”

I blush as I look away from my sister, realizing that I might have done something very wrong here. I

mean, my sister doesn’t get paid to have sex with people – at least, I don’t think she does – but she’s

certainly in an industry that has no shame about taking men’s money in exchange for turning them on.

“It’s okay, Fay,” Janeen encourages me softly. “You can tell me what you think, you won’t hurt my

feelings.”

“Well,” I reply, turning back to her. “I guess – no, I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I don’t have any problem

with sex work, as long as women are respected when they do it and aren’t exploited. I’m just not sure

that it’s something I’ve ever imagined myself doing.” I look down at my drink, feeling a little ashamed

and not quite knowing why.

“To begin,” Janeen declares, her voice soft, “I don’t think that this is sex work. I don’t think Kent is

asking you to be a hooker. That’s a much more defined arrangement – sex exclusively in exchange for

money. This contract,” she says, pointing at it, “actually doesn’t say anything about sex.”

“It doesn’t?” I sit up and look towards it suddenly, curious. I mean, I hadn’t read it closely, but…

“No, Fay,” Janeen says quietly. “What he seems to be asking you for here is discretion. It sounds like

he wants to be involved with you, romantically and sexually, but he wants to control the terms and he’d

like you not to blab to the press or his enemies about it. And in exchange for your discretion, he’d like

to give you, well,” she laughs a little here, running a hand through her hair as she stares at the number

on the page, “a ridiculous amount of money. Like seriously, Fay, if you turn this down ask him if he’s

interested in me because I would take half of this amount to –“

“Janeen,” I scold, frowning at her and snatching the contract away.

“Amongst other things,” I murmur, glaring at her, and she laughs, taking a swig and returning her glass

to the table.