Chapter Four
As Lydia stepped out of Mia's office, a rush of relief washed over her when she spotted Theo leaning casually against the wall, engrossed in his phone. Even from a distance, she could see the mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he scrolled through his social media feed.
When Lydia was first hired at Mia Novella's Escort Services she was a bit, okay maybe more than a bit but only slightly, intimidated by Theo. Theo towered over most people, standing at an impressive height of six foot three inches. He was a solid, intimidating figure with bulging muscles that made it look like he could easily weigh two hundred fifty pounds of pure muscle. His skin was covered with intricate tattoos, each one telling a story, holding a deeper meaning. From his head to his toes, he was a canvas of art and expression. His jet-black hair contrasted sharply against his fair skin, and his piercing blue eyes seemed to look right through you. With every move he made, he exuded strength and power, commanding attention without even trying.
But underneath his rough exterior, Theo was a complete teddy bear. He was basically every girl's dream guy, bad boy on the outside, ooey-gooey cinnamon roll on the inside. If only he wasn't gay. He loved shopping and gossiping, and he could always make a woman feel good about herself. His personality and his looks made him the perfect escort for the escorts who worked at Mia's. He put everyone at ease, and Lydia was glad that he would be her chauffeur for the day.
"Theo!" Lydia called out, her voice laced with genuine excitement. He looked up from his phone and a bright smile spread across his face, revealing a row of perfectly pearly white teeth.
"Lydia, darling!" Theo exclaimed, pushing himself off the wall and striding towards her with open arms. They embraced tightly, their friendship oozing with familiarity and comfort. As they pulled away, Theo raised an eyebrow playfully. "I must say, you're looking ravishing today. Is it a special occasion?"
"Hah," Lydia snorted, "I'm not ravishing yet, but when we are through with all the errands Mia has me running today, even you, my dearest Theo, will want to ravish me."
"I highly doubt that," Theo retorted, rolling his eyes playfully as he held out the crook of his elbow to Lydia, "So what does She-zilla have us doing today?"
"THEODORE!" Lydia snarled, gritting her teeth at her best friend as she glanced behind her to see if Mindy had heard his comment, "You cannot say that name within these walls." She hissed, practically dragging him outside and to his SUV that awaited them on the curb," And she has me scheduled for everything. A top to bottom, inside-out makeup over."
"Ooo," Theo waggled his eyebrows mischievously, "What's the lucky occasion?"
Lydia bit her lip. She wanted to tell Theo everything, but she'd just signed a nondisclosure agreement stating that she wouldn't tell a soul the identity of her client.
She hesitated for a moment, weighing the consequences of breaking her confidentiality agreement. But the excitement bubbling within her proved irresistible, and she knew that Theo would keep her secret.
"I'm to escort a major high-profile client. Like A-list, Top of the Elite category client. I'm going to be gone for a month, perhaps even longer."
"NO WAY!" Theo shrieked in excitement, causing Lydia to flinch. "NO FUCKING WAY! YOU. YOU LYDIE-GIRL. You are the one who scored Drake Alston?"
Lydia's eyes widened with shock. Had did Theo already know who her client was when she'd just learned his identity herself?
"Oh, don't look so surprised, darling. You know I know all the hot gossip. Mindy, yesterday, was blabbering to Rach about how a Mister Drake Alston called to speak directly to Mia. She told Rach that she practically had an eargasm just from the sound of his voice. And then today Mia had everyone who stepped into the office sign NDA's for a special privileged client. It really doesn't take a genius to figure out who her client is. And you can try and deny that he's your client Lyds, but your face totes gives you away, babe."
"Well," Lydia sighed, relieved she'd be able to confide in her bestie, "Why don't you tell me everything you know about my client?"
And so the two chatted away about Lydia's newest assignment in between her appointments, and Lydia could feel her excitement start to grow. She was looking forward to an all-inclusive vacation, even if she did have to pretend to be the girlfriend of some rich billionaire playboy. Who, from what Theo had mentioned about him, sounded like a complete prick. Although admittedly, Theo only knew what the tabloids reported, and Lydia wasn't usually one to judge a book by its cover.
As the approached the hair salon, Lydia turned to Theo and asked him what he thought she should do with her hair. "He picked me because of my innocent look. Mia wants me to get it dyed and cut, but I don't want to.. umm how do I put it," She tapped her fingers on the center console.
"Looking like a tart?" Theo suggested, smiling wickedly.
"Pretty much, yeah."
"Hmm," Theo held up his hands as if he was framing her face, he even went as far as closing one eye to get a better look, "Ah-hah," He snapped his fingers as if he'd just had an epiphany, "How about you keep your natural blonde because that's going well for you, and just add some platinum highlights and caramel lowlights, and get a trim to help frame your face?"
"Perfect. That's what I'll do then." Lydia smiled, relieved that Theo had decided for her. She absolutely hated going to the salon. She never knew what to do with her hair, and the stylist that Mia contracted through was hesitant to give out ideas on what the girls should do with their hair. As the stylist put it, "she didn't want to damage any of their looks." So normally, Lydia just took her kitchen sheers to her hair at home, trimmed the ends, and called it good. She hadn't received any complaints about her hair, so she figured she must've done at least something right.
A few hours and a slight headache later, Lydia walked out of the salon feeling refreshed. She loved her hair. Theo had been right, the highlights seemed to warm her features.
"Wo-ow!" Theo whistled, catcalling her as he stuck his head out of the SUV, "Girl, you are capital F-I-N-E fine."
"Oh shove it, Theodore." Lydia giggled, blushing profusely as she scampered over to the SUV, trying to get through its doors as quickly as possible, with the hopes that Theo's theatrics hadn't attracted any nearby attention.
"Your billionaire won't be able to resist you, babe!" Theo responded, smacking his lips, "You are a snack."
"Oh, shut up!" Lydia screeched, burying her face in her palms, her entire face down to her chest flushed red.
"Is there anywhere else you need to go, my Queen?" Theo asked, starting up the SUV and backing out of the salon parking lot.
"Umm... Just one more place, if you don't mind. I used up all my cash this morning, or else I'd just pay for a cab, but...err... could you take me to the hospital real quick? Just for a second. I want to tell Mom and the ladies at the front desk bye before I disappear for a month."
"Sweetheart," Theo said seriously, dropping all his previous theatrics, and looking right at her, "Anytime. Anytime at all, you want to go see your mama, all you have to do is ask. It's no a burden, what-so-ever."
"Thanks, Teddy bear." Lydia smiled shyly, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, "You're incredible."
"Right, back at ya, darling. And it's no problem at all. Just give me a call when you are done visiting your mama. I'm going to head over to the 'bucks and get me a caramel macchiato. I am simply beaten, and She-Zilla has me scheduled for the night shift."
Lydia responded with a quick "Will do," as she slid out of the SUV and waved goodbye to Theo, who quickly drove off, in a hurry to get his caffeine fix.
Lydia entered the hospital and walked straight to the receptionist's desk to pick up her visitor badge. Her favorite receptionist, Mell, was on duty tonight.
"Oh hey, Liddy." Mell smiled as she noticed Lydia approaching her desk, "I was wondering if you were going to show up tonight."
"Hey, Mell. How's it going? How are the kiddos?"
"Everything's going just swell," Mell replied, passing Lydia her visitor's badge, "And the kids are doing good. Brookie lost her first tooth, and Jameson just started a new headstart program yesterday. "
Mell bent down and quickly rifled through her purse. She pulled out her phone and flipped through her pictures, before turning the phone to show Lydia. It was a picture of her eldest, Brooklyn smiling widely, her missing tooth on display, and arms wrapped around her little brother Jameson, who was wearing a shirt that said, "Teddy Bear Edu-care".
"They're beautiful Mell!" Lydia exclaimed, before lowering her voice a pitch, "So, how is the situation with Austin?"
Mell sighed heavily. Austin was her scumbag ex, as well as her baby daddy. "Believe it or not, his ass is back in jail. I know hardly surprising, right? He was caught selling drugs again. Hopefully, he stays in there for a long while this time. At least while he's there, I don't have to worry about shared visitation."
"Oh." Lydia scrunched her nose, "Well that's... that's just too bad. Not for you, but for the kiddos."
Lydia knew what it was like to have an absentee father. Her dad had knocked her mom up, when her mom was just sixteen years old, and had just taken off when he found out about the pregnancy. Her mother had originally thought that Lydia's father would help raise the baby, seeing as he was in her early twenties and was pretty well-to-do, but he had no desire to be a father. It's why Lydia was close to her mother. They were all each other had growing up. When Lydia's mother confessed to her parents that she was pregnant, they'd given her two options, she could either abort the baby or get out of their house. So she'd packed her bags that day and left. And from that moment, that she'd chosen her baby onward, Lydia's mother worked her ass off to ensure that her daughter never went without. Lydia's life was good growing up. They were by no means rich, but Lydia had everything a girl could possibly want.
This was why Lydia continued to fight for her mother, when most would've already given up and pulled the plug. At sixteen, her mother had given up her teenage years for Lydia, working as an escort and paying the hospital bills was the least Lydia could do in return.
"Well, I'd better get going, my ride's waiting for me," Lydia stated, waving goodbye to Mell before trudging off down the hallway and to her mother's room.
"Hey, Mama." Lydia called out in greeting as she walked into the room, "I know you're still sleeping, but I needed to let you know that I'll be gone for a little while. They have me traveling for work, and I didn't want you to worry about me while I was away. We will just have to pick back up on Hybrid Aria when I get back. And hopefully Mama, you'll be awake when I return." Lydia forced herself to smile as her lip quivered, "Mom, everything is finally starting to look up. I can finally see a brighter tomorrow. Anywho, I've got to go. Theo's waiting for me. By the way, he can't wait to meet you. Well, I'll see you later mom, I love you."
Lydia placed a chaste kiss on her mother's forehead and once again fled the room, before the tears started spilling once more. It really was devastating having to see her mom in a comatose state. As she rounded the corner of the hallway, the front desk back in sight, Lydia took out her phone and sent a quick text to Theo, letting him know she was ready to head home. He responded almost immediately,
"Perfect timing. I'm at the front entrance. And She-zilla texted. Plans have changed. You'll be meeting your 'client' tonight."
Lydia's heart raced as she read over the text. She barely acknowledged Mell as she dropped her visitor tag at the desk and made her way to the exit. She wasn't ready to meet Drake yet, and she sure as Hell wasn't ready to spend an entire month with someone she barely knew. She thought she'd at least have a night to get herself mentally prepared. She'd wanted to go home for the night, heat up some tea, and do some research on Drake Alston before she met him. What little info Theo had given her earlier had piqued her interest. She'd felt the need to do a thorough investigation, not that she thought she'd find out more than what Theo already, but it would've surely helped reassure her a little. Instead, she'd be leaving tonight, going home for an extended period, with someone she knew nothing about. She hadn't even had time to read the damn folder.
As Lydia opened the passenger door of the SUV, her face betrayed her worry and fear. "Oh honey," Theo cooed, leaning over to give her a tight squeeze as she climbed into her seat. "You look like shit babe. Here take this." He offered, passing her his Starbucks napkin before leaning over to pull down the passenger seat visor., "Clean up your face girlfriend. We can't have Daddy Warbucks feeling like he's lost the lotto with you."
"Thanks, Theo," Lydia sniffed, forcing a smile on her face as she took the napkin and began dabbing at the underneath and corner of her eyes., removing the smeared eyeliner and mascara.
"Anytime babe. And you've really got to get you some of that smudge-proof makeup, girl. No guy is going to want you if you're choking from slobbering on his knob with mascara streaming down your face."
"Some men like that, asshole." Lydia chuckled, this time a real smile crinkling her face.
"Ah, that's better, pretty girl." Theo smiled in return, "Now Mister Billionaire will feel like he's won the jackpot." Theo retorted as he pulled into the entrance of Mia's building. "Alright, go get 'em, tiger."