Bad Luck Black Money (3 page)

"I'm sorry," Junior said. "I don't know what's gotten into me."

Sitting back down on Junior's lap, Cookie said, "Honey, its not what's getting into you; its about who, you are going to get into.... Do you like any of the girls?"

"... I like all of the girls, but isn't that Abdul's girlfriend?"

"Which one, Honey?"

"Noi, the one furthest right, she was with Abdul the other day when we met."

"He-he," giggled Cookie. "No, silly. Mister Abdul would never date one of us. He is... what's the word?... Picky? Mister Abdul has VERY high standards."

"Then his loss is my gain, I'd very much like to spend some time with Noi."

In a loud voice, Cookie called, "Noi". Noi bowed deeply with her hands placed palm to palm.

"She is a good girl," whispered Cookie in Junior's ear. "Which others do you want?"

"Just Noi will be fine," he answered.

"No, no," whispered Cookie. "That will make the other girls jealous. Pick two more.... Do it for me, OK?"

"Why don't you pick them for me?"

"Oh, you are so bad, Honey," said Cookie then she spoke something to Noi, loudly in the Thai language, which Junior didn't understand. He had picked up lots of Thai words, which bargirls commonly used, but the nuances of the language still confused him.

Then to his dismay, all the ladies started putting their clothes back on.

Cookie caught the look on his face and laughed again. "Don't worry, Honey. You'll get to see more, later. But the best part of a present is unwrapping it; don't you think so?"

"I really don't know what to think, right now."

After they had finished dressing, each lady walked up to Junior, did a little bow, said 'goodbye', and left the room until only Noi and two other girls remained. Noi took the hand of each remaining woman and walked her over to where Junior was sitting.

"I think Noi can handle things from here on out, Honey," Cookie said. "I'll check back from time to time to make sure things are going 'super great' for you." And with that, she waied and left the room closing the door behind her.

If Junior had to list the best days of his life, the first time he visited Club Swish would rank in the top ten. However, the very best days in his mind were reserved for those rare occasions when his mother had spent quality time with him and wasn't drunk or high on something.

As promised, Cookie gave him a printout of the pricelist of what he theoretically spent and prices of other services, which he didn't partake of that night. Actually, it was closer to mid morning than night when he left the club after having exhausted his every last ounce of energy.

Scanning over the receipt through blood-shot eyes in the back of his limousine, Junior found the complimentary total to be a little over fourteen thousand dollars. It seemed like a great deal because less than a year earlier, he had paid a high end escort agency in New York City around that amount for just a few hours worth of passion with only one woman.

Closing his eyes, he mentally went through how much thirty days, multiplied by fourteen thousand dollars amounted to. Then he added in his monthly hotel bill and miscellaneous spending, plus a certain amount of money, which he had started depositing into a savings account every month. Yes, he could swing coming back every night, if only, just barely. Of course, that much partying would kill him, so he would have to do it in moderation.

'Moderation', the secret to life, he thought as the limo made its way through the tangled streets of Bangkok in busy morning traffic. He was through letting his every penny vanish like morning dew in the noonday sun. It was becoming evident to him; the effort of blowing so much money so fast was too much like work. And it wasn't as fun as it used to be.

Cha
pter 3

Arriving back at the hotel, Junior had to run the gauntlet of employees wishing him good morning and such. Everyone wanted to make sure their highest paying, most steady customer was happy. If the truth were told, he would prefer that they just left him alone.

Finally in his penthouse suite, Junior pressed a button on the remote control, which drew the shades, and he collapsed on his king-sized bed. As he drifted off to sleep, thoughts of Noi flooded his dreams.

It wasn't so much that Noi was the prettiest woman in the world. Every woman at Club Swish was physical perfection. Sure, Noi was extremely intelligent, but all the girls there could speak at least three languages. What made Noi irresistible was the positive energy, which she radiated. It attracted everyone, even other women. You just felt more alive in her presence. Dictators had it; cult leaders had it; and a beautiful woman at Club Swish named Noi had it.

When Junior woke up, the first thing he wanted to do was call Cookie at Club Swish and book another session with Noi and her friends. Somehow, his self-restraint kicked in, and he stayed in his room all day watching whatever was on television.

The next day, Junior went to the bank and withdrew a pile of cash that he later deposited with Cookie to cover seven more KTV sessions. He planned on keeping a credit balance at Club Swish. The KTV lifestyle was addictive, but the thought of losing his trust fund from partying with high priced hostesses was just plain terrifying.

On average, Junior went to Club Swish three times per week. Some weeks he managed to keep himself out of the club for all but two days, but then other weeks he went four times. The weeks he went four times outnumbered the twice a week occasions by far. Ironically, spending insane amounts of money three times a week ended up saving him money because he wasn't burning through money seven days a week.

Junior's life revolved around his visits to Club Swish and seeing Noi. Sometimes, Noi was on her day off when he visited. Other times, Noi was occupied with other guests, mainly Internet billionaires and old money billionaires. Then there were the days of the month when she got her period and wasn't allowed to work at the club.

Even when Noi wasn't available, Junior still spent money on the other ladies at Club Swish. One time when Noi was occupied with another customer, Cookie, good to her word, joined a couple of the younger ladies and rocked Junior's world. But there was something missing whenever Noi wasn't there. And when he knew that Noi was with other men, it got under his skin.

One morning, when Junior was recuperating from a long night of partying, he decided to eat in the hotel's five star restaurant instead of having it sent up by room service. Looking around the dining hall, as a waiter was refilling his glass of orange juice, he spotted Yume, a hostess from Club Swish. She was having breakfast with a Middle Eastern man, who had to be one of her customers.

Yume saw Junior recognize her and quickly looked the other way, afraid that he might cause a scene. She had nothing to fear. There was no way, Junior was going to crash another man's party and spoil the illusion of the moment. Besides, now Junior knew that 'take out' was on the menu. He couldn't have been more pleased.

When Junior confronted Cookie about having seen a hostess out on a date with a client, she had to admit that some important business men preferred having a girl stay with them at their hotel rather than partying at Club Swish. In her employer's defense, she pointed out that it was still a better value for the money to party with three girls at the club, than with only one girl in your hotel room.

"I guess you want Noi to come to your room?" asked Cookie even though she already knew the answer.

"Probably," answered Junior. "How much is that going to cost?"

"Well... Noi is one of our top earners. It might be cheaper to get two of the other girls."

"No, how much for Noi to spend a day with me?"

"Let me look at our records," Cookie said as she walked over to a filing cabinet. She took her time studying some spreadsheets, and Junior studied her compact dynamite body, remembering the time she joined in on his manajatwa.

"If you give me a week's notice, I can let her go for five thousand a day. If you want her right now, it'll run you seventy-five hundred dollars. Of course, if she is busy with another client, then she cannot be bought.

What is it about her that you and other men like so much, if I may ask?"

"Believe it or not, I've given it a lot of thought," said Junior. "I've been with tons of women, but none of them had her magnetism, her force of will."

"Yeah, but if you take me, I'll ride you hard and put you away wet," teased Cookie.

"OK, one day when Noi is unavailable, I'll do just that."

"Oh ho," laughed Cookie. "You are going to be in some kind of big trouble then. You had better take your vitamins."

Not wanting to seem like he was too eager, Junior booked Noi for a private session, two consecutive days, one week away. Later, while enjoying the best of what Club Swish had to offer, Noi got him alone for a few minutes and thanked him for choosing her to stay with him for a couple of days. She told him some rather sweet things she wanted to do to him, which made him feel more like a boyfriend than a customer.

Although he knew Noi had little choice in the matter, still, Junior felt as nervous as a virgin on prom night. He told the hotel staff to include Noi's favorite flower, the lily, in all flower arrangements that they put in his suite. He visited one of the most expensive jewelry stores in Bangkok and bought a beautiful, diamond encrusted necklace for Noi. Everything had to be perfect for his time with the perfect lady.

Junior dressed in his best suit and headed down to the hotel's lobby for Noi on the appointed day, a little before the agreed upon time. Luckily for Junior, he arrived a little early because Noi's car pulled up to the valet just as his elevator doors opened. He saw that she was driving a brand new, red BMW convertible. The thought crossed his mind that he had probably paid for that car by buying so much of her time at Club Swish, but he didn't care. He was happy to do it.

Noi was saying something to the valet as Junior walked up to her car. "May, I help you with your bags?" asked Junior.

Before Noi could answer, a bellhop ran from the hotel yelling, "I get bags! I get bags!"

"OK," Noi said. "I guess he'll get the bags, and you can escort me to our room."

Junior really liked that Noi would call it 'our room'. They walked arm and arm up to 'their' penthouse suite.

"Wow! This place is awesome," said Noi as she walked over to the full picture window overlooking the city. "And look at this view!"

"Yes, it is nice," replied Junior looking at her long, sleek legs.

"What would you like to do first?" Junior asked. "We can go see a show, or do a little shopping. Have you eaten, yet? I could order up something from room service, or we could go to any restaurant you want?"

"Well," said Noi taking off her high heels. "We could give this king-size bed a little dusting off, if you're 'up' for it."

Needless to say, Junior enjoyed the day immensely, and Noi sounded liked she was having a ball as well. Their first day together was spent entirely in Junior's penthouse suite and most of it on the king-size bed.

The next day, Junior was insistent that they get out of his room and go experience the real world. Noi made sure that he understood it would be fine with her to just have a repeat of the day before. But, if the truth were known, Junior didn't have enough energy left in his fuel tank to repeat the previous day. Plus, he was a little sore and wondered if she might be the same. Then again, she was a professional, and he a mere amateur.

While having lunch at an upscale bistro beside the river, Junior took out a small, velvet box containing the diamond necklace and slid it across the table to Noi.

"What is this?" asked Noi.

"Why don't you open it and find out?" Junior said playfully.

Noi slowly opened the box and saw the diamond necklace inside. "What is this for?"

"Just a little present for being so nice to me," answered Junior.

"No, I cannot accept this," said Noi as she closed the box and slid it back across the table to Junior.

"Why not?"

"The diamonds in that necklace are real. It has to be worth, at least, twenty thousand dollars."

"It’s my money, and I want to give you something nice.... Come on, take the necklace."

"No," Noi said crossing her arms in a subconscious defensive pose. "I am not your girlfriend. This is not a date. You paid for my company. You paid thousands of dollars for my company."

"Can't we be friends, too?" asked Junior, with a puzzled look upon his face.

"Mister Junior, you are confusing lust with love. You love my body, not me. And I respect you as a man but love only your money."

"OK, that really puts things into perspective.... So, you don't like me at all? Not even a little bit?"

"I don't even know you, Junior. All we do is fuck."

"... Whoa," said Junior. "I guess I'm starting to creep you out. I apologize."

"No, don't apologize,” Noi said. "I must be doing my job really well to make you think the sex is real."

"Well, could you ever see a time when you could love me for real?" asked Junior.

"Oh, Junior, why do you want to complicate things? True love is hard; this is easy."

"So, your answer is 'no'. All I can do is buy your time, but your heart is not for sale?"

Neither of them said anything else through the rest of lunch. Junior didn't want to press the subject, and Noi didn't want to upset Junior any more than she already had.

They rode back to the hotel in silence, until Noi said, "Do you want me to go? I can tell Cookie to send a different girl."

"No, don't be silly," Junior said. "I'm just processing what you said. You spoke the truth, which needed to be said, and I thank you for it.

The truth is that I really like being around you. There is something special about you. You are different from the other women at Club Swish and different from my past girlfriends. I just hope I'm able to find a girl like you to settle down with one day."

"... Do you really mean that?" asked Noi, looking at Junior so deeply that it seemed like she was staring into his very soul.

"Yes, of course, I do."

"... I don't date customers." Noi said as she looked down at her hands folded in her lap. "... But if you would like to get to know the real me, then I can come stay with you during my menstruation. They won't let me work when it’s that time of month."

"That would be lovely," Junior said.

"There will be no sex," Noi said in a quite voice.

"Of course," answered Junior.

"I mean it," stressed Noi. "It might sound strange, but we can do sex when you're paying for it, but when we date, no sex of any kind.... I'm not easy!"

"Hey, I don't care about anything except spending time with you. If you want to bring a chaperone to make sure I behave myself that would be fine, too."

"No I trust you, Junior. Also, I don't have any family to chaperone me."

"That's sad. Are you an orphan?"

"Sort of, my parents died in a house fire five years ago. My grandparents all died long ago, and the rest of my aunts, uncles, and cousins won't have anything to do with me because of the shame my profession brings to the family. However, I do have a little sister, but she's married and living in the Middle East."

"That is so sad," Junior sympathetically said. "I'm sort of in the same boat as you. My mother passed away a few years ago, and my father is a not worth talking about. The rest of my blood relatives are like strangers to me."

Noi leaned over and hugged Junior. While resting her head upon his chest, she said, "Then we are both alone in this world, so much sadness. But lets not talk about this anymore. There will be time for heartfelt conversations when you are courting me. For now, lets try to have fun."

The rest of the day, they acted like teenagers in love. They went sight seeing, window-shopping, and ice-skating in an ice rink inside of an affluent mall. That night they shared a level of intimacy that Junior had never experienced up until then.