"This business is better than a brothel. It's a clean business, with no hassles and a lot to gain," she said and went on to state some of the cons of the crazy idea she had just put to me.
After she had spoken, I gazed at her for a while, then said:
"Bea, I know you love money but not to this extent! If you want to make money through such means, then I advise you to open your own joint," I advised her.
I thought that was the end of the discussion, but I had reckoned without my friend's persistent nature. She kept at me over the matter till I got sick of her nagging.
Besides, a part of me, maybe the greedy part was beginning to think about what such a deal could do to my finances.
Though my business was doing quite well and I was making money, I also had a lot of expenses.
I had my daughters to take care of as well as my late husband's aged parents and his older sister. The lady was married to a lazy, no-good layabout who did nothing but drink and get into fights all day.
I was responsible for the upkeep of the four children they had including their school fees and other expenses. I did all this because of the love Marcus had for me which made me have a soft spot for his family.
All these cost money and most of my income went towards that.
"A clean business with a lot to gain," were Beatrice's words. But could it really be true? As she said, I had always been strict with my girls when it came to the male customers in my restaurant.
They often flirted and made jokes with the girls but I never allowed them to cross the line. I always warned them not to get involved with them in anyway except for business of the restaurant.
That was until one evening when Endy, one of the girls came to inform me that a customer had invited her to a birthday party of a friend that weekend and wanted to know if she could attend. When I gave her permission to go, she looked surprised, a wondering look in her clear, bright eyes.
"It's alright. I don't have any problem with you attending the party with Mr Theo. He has been our customer for a long time and is a responsible person. But don't allow him to do anything 'funny' with you- you are a big girl and you should understand what I'm saying," I said.
She returned a few days later and handed an envelope to me. Inside was a large sum of money which she said the customer had given her.
"All that money just to attend a party? Are you sure he did not sleep with her?" asked Beatrice when I told her about the incident.
"Ndy said nothing happened and I believe her. She's not the lying type," I stated.
"You see what I told you! Imagine what you can make if you agree to my idea!" said my friend excitedly.
I think it was from that point that I finally conceded and I entered a new phase in my business dealings, a very lucrative one at that!
New business
Beatrice was right. Within six months of starting my new business which we termed 'Client Services', I made so much money that I wondered why I did not start it earlier.
My girls were all very pretty, fresh and hot and the customers loved them so much. I got a percentage of whatever they made whenever a customer took them out on an outing or 'date' and the money poured in.
I began to live big like all those Lagos and Abuja society women who cruise around in expensive cars and wear the latest fashion in town.
I invested some of the money in real estate and some other sources as my plans for a 'rainy day.' My two children were thriving and doing well at school and life was good.
Little did I know that what I was doing now would cause a lot of problems for me and my children in the future. Perhaps, I would have stopped then.
But my greed for more money and a good life made me go on...
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