LISA

"So, what's the theme of the party?" Jihyo asks. "We need a starting point for your proposal."

I scroll through the notes the party organizer sent me. "There is no theme as far as I'm aware."

"No theme?"

"No. Theresa's arranging invitations, food, drinks and a DJ and she's turned to me for the props. She just wants to see what I'd recommend for a sweet sixteenth."

"Okay, well no theme is unusual in the Hamptons," she says. "Focus on Insta-life, then you'll be safe. Your proposal needs lots of props that will look great in pictures. Don't forget this generation's mindset; if it's not recorded, it never happened. If you're sixteen, everything must be eternalized and filtered."

"That's pathetic."

"Yes, it is but that's Gen Z for you." She points to the pink flamingos on my screen. "Definitely offer those. And you need to go with a color scheme, for sure. It will look great in pictures. My hunch is pink."

"Pink? Isn't that a little cliché for a sweet sixteenth?

"No, pink is all the rage nowadays, so just go with it. Pink water, pink lights, pink flamingos, pink table coverings and the LED fountain with pink light. It's perfect." She scrolls through the rest of my inventory on my laptop and points to a picture. "Throw in the pink plastic cups. If Theresa is smart and jumps onto your wagon, she'll find some sparkly pink straws and pink cake or whatever it is they're eating."

"Okay." I add screenshots of everything she's pointed out onto a page and smile at how good it all looks together. "Thanks, babe. I wouldn't know what to do without you."

"It's not as hard as it seems. Most people don't know what they want until they try it. Just like with escorts," she teases.

I turn at Lily's voice behind me. "Mommy, can we have an ice cream?"

"Sure, sweetie." I point to the freezer. "But only one each, you hear me?" Before she runs off, I pull her in to kiss her chubby cheek and tickle her until she screeches and wiggles in my grip. She's been so happy with me being home every night that I don't regret quitting Hamptons' Escorts for a minute.

"What else?" Jihyo asks.

"Nothing, that's it."

"That simple?" Jihyo looks at me incredulously.

"Yeah. It's a rental service, really straightforward."

"Gosh." Jihyo glances at her own notepad, jots down the rental prices, then adds them all up. "Almost three-thousand dollars." She whistles through her teeth.

"Minus six-hundred in labor," I say. "And don't forget this is the very first event. I need regular bookings after this."

"Have faith." Jihyo turns her attention to the living room, where Lily and Cameron are munching on ice cream in front of the TV. "They're awfully well-behaved tonight. What are they watching in there?"

"Don't worry, it's parental controlled," I mumble, making notes. We laugh when we hear dogs barking, and then Lily and Cameron are laughing out loud. "Some kind of dog movie?"

"Yeah, it's Beverly Hills Chihuahua," Jihyo says, leaning back and sticking her head inside. "Must have been Cameron's idea, he loves that movie and he knows how to work the remote. He's been begging me for a dog ever since the first time he saw it."

"Oh boy, God help me." I follow her gaze and see Lily looks mesmerized. She's got the widest grin on her face and her free hand is balled into a fist shooting up each time there's a moment of tension. My heart melts and I have to refrain from walking over there to pick her up for another cuddle. "I hope she won't start asking for a dog again."

"Trust me, she will." Jihyo puts her pen down and scoots the notebook in my direction. "So, now that your weeknights are freed up, how about we ask Jackie to mind the kids and go out together?" When I remain silent, she tilts her head and shoots me a mischievous look. "Come on, Lisa. It's been forever."

I hesitate, then laugh at her pleading expression. "Sure, why not? But I'm not doing an all-nighter, I'm past that stage. Bars are good enough for me."

"How about a club opening?" she suggests, grabbing her phone from her bag to show me an invitation. "Shaker Room is opening its rooftop terrace for the season in two weeks' time and it's invite only, so it won't be too busy. Civilized, super casual and if we're lucky there will be lots of singles. I can book a booth if you're in."

Studying the invite that doesn't look too wild, I shrug. "That looks good to me. How come you get invited to stuff like this?"

"Through work. The idea is that I network," she says, rolling her eyes. "But really, it makes no difference. If people want to hire an escort, they'll seek it out and find that we're the only service provider on the peninsula. If the idea has never crossed their mind, then they're not suddenly going to book someone just because I gave them a business card. So really, there's no point in networking when it comes to this, but as long as my boss keeps forwarding the invites, I'm happy to occasionally take him up on the offer. So, you're in?"

"Yeah, I'm in," I say, thinking a night out will be a nice distraction. "It has been too long and we're way too young to be so boring. I'll ask Jackie if she's available."