Another pause. I can hardly breathe.
If Josh could hear this, he’d be staring at me in horror, shaking his head at the very thought I’d be doing this and bringing anything whatsoever about our situation to their radar.
“A client is always free to remove their account, Ella,” Orla says. “That is their call to make. Their account and history would be deleted, and they would have to reapply through The Agency if they were to change their mind, completely from scratch. Plenty of clients go dormant when they get into relationships, but their accounts remain active, and the rules still apply.”
I nod along.
“But if they did delete their account, and I did cross paths with them, what would happen then? Is that forbidden?”
“Do you want to elaborate?” she asks me. “Do you have something in particular on your mind? Your questions sound… directional. Is something happening to you?”
Oh my God, how I freak out! Josh would have his hands in his hair, going ballistic for raising their suspicions. I should never have said anything. Not a word.
“No, not really,” I say with a stupid grin.
“The regulations state that once you have signed up as an Agency entertainer, you can’t use that status to turn freelance. You do know that, yes? Once with The Agency, using the platform, you always have to offer your Naughty List services via The Agency and nowhere else. It’s exclusivity. You can’t set up as a do-it-yourself Entertainer.”
“I know that. Absolutely.”
“Hmm. Be honest with me, Ella. Are you thinking of hanging up your Agency crown and settling down in the outside world? With someone you know? You’re with Josh, right? Has anything changed?”
“No way would I stop being an entertainer,” I assure her. “That would be crazy. I wouldn’t consider it for a second.”
“Phew,” she says. “That’s good to hear.”
My heart is thumping in my chest. Running riot. I’m so fucking glad Josh is out tonight, so he doesn’t see me being this dumbass, but if he was here, I wouldn’t be being this dumbass.
Or this brave…
I can barely bring myself to look at the screen when I speak next, I’m so nervous.
“But if a clientdiddelete their account, they could cross paths with me… as long as it wasn’t breaching Agency regulations?”
Orla takes her time. I hear her mouse clicking, and I hope she isn’t flagging anything.Please God, no!
“Forget it,” I say. “It’s only speculation… I was just thinking… aloud.”
“Yes, they could do that,” Orla says. “So long as you weren’t them charging for any services, and The Agency’s identity remained anonymous. But, Ella, the client would have to be extremely certain that was what they wanted to do. Because if they left on those terms, it’s extremely unlikely they’d pass the vetting process again. And if anything was brought to publicattention, it could lead them to a whole host of problems. As you well know.”
I didn’t think my heart could pummel any faster, but I was wrong.
I have waves of electric zipping through me.
I should never have asked, but I did. I should never have risked bringing anything to their attention, not for even a moment, but I did.
Rash and stupid.
But boy, how I’m glad I did it.
“Let me know if you want to elaborate any further,” Orla tells me. “And make sure your client is one hundred percent certain of the outcome, and of the confidentiality regulations.”
“Oh, I would. Don’t worry. Not that I will.”
I’m blustering, sounding like an idiot and I know it.
But Orla laughs.
“I get a feeling you may be hinting at User 1543. I’ve noticed his proposal fees have been decreasing somewhat lately. You are taking on very low paid jobs for him compared to the rest of them on your rota.”
