1 THE FIRST MEETING

Mary Springer was walking the street and fighting an irresistible urge to find something to drink, and it better be something with a lot of alcohol in it!

"Damn, why are all the bars closed?! What, if it is morning then I cannot have a drink?" she thought while frantically searching for a bar door which would not have a sign "Closed" on it.

Twenty minutes ago another of her failed job interviews ended and now she was free to enjoy another of her jobless days. Not that it bothered her so much… The sky was bright, the day was warm, and there were not so many people in the streets which is a special bonus for an introvert like herself. If she had enough money, she surely wouldn't have chosen to return to office work ever again. IF she had enough money…

But she didn't.

When she had almost reached the subway station, a miracle occurred! She saw a bar door with no sign on it, none at all.

"I must give it a try," she muttered.

And lucky for her the door was not closed. She entered the bar and saw a man sitting at the bar counter with a filled glass in his hand. No bartender though…

"So there really are other people drinking in the morning."

The man hearing her speak turned around and measured her with his cold eyes. His expression slowly turned to surprise because in the morning on a working day in an expensive bar he saw an ordinarily looking somewhat plump woman in her late twenties, and so eager to drink. Could she have mixed up the door?

But she headed to the bar counter without slightest hesitation, sat down next to him and asked, "Any idea where the bartender is?"

"He has some business to handle. He'll return in about thirty minutes. By the way, the bar's closed…" he said.

"There's no such sign on the door. So if he's out and you're in, in a closed bar, this means that you know each other, right?"

"And if we do?" the man raised his eyebrows.

She extended her hand and said, "I'm Mary, nice to meet you. How can I address you?"

The man smiled and decided to try it out, he was wondering where this woman was trying to lead him.

"I am Daniel, nice to meet you too."

"Now, the bartender knows you and you know me, we all know each other, you see. Can you please pour me a drink?" she asked.

The man could not hold his laughter any longer.

"She must be desperate!" he thought.

"I don't know the bar menu well, can you choose from what you see on the shelves?" he asked still smiling. "By the way, I think maybe you should check out the menu first. On the counter to your left."

Mary took the hint, there must be something wrong with that menu if he insisted on her checking it first. She took it and understood that her luck in finding this bar had a dark side to it. The prices were ridiculously high! But no other bar worked and drinking home alone would not help in raising her spirit. She settled on a glass of champagne and was already going to order it when she remembered that the man beside her was not a bartender.

"Can I go closer and find the bottle myself?" she asked.

"Can't you see it from here?"

He struck the painful topic, because like many other office workers Mary ended up with short-sightedness and happened to forget her eyeglasses at home. No, she could not see it from there…

"If I could I would've! Anyway, you can help me find it then."

She put the menu card in front of him and pointed at the long name of the cheapest champagne on the list.

"Champagne, ha? What are we celebrating?" the smile returned to his face.

"A jobless life, can't you see for yourself?! Will you or will you not be so kind as to help me with this small matter?" she was starting to lose her nerve. A little longer and she would rather choose lonely drinking in her empty apartment instead.

"If this is the case, I will treat you just this once!"

He stood up and headed to the shelves behind the counter. While he was walking Mary silently remarked that the man was really a catch. He was well built, tall, handsome, and obviously had money. Otherwise what was he doing on a working day in such an expensive bar which turned out to be closed for everyone else but himself? The fact that she was on the same day in the same bar together with him and had almost no money at all somehow escaped her notice.

He returned with a glass and a bottle, opened the bottle and poured champagne into the glass.

"Here you are. Cheers!" he said. She touched his glass with hers.

"So what kind of job are you looking for?" he inquired.

"Something with no fixed schedule, with no hard work, and with lots of money," she joked. "The fact is, I'm starting to like this jobless life of mine. If someone would pay me money for idling around, I'd be too eager to accept."

"Idling around? And what does that mean?"

"Well, you know these girls non-stop posting beautiful photos on their Instagram pages? I ate this, I drank that, I travelled there, look at my personal fitness trainer, blah-blah. To post so much they must be not working and having a lot of money. Guess, they must have some male sponsor for that…" she smiled wryly and sipped from her glass.

"So THAT what idling around means to you… Now I see. So you are looking for a sugar daddy" he laughed again. "That's why you chose this very bar.'

"What? Me?" she could not believe her ears. She was not a sugar baby type, not at all, at least not now. In her frantic but failed pursuit of career she sacrificed her personal life as well as her gorgeous figure. Under stress she could not sleep well and ate too much, so she had no strength and no will left for dating or working out. And now he was saying that she was looking for a sugar daddy? He must be joking!

"Well, and what's wrong with that?" she found herself saying exactly the opposite from what she thought.

Daniel had just taken a sip from his glass and almost choked when he heard her retort. And really, what was wrong with that? How could he answer?

"Don't take me wrong. There's nothing wrong with that. So if you came here to find a sugar daddy and someone offered you to become his sugar baby, then you would accept his offer, right?"

"Well, if he's handsome and not that old, and has an agreeable character, then yes, why not?" she did not know why she was saying it. She just wanted a drink and this was the only open bar she could find. Sugar daddy? Seriously?

"Your bar is rather low! You were lucky to find someone completely fitting you description. So how about me then? Will I do?" he made a serious face. He did not expect her to accept, it was clear she did not come here for that reason. But why spoil the fun? And even if she agreed… His life was boring lately and needed some shaking up.

Mary almost dropped the glass she was holding. What on earth was he saying?

"You mean you want me to become your sugar baby?"

"Exactly!" he said.

She really had almost no money left and the time to pay for her rented apartment was growing close. But becoming a sugar baby? No way!

She measured him with her eyes suspiciously.

"And what kind of service do you expect from me in return for your money?" she asked.

"Do you not know?"

"How could I know what meaning this kind of relationship has to you?!"

"Well, I live alone, and ideally I would want you to move to my apartment and fulfill every whim of mine, day and night" saying it he smirked. "Don't be shy, you know what I mean."

Oh, she knew what he meant too well.

"I'm many things, but not shy. With your night whims it's all clear. What are your day whims?"

"Ah, that! Well, all that wives usually do: cooking, cleaning, preparing yourself for meeting me in the evening," he liked the joke more and more. He already had a cook and a cleaning lady, but that was not so much fun!

She took a deep breath. Cooking, cleaning… She was not good at that. Actually she hated both! But why was she even thinking about it?

And what was about this "preparing yourself for meeting me in the evening" stuff?! How should she prepare herself?

But he was handsome and rich, while she had no job, no money and no boyfriend. If she agreed she would receive both a place to live and a handsome guy who had just stepped down from the cover of Forbes magazine to get a drink in this God forsaken bar. And she would get an allowance on top of that…

Damn, why should she refuse? She may never receive such an offer again.

"It's a deal then!" she said and breathed out with relief.

"A deal? Good. Have you ever been a sugar baby before?" his eyes were fixed on her face.

"No, not really" she dropped her eyes to the bar counter.

"Then I am giving you a monthly probation period. What? I must be sure that my investment pays off!"

He took her number and her address, and said that tomorrow he would send a car to bring her to his place. Then they parted and she went home.

A sugar baby?! She must be nuts…