America 1982-Chapter 310 - 18: I’m Just Cutting My Losses_6
Diane cut off Tommy’s incessant attempts to back out of paying, "I’ve sold myself once."
"..." Tommy was like someone had choked him, and it took him a good while to recover, pointing to the door and saying, "My friend Stephen said I should be your third man, sounds like his source isn’t too accurate. He just brought it up to me because he thought it was something to brag about."
"He’s not wrong, you are the third one. The first was a Hollywood director and producer who gave me the lead role in his movie. The second was my boyfriend in France, but because of the break-up fee and attorney costs, he hasn’t contacted me for a while. According to the arrangement with madam for picking clients, the third man in my life should be a mature male, like your father or uncle, not you. I hate young men."
"Honestly, my father’s got more stamina than me. That muscle of his, going all-out with you in bed all night, I think he’d have no problem with that. As for me... my beautiful girlfriend has drained me, probably only good for two or three times a night," Tommy couldn’t help but laugh when he heard the woman’s words, then raised a cigarette case towards her:
"Want one? You can take your time with a cigarette to think it over, whether to pick me or my old man. If you insist, I can have the hotel hire a small plane to fly to Rhode Island to pick him up. It’s five o’clock in the afternoon now, I think he should be able to get here by nine tonight."
Diane Lynn walked over in frustration, took a cigarette from Tommy’s hand, then retreated back, "Just so we’re clear, I don’t touch drugs, hard liquor, and I don’t do any tricks. I’ll be leaving at six o’clock tomorrow morning."
"I can’t imagine that my dumbass friend Stephen arranged for me to spend tonight hugging a log, and I’m paying seven hundred thousand for this night. Can’t you consider my offer, just walk down to the lobby, take a turn and then leave for fifty grand?" Tommy put away his cigarette case, blew out a puff of smoke and asked unwillingly.
Diane lit her cigarette, just as irritable, "Seven hundred thousand, I let you do it once now, then accompany you to the lobby, take a turn and leave. What do you think?"
"We can’t measure the world with vulgar money and flesh. I think our conversation has been directionally flawed from the start," Tommy sighed and looked at the blonde, "Let me start over. Stephen said you ran into some trouble and needed money urgently. How much do you need?"
"I’m not planning to be your mistress," Diane blew a ring of smoke and told Tommy. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
"Quit dreaming, girl. Your chest is only a size bigger than my assistant, Sophia, and she doesn’t stand a chance, so I don’t think you have much hope either. Do you know why men must find a pretty enough girlfriend? Because it increases resistance to the opposite sex. After sleeping with my girlfriend, my immunity to other women substantially increases," Tommy, realizing that she thought he wanted to keep her long-term, said with a look of disdain:
"All I’m saying is, I can pay you seven hundred thousand, and I won’t sleep with you. I can even offer some help afterwards to sort out your troubles. I have a friend named Mark who runs a small actor’s agency in Los Angeles. He’s got no famous artists under him, but the advantage is, he pours resources into the few artists he manages. His most famous artist right now is a black girl, former Miss America Vanessa Williams. She’s been blacklisted because of a Penthouse scandal, so she doesn’t have much fame in the film and TV circles, practically a newcomer. However, Mark has just landed her the lead role in a TV series, the second female lead, with a salary of twenty grand per episode. So I’m saying, how about you join his agency? I’ll have him arrange the best lawyer to sort out your lawsuit, with no cost to you. This way, you won’t need to spend the night with an immature man like me or worry about attorney fees, plus you’ll get an agency that will absolutely work around you."
"After I sold myself the first time, I realized there are no good people in this world," Diane said, head bowed, her expression unclear. After holding her head down for several seconds, she took a deep drag of her cigarette, raised her head and told Tommy:
"Our deal is just for tonight."
Tommy, frustrated, discarded the cigarette from his mouth, shut the door behind him with the back of his hand, and began to undo his shirt and tie, muttering, "Why are white people harder to swindle than black people, what’s the issue?"
Seeing that Diane was still standing in the same spot, he frowned in discontent, "Lady, there’s only twelve hours left until six o’clock tomorrow morning, forty-three thousand two hundred seconds. Do you understand what that means? It means I’m paying you sixteen dollars a second. The average American hourly wage is only four dollars. You’re making what an ordinary person earns in four hours, every second. So, make the most of it!"
When Diane saw Tommy like that, she pinched out her cigarette butt and walked towards the bathroom, "I’m going to take a shower. Are you coming?"
"I damn wish I could be stuck to you for the next twelve hours. What do you think?" Tommy followed her towards the bathroom:
"Also, do you mind if I take some pills to maintain a man’s dignity? Otherwise, really, only two or three times might be a bit too shortchanged..."
