“He didn’t exactly introduce himself.”

“He’s not a big talker, actually.”

“I gathered.”

We went upstairs and seemed to walk down several adjacent hallways before finally arriving at my new room.

“I’ll let you do the honors,” Kyla said, standing aside so I could open the door.

As soon as it swung open, I saw the benefit of living in this house. It was the kind of room that every girl dreams about. The kind of unrealistic room portrayed on sitcoms and movies. Floor-to-ceiling windows lined the longest wall and a huge poster bed sat in wait. There were two additional doors. One most likely a closet and the other a bathroom. Ah yes, I could get used to this life.

“Nice, huh?” Kyla asked, “I always liked this room.”

“So why isn’t it yours?”

“Mine is bigger.”

“Bigger,” I repeated needlessly.

“Yeah, and somehow I’ve never been able to get over the idea that bigger is better.”

“I see,” I replied, refraining from making any of the jokes running through my head.

“Plus, Ashley’s is the biggest.”

“Does she have the only room on the first floor?”

“Yeah.”

“Why is that?”

“She gets the most clients, and they come all the time so the closer she is to the front door the better.”

“Wow.”

“I know, right? It’s ridiculous but it’s the way it is.”

“She seems…”

“Like a bitch? That’s because she is. She’s a huge fucking bitch,” Kyla said, but she was no longer looking at me. She looked very far away all of a sudden.

“Oh.”

“But anyway, I can give you the tour. We eat dinner around seven. Everyone usually just takes it in their room but you can eat in the dining room. Ashley’s the only one who eats in there now. But that’s only because she thinks she’s so much better than everyone else.”

“Uh…ok.”

Aiden wasn’t kidding about this rivalry.

“You can have at-home visits from your clients or if you prefer you can meet them elsewhere. It’s really up to you.”

“Does Aiden have a preference?”

“He doesn’t interfere with the way we work. Trust me, he knows that our clients follow us. If we ever wanted to leave, we could. And our clientele would be right behind us.”