“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Hope sighed. “Rick may just beat the crap out of him which could jeopardize his job. I’m not going to let that happen.”
“I don’t think he would go to such lengths,” Judy said.
“I don’t want to find out.” Hope said. “That’s why I don’t want him to know about this.”
Judy hesitated. Something wasn’t right here, she could feel it, but didn’t have the time to question Hope about it. She had to get back to the restaurant.
“All right, I won’t say anything,” Judy said then added, “For now, but if Jonathan keeps coming around I may reconsider.”
“Thanks and don’t worry. I don’t think he’ll be back.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Judy said. “Plus, I got a strange feeling about him when I shook his hand. I was trying to figure out what I was sensing, but he quickly removed his hand from mine. I got the sense that he knew what I was doing. This makes me think he might be psychic.”
“Great,” Hope moaned.
“Just be careful.”
After Judy took off, Hope sank down in her chair in defeat. The last thing she needed was some psychic who was using his abilities to hit on her. She groaned just thinking about it. Thoughts of Jonathan were soon pushed away when the phone rang. Hope was glad for the reprieve, not wanting to have to think about him any longer.
Judy’s mind was on Hope when she entered the restaurant, so she didn’t notice one of her customers trying to get her attention. It wasn’t until Judy was right by her table that she succeeded.
“Earth to Judy,” the woman bellowed.
Judy spun around in the direction of the voice.
“Sorry Mary Jane, my mind was elsewhere.”
“Was it ever,” she remarked. “I hope it was on that hunk of a husband of yours.”
Judy laughed. “Unfortunately no, I was worried about a friend.”
“Hope?” Mary Jane questioned.
Judy nodded. “Yep.”
“Is she all right?” she asked in concern.
“I hope so.”
“What’s going on?”
“I can’t say.”
“Sounds intriguing, is it something sordid?”
“No,” Judy chuckled.
“Too bad, I like dishing the dirt.”
Mary Jane loved anything scandalous, which wasn’t surprising since she owned her own phone sex business. Men could call 1-800-PLEASURE and for a fee, she would talk dirty to them. Mary Jane had been doing this for years and had a lucrative business. Judy had met her a few months back when Mary Jane began frequenting the restaurant. They became fast friends. It never bothered Judy that she was in the business of sex, as Judy tried not to judge people. What did bother her was that her friend was hell bent on hiring Judy to run a psychic hotline, something she kept hounding her about.
“So have you given more thought about going into business with me?” Mary Jane asked.
“I don’t think so. I’m already busy enough with this restaurant.”
“You wouldn’t have to do it full time,” Mary Jane said. “A few times a week.”
“I’m really not interested in telling people their fortunes,” Judy said. “Besides, I’m not that confident in my abilities to do something like that.”
Mary Jane waved her comment away, “You don’t have to be confident. You can always fake it if you have to. I do all the time and the men keep coming back for more.”
“In your line of business faking is acceptable. For people looking to have their futures foretold, it’s not.”
“Honey, people calling 1-800 numbers really aren’t expecting much, so I wouldn’t worry about it.”
“I’m also worried that our lines of business might cross and I might end up with someone looking for sex instead of a reading. I don’t think I could handle that.”
“Sure you could,” Mary Jane said. “You could follow one of my scripts if that were to happen.”
“You have a sex script!” Judy implored.
“Sure do,” Mary Jane said. “I created a whole bunch of them. They come in handy when I’m training a new girl and she gets tongue-tied. All she has to do is pull one up on the computer and go from there.”
“I still wouldn’t feel comfortable doing that.” Judy shuddered.
“Then all you have to do is tell them to hold on while you change into something sexy and hand the phone to me.”
“Still, what happens if in the middle of telling them their fortune they start talking dirty to me?”
“Then play along.”
Judy rolled her eyes. “I can just see it now, I’m telling someone about their love life while describing what type of panties I am wearing.”
“You got the idea,” Mary Jane commended.
Judy cringed. “No thank you. I’m not interested in talking dirty.”
Mary Jane laughed. “It’s fun. You should try it sometime.”
“I do and only with my husband.”
“You go girl!” Mary Jane applauded.
“Look, I think I’ll pass on your offer,” Judy said.
Mary Jane shrugged. “That’s too bad. I think you would be good at it.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, but no.”
Just then Rick walked in. Judy could have hugged him for the interruption, as she didn’t want to discuss Mary Jane’s business proposition anymore.
“Good morning ladies.” Rick greeted.
“Good morning yourself,” Mary Jane swooned
Rick chuckled over her reaction. “Sorry to interrupt, but I need to speak with Judy.”
“I’m jealous,” Mary Jane pouted. “Judy has all these gorgeous men vying for her attention and I have none.”
“Oh please,” Rick said. “You have men calling you every day.”
“Yah, to get their rocks off over the phone,” Mary Jane sighed. “I want a real man. Someone I can share my life with, come home to after a busy day, have quickies with in the afternoon.”
Judy held up her hand. “Okay, we get the picture.”
“I’m sure you’ll find someone,” Rick assured.
“Not like you,” Mary Jane purred. “If Hope ever gets bored of you, give me a call.” Mary Jane winked at him.
Rick laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“God she’s hopeless,” Judy chuckled as they walked to her office. “You know how many of my customers she has hit on?”
“Does she get any dates?” Rick asked.
“All the time, but she says she never feels a spark with any of them so she doesn’t go out on a second date.”
“Spark is important,” Rick agreed. “Look at me and Hope.”
His comment made Judy think of Jonathan and the spark he was trying to get with Hope. Instantly she felt guilty. Rick