Lora was only slightly nervous as she entered the door in front of her. She was eighteen and about to graduate from high school and this was simply a meeting with a group to discuss a financial aid opportunity. She had seen the ad in a local paper the week before. It seemed fair enough, "Need Money for College? Interview about working opportunities available across the United States. No prior work experience necessary." So she had called the number and the group had seemed entirely legitimate. She even got more information and had looked up the company on-line. "College Opportunities," it was called. There were plenty of comments from men and women who had used their services.
She walked into a small room where an attractive receptionist sat behind the desk.
"You must be Lora," the woman said with a smile.
"I am."
"Great," the woman said, and then handed Lora a clipboard with a few pieces of paper. "If you could fill out these forms it would be wonderful." Lora took the documents back and sat down in a comfortable chair. The questions were mainly biographical: date of birth, address, etc., but some were also personal: address, GPA, class rank, colleges she was considering, financial status of her parents, and so forth. Lora filled out the paperwork with her hand trembling slightly. She had applied to several colleges and been accepted at all of them. Most were local Texas schools -- the University of Texas, SMU, Southwestern University, but one in particular had stood out. It was Duke University in North Carolina. A great school, but also a very expensive one. Unfortunately they had not offered her as much financial aid as she hoped, and her parents had been hinting that they might not be able to afford for her to attend such a pricey place, especially compared to those in-state options. It didn't help that both of her parents were graduates from Texas A&M, where she also had been accepted.
Lora finished filling out the forms and walked back over to the receptionist to return them. "Oh, keep hold of them. Mr. Stonebridge will take them from you when you enter his office." As Lora walked back to the chair, the receptionist commented, "By the way, I love your skirt."
"Thanks," Lora replied. She had picked out the skirt intentionally. It was professional, yet definitely showed off her legs and ass. Though she was trying to remain professional, she also figured that a little skin couldn't hurt. Her blouse was silk, and showed off the curves of her breasts. This, too, was done intentionally. Lora was glad that it would be a man who would interview her, thinking that her outfit wouldn't hurt her chances. She sat there for a few minutes before the phone on the receptionist's desk rang. She picked it up and then called over to Lora. "Mr. Stonebridge will see you now."
Lora stood up and entered through a door on the opposite side of the room. Once inside, she found herself in a mostly bare office. There were a few file cabinets to one side of the room, but nothing much else. The walls were white with nothing hung from them. In the middle of the room was a single desk, and sitting behind it was a man who looked to be in his mid to late 40's. He was easily one of the most attractive men Lora had ever seen. He had short brown hair, with a hint of gray starting to form, and was very tan. His eyes were deep brown. As he stood up to greet her, she could see that his shoulders were broad, and when he reached out to shake her hand, his grip felt firm yet reassuring.
"Mrs. Cooper," he said softly. "Very nice to meet you."
"The pleasure is mine," she said trying hard not to stare directly into his eyes for too long. "I really appreciate your taking the time to consider my application."
Mr. Stonebridge waived his arm at the chair in front of the desk. "Please, make yourself comfortable," he said. "Have you had a chance to fill out the forms yet?"
"I have," Lora responded, handing the clipboard over to him. She sat down as he walked back around the desk and began flipping through the sheets of paper. As he did, Lora found herself staring up at the blank walls. It made her a little nervous that the room seemed so bleak. Maybe this company wasn't as legitimate as it seemed on the website. When she looked back towards Mr. Stonebridge, she was surprised to find him staring directly at her with a slight grin on his face. She looked away quickly.
"I see you seem a bit worried about the space we are in," he said, clearly reading her expression. She tried to say something but he continued before she could. "We just rented this location out for the day. Our main offices are in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Chicago and San Diego. I can assure you they are better decorated than this space." Lora gave a nervous laugh, and then he stared down at the pages in front of him. "I'm really impressed by your credentials, Ms. Cooper."
"Please, call me Lora," she said nervously. The man smiled.
"Thank you for that, Lora. So tell me, what's your top choice for college?"
Lora glanced down. "Well, I guess that's why I'm here. It's Duke."
"A wonderful school," he said. "Truly exceptional. You should be very proud of getting in there."
"I am. I just wish it wasn't so expensive, or that they had given me a little more financial aid."
"Unfortunately, so many schools are cutting back. This is something that far too many high school students are seeing," he said with sincerity. "But, I guess it keeps companies like ours in business."
"Do you think you could help me," Lora asked. "What would the process be? Your website says you help us find jobs in the local area. Do you have any prospects in North Carolina?"
"In fact, we do," Mr. Stonebridge said. "We actually have a few students at Duke."
"Seriously?"
He smiled. "Seriously. So I guess the question you have to ask yourself is this -- how badly do you want to go to Duke?"
"With everything I have," Lora responded.
The man in front of her stared at her intently; letting those words sink in. He looked deeply into Lora's eyes and held his glare for a long amount of time. Lora finally broke the stare by glancing down to the desk and then quickly back up. Finally the man took a deep breath and then reached into one of the drawers in front of him. He pulled out two envelopes and sat them on the table in front of him. They tops were open, and Lora was surprised to see that they looked to be filled with money.
"Lora. We would like to enter into a contract with you," he said calmly and then reached out to one of the envelopes. "This has $4,000 cash in it, and I'm willing to give this to you as a signing bonus, after you hear our offer." He then opened the other envelope up. "This one has $500 in it, and if you turn us down, I will give you that one, and you can walk away with no hard feelings."
Lora's mouth hung open in shock. "You....you....really?"