Chapter 4

With everything that had blown up around us, we had lost track of the Houston football season. Oh, the parties rolled on at the Hooker House, but even Jess only put in short appearances at them. She was content to leave it to Katie and Crystal to manage, and they were flourishing.

As Christmas approached, though, the team had locked up home field advantage throughout the playoffs with three games left in the regular season. Even the skeptical national press was buzzing about them being legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Johnny Burris, having a career year, was the frontrunner for league MVP.

Time slipped by quickly, mostly because things came at us fast and furious. Crystal moved out of our guest house, which was a sad day -- but also a joyful one because she and Jason had bought a house together. They had developed an incredible bond as a couple and had also started to play a bit together. Since Jess and I were less-frequent presences at the Hooker House for the time being, Crystal and Jason had taken on de facto hosting roles at the football parties. Jason couldn’t believe his luck at all the pussy it got him -- and he didn’t bat an eye at what a popular choice his girlfriend was among the players.

The Hooker House itself was thriving. Katie had grown into her leadership role magnificently, filling a lot of the vacuum Alix had left behind. Julie proved herself a natural submissive and took on the role of a sort of house mom, in addition to her popularity as a compliant fuck doll. Brooke and Bianka rounded out the Hooker House roster now, and their similarities -- tall, olive-skinned brunettes with model-caliber bodies -- kept them extremely busy. They were especially frequent participants in doubles sessions together. Gloria, of course, knew no other role than to be a bimbo whore; it was her perfect use and main source of happiness. And Jen, the other traffic girl, was turning out to be a top-shelf hoe.

In Vegas, Kelly had everything running smoothly. Nicole, unsurprisingly, had become something of a lieutenant. Melissa, the former pro cheerleader, was a steady presence with her athletic body and no-holes-barred mentality with clients. The only strain in Vegas was that Infinity could use more girls, something Jess and Kelly began to focus on more.

And in LA, Alix had the agency humming again. Christy had become an instant hit, particularly with the silver fox crowd. Josie, with her ballerina body, continued to whore right along. Serena, the Houston transplant, was thriving and popular as a girl-next-door compared to the prevalent plastic on the LA scene. And there were an additional two girls I had yet to meet but also one familiar face that I had completely forgotten about. It was April Snow, a porn starlet who had become fairly big-time but still escorted quite a bit. We had met in LA on my first trip there with Kat, years ago. She was in her mid-twenties now and in her prime.

The only concern Jess and Kelly had at all with Infinity was that the girls might burn out. Almost all of the core group was taking four or five appointments a week. There were a couple girls in LA and Vegas who would take occasional appointments, along with another few usual Houston suspects who kept the agency thriving. In all, Infinity’s cash flow was something along the lines of a million dollars per week. In cash.

"We need to be able to handle the cash better," Jess told me one afternoon as we sat before our gaudy, fifteen-foot Christmas tree. It was chilly out, and we had the gas fireplace on.

"Well, the easiest thing would be an LA Hooker House," I said. "You could probably use it, and with California prices..." My voice trailed off.

"That’s exactly what I was thinking!" Jess said. "It would give us a lot of leeway -- and for a little while, too."

"I bet Petey knows someone," I said. "I’ll text him."

"Could this be working out any better, John?" Jess asked, her smile as warm as the fire.

"Could what be working out any better?" I asked.

"Life," she said. "Everything. Kat and Rita are healthy. Business is thriving. I think next year is going to be huge for us."

"I couldn’t agree more," I said and kissed her. "I have some nerves about Peter’s last movie. I really wish they would settle on a title. But the release date is set for Memorial Day, and the buzz is still there. I heard the reception to the first director’s cut was fantastic."

"If that movie is a hit?" Jess said. "You’re going to become a very, very rich man."

"Don’t count our chickens before they’re hatched," I said. "But, yeah, the thought has passed my mind."

***

The biggest dilemma leading up to the babies, however, was for Kat and Rita. Shortly after Rita found out she was pregnant, we had a long discussion about what our futures should look like. We had always been careful to separate the personal and professional for my traffic and weather girls, but being pregnant on TV inevitably would lead to questions that might lead to unwanted attention. We talked about it extensively, and I got the sense Kat and Rita knew what they wanted but hesitated to bring it up.

So I brought it up for them. I told them they should just quit. They were dealing with massive first trimester fatigue, which waking up in the middle of the night for work only made worse. They were the runaway ratings queens of Houston morning television. They had conquered that mountain, so why not go out on top? Jess agreed with me. We had more than enough money. None of us would ever have to work again, if we were smart about it, and if even one of the movies I had helped finance became a hit, we’d be rich for life.

When I made that suggestion, it was like a major balloon of anxiety popped. It’s exactly what Kat and Rita wanted. So they decided December 30 would be their last day. It gave the station ample time to find their replacements. The producers and executives tried to sweeten the pot to get them to stay, but their minds were made up.