Free Male Review by Lillian Grant Page B

her suspicions. It didn’t take a Rhodes’ scholar to work out the paper had obviously got hold of the details of her arrest. Nothing much happened around town for them to report, so when a salacious story about the apprehension of a male prostitute and his madam came along they would relish the opportunity to publish it. She just hoped to God they hadn’t made page one.
    “Would I be right in guessing they mentioned something about my run in with the law?”

Chapter Sixteen
    Meg’s mother had wept, wrung her hands, begged, pleaded and ordered her, but so far Meg had held her own. She didn’t plan to go anywhere, not now that Sam had finally declared his undying love for her. Thinking about Sam, where was he? He’d left over two hours ago.
    The sound of the key in the front door had Meg jumping to her feet.
    “Maggie Riley. We haven’t finished yet.”
    Too late. As far as Meg was concerned, salvation was at hand. She sprinted through the living room and swung the door open. Her stomach plummeted to her feet. Oh God, just when she thought someone had come to save her.
    Maud shoved past Meg. “I need the bathroom. She wouldn’t let me out to pee anywhere.”
    Laura stepped inside and shut the door behind her. Meg looked her up and down. The hot pink tube top with Male Review in silver written across her boobs, matching hot pink, skin-tight vinyl pants and spike heeled sandals were great on Laura. However, based on the glimpse she had of Maud in the same outfit, it lost something in translation when worn by an older, wrinkly body.
    “What are you wearing?”
    Her mother echoed the comment. However, her tone sounded more disapproving than amazed.
    “Vivienne, Meg. You like it?”
    Laura did a twirl while Meg wondered how Laura got away with calling her mother Vivienne. All of Meg’s other friends called her Mrs. Riley or Marm, to her face.
    Maud shuffled into the room with toilet paper trailing from the back of her pants. Meg dropped onto the sofa. She had a headache and the feeling the afternoon was about to go from bad to worse.
    Mrs. Riley stared from one to the other. “Why are you both dressed like … like … that?” She patted Maud’s arm. “Is this some kind of a joke, dear?”
    Maud shrugged her off and tugged her tube top, which appeared to be making a bid to reach her stomach. “I decided I needed to invest in my future.”
    She hadn’t. Meg groaned. “Tell me Laura didn’t convince you to put some money into her crazy bar idea.”
    “Laura didn’t convince me to put money into her crazy bar idea.”
    “So what are you talking about, dear?” Her mother saved her most condescending tone for the elderly and young children.
    “I invested in Laura’s bar. I’m now part owner of a classy place down on Menton.”
    Classy and Menton didn’t belong in the same sentence. The whole area was rife with strip joints, dance clubs, hookers, and drug dealers. It had gotten so bad the street had its own police station. The authorities wanted the cops to get people into custody and get back out to arrest more lunatics as quickly as possible.
    Meg glared at Laura. How could she drag Maud into one of her hair-brained schemes? She might be a bit eccentric, but she was still Meg’s aunt and no one took advantage of her. “What happened to the bank loan, and where do you get off talking Maud into something so stupid?”
    Maud pulled herself up to her full five feet nothing and glared at Meg. “It’s my money and I can do what I want with it. You’re not my keeper.” She turned her attention to Meg’s mother. “And neither are you, Vivienne. If you spent more time in bed with your husband and less sticking your nose in other people’s business you might be a damn sight happier and less uptight.”
    Before anyone had a chance respond the old lady marched toward the hallway. “Now, if you’ll excuse me I have a date to get ready for. Laura, be a sweetie and bring my shopping in.”
    Laura disappeared