The Escort

A/N: This fic was the result of a Secret Santa fic exchange organized by Carolinagirl919 and I was honored to draw her name. The prompt was: 'AU- John is an escort hired by lonely divorcée Joss Carter.'

I'm posting the first chapter today and the next chapter will be posted tomorrow. Happy Holidays!

Chapter 1

"I don't know who the hell he is, but he's not JCarter."

CEO John Reese stood next to his CIO Harold Finch as they watched a slim black man walk to his chauffeured limousine. Reese Security Enterprises had just given an exhaustive presentation in their luxurious executive boardroom to the purported head of JCarter, Jason Carter, a much smaller, but extremely profitable and well regarded private security firm, about a possible merger.

Earlier efforts to purchase the company had failed and a hostile takeover had been squelched, each attempt foiled neatly and decisively by a wily and skilled opponent, in ways that infuriated yet intrigued the RSE head.

He wasn't used to losing, and he also wasn't used to being ignored.

Jason Carter had never met with him, never spoke to him, never responded to any of Reese's entreaties personally.

His staff did, quickly, efficiently and politely turning down any and all requests for dinner, golf, a private retreat, even a quick call.

Mr. Carter was traveling, or in the midst of intense negotiations or conferring with government officials, they always said calmly, with just the right amount of regret in their voices to make it seem as though it wasn't his choice.

Occasionally a photo or a clip would surface in the media of Jason Carter deep in conversation with a client, offering advice or assurances, his eyes focused and intense.

Finally, after months of trying, the CEO of JCarter agreed to a meeting, but Reese knew within five minutes of meeting him, that Jason Carter was a fraud, a figurehead.

Whoever was in charge, it wasn't this man.

Reese's CIO nodded. "I have to agree, Mr. Reese. The man we met today is capable and intelligent, but he's –"

"He's not extraordinary, Finch. Whoever's in charge of JCarter is extraordinary. I want to find out who it is."

He turned to his CIO. "I need you to assemble the Shadow Board, Finch."

"It's already underway, Mr. Reese."

XXX

Several days later, a small group met in Reese's spacious office. As a global company, RSE had a conventional Board of Directors, but unbeknownst to them and the rest of his employees, Reese also had a small group of trusted associates, skilled in a variety of legal and illegal methods and techniques, to do what his other staffers couldn't, or shouldn't do.

"What do we know about Jason Carter?" Reese asked.

Finch brought up a photo on the large screen at the foot of the conference table. "Jason Carter is really Calvin Beecher, a former NYPD Detective. Mr. Beecher supposedly died over a decade ago in an ambush and approximately a year later, reemerged as Jason Carter."

Zoe Morgan raised an eyebrow. "His fashion sense must have died years before he did." The fixer nodded approvingly at the next photo, which showed Beecher as the impeccably tailored Jason Carter in a designer suit. Her eyes slid slyly towards the CEO. "He looks completely different. They do say clothes make the man, John."

Reese smirked at her. "He does seem well suited for it, Zoe." He turned to Finch. "What else do we know?"

"His fingerprints, DNA and blood samples, everything's been subtly altered to escape detection and his official biography is close enough to Beecher's to minimize any tells either in casual conversation or in something formal, like a lie detector test. It wasn't until I ran a search on African American NYPD Detectives who served around the same time that I found Mr. Beecher. Both men were reportedly in Narcotics and spent time in deep cover; the HR scandal virtually wiped out the entire department and any discreet entreaties we made about either man brought up nothing with current staffers.

Reese nodded. "Either they never met Cal Beecher or they're too busy keeping their heads down to make waves about the non-existent Jason Carter."

Finch then handed the remote to Zoe, who brought up a photo of an elegant townhouse in Brooklyn, part of an extensive planned neighborhood of businesses, luxury condos and restaurants reclaimed from an old industrial site along the river.

Her smoky voice became serious. "As you know, John, my focus is on what people want or need, what they covet. Jason Carter is single; he's been photographed with woman at high level events like White House dinners and Hollywood premieres, but those relationships don't seem to last. There were rumors that he has a long term relationship with someone, perhaps another man or a married woman, but none of those ever bore fruit. The one thing we did find is that he appears to visit this building on a regular basis, supposedly for staff meetings, but he always goes alone."

She smiled. "I had lunch with a former client the other day who lives in a nearby building." Her hand fingered her large purse. Zoe had an array of surveillance devices concealed inside. "Beecher/Carter's meeting space is well shielded, but I did manage to get this." She brought up a photograph of Beecher/Carter exiting the townhouse. As the photograph went through various enhancement and resolution filters, a figure appeared.

They could just make out the silhouette of a woman standing inside the doorway, her body partially obscured by Beecher/Carter's as he left the building.

Zoe smiled at Finch. "Harold was able to determine that's she was approximately 5' 4" and when he applied additional enhancements to the contrast of light and shadow, he extrapolated that she was a dark skinned woman, probably African American, with an above the shoulder haircut."

Next was a layout of the building. "No one fitting that description has been seen entering or exiting the building at any time, not just when Beecher/Carter was there, so we made a determination that she was accessing the building some other way."

Finch adjusted his glasses. "Like everything else, Mr. Reese, the records at the planning department had been altered. The townhouse site originally contained an old warehouse, which was also used for storage during Prohibition; there were tunnels under the building for the transport of banned spirits. The city's plans show those tunnels as being filled in, but obviously they had been put back in operation again. "

Zoe took the remote out of Harold's hand, but before she could click on the next slide, there was a low, deadly murmur.

"Hold up, I'm next."

Samantha Shaw strode into the room from the private elevator, clutching a meatball grinder in one hand and a large soft drink in the other.

"I was merely setting the stage for you, Sam, since your hands," Zoe grimaced as drops of tomato sauce dripped on the conference table, "seem to be full."

Finch handed Shaw a napkin, but winking at the CEO, she wiped her hand on her pants, and then flung herself into a chair. "Only need one finger, Zoe, to get the job done. Besides, I'm the one who tracked her."

Reluctantly, Zoe slid the remote across the table, and Shaw pressed the 'Next Page' button.

"Harold monitored all the cameras near the building, 'til we got a figure fitting the description leaving an attorney's office."

The woman, face shielded by a wide brimmed hat, emerged with hundreds of other New Yorkers spilling out of buildings for the commute home, and disappeared into the crowd.

"She's good," Shaw said, her voice muffled as she took a huge bite of her sandwich, "but I'm better."

The next slide showed a small, beautifully maintained suburban home, and then a video started, showing a late model plain sedan pulling into a one car garage and the woman, hat shorn, finally appeared on the screen.

Smiling triumphantly, Shaw put her feet on the table. "Meet the real JCarter."

Reese leaned forward.

Curves.

Beautiful, glorious, incredible curves.

All he could think of was curves, as his eyes slowly scanned her image from head to foot.

She was stunning, absolutely stunning.

Her sleek bob framed huge brown eyes, sculpted cheekbones and full smiling lips. Her slim, yet strong shoulders led you to a tiny, nipped in waist and legs that seemed impossibly long for her petite frame. Her breasts were high and full, her hips swayed gently and as she entered her home a firm, sumptuous ass flexed enticingly as she leaned down to pet a large brown dog who came bounding out to greet her, then they both disappeared inside the house together.

Reese's hand slowly curved down the conference table.

"What's her first name?" he asked softly.

"Jocelyn – Joss." Shaw took a sip of her soda. "She's divorced, got one kid, a college freshman. Friends and family think she's some boring contracts legal eagle beagle. She was a homicide detective during the same time Beecher/Carter was, and word is, she's the one who actually brought down HR. Finch has the goods on that."

Finch nodded. "As we know, the HR scandal revealed massive corruption across city government, all the way to the Mayor's office. Ms. Carter had cleared another detective, a William Szymanski, who had been accused of bribery, when he ran afoul of several HR members involved in a counterfeiting ring. Her work clearing him revealed that there was much more involved than a few rogue police officers. She began to dig, and HR targeted her."

Shaw cut in. "Yeah, they framed her for a bad shoot, demoted her, threatened her kid and then tried to kill her. She took 'em out in a firefight, captured the head guy, Alonzo Quinn." The tiny woman flashed a rare, broad smile. "She's a total badass."

"Yes, Ms. Carter is quite impressive," Finch agreed. "While the members of HR were being taken in, her life was still in danger, so the FBI decided to put her in seclusion, under the guise of her taking a leave of absence from the police force. I was able to uncover documentation that she volunteered to use her skills as a former Army interrogator on Mr. Quinn with," Harold smiled thinly, "favorable results."

"Favorable?" Shaw snickered. "She broke him like a twig. Quinn gave up everybody and anybody, including his own mother, who made coffee for his HR powwows."

Reese raised an eyebrow. "Was it bad coffee?"

Finch gave both friends a quelling glance. "Ms. Shaw is correct in that Mr. Quinn provided testimony and documentation that completely supported what Ms. Carter had gathered in her investigation. He became the star witness, including providing evidence that Ms. Carter had been framed. Only a few people knew of Ms. Carter's actual involvement and she was more than willing to let them take the spotlight."

Reese's eyes gleamed in admiration. "She did it because it was it was the right thing to do, not to get fame or fortune. She wanted her good name back, wanted her life back."

"Yes, you understand her completely, Mr. Reese. She left the force and using the law degree she obtained several years earlier, became the 'boring contracts legal eagle beagle' as Ms. Shaw so verbosely described her," he ignored Shaw mouthing the words, 'I'm verbose?', "at least on paper. A year later JCarter opened its doors with Jason Carter, who we now know is Calvin Beecher, at the helm."

"How did Beecher get involved with JCarter?"

"That…" Finch's lips pursed together, "we haven't been able to clearly determine yet. Beecher is Quinn's godson – apparently they were very close, but it does not appear that he was involved in HR. He was ambushed down by the docks by one of his confidential informants and two HR members. His body went in the river and was never recovered but there was enough blood to indicate that he had been mortally wounded…it's not clear how he survived or who helped him, but obviously, someone did."

"Ms. Carter." Reese sat back slightly. "What about Beecher and Ms. Carter? Were they…involved?"

Finch's eyes flickered over to his longtime friend. "They were involved when they were on the police force together, yes, John, at least for a short time."

"And now, Finch?" Reese asked, unable to keep the sharpness out of his voice. He abruptly stood up and walked over the wide bank windows from which he and Finch had watched Beecher/Carter day ago.

All three of his associates glanced at the tall CEO.

"Now, John, they appear to be friends and associates. Until a few days ago, Ms. Carter didn't seem to be involved with anyone."

Zoe smiled. "And that's when it gets interesting."

XXX

Several days earlier.

"Damn! Damn! DAMN!"

Carrying a bottle of wine in her hand, Jocelyn Carter stomped out to her back deck. Setting the bottle on a side table she flopped onto a lawn chair. "I can't believe I was so stupid!"

Her Belgian Malinois, Bear, loped across the small lawn and joined her, putting his head on her knee. Absently rubbing his neck, Joss thought about how she had gotten herself into this mess.

Earlier that day there had been a reception for families of the incoming freshman class at the small, prestigious college just outside the city that her son Taylor was attending.

It had been a perfectly bittersweet kind of day, as Joss' grandmother would have called it, a day full of happiness – an outstanding student, Taylor had received a full academic scholarship to the college and already was getting into the swing of college life, and Joss' ex-husband Paul, who had battled through his demons and come out on the other side, had attended the reception as well, making it a true family moment – and sadness, as Joss accepted that her son truly had her own life now, and that while her relationship with Paul had ended years ago, and she no longer loved him, there was still the thought of what might have been.

Paul had left and Taylor was gone off with his new classmates as Joss decided to take a few minutes to collect herself before she drove back to the city. Bear had accompanied her today and the two sat on a wide veranda overlooking the college green, when a thin, arch voice sounded behind her.

"Well, well, well – look what the cat dragged in."

Kara Stanton.

Joss closed her eyes for a moment, then she turned around in her chair.

Great, she thought, Mark's here, too.

Kara and her husband, Mark Snow, sauntered over. Joss and Kara had gone to college together and she had crossed paths with the couple on several occasions over the years. They were cruel and ruthless opportunists and one of Joss' secret pleasures since starting JCarter, was slowly taking business away from their mercenary outfit, MarKara.

"Helping a laundromat owner set up a new 'Sit and Spin' must be more lucrative than I thought, or has your ex, what was his name, Peter, Patrick – Paul, finally get off the street and cough up some money?" Ms. Stanton smiled brightly, holding up a brochure. "Oh, that's right, your son got a full academic scholarship, due to, I'm sure, some special circumstances. That must be such a relief."

Joss' smile was cold. "The criteria for the scholarship was spelled out in detail, Kara, to all the applicants, including your son. Clearly, the selection committee made the right choice. And thank you, for asking about Paul, he's doing quite well now, as I'm sure you noticed."

As the two women talked, Joss could feel Mark Snow's dead eyes on her, openly leering at her body. While he and Kara were a team in business, their private lives were a different matter. Joss knew that the only reason they were together today was their son.

Kara shrugged, then her eyes glinted again. "Our sorority's getting together soon. Will you be rejoining us finally this year?"

"I'll be there." Joss had missed the last several years due to helping Cal work through an intense hostage rescue, drawn out negotiations with a new client and fending off Reese Security Enterprises attempts to take over her company. "It will be nice to catch up with everyone."

"Yes, it's always so good to hear about all the milestones – the marriages and divorces, especially. What about you, Joss, anything you'd like to share after all these years alone? Or is your dog the only man in your life?"

Bear, who had been dozing on the ground next to Joss, suddenly raised his head, his eyes alert and watchful as Joss leaned forward in her chair.

"Bear's a good man, Kara. He's brave, honest –" her eyes flickered at Mark Snow "- faithful. But as wonderful as he is, he's not the only man in my life. You'll meet him on Friday."

"Someone special?"

"Yes, very special," Joss nodded firmly.

"Well, something to look forward to, then," Kara murmured, and few minutes later, she and Mark drifted away.

Closing her eyes, Joss cursed again as she recalled the exchange.

There was no man in her life.

Joss hadn't had a date in over a decade.

Normally she would have fended Kara off easily, but this time she let Kara get under her skin and Joss knew why.

She was alone.

Joss had a wonderful son, a thriving business, the sense that she was making a difference in the world, but she didn't have someone to come home and talk to at night.

She'd been able to hide her loneliness while raising Taylor, but the house was empty now, and the emptiness inside her, the part that wanted to be loved and cherished again, had begun to gnaw at her.

A gruff voice lanced across the deck. "You drinkin' straight from the bottle, now Carter?"

Her next door neighbor, former partner and friend Lionel Fusco ambled over.

"What –" Joss sat up, chuckling as she glanced back into her kitchen. A glass of wine sat on the counter – she'd brought the bottle out instead. "When I tell you what I did, one bottle might not be enough."

He sat down beside her as she recounted the day, including her conversation with Kara.

"I don't know what got into me, Fusco. What I did was so stupid."

Fusco shrugged. "You're human, Carter, and Kara puts the B in Bitch. She's lucky you didn't shoot her – now that would have been something special."

They shared a smile, then Lionel tilted his head at her. "Whaddya gonna do now, cancel?"

'No," Joss shook her head. "I'm gonna go. I'll just have to let Kara get her jollies for once."

Fusco sat there for a minute, then he turned to Joss with an evil, calculating grin. "Maybe not. I got an idea, Carter."

XXX

A/N: Our SWWoman used this technique in one of her wonderful Wolf tales, A Wolf Returns, and I borrowed, ok, stole it, for this section.

Shaw reached into her pocket and took out a fistful of candy and other treats. Spreading them out on the conference table, she unwrapped some bubble gum and began to chew noisily.

Finch recoiled slightly from the table, and Zoe sighed exasperatedly. "Really, Sam?"

"Really, Zoe." Shaw blew out a huge bubble, popped it, then wadded the gum up and slid her hand under the table.

Reese, who had rejoined the others, gave her a death stare. "Shaw."

"Sorry." She brought the gum back out, put it back in its wrapper and selected another treat. "I followed Joss Carter to her kid's campus this weekend. As Zoe said, this is where it gets interesting."

Shaw brought up a photo of Joss Carter's pet. "She's got this great dog – name's Bear. When we take over her joint, I want him as part of my bonus."

A series of photos showed the dog and his mistress in a variety of settings. "They spend a lotta time together, at home, when she runs errands and stuff, and sometimes she even takes him to the law firm."

"Like I said, she's good. Trying to bug her home, office or car wouldn't work; she probably does regular sweeps and you gotta get access to plant 'em, which leaves you open to getting caught. But…" Shaw held up a small bug, "man's, or in this case, woman's best friend is something else. Planted a bug on him during a reception for freshman families this weekend while I chatted with her for a few minutes and petted him. Figured she'd eventually find it, but in the meantime, we got more info."

Finch nodded. "And what we found out was especially illuminating."

Reese sat back, closed his eyes and listened. As he listened, a smile as evil and calculating as Fusco's spread across his face.

XXX

"Ian Murphy? No. Way!" Joss jumped up and began pacing the deck.

"It's what he does, Carter. He's like that guy on, uh, you know, that show Sons of Anarchy, Nero – he's a 'companionator'. He rents out guys for a…variety of social purposes."

"'Social purposes'? You been reading his website, Fusco? He's a pimp!" Joss grabbed the wine bottle and took a healthy swig.

"A high class one. $10,000 a night minimum. And the client determines what happens over the course of the evening. It can just be dinner, or," Fusco waggled his eyebrows, "you can also order 'dessert', too."

Fusco leaned forward. "Carter, you helped him years ago, back when you were a cop. Even had dinner with him, if I remember correctly. He wanted to date you."

Joss raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, he fed me a cock and bull story about his business – then I found out what kind of cock he was talking about. We've stayed in touch – talk, occasionally," she hastened to add, "but that's all."

"Look, Carter, Murphy likes you, and he owes you. He's not going to steer you wrong. Give him a call."

Joss sighed, walking into the kitchen. "I've got his private number in my safe. I can't believe I'm doing this!"

Fusco picked up the bottle and beckoned Bear. "Come on, buddy. You don't want to miss this."

XXX

Ian Murphy still had a flush of youth about him after all these years, Joss thought, which probably helped him be so successful.

His clients, wealthy women from all over the city, felt comfortable and safe with him. He was polite, charming, discreet, and he was able to mingle easily with anyone, discuss opera, the ballet, fine art, whatever a woman wanted to talk about.

His employees were rigorously trained to be the perfect companion, catering to their client's every need.

Including being the perfect lover.

"Joss," Murphy smiled as she walked into his apartment. "It's been too long." He took her hand, kissing her cheek.

Bear growled.

Murphy's lips quirked. "You know, you might not need me, Joss, if you left Bear at home occasionally."

Joss gave him that look. "Bear's a good judge of character, Ian."

Murphy laughed as he led them to his home office. "I can't argue with that, Joss."

They sat down and Joss explained what she wanted.

He nodded once she had finished. "No problem, Joss. I can provide you exactly what you want. You need a mature, engaging companion, someone who your sorority sisters believe that you've been seeing for a while, but not so long that the relationship has settled. You're still discovering each other, still getting to know each other. A guy who likes you, respects you, but," Murphy stood up, came from behind his desk and sat next to Joss, staring deeply into her eyes, his voice lowering to a whisper, "he also will shoot you a look over dinner that lets you, and everybody else know, that he's going to fuck your brains out tonight."

Joss felt her face grow hot. "Y-y-yes, um, that's a…good…description."

Bear flattened his ears, but he remained silent.

After a long moment, Joss took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. "What do we do next? We review your staff to make a selection or you pick someone out for me?"

"I've already made a selection, Joss. Me." He smirked at her. "We never did have a second date."

"Ian…"

"We can go as little or as far as you want. It's totally up to you." He tilted his head at her. "But I've been in this game for a long time, Joss, and I think it's time for you to kick up your heels a little. You deserve it," he added softly.

He stood up and went back behind his desk. "Now, tell me about your sorority sisters."

XXX

"Yes!" Shaw pumped her fist in the air. "CEO – Chief Erection Officer! I love it!"

"John," Finch was incredulous, "you can't seriously be considering this."

Zoe sat there with an enigmatic look on her face, then she smiled softly.

"Why not, Finch?" Reese's smile was broad now. "I've wanted to meet JCarter for months now. This is the perfect opportunity."

"As an escort, a male prostitute, a gigilo?"

"Gigilo?" Shaw snorted. "What is this, 1950? Get with it, Finch. Man whore is much more," she tilted her chin up, "au courant."

"We prefer the term sex trade worker, actually." Reese's smile faded and he looked at his three friends seriously. "Look, I'm going to do this. We have a lot to do over the next few hours, so let's get moving."

Nodding, Shaw and Finch departed via the private elevator, arguing as they departed.

Reese tilted his head at the fixer. "You have something to say, Zoe?"

Her soft smile returned again. "Finch is your friend, and Shaw is…whatever she is, but you and I have a different relationship."

Reese nodded. Years ago, Reese and Zoe had had a brief, highly enjoyable liaison, but they both decided that they functioned better as friends and associates. "You're right, we do."

"So I have to ask you, John: When was the last time you had a good old fashioned, sweaty, dirty, wonderfully nasty fuck with a woman you really wanted?"

"It's…been a while, Zoe," he answered honestly. In fact, Reese realized, it had been months since he'd been with anyone.

"I saw the way that you reacted to Joss Carter. We all did. Don't let business get in the way of… bidness, okay?" Squeezing his arm, Zoe left via the private elevator.

Alone, Reese sat back and looked at Joss Carter's smiling face on the screen for a long time.

TBC