This clearly took her off guard, aggression shifted to suspicion as she eyed the notes I was offering.

“What's the signature? Some weird kink of yours? Like, I have to sign your ass whilst you scream at me or something?"

I couldn't help but chuckle at that little picture as I shook my head and Lowered my wallet before pulling out the rolled up parchment from my back pocket. I hooked my fingers onto the top and watched it roll open to reveal the contract.

“You sign this, I get your soul, then I walk away and you're a hundred pounds richer."

There was a Longer pause after this. The girls were looking at me like

I was a crazy person and one nudged the woman toward me to sign my little contract.

“My soul?" She seemed slightly uncertain as she looked back to the two girls.

“Yep. I believe in souls. I want yours. I'm paying a hundred for it.

Right now." I wiggled the contract in front of her to emphasise my offer.

“What if I don't want..." She still seemed very cautious and now a little bit confused. I definitely wasn't fitting in to her view on how the world worked.

I was trying very hard not to bounce on the spot with excitement for what I hoped was about to happen.

"Go on Ruth, it's a hundred. You could go home early..." One of the girls urged.

She looked back to them for a moment and I caught a slight hint of what might have been irritation in her eyes. Then she turned back to me whilst appearing both annoyed and resolute before holding her hand out to me.

“Pen,” she ordered.

I quickly slipped my wallet away to pull out the pen I'd brought along.

She quickly snatched it out of my back along with my contract before using the top of a nearby waste bin to scribble her signature. I watched in near disbelief as she signed away her soul to me and I felt my mouth forming a victorious smile in the trend of an evil genius. I already had the hundred pounds in my hand to exchange with Ruth as she held out my contract. I quickly snagged it as she snagged the money and rolled up the parchment before replacing it in my back pocket.

“Thanks! See you around!" I offered the trio a small wave and left Ruth holding the money whilst I ran away with something much, much more valuable.

When I got home it was closing in on 1:00 in the morning and I reluctantly admitted to myself that I was too tired to work with the contract right then. I took one Last Look at it before I turned in for the night. That's when I noticed the signature on the paper.

Olivia Vale

I looked at the name for a while. I was sure the girl had called the woman Ruth. I quickly reasoned it away, supposing that many prostitutes must not have gone by their real name. In any case, I knew she couldn't lie on the contract paper. A client can never sign their name wrong or unwillingly on that dotted Line.