SHE'S a relationship manager at a bank, where she meets clients daily.

On certain nights, she rushes home after work, swaps her formal work suit for pretty dresses and high heels to meet a different type of client.

Veronica, 25, leads a double life as a social escort.

And she worries about the day when her boyfriend might discover her secret.

Veronica is so afraid of being identified that she would only agree to be interviewed over the phone.

She told The New Paper on Sunday how the economic slowdown made her become a social escort to supplement her income to support her shopping habits.

She has been working at the bank for 21/2 years and was hopeful of getting a promotion when the recession hit.

She said: 'Suddenly, my ex-boss got transferred to another country. With a new boss, I wasn't going to get a promotion.'

So, about a year ago, she decided to become a social escort.

'I was sharing my financial situation with my friend, and he recommended that I become an escort. He gave me a few contacts,' she said.

She has been an escort with Jas Talents n Models ever since.

Good money

'I got a few assignments, and I realised the income was good, so I decided to continue doing it,' she said.

The well-spoken Singaporean business graduate, who studied in the UK for two years, said she gets about one assignment a week.

Each time, she is hired for two to four hours, and earns between $400 and $800.

In a good month, she earns close to her monthly salary, which averages $3,500.

Explaining what goes on, Veronica said: 'It's usually just dinner dates. These men are real gentlemen who are very eloquent.

'Many times, they leave the dinner venue to my discretion, and I usually choose hotels or places of attraction like Sentosa.

'Because they're foreigners, I try to take them to places they haven't been to. About a month ago, I took one of them on the cable car.'

She added: 'As an escort, I have to treat them like they're guests. Most of them are stressed from work and from being away from home, and they just want somebody to have dinner with, and to talk to.'

Has there been any hanky-panky?

'No' is her quick reply.

'The clients from this agency are usually highly-educated, and they won't try to do anything without asking. The most we do is hold hands and kiss.'

What about her boyfriend of three years?

He doesn't know about her secret life, as she lies about her assignments.

Said Veronica: 'I tell him I'm going out with friends.'

Feels guilty

When asked if she feels guilty lying to him, she exclaimed: 'Of course!'

Then she added: 'But it's not like we're married, and it's not as if I'm sleeping around.'

But she admits that she is afraid that he will find out about her secret.

She said: 'I try to make sure he won't find out. I tell him where I'm going, and I ask him where he's going. The chances of us running into each other are slim.'

Furthermore, her 36-year-old boyfriend, who works as a regional manager, is often out of town for work.

'I'll leave it to fate. If it happens, I'll obviously have some explaining to do,' she said.

While her boyfriend earns a salary of up to $15,000 a month, Veronica said she does not like asking him for money because 'it'll seem like I'm not managing my money well'.

Apart from spending on branded goods and clothes, she also has to pay a monthly rent of $800 for the private East Coast Road apartment she shares with two other girls.

She is also hiding her secret life from her family members, who does not live in Singapore.

'No parents want their daughter to do this kind of work. They're not going to be happy about it, so I won't tell my family,' she said.

Her friends are also in the dark, said Veronica, who intends to continue working as a social escort for two to three more years.

Will she tell her boyfriend if they get married?

'I have no intention of telling him, ever. Anyway, it's just like going on dinner dates with other people. There may be issues he may never tell me about too. If he finds out, it might pose a problem to our relationship.'

This article was first published in The New Paper.