Chapter 7

• “The men pick you and then you have to sleep with them?” I frown in horror.
• “No, nothing like that,” she replies calmly, and I wonder just how many times she’s given this spiel. “The woman picks the man and she decides if she kisses him or if she lets him touch her.” She pauses. “Or if she chooses to sleep with him.”
• “So…” I raise my eyebrows. “This is a high-class brothel?”
• Porsha laughs. “Not at all, darling. Trust me. The men we have here don’t have to pay for sex.”
• “Why are you telling me this?”
• “You’re something special.” Her eyes hold mine. “You have that X-factor, April.”
• “Meaning?”
• “I want you to be an Escape Girl.”
• I sit up in my chair. “Oh, I’m sorry if I gave you the impression that I’m—”
• “Five thousand pounds a night.”
• I freeze. “What?”
• “The payment to be an Escape Girl is five thousand pounds a night. That’s nearly seven thousand dollars in American currency. You don’t have to sleep with anyone. You don’t even have to touch them. You do have to spend the night in a suite with them, but there are two bedrooms in the apartments if you choose not to go there. We have twenty-four-hour security, and your safety and identity are always protected.”
• “I’m… I don’t… I mean… what?” I sit up in a fluster. “Five thousand pounds a night?”
• Porsha smiles, knowing she’s piqued my interest. “That’s right, April. You could earn twenty thousand pounds a month by simply working one shift a week.”
• I could pay my rent for an entire year in just one month.
• What the fuck?
• “Think about it.”
• I stay silent.
• “Kayla just signed up.”
• “Kayla from the waiting room?”
• “Yes, she’s out there waiting for the backstage tour now.”
• “Oh.” I have no words.
• She stands. “Come and look around. You can think on it.” She stands and opens the door, while I sit still, in shock…what the hell?
• “Kayla.” Porsha smiles. “Are you ready for the tour?”
• “Sure am,” Kayla replies. She seems as sure as day about this. Did she know what position she was applying for?
• Porsha turns her attention to me. “Are you coming, April?”
• I stand. “I don’t think…” My voice trails off.
• Five thousand pounds a night.
• “Come on.” Kayla widens her eyes at me. “A look around won’t hurt.”
• I look between them, feeling like the ultimate party pooper. “Umm, okay. I guess.”
• I follow Porsha and Kayla out of the office and down the stairs. The club seems like it was an old theatre at one stage. It has a gradual drop to the stage at the front, and there are small sections above, clearly once alcoves. Porsha takes a card, swipes a scanner, and a big, black security door opens. We walk through what looks like the back of a Victoria’s Secret show. Small dressing tables line the space, filled with makeup, wigs, and all kinds of glamorous things.
• We walk through to another room, and I see a huge rack lined with designer dresses, all of sequins, lace, and feathers.
• Jeez.
• “All your laser and beauty treatments are on the house while you work here,” Porsha says as she walks us around. “And there is a cap on your shifts. Escape Girls can only work four times a month.”
• Kayla does a jig on the spot, as if this is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to her. “Can you believe this?” she whispers.
• “Are you crazy?” I mouth.
• “Shh.” She links her arm through mine. “Just look around.”
• We follow Porsha around the club. She introduces us to the security team and then takes us into the elevator. “On a normal shift, you would come in and have your hair and makeup done professionally, and then you would pick your dress.”
• My stomach flutters with nerves as we ride up in the elevator. I imagine the scenario she is setting.
• “You would be introduced to the Escape members during the fashion parade, and then after the cocktail party.” The elevator doors open, and we follow her down the swanky corridor. “You would pick your partner and come up to your suite with them.” She uses her security card and swipes the door open and then holds it back for us to pass through.
• We walk in, and as I look around the luxurious apartment, my stomach begins to flutter with even more nerves.
• Porsha’s phone rings, she glances down at it in her hand. “I have to take this; excuse me for a moment. Look around, girls.” She walks out into the corridor, and Kayla begins to jump around in excitement. “Oh, my fucking God.” She grabs my hands in hers. “Can you believe this?”
• “I can’t fuck a rich guy for money,” I whisper.
• “Sure, you can. I’ve fucked dead shits for free before.”
• I giggle. This is true.
• “Five thousand pounds, April, and you don’t even have to sleep with them.”
• “I can’t do it. My morals won’t let me.”
• “I need a new apartment and a month in Spain more than I need morals. Where does being a nice girl get you?”
• I shrug.
• “Living in a dump. That’s where.”
• “Kayla,” I whisper. “This is full on.”
• “Come on. We can help each other through it. When will we ever get the opportunity to make this kind of money again?” She smiles, her face full of hope. “And besides, if it’s crap, we just leave.”
• “It’s prostitution,” I whisper.
• “It’s just an offer, that’s all. We don’t have to sleep with them. Porsha said so herself.”
• “But you know we probably will.”