Jason Eggers - Innocents for sale

The main club was a combination of several large rooms, each plushly decorated in thick, heavy carpet, velveteen drapes, brocade-upholstered furniture in dark rich mahogany, and although the color schemes differed with each room, from deep, full purples to royal reds and greens, the entire layout made you feel as though you were back in the eighteenth century in the drawing rooms of the aristocracy. It had a sobering effect on her and she felt uneasy as she almost tip-toed through the spacious lobby, through the main purple room and down the hall to the club's offices. The main room was filled with roulette tables, card tables and several dice games where already there were several hundred people, mostly men, gambling for extremely high stakes. She paused for a moment at one of the dice tables, fascinated by the enthusiastic shouts of "Yoe eleven" and "Come on baby" and the look of dedicated concern that was written over everyone's face. No one is smiling in here, she mused. If gambling makes everyone so unhappy I wonder how these clubs manage to survive, she thought naively. While she stood there watching one of the men at the table caught her eye.

"Would you like to roll the dice for me, young lady," he asked.

"Oh no. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, but I'm late for a meeting. I was just so intrigued by the whole thing… Doubt if I'll ever be able to understand it." She started to walk away when the croupier called to her, "Come on back when you're through and we'll see what we can do about explaining it to you!" He smiled warmly at her and she began to feel more relaxed than she had in all the past three weeks. If this was the way this club was run it would certainly be one hundred percent better than the filth and shabbiness of the Kit Kat Klub. The whole atmosphere, although austere, was more friendly and the people seemed to be affluent and well-cultured, so it would not be the back street type of thing even though she knew what would be expected of her in the bedroom.

It's almost funny she thought, I know that I will have to go to bed with whomever they tell me and submit to the same old humiliation, but it doesn't seem so bad under these elegant conditions.

As she walked from the main room, down the long hallway to the office she noticed that there were about a dozen anterooms along the way, but the doors were all closed, however occasionally she heard a laugh or lust-filled phrases coming from behind the barriers. She stood by one of the doors for a moment to listen to what was going on, but the conversation became quiet and she started walking further down the hall when she heard footsteps in back of her. She turned to see who it was and recognized the man who had spoken to her at the crap table.

"Miss," he called, "I'm sorry I don't know your name, but I understand that you are one of the new girls here and I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Robert Manning and I'm almost a fixture around here so you'll be seeing quite a bit of me, that I can guarantee." As he spoke he smiled at her, but it wasn't the same spontaneous, friendly smile that had greeted her at the table. It was a more of a knowing, "I know what you are," kind of grin. She nodded briefly and said that she really would be late and that she would see him later perhaps.

"You can count on it," he answered slightly mockingly. "You can count on it!"

The other girls were already assembled in the room, smoking and talking when she went in. Mr. Carl, her new owner, was about to start the meeting so they were beginning to quiet down and get settled.

"Come in, Candace," he said motioning to a chair nearest his desk. "I see that you have already met one of our prize customers. Mr. Manning is an influential man here, high-roller, and we do everything in our power to keep him happy."

She was astounded that he would know that she had met him and evidently it showed on her face for he continued.

"Yes, I saw you. You see we have one way mirrors all over the club and we can keep an eye, not only on you girls, but also on the dealers and the players."

The girls looked nervously at one another and mumbled about the club being a prison. Mr. Carl could sense their dissatisfaction and went to reassure them that this was also for their protection in case one of their "customers" got out of line or refused to pay them.

Get out of line, Candace thought, with what I've been through, how could anyone possibly get out of line! What a joke!

There really wasn't too much that Mr. Carl had to say other than give the girls the basic layout of the club, explaining that the rooms she had seen were "party rooms" for couples or larger groups if necessary and that was where they were to take their "tricks" if it were to be only for an hour or so. If a man wanted to spend a whole night, or demanded more privacy, they should check in at the office and then take the man to their cabins. She wondered if there were mirrors in the cabins also, and if he had seen her with David. If he did, I'm really in trouble, but he probably would have said something by now and she breathed a half sigh of relief.

The thought had no sooner crossed her mind when he said, "Well, that's all girls, but Candace, will you please remain for just a moment, I'd like to talk with you!" Her heart was in her stomach and she could feel the heat of her nervousness rise to her face and she knew that she was flushed, but hoped that it didn't show. Slowly the girls left the room in twos and threes to go out to the gaming rooms of the club and see what their new home would be like and what they could expect from the gamblers. Some of the girls looked as though they were going to a party and they were really going to enjoy it, but the others looked skeptical and afraid. They all glanced at the ceiling and the walls when they left, looking for the magic mirrors that were spying on them, but they were carefully concealed.

When everyone was safely down the hall, Mr. Carl turned to her and said, "I will make this as brief as possible. You're the least experienced one here and I know that you don't want to be here, but Mr. Manning has expressed a desire for you and I want you to go back out there and make him happy. He is one of our biggest spenders and anything he wants, he gets, including you. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-y-ess," she stammered and turned to go.

"One more thing," he added, "sometimes he demands rather strange things, but he pays well for his idiosyncrasies, so you do exactly what he says!" He grinned lasciviously at her and told her that she could leave.

She still didn't know if he had seen her and David together, but it appeared that he hadn't, after all he couldn't be watching her all the time.

As she passed along the row of closed doors again she could see Mr. Manning coming toward her, so she steeled herself and tried to put a carefree smile on her face. She didn't want this strange man touching her, mauling her, especially after she had just been with David. He had satisfied her, she felt that she loved him and she didn't want anyone else.

"Well, here goes nothing. I hope I can fake it, because I'm sure the great god Ward is watching me right now," she whispered to herself and she had to suppress the desire to look up toward the ceiling, stick out her tongue and run out of the club, but thought better of it.

"Well, well," Manning said, coming towards her, "did you have your little orientation taken care of?"

"Yes, yes I did," she said, "and I understand that you are a pretty important man around here. I wasn't sure whether or not I should believe you."

"I manage," he said, looking up and down her body as though she were completely naked, and took her by the arm. "Let's go to the bar and have a few drinks, it will relax you and then we can get better acquainted."

She didn't resist, but followed him into the dimly lit bar and sat down in a corner booth, which was hidden from the main part of the room.