Breaking the Circle (20 page)

‘Hello, I am Sonja Selkoff,’ she said.

A clutch of gold bangles jangled, her smile was bright, her eyes searching. From the carefully-applied red lipstick to the crisp pinstriped suit and white blouse, she was immaculate.

Maya met her eyes and gave her false name without a flicker. ‘I am Dania,’ she said. ‘Dania Ballak.’

‘Can I get you anything – tea, coffee?’

‘No thank you,’ Maya replied in perfect English and then, swiftly correcting herself, she added with a strong accent, ‘It is all right. I just drink coffee at a snack
bar.’

‘Right, let’s get down to business, then,’ Sonja said. Sitting down, she motioned Maya to do the same, then she leant forward and smiled, showing a row of pearly white teeth.
‘You are beautiful, that’s in your favour. Is that hair colour real?’

‘No, not real,’ Maya answered. ‘My hair is light brown, so I use bottle.’

Sonja gave her another quick smile, but there was no warmth behind it. ‘That’s fine,’ she said. Opening a drawer, she pulled out a sheet of forms. ‘First I want some
details, then we’ll talk about finding you a nice English man to marry.’

Maya spelt out her new name, gave the false address she had prepared, the phone number, the age and birthday she’d memorised.

‘Can I see your passport?’

Why hadn’t she anticipated this question? Of course she’d be asked for identification, what could she say? Quick thinking saved her. ‘The college have it.’

The woman put down her pen. ‘And what course were you studying?’

‘Engineering,’ Maya answered.

‘Where?’

‘UCL.’

The woman leaned forward. ‘It takes a lot of money to study there. Engineering! A long course.’

She eyed Maya with suspicion, while Maya squirmed. This woman was sharp. She’d seen through her story, which should have been better-prepared. She looked down at her hands, twisted them
together and made a quick decision. Pretending to break into tears, she sniffed and said in a broken voice, ‘I apologise. I do not tell the truth. I have no papers – I am
illegal.’

Sonja affected great surprise, then reached for a tissue and handed it to Maya. ‘It’s all right. This happens. Do you have any family here?’

Maya shook her head as she sniffed. ‘No, I pay much money to come to the UK but the man betray me. He have no job for me and now I have no money to stay in my accommodation. No money to go
back home.’

Sonja smiled. ‘Don’t worry, I can find you a job where you’ll earn good money. And I’ll arrange papers. Are you interested?’

‘Of course,’ Maya replied.

‘Wait there a moment.’

When Sonja left the room, Maya jumped up and searched the drawers of the desk. There was nothing in them except blank forms. A filing cabinet revealed nothing either – it was empty. A
coffee machine and a few mugs stood on a side table, but that was all.

The noise of clicking heels sent Maya hurrying back to her seat and when Sonja opened the door, Maya was sitting with her legs crossed, looking composed. That was until she saw the man
who’d entered the room behind Sonja. He was a tall man with a shock of silver grey hair. It was Stefan, the boss from the warehouse.

Maya gulped, then concentrated on trying not to let her panic show.

He won’t recognise me, he won’t recognise me, she repeated to herself. Last time he saw me I was Maya, dressed in jeans, a hoodie and my hair was dark. Even Zac didn’t know me
when I was dressed like this. As long as I keep cool, I’ll be all right.

But her heart beat faster as silence filled the room.

Stefan leant on the filing cabinet, facing away from her, Sonja hovered in front of him. He coughed, cleared his throat and then swore. He raised his head and spoke sharply.

‘Coffee, thick and black,’ he ordered.

While Sonja fussed around, producing a bottle of water and packet of coffee from her bag, Stefan muttered a string of curses and complaints. He seemed totally oblivious to Maya as he moaned to
Sonja that the men he employed were incompetent and the girls were always complaining.

Lost in his bad mood, he slumped further over the filing cabinet, his elbows crooked, his head resting in the palms of his hands. Maya saw that his suit was crumpled, his face unshaven. He
looked like he hadn’t slept. Suddenly he reared up, patted his pockets and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

‘Not in here,’ Sonja warned.

‘It’s my office,’ he snapped and lit a cigarette. Taking a long drag to breathe in the smoke, he seemed calmer.

‘Stand up!’ he said with a quiet authority.

It took Maya a moment to understand he was talking to her. Startled, she got up.

‘Step back from the desk.”

Eyes cast down, looking at the floor, she trembled as he walked around her. He paused at her side, blew out a circle of smoke. She tried not to cough as his gaze travelled over her body.

‘Look at me,’ he said.

She lifted her head, quivering under the glare of his gaze. Her fists clenched, she tried to control her ragged breathing. Long moments ticked past. He stepped closer, reached out and took a
strand of the blonde wig in his fingers. She flinched, thanking her lucky stars she’d splashed out on real hair.

Smiling softly, Stefan muttered, ‘Yes, yes, very nice. We can certainly use you.’ Turning to Sonja, he said, ‘Take her over to the club.’

Sonja nodded. She handed him a cup of coffee, patted her hair and then reached for her handbag. ‘Come,’ she said, beckoning to Maya.

Maya gulped down a cry of panic – everything was happening too quickly. She tried stalling for time.

‘We have not finish filling out the form,’ she said.

‘It’s all right. That won’t be necessary,’ Sonja replied, in clipped tones. ‘Get your bag.’

Obediently, Maya picked up her handbag and followed Sonja out of the office. A sleek black car with tinted windows waited at the kerb. As they approached, a man who was leaning on the bonnet
stood to attention and went round to open the doors. There was a moment, a split second when Maya could have made a run for it, but Sonja held her tightly, pushed her onto the back seat and slammed
the door shut.

When the car engine started and moved forward, making its way through Soho, it was too late to escape – and Maya was panicking.

* * *

A smell of stale smoke rose up the staircase to meet them. Flanked by Sonja and the car driver, Maya had to dip her head as she entered a dimly-lit room that smelt of
disinfectant and beer.

‘This is the main floor of the club,’ Sonja informed her. ‘Over there is the bar. It’s a nice easy job. We give you a pretty dress, you sit at the bar and look available.
You are pleasant to customers and so they buy you drinks. The more business you get, the more money you earn. Wait here and I’ll get one of the girls.’

She walked away, leaving Maya alone with the car driver. He leaned close to her, touched her wig and stroked her neck.

‘You’ll have no trouble,’ he said. ‘You’re gorgeous.’

Maya reeled away from him, her skin burnt where his fingers touched. He laughed, took out some cigarettes and offered her the packet.

‘I don’t smoke,’ Maya said.

He laughed again. ‘No vices, eh?’

Maya moved to stand well away from him and looked around. Perhaps at night, when it was lit, the club might look exotic, but in daylight it was shabby and not very clean. There was a strange mix
of furniture – some smart glass and chrome tables and some battered old wooden ones, and the chairs were the same, a selection of old and new. At one end of the room was a small stage, two
big speakers and a mixing desk. Above them, two iron cages were suspended from the ceiling.

Her eyes were travelling over the bar with its variously-shaped bottles and optics when a door near the stage creaked and swung open. A girl wearing a tight red dress, her shoulders bare, came
tottering towards her. The girl’s face, caked with make-up, looked familiar, but it was only when she came really close that Maya recognised her – the eyes were unmistakable. It was
Kay.

Maya was thrilled to see her and wanted to reach out and hug her, but she managed to control herself. It was obvious Kay hadn’t recognised her. She watched as Kay sat down, took a
cigarette from a packet and lit it. She crossed her legs and stared at Maya for a moment, then sat back and blew out a long stream of smoke. Maya saw that one of her front teeth was chipped and her
neck was marked with bruises.

Glancing around to make sure nobody was within earshot, Maya leaned forward.

‘Kay, it’s me, Maya. Don’t say anything.’ Her eyes flicked round the room. ‘They think I want to work here. I’ve called myself Dania.’

For a moment there was a gleam of hope in Kay’s eyes, but then her lips pouted and she scowled. ‘Why have you come? I do not need you. I am OK here.’

‘You asked me for help.’

Kay gave her a withering look. ‘That was a mistake. I was frightened. But now I see this is a good place. I am happy. I make customers happy – everybody is happy.’

‘But you’re covered in bruises.’

‘It was an accident.’

Maya looked down and noticed puncture marks and more bruises on Kay’s bare arms.

Kay looked away, avoiding Maya’s eyes. ‘It was nothing. I am OK now.’

‘So, this is what you want?’ Maya asked.

‘Yes, this is good. I want this,’ Kay said. ‘You must not interfere.’

Kay leaned back in her chair – bitter and defiant. Maya seized hold of her arm.

‘How can you be happy? They’ve bought you – body and soul,’ she hissed.

‘You speak like a crazy person,’ Kay snapped back. ‘Get lost. We don’t want you here.’

‘What’s going on?’

They both jumped at Sonja’s interruption and cowered when she stood in front of them. Neither had seen her enter the room. She stared accusingly at Maya.

‘Do you know her? Who are you?’

Kay glared at Maya. ‘I never see her before but she is a stupid girl. She say she want a husband – good English man. I tell her that is a dream. The club is better, we can get food,
money, a place to live.’

Sonja smiled, her red lipsticked mouth a wide gash in her face. ‘Very wise,’ she said. ‘Good advice. Take her upstairs. She can have Leila’s room. Show her what to
do.’

* * *

Maya was fuming as she followed Kay up a staircase that led onto a narrow landing. She’d risked her life to get to Kay, only to have her concern thrown back in her face.
Neither of them spoke as they passed several doors, then Kay opened the last one on the corridor. She switched on a light, stepped aside and pulled Maya into the room.

‘This is your room – where you do business.’

The room was small, only big enough to hold a double bed and chest of drawers.

‘Business? What, you mean . . .’ a look of absolute horror came over Maya’s face, ‘ . . . with men?’

Kay snorted. ‘What do you think? We work in a bank or something? You meet men downstairs, you flirt, then you ask them to come upstairs. They pay – you get a percent.’

Kay closed the door. Maya stared at her.

‘Kay, you can’t want this life? It’s horrible!’

Kay shrugged. ‘Gerard, he beat me. I live on the street, I am hungry, then other men beat me. Here, the men are only sometimes rough. Any big trouble, I send for the bouncers.’ She
sank onto the satin duvet. ‘Also, I can get a fix, then I care for nothing.’

‘There’s something better than this, there must be,’ Maya said urgently. She leant forward. ‘Think about what happened to Leila. Please, let me help you.’

Kay sat on the edge of the bed. ‘You think you can make everything OK, Miss Rich Girl. You think everybody can live like you? It is not possible. You think I can just walk out of here?
They will kill me.’

‘What about Tanya and Annika and the other girls? What’s happened to them?’

‘They are in the hostel. It is like a prison, they cannot escape. Soon they will work here. When they get the habit, they won’t care.’

Maya leaned against the wall. ‘Where’s the hostel?’ she asked.

Kay stood up. She stared at Maya, her gold eyes hard and unforgiving. ‘Do not cause trouble. They will kill you.’ She seized Maya’s arm. ‘Go,’ she said. ‘We
are OK. We do not want you here. Leave now, before Sonja come back.’

Maya stood uncertainly, her mind racing, then she picked up her handbag, turned and strode to the door. Yanking it open, she took one step into the corridor and found herself staring into
Sonja’s face.

‘Ah,’ Sonja said. ‘You like your room?’

Choked with sudden fear, Maya was unable to speak and just nodded. As Sonja moved forward, she was forced to retreat back into the room.

Sonja stood watching Maya’s face closely. ‘Did Kay explain the business?’

Maya glanced at Kay, who avoided her eyes. ‘Yes,’ she whispered.

‘And it’s all right?’

‘Yes.’

‘Good. So that’s settled,’ Sonja said. ‘Now come with me and see the hostel where you’ll live.’

As they walked back down into the club, Sonja told Maya how lucky she was to be coming to work for them.

‘We look after our girls. You have regular checks and if you work hard you can earn good money. Naturally, we charge for your accommodation and food. Do you have to send money
home?’