Depths of Depravity (7 page)

Franklin continued to stare at me. I playfully sp
un around to further display my willingness to play the part. Franklin laughed at me then slowly nodded his head. Sitting around a computer all day and working on assignments didn’t give me the opportunity to improve on whatever imperfections my body might have. I could only hope that what Franklin saw was good enough.

“
Not bad,” he said. “I’ve seen better but not bad at all. Now lose the underwear.”

“
What?”

“
Do I have to explain it to you? Did you forget where you are?”

“
No. Of course not.”

I bit my bottom
lip and reached behind my back. I unhooked my bra and slowly let it drop down my arms.

“
There’s no need to be sensual about it,” he said to me. “Just take everything off so I can see.”

“
Right.”

I let the bra drop down then pulled my panties down. I droppe
d my arms to my sides, trying to figure out a position to stand in that wasn’t completely awkward while he stared at me. Franklin didn’t have any expression on his face. He still looked bored.

“
Have you considered getting implants?” he asked me.

“
I… No, I haven’t.”

“
Well, it’s not a necessity. It’s up to you. Some men like it, some don’t. A lot of guys are a fan of the natural look. What do you wear? A B-cup?”

“
Yes, 34B.”

“
All right, Harley,” he sighed. “Everything seems to be in order. You can put your clothes back on.”

I hastily pulled everything on. Franklin looked through the computer on his desk and started scribbling things down on a piece of paper.

“You say that you don’t have any experience dancing?” he asked me.

“
No, I don’t.”

“
Okay. That’s fine. You’ll need a permit. And you’ll have to go through some training if you want to make any money. And that
is
what this is about, right? Making money?”

“
Yes, it is.”

I took a seat back in my chair. Franklin stared at me and I shifted my eyes to the gro
und, unsure of what he was looking at.

“
Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked me.

“
Yes, I’m sure. Why would you ask?”

“
I don’t know,” he said. “You don’t seem the type. You’re a little too timid to be in a place like this.”

“
I may be timid at first but let me assure you that I can quickly warm up. I’m ready to do this.”

“
Okay,” he sighed. “It’s your decision. I just want you to know that it’s going to take a lot of effort on your part. This isn’t going to be like a movie where guys are constantly showering you with money while you dance around naked for them. This is going to take some effort. And our patrons expect nothing but the best. There’s a reason we try to maintain an exclusive clientele here.”

“
I will do everything I can to try and work to meet that standard.”

“
Yeah, that’s what I expected you to say. Come in tomorrow. Some time in the afternoon before it gets busy. That’s when you’ll get started. I don’t expect you to be handling any clients on your first day on the job. Make sure you talk to Sage. She’ll get you started.”

Franklin stood up from his desk and walked around it. He extended his hand out to me and I shook it.

“Thank you,” I smiled. “I appreciate this opportunity.”

“
Yeah, yeah. Just go out there and make some money.”

He quickly turn
ed around and took a seat back at his desk. I started to walk out of his office when I stopped. I slowly turned around toward him.

“
Franklin, can I ask you something?”

“
Sure, what is it?” he asked, looking up from his desk.

“
Do you think I have what it takes to make it here? I mean, what is it you saw in me? Is it just because I’m attractive enough to get by?

I was hoping for a good answer. The recorder was still running in my purse. He never really said why I was allowed to work here. There had to be more
to it than simply looking good enough.

He sighed as he stared at me. I could see him racking his brain for an answer. Maybe there wasn
’t one. Maybe I was just hoping that there was more to it. There was too much money flowing through this place. They couldn’t just hire any woman who walked through the doors.

“
You don’t have any experience,” he said to me. “Some might call you naive. You have a kind of innocence about you. Men are drawn to that. Does that make any sense?”

I was half-insulted. As a reporter, the last thing I wanted to be called was naive. I was constantly looking for the truth and answers. But if that
’s the part he wanted me to play, there was nothing I could do except try to do it.

“
That makes perfect sense,” I replied.

I smiled at him then left his office. I closed the door behind me and started to make my way out of the club. Before I could take a few steps, the man I had spoken to earlier was leaning up against the bar. As I got cl
oser to him, I could see the grin on his face as he looked at me. I couldn’t help but do the same back to him.

“
You were in the boss’s office,” he said to me.

“
You seem to know your way around here,” I replied.

“
I’ve been here enough times. I have every reason to know where Franklin’s office is. I take it I’ll be seeing you again.”

“…
Maybe,” I said to him, not trying to look too enthusiastic. “Who’s to say where I’ll be?”

“
If it were up to me, you’d be up on that stage.”

“
Then it’s a good thing it’s not up to you.”

I winked and began to walk past him. He grabbed my arm and gently stopped me. I was taken aback at the suddenness of it all. I looked at him with my mouth half-open, surprised at his boldness. He moved his face close to my ear and whispered.

“Not yet. But give it some time. It will be.”

He slowly pulled away from me and the smile on his face was gone. He slowly released me from his grip. I stared hard at him, in a slight trance from what he just said to me. We didn
’t say anything. We just looked at one another while the club was full of life all around us. I reached my hand up and put it up against his chest. I was surprised at how hard it was, the rigid muscles underneath his shirt pushing back against my palm.

“
We’ll see about that,” I said to him.

“
I’m counting on it.”

The corner of his mouth curled into a smile. I couldn
’t help but begin to blush. I turned my head away from him and made my way out of the club. I had to remain focused on why I was here.

When I got outside and back into my car, I r
eached into my purse and shut off the recorder.  I had gotten the job I was looking for. Now I could dig deeper and learn more about the details of Platinum and its clientele.

Chapter 7

I spent the rest of the night transcribing everything that my recorder managed to pick up. It was a good thing Franklin’s office was soundproof, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to hear anything over the music in the club. I couldn’t take any direct quotes from him but I had a lot of good information. Apparently, all you needed to get hired at Platinum was a positive attitude. I could only guess what I looked like compared to all of the other girls. I took everything he said as a compliment. Well,
almost
everything. He used the word “innocent” to describe me. For some reason, it bothered me. I never imagined that I would appear that way to anybody. I thought about calling my friend Lauren over to ask her if I actually did look like that then realized that she would probably agree with him. We never saw things the same way.

As I f
inished listening to the conversation I had with Franklin, I was about to turn off the recorder. Then I heard something else. It was someone else’s voice. The same man whom I had spoken to two nights in a row. I didn’t even know he was. But I still found myself captivated from the sound of his voice. Despite the sound of the music blaring, I could still make out his distinct voice. I closed my eyes and remembered just what he sounded like now that I had a reminder. He had a strong voice but not low or booming. He spoke in a way that was commanding but gentle at the same time. I couldn’t tell how to gauge him.

What are you doing, Victoria?

I shook my head and woke myself up. Listening to him speak on my recorder put me in some kind of a trance. I began to laugh at myself then shut off the recorder.

“
Stay focused,” I said to myself.

Whoever this guy was wasn
’t important unless there was a story behind it. There were definitely plenty of interesting men who liked to frequent Platinum. Maybe he was one of them. There was also Landon Schrader, who I still hadn’t managed to run into. But besides the people at the club, I wanted to know more about the inner-workings. What’s so special about Platinum? I was about to find out real soon.

I didn
’t get the chance to get much writing done except for some notes about Franklin and the hiring process. Shortly after, I prepared for the training he said I had to go through. I wasn’t sure what exactly I was supposed to wear. Franklin told me to show up during the day, so I assumed that wearing the same black dress was out of the question. I ended up dressing in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. I didn’t know what I was training for. I could only hope that they wouldn’t put my feet to the fire too quickly.

I showed up at Platinum late
r in the day. The parking lot wasn’t as crowded as it usually was. There wasn’t nearly as much security and there was no line to get inside. When I got to the bouncer at the front door, he looked me up and down for a second before I told him that I was working here.

“
You’re new?” he asked.

“
Yes, sir.”

“
You’re probably going to want to talk to Sage then.”

“
That’s what I was told.”

“
She should be near the bar.”

I nodded then made my way inside. The inside of the club matched just how it was outside. There was only one woman dancing on stage and only a few men were keeping her company. The plethora of half-naked women walking around had dwindled down to a small h
andful.

Which one is Sage?

I looked at all of the women next to the bar. Some of them sat there with disinterested looks upon their faces while they waited for some company. At the edge of the bar, there was a woman with long, curly red hair. Even underneath the dim lights of the club, she managed to stick out. She was dressed in a shirt that was cut so you could see her midriff. Her jeans were tight against her body, her ass poking out in a perfect curve. She was leaning up against the bar while she had a seemingly friendly conversation with the male bartender.

I slowly walked up to her and she turned to me. I was able to get a better look at her figure. Her hips poke out and tapered up her waist. Observing her hourglass figure brought out a jealousy inside
of me. She tilted her head at me with a smile on her face.

“
You must be the new girl,” she said to me.

“
Did Franklin tell you?” I asked.

“
No,” she shook her head. “You’ve just got that look about you.”

“
What look is that, if I might ask?”

She turned to the
bartender and smiled at him. It only made me more curious as to what was so funny.

“
A lot of women don’t know what they’re getting into when they come here,” she said to me.

“
Is my inexperience that apparent?” I asked her.

“
Inexperience has nothing to do with it. You can have all the experience in the world. None of it can prepare you for working in a place like this. I’m sure you’ve heard it before. Franklin probably told you how high our standards were. You’ve probably never heard of cover charges so ridiculous. We don’t cater to horny men with a few bucks to spare. Platinum is different.”

“
How is it different?”

“
Well, I’ll let you figure that out for yourself. Let me show you around. I’m Sage. And what name will you be going by?”

“
Harley.”

“
Harley… Good name. We haven’t had one of those in awhile.”

She winked at me then pushed herself up from the bar. I started to follow her around as she pointed out everything to me.

“This here is the main floor,” she said as she pointed everything out to me with her arms. “This right here is the bar, obviously. Really important. Men make a lot of poor decisions when they’re drunk. Luckily, they can afford to make those kind of decisions.

“
These are the three stages. A pole for every woman. During the day, our usual patrons are busy at work. So there’s no need for every stage to be occupied. There would be no audience. At night, three isn’t nearly enough. But three different kind of women gives every man some variety. Give him a chance for a little variety while he’s browsing. Have you ever worked a pole before, Harley?”

I shook my head. She was taken back a bit, a devious grin on her face.

“Wow. You
are
inexperienced. You don’t need to worry about the pole right away. It’s nice but it isn’t necessary. Not everybody’s watching what’s on stage.”

“
What else are they watching?”

“
The other women, of course. There’s no need to show how flexible you are to get a man interested. Which brings me to the next most important part of the main floor.”

I followed Sage past the three stages and toward the back of the room. There were small sections up against the wall. They were like private rooms covered in small curtains. You could see everything that was going on but still had a place to yourself in t
hese small booths.

“
This is the VIP section,” she said. “These curtains… They’re adjustable so that when they’re down, everybody knows not to bother them. Not every man wants to see a woman naked. Sometimes he just enjoys her company. Here he can have some privacy and just talk to her.”

“
Isn’t every client here a VIP?” I asked.

She smiled at me then nodded her head.

“You’re right,” she said. “Every client is a VIP. But some are more important others. Some men have the five-thousand dollars it costs to reserve this spot.”

“
Five-thousand?”

“
Special clients get very special privileges.”

“
And how long do they get this spot? Is it there’s to own?”

“
You’re really funny,” she laughed. “I told you that Platinum wasn’t like any other club you’ve been to. You have to understand that the men who come here have more money than they know what to do with. This isn’t anything significant to them. Five-thousand gets them this spot for one hour. That’s dollars, not pounds. So it’s not
that
bad.”

She snickered at my disbelief.
I was still in shock about just how much money was being tossed around. She said the number so nonchalantly that it was clear she wasn’t joking. I thought about all of the men I had seen sitting in these booths and there were several of them. It made sense that a man like Landon Schrader would spend his time here.

“
That’s it for the main floor,” Sage finished explaining to me. “Waitresses get the men drinks or they get them for themselves at the bar. They see all of the merchandise on display while they sit back in the VIP area. These are the men that you want to target but the men near the stages have money just as well. Which brings me to the next part of the club.”

I followed Sage toward the back where the door to Franklin
’s office was. We kept walking past it until we eventually ran into a black curtain. She stopped me, one hand resting on the curtain.

“
Are you ready to see what’s back here?” she asked me.

I nodded to her, full of anticipation. The smirk on her face told me that I probably wasn
’t prepared for whatever was behind it. When she pulled back the curtain, I felt a sense of awe wash over me. I stepped through the curtain just behind her and looked around.

“
This is the place where you’re going to make all of your money,” she said. “This place is referred to as Paradise.”

The first thing that struck me was the ceiling. I looked up and saw a painting above me. It was like something out of the Renaissance. Angels and other heavenly beings resting upon clouds without a care in the world. The lighting w
as pointed upward toward the canvas so that I could see it clearly. It was the only illumination in the room.

To the sides, there were smaller individual booths. Inside of each of the small booths was a small, seemingly comfortable chair that was only big
enough for a single person.

I followed Sage to one of the booths and she pointed everything out to me.

“Take a guy back here and show him the time of his life,” she said. “There’s only one rule: no sex. You don’t suck his dick. He doesn’t finger you. You guys can’t even kiss. You’re not allowed to let him get to first base, is that clear?”

“
Yeah, of course.”

“
Even though you have maximum privacy,” she said as she lowered the curtain over the booth, “just remember that you don’t. There are cameras everywhere that record everything that’s going on. And there’s a guy watching. If he catches you doing something you’re not supposed to be doing, you’re going home.”

“
I understand.”

“
It’s not a big deal. It doesn’t happen very often. But if you only remember one thing, it’s that.”

Sage pushed the curtain to the side and the light from the ceiling streamed back in. She showed me the rest of the booths and it didn
’t take me long to get accustomed to how they worked.

“
You can charge whatever you want,” Sage explained. “Platinum takes a flat rate of five hundred dollars of your earnings per night. It’s less during the day. That’s because nobody makes any money during the day.”

“
Five hundred? How does anybody make any profit.”

“
Like I said, you can charge whatever you want.”

“
But are men really willing to spend that much?”

Sage smirked at me. I was letting my naivety show. I had some idea how clubs usually worked but Platinum
’s inner-workings continued to surprise me.

“
Harley, it takes five-hundred just to walk in here. Some men get drunk and kicked out without anything to show for it. Some harass the women and get beat-up by security. These men are looking for a good time. A real good time. They’re willing to pay the price.”

“
But you said there wasn’t any sex involved.”

“
I did,” she smirked. “But like I said earlier. This isn’t just about sex. Some men just enjoy your company. But there is another way to make some money.”

I slowly followed her toward the back of the room and there
was another curtain I hadn’t noticed before. She pulled it back and I stepped through it.

“
That was Paradise,” she said. “And this is Limbo.”

The room was considerably darker than everything I had seen. There was a lone spotlight shining down from the cei
ling, illuminating the center of the room. Through the darkness, I could barely see the booths on the edges of the room.

“
It’s so dark,” I said. “I can’t see anything.”

“
That’s the point,” she said. “What happens here happens in the dark. You can push things a little further but still there’s—”

“
No sex. I know that. Then what’s the point?”