Ruby

by Heather Burnside

‘Good, good,’ said Victor as his eyes roamed over her perfect body. Then he switched his focus to the next girl along, and held out his hand.

  ‘This is, Ria,’ said Ruby, introducing a small, pretty, Asian girl with captivating, large brown eyes.

  ‘Aah,’ said Victor, shaking her hand vigorously while his head nodded in time. ‘Our Asian Princess.’

  Ruby laughed. ‘Sounds like a good title… She’s come from Denny’s too so she’s also brought some clients over with her.’

  Victor’s head twitched again. ‘Excellent! It looks like they had some very pretty girls at Denny’s.’

  Ruby then introduced Victor to the other of the three girls from Denny’s, an overweight girl called Pammy who wasn’t quite as pretty as Rose and Ria. His reaction wasn’t as enthusiastic, but Ruby knew that Pammy was also a good find. She catered to those clients who preferred a larger woman and, although she wasn’t the best looking girl on her books, she oozed sensuality. And the other good point as far as Ruby was concerned was that she’d brought almost as many clients with her as each of the other two girls.

  She continued introducing the girls, pleased with her selection. As well as the younger girls, there was an older lady who Ruby thought would make an ideal MILF and a posh girl who had dropped out of university. Ruby could tell by Victor’s reaction that he was impressed.

  ‘It’s lovely to meet you all,’ he said, his eyes roaming excitedly from girl to girl. ‘I hope you’ll be very happy with us.’

  Ruby could tell what he was thinking; he was looking at the girls with his own desires in mind. Despite her experience as a prostitute, this was one thing she didn’t like about Victor. While she was trying to take as professional an approach as possible, here was Victor leering at the girls, his smutty mind working overtime. She quickly led him away.

  ‘Come on, I’ll show you the rest of the place.’

  As they walked from room to room, they chatted. Victor surprised her when he said, ‘I’m not sure Pammy is right for us.’

  ‘Why?’ demanded Ruby.

  ‘Well, she is a bit overweight, isn’t she? And she’s not as attractive as the other girls.’

  Ruby was quick to defend her choice. ‘But the customers love her, and she’s brought quite a few with her from Denny’s.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yes, almost as many as Rose and Ria, actually.’

  Victor looked pensive for a moment. ‘OK. Keep her for now. We’ll see how she goes.’

  ‘I thought I was running the place,’ said Ruby.

  ‘Of course,’ said Victor, all officious. ‘But as you’re new to the business world I will be offering my guidance on occasion. Anyway,’ he continued, shutting down any potential comeback from Ruby, ‘how are things going otherwise?’

  Ruby, although a bit irritated by his attitude, was eager to prove herself. After all, she felt lucky to have been given this opportunity. ‘Good, good,’ she said. ‘Obviously all of the three girls from Denny’s have brought some customers with them, like I said. It’s a bit slow with the other girls until word gets around but we’ve already had some customers come up from the nightclub.’

  ‘Excellent. I’m sure it won’t be long till it really takes off,’ said Victor.

  ‘Yeah, it’s good that we’re getting custom from North, but if any of them are too pissed or they step out of line, I’ll send them packing.’

  Victor placed his hand on top of Ruby’s. ‘Good. I knew I could rely on you to run a tight ship.’

  Ruby quickly pulled her hand away and carried on talking as she led him into the first of the girls’ rooms. Like the waiting area, the rooms were a mix of cosy and seductive with subtle lighting and comfortable furnishings.

  ‘All of the rooms have the same layout with the exception of one which I’ll show you last.’ She then pointed to a cabinet across from the bed. ‘The girls provide their own baby wipes and condoms and anything else they want to bring. We ask them to keep them in the cabinet so in the event of a raid we can deny all knowledge.’

  She then walked out of the room and into a shower room. ‘This is one of the shower rooms I told you about. We have one to every two bedrooms so the clients and the girls can take a shower and we’ll make sure we always have a supply of clean towels.’

  ‘Excellent,’ said Victor, smiling. ‘It seems you’ve thought of everything.’

  Ruby couldn’t resist smiling back, proud of what she’d achieved so far. Once she’d shown him round all the rooms she led him to a door marked Private. ‘There’s only one room left to show you apart from my living quarters, which I assume you don’t want to see.’ As Victor nodded his assent, she added, ‘You can probably guess what the last room is.’

  Victor’s face broke out into a huge grin and Ruby could see spittle forming in the corners of his mouth. As she put the key in the lock and turned it, Victor’s head jerked involuntarily in his eagerness to see the inside of Ruby’s Dungeon.

  ‘Obviously, I couldn’t give the room its proper name like I wanted to,’ she said when they had arrived at the top of the stairs. ‘It would have been a bit of a giveaway if any coppers came snooping.’

  But Victor wasn’t listening. He was too busy walking round the room and examining the apparatus, his eyes gleaming. This room had a different feel than the others; it was darker, the walls painted a vivid red and the floor laid with black vinyl. There was a bed in the corner with a metal frame so that chains and other restraints could be attached, and it was covered with scarlet satin bedding. The equipment was placed around the room like a grotesque gymnasium and, as Victor inspected the stocks, cage and some of the whips, he could hardly contain his excitement.

  He turned round and looked at Ruby with a lewd grin. ‘You’ve done well. I can’t wait to try it out.’ Then he asked, ‘Where will you offer your other services, y’know, those that don’t involve S&M?’

  ‘I won’t,’ snapped Ruby, suddenly irritated. ‘And it isn’t S&M. I’m a dominatrix. I inflict pain, I don’t take it. And I won’t be offering any other services. If the clients want that they’ve got plenty of other girls to choose from.’

  Victor looked slightly taken aback and for a moment Ruby regretted being so sharp with him. It was a common mistake that a lot of clients, made but it still annoyed her when they expected S&M services.

  Ruby had already decided that the only role she would perform in addition to jointly running the club with Tiffany was that of a dominatrix. She’d also had a rethink regarding Tiffany. They had enough girls offering their services so she wouldn’t have to get involved in anything other than running the club. Ruby had had enough of having to sleep with men for money or imagining what they were doing to her girlfriend. In fact, the only reason she was still offering dominatrix services was because it paid so well. And, aside from that, she enjoyed it.

  As Victor continued to explore the room she waited by the door. Eventually, satisfied that he had seen all there was to see he joined her, ready to leave the room. She turned and pulled the door open and, as she did so, she felt Victor’s hand pat her buttock as he said, ‘Well done, Ruby. I’m proud of you and I’m sure we’ll do well out of this joint venture.’

  ‘Not if you don’t take your hand off my backside,’ she said between gritted teeth.

  ‘Oh, sorry,’ said Victor, quickly pulling away from her, his face red and his head twitching. ‘I must have got carried away with all the excitement.’

  Ruby was furious. Despite the number of years she had spent on the game, she hated men taking liberties with her and thought she had finally said goodbye to that part of her life.

  ‘Like I said, Victor, I don’t offer any other services. I’m a dominatrix, that’s all.’

  ‘Yes, yes, of course,’ said Victor. ‘My apologies.’

  Ruby was still angry but, despite her resentment at the feel of Victor’s roaming hands, she let it go. She felt she had no choice. Victor held the purse strings and without him she wouldn’t even have her m
assage parlour. But if any other client should ever dare to overstep the mark with her, they would get exactly what they deserved.

  32

  May 1998

  Trina hadn’t known what to expect of Shelley’s flat, but nevertheless it was a surprise. In her mind she’d built Shelley up; everything about her seemed edgy and glamorous so Trina supposed that subconsciously she’d expected the flat to fit in with this ideal.

  It was in a large Victorian house in Whalley Range, approached through the main front door and then up some stairs to the first floor where there were two other flats. The front door of Shelley’s flat led onto a hallway, which was in need of a coat of paint and there was a faint musty smell in the air. Shelley led her through to the lounge, which was the first door on the left. It held an interesting mix of high-end furniture, high tech electrical goods and more outdated furnishings.

  Several shabby cushions looked out of place on the trendy leather sofa, and the two armchairs pre-dated the sofa by about twenty years. The TV was huge and there was a sophisticated stereo system mounted on a battered, old-fashioned table. Here the décor was also in need of an update, but the musty smell had been masked by a powerful air freshener.

  ‘Do you wanna cuppa or do you wanna take your bags to your room first?’ asked Shelley who was dressed today in tight-fitting jeans and a cropped top, her makeup heavy but still enhancing her pretty features.

  ‘Can I take my bags to my room?’ asked Trina, curious to see what it was like.

  ‘Course,’ said Shelley.

  Trina followed her down the hallway and through another door to the right. When she entered the room, Trina couldn’t hide the look of disappointment on her face, which she guessed Shelley must have noticed as she said. ‘I know it needs decorating and that. I’ve not got round to it yet.’

  ‘Oh, it’s OK,’ said Trina, eyeing the torn wallpaper, curtains with a fading flower design, mismatched bedding and old-fashioned dark wood wardrobe. ‘I can soon decorate it.’

  Shelley smiled. ‘Come on, I’ll show you the rest of the flat.’

  The rest of the flat was in a similar state except Shelley’s bedroom, which was bigger than Trina’s and had a modern wardrobe and chest of drawers.

  ‘I’ve bought some stuff for the flat,’ said Shelley, ‘but I’ve got a bit to do yet.’

  ‘It’s fine,’ said Trina. ‘We’ll be able to make it really nice.’ Then she asked, ‘Where do you take them?’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘The customers. Where do you take them?’

  ‘The clients?’ said Shelley. ‘You don’t think they come back here, d’you?’ She laughed. ‘Not a fuckin’ chance! I don’t want any of ’em knowing where I live.’ Then, seeming to sense Trina’s discomfort, she said, ‘Come on, let’s go and have that cuppa and I’ll tell you the drill.’

  When they were sitting back down in the lounge, Shelley began talking.

  ‘It’s one of my rules,’ she said. ‘I never bring clients back here and I don’t want you to either. You don’t always know what or who you’re dealing with so it’s best they don’t know where you live.’

  Trina couldn’t hide a look of alarm so Shelley quickly added, ‘Oh, don’t worry. Most of them are alright but you get the odd weirdo. The other reason I don’t bring clients back is because I don’t want the other residents complaining. It could land me in a lot of shit if they report us to the police, not to mention the landlord.’

  ‘OK,’ said Trina. ‘Where do you take them then?’

  ‘It depends what they want. Some take you back to a hotel room, a few take you back to theirs but most of ’em just take you somewhere deserted so no one can see you in the car.’

  ‘What, you mean, you have to do things in the car?’ asked Trina.

  Shelley laughed, ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘It’s no biggie. There’s plenty of places you can go round here where no one can see what’s going on. You’ll soon get used to it.’

  ‘OK,’ said Trina again, trying to hide her trepidation.

  ‘Oh, and don’t tell them your real name,’ said Shelley. ‘For the same reason that you don’t let them know where you live. If you get a dodgy client, the less they know about you the better.’

  Trina stared at Shelley, stupefied, as she listened to her list of instructions: Always use a condom, agree a price up front, avoid anyone who stinks of booze or smells dirty. The list went on until Trina found herself becoming quite anxious.

  ‘It’s fine,’ said Shelley. ‘As long as you have your wits about you, it’ll be OK. Like I say, you’ll soon get used to it.’

  This time Trina just nodded, keeping her anxious thoughts to herself.

  Shelley then went on to describe the various services Trina could offer and how much she should charge for them.

  ‘You don’t have to offer all of them,’ she added. ‘It’s up to you, but you get more clients if you offer more.’

  ‘It’s OK,’ said Trina. ‘I don’t mind.’

  ‘You still up for it then?’ asked Shelley.

  ‘Yeah, course,’ said Trina, putting on a brave face.

  *

  The following night Trina tried to hide her nerves as she prepared for her first night on the game. She was standing in front of the bathroom mirror putting on her makeup while, in the background, the Spice Girls sang about what they really really want. Again, Shelley had offered her advice, suggesting what she should wear and what makeup to apply.

  ‘You should deffo wear a short skirt,’ she said. ‘And make sure it’s clingy as well. The clients love long legs and a tight arse.’

  Despite her nerves Trina preened at the perceived compliment, especially coming from her object of desire. Shelley smiled in response. ‘In this game you’ve gotta make the most of what you’ve got,’ she said.

  It was almost time to go and Trina could feel her heartbeat speeding up as she sprayed herself liberally with the bottle of Obsession that Shelley had lent her. Shelley seemed to pick up on her unease as she said, ‘Before we go, there’s a little something I always take. It helps you get through it.’

  She pulled a bag of white powder from the sideboard in the living room and dipped a finger in it then held it to her nose.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Trina.

  ‘Coke. Try some,’ Shelley said, offering Trina the bag.

  ‘Oh, I’m not sure,’ said Trina.

  ‘It’ll make you feel better.’ Shelley smiled that wonderful smile of hers and added, ‘I promise.’

  Trina didn’t know whether it was the need for something to calm her down or Shelley’s gentle persuasion, but she soon capitulated and had a snort of the coke. For a moment she didn’t feel anything. But then the rush hit her and she felt much more confident; euphoric even.

  Shelley smiled again. ‘Right, I think you’re ready. Time to go.’

  They walked the short distance to where the red light district was situated. To Trina it didn’t seem what she would have expected from a red light district. Unlike the area she came from, all the streets were tree-lined and some of the houses were huge.

  It had once been an affluent area but many of the large houses were now being rented out to the criminal element. Where the trees had once added to the area’s appeal, to Trina they gave the neighbourhood an eerie atmosphere, acting as cover for anyone who was up to no good, their vast branches overhanging the pavements and reaching out like the tentacles of an octopus. In the darkness of night-time she kept expecting someone to pounce out at her from behind one of the huge tree trunks.

  After a few minutes Shelley said, ‘Right, we’re here. You stand here and I’ll move further along.’ Trina looked at her in alarm; by now she was finding it difficult to mask her growing unease, despite taking the cocaine.

  It wasn’t long until a car pulled up and the driver wound the window down. Shelley approached the vehicle and although Trina couldn’t hear everything that was said she saw Shelley nod in her direction then she stood aside while the dri
ver looked across and shook his head as if in distaste.

  Shelley stepped back towards Trina. ‘Right, this one’s mine. Don’t forget everything I told you,’ she said, stepping back up to the car and jumping inside.

  Then the car sped off and Trina was alone. She was immediately beset by panic and an urge to flee, especially as the rejection by Shelley’s first client had sapped her confidence. Trina tried to calm down, telling herself that it was no big deal as she’d had sex plenty of times before and felt nothing. But then she thought about what she was about to do and what she had become.

  Something about the word ‘prostitute’ struck terror into her and Trina thought about the implications. She was no longer dealing with naïve schoolboys, but was selling her body to men. Strange men. Old men. Fat men. Dirty men. She tried to shake off her negative thoughts and focus instead on the money and the list of instructions Shelley had given her.

  Then Trina noticed a car pull up and as the driver wound down the window she realised he had stopped for her. For a few moments she hesitated while the driver watched her. He didn’t look too bad; oldish but not bad looking, and clean. And the car was nice too.

  When she didn’t make a move, the driver revved his engine, the sound marking his impatience and prompting Trina to make a decision. She took a deep breath, crossed the pavement and prepared to do business with her first client.

  33

  May 1998

  Trina stooped till she could see through the car’s window, and the man’s eyes met hers. ‘How much for full sex?’ he asked.

  Trina gave him the price suggested by Shelley and his face remained impassive as he said, ‘OK, get in.’

  She did as she was told and the man took off. Trina had no idea where they were going till the car pulled up in a car park behind a block of flats. The man hadn’t spoken throughout the few minutes’ journey and Trina had also kept silent. She didn’t know what to say to him and felt foolish starting a meaningless conversation so she kept her gaze on the road ahead. Nevertheless she could sense the man eyeing up her legs.