‘I’d like to book one of your girls,’ he said in an accent that was somewhere in between refined and street.
‘Come on, I’ll show you who’s available,’ said Ruby, walking him over to the waiting area where two girls were sitting. After introducing them both, she added, ‘You can have a coffee and a chat with the girls before you decide who you would like to spend some time with if you like.’
‘No, that’s OK. I’ll take Ria if that’s alright,’ said the man.
‘Good choice,’ said Ruby and as Ria stood up Ruby said to her, ‘Ria, why don’t you tell him about your special massage?’
‘Sure,’ said Ria, who then led the man to her room.
The arrival of the man had unsettled Ruby and she had a bad feeling about him. All the time he was in Ria’s room she found it difficult to relax. This man could spell major trouble for them and she dreaded to think what the upshot of that might be. She just hoped Ria was onto him.
But then she tried to tell herself Ria would be able to handle the situation fine. Ruby had seen the look of recognition on her face and prayed that it meant she would do the right thing. Nevertheless, the half hour that the man spent in Ria’s room passed excruciatingly slowly.
Eventually they came out of Ria’s room. Ruby saw the man first as he passed the reception desk and headed for the stairs, muttering a glum ‘hello’. She saw his look of disappointment; maybe it was a good sign. Ria went back to the waiting area but, once the man had left the building, she came over to speak to Ruby.
‘Everything alright?’ asked Ruby.
‘Yeah,’ said Ria. ‘He only had a massage.’
‘Good. Did he ask for anything else?’
‘No, but I didn’t offer it either.’
‘Good. Well done, girl,’ said Ruby. ‘I’m glad you had him sussed. I don’t think we need to worry about him anymore, but there might be others so you be careful.’
‘No worries,’ said Ria. ‘You didn’t think I’d forget our secret code, did you?’
Ruby went back to the reception area and smiled to herself. Thank God Ria had been on the ball and remembered what the special massage meant! Still, the situation had unsettled her and she made a mental note to remind the other girls just in case.
Ruby had figured him out as soon as she saw him walk over to the reception desk. He was too different from the other clients. His style of dress didn’t seem right, as though he was trying too hard to create a certain image. Then there was his over-confident manner; clients visiting for the first time were normally a bit apprehensive. And the final thing that had given him away was the way he was examining the club in fine detail.
He had copper written all over him. She should know; she’d seen so many of them during the years she’d spent on the street that she could easily sniff one out. Apart from those who were trying to impose the law, she had also met plenty who had indulged in the services she offered.
Although his appearance had unnerved Ruby, she still felt confident that if they had any other visits from the law, she would easily be able to handle them. In fact, she thought smugly, she couldn’t foresee any problems that she wouldn’t be capable of handling.
38
March 2008
‘Well I never thought I’d see the day when a daughter of mine would have a house like this. They must be paying you well managing that nightclub, my girl.’
Ruby smiled back at her mother but she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt at the lie she’d told her. She hadn’t really seen any alternative though. Over the years, as she’d become progressively more affluent, Ruby had invented a stream of lies for her mother, with her imaginary career progressing from restaurant waitress to nightclub employee and eventually nightclub manager.
But, even on the salary of a nightclub manager, the house would have been out of reach so Ruby had come up with the lie that she was co-purchasing it with her ‘friend’ Tiffany. She had relied on these fabrications to keep a close relationship with her mother because Ruby knew she couldn’t have coped with the knowledge that her daughter was not only a lesbian, but the madam of a brothel.
‘Come inside,’ said Ruby. ‘Have a look at the kitchen.’
It was the second time she and Tiffany had been to see the house, but this time they had returned with Ruby’s mother and her youngest brother, Tyler, knowing they would be thrilled to see the place Ruby was going to buy. And it was such a relief to finally be able to show them where she would be living because, since she’d left home, she had never done so. Instead she had made many excuses to prevent them coming round, from living with a difficult flat-mate to the place being too dirty and run-down, until they had eventually stopped asking.
‘Wow! Good stuff this innit?’ Tyler commented as he marvelled at the modern kitchen with its high-tech appliances.
‘My God!’ her mother chipped in. ‘I bet this is a step up from that other place where you lived. I don’t know how you put up with it for so long when you could afford something like this.’
‘I did have to save for a bit,’ said Ruby, flashing Tiffany a loving glance. ‘Anyway, wait till you see the garden.’
They walked through to the comfortable living room then through the patio doors and into the conservatory.
Her mother stared around the room in awe.
‘Haven’t you seen a conservatory before?’ asked Ruby.
‘Only on the telly.’ Her mother was soon standing at the window looking out into the garden. ‘It’s beautiful,’ she muttered subconsciously.
Ruby grabbed the bunch of keys and inserted one into the back door. ‘Come on, I’ll show it to you.’
Although it was a modern house, the garden was quite mature, having being cultivated since the first owners had moved in almost twenty years previously. It had a small but adequate lawn and a series of flagged areas punctuated with beds full of colourful blooms. At the far side of the garden was a recessed area housing an arbour, which was surrounded by shrubs and climbing plants, giving it a tranquil feel.
Ruby’s mother walked over to the arbour and plonked herself down on the seat. She didn’t say anything, but a pleasant smile graced her lips as she gazed around her. Eventually she stood up and shivered.
‘You’ll have to come round in the summer, Mam,’ said Ruby. ‘You can sit out then. We might even have a barbecue.’
‘It’s lovely,’ she said, looking about her, and Ruby could have sworn she saw a tear in her eye.
Next, Ruby and Tiffany took them up to the master bedroom and Ruby proudly showed off the stunning fitted bedroom units, pulling open the door to a corner wardrobe.
‘You’ll get plenty of clothes in there,’ said her mother. Then she looked around the rest of the fitted furniture. ‘How many wardrobes do you need?’ she asked.
Ruby and Tiffany laughed and then took them through to the en-suite bathroom followed by the other two bedrooms and, lastly, the family bathroom.
Ruby was amused by the next comment. ‘But I thought you had a bathroom in there.’
‘That’s the en-suite, Mam. This is the main bathroom.’
Ruby could feel Tiffany’s hand on the small of her back, out of view of her family. She smiled affectionately at her while her mother tutted and shook her head as though this level of extravagance was strange to her.
When they’d finally finished having a good look around, Ruby led them all back downstairs where they hovered in the hallway for a few moments before leaving.
‘Well, what do you think?’ she asked.
‘It’s well smart,’ said Tyler. ‘I wish I had an ’ouse like this.’
Ruby turned to her mother who nodded her head. ‘I think you’ve done very well for yourself, Ruby,’ was all she said but for Ruby it was enough. She could see that pride was oozing out of every pore in her body.
She tried to dismiss the fact that the pride she felt was based on lies. As far as Ruby was concerned, it didn’t matter how she had achieved her financial status; the end re
sult was just the same. And it was wonderful to see how proud she had made her family.
*
Aaron Gill looked over to his cell door to see the huge frame of a fellow prisoner, Mal, standing in the doorway. Gilly sat up in his bunk.
‘Come in mate, shut the door,’ he said, knowing he didn’t want anyone to overhear them. ‘What have you got for me?’
‘Some info, but it’ll cost.’
‘No probs, it’s all here,’ said Gilly, referring to the cigarettes they had agreed in payment. ‘But I want to hear what you’ve got first.’
Mal sat down on Gilly’s bunk. ‘She’s still using the name Ruby,’ he began.
‘Yeah, and…?’
‘She’s running a brothel now, apparently.’
‘Really?’ said Gilly, annoyed that Crystal hadn’t seen fit to share that information with him. ‘How long’s it been open?’
‘Six months.’
‘I wonder how the bitch managed to afford that.’
‘She’s the co-owner apparently but I don’t know who the other owner is.’
‘No, worries. That’s not important. Where is it?’
‘Manchester, above a nightclub called North. Have you heard of it?’
Gilly smiled. As a Manchester lad he knew the name straightaway. ‘Oh yeah, I know it.’
‘I can send some lads round if you like but it’ll cost you more.’
‘No, it’s OK,’ said Gilly. ‘I want to sort this one out myself.’ He reached under his mattress and took out the cigarettes then passed them to Mal.
‘Cheers, mate. Anything else you want, just ask,’ he said. Then, as he was about to leave Gilly’s cell he stopped and asked, ‘Haven’t you got a few years to serve yet?’
‘Yeah, that’s right. I got a ten stretch and I’ve done three. I’ve kept my nose clean so I probably won’t do all that but it’ll still be a few years yet.’
‘Ah, you’ll have forgotten all about who grassed you up by then.’
‘That’s where you’re wrong,’ said Gilly. ‘And thinking about how I’m gonna get my revenge on that vindictive bitch is all that’s keeping me going. After all, I’ve got fuck all else to keep me busy in this shithole so I’ve got all the time I need to decide how I’m gonna fix her.’
39
August 2008
Ruby was with a client when she heard the buzzer sound. It was only the second time it had happened in almost a year of running the club. As part of the refurb, Ruby had had buzzers fitted in all of the rooms, which were connected to both the reception desk and her own area, Ruby’s Dungeon She looked down at the black leather whip in her hand and quickly flicked her wrist till it swished through the air.
‘Stay there!’ she yelled at the man kneeling naked in front of her before she dashed from the room, confident that he would still be there when she returned. After all, he was one of her regulars and had been practising obedience for a while.
It didn’t take Ruby long to run down the stairs and into the reception area, still carrying the whip. There she saw one of the girls managing the reception desk and she knew straightaway that Tiffany had gone to sort out whatever problem had arisen.
‘Whose room is it?’ she demanded.
‘Pammy’s,’ said the girl.
Ruby dashed through the club in the direction of Pammy’s room. She arrived to find a man hurling abuse at Tiffany while Pammy stood back from them, wearing no more than a hurt expression, her hand cradling the right side of her face.
‘Just look at her, she’s fuckin’ fat!’ hollered the man, waving his arm in Pammy’s direction. ‘I’m not paying full price for that! I want a reduction or one of the other girls.’ He was standing there without his shirt on, but still wearing his trousers as though he’d had a change of heart mid-way through undressing.
‘I’ve told you, no one else is available and we can’t have you assaulting our girls so I want you to leave,’ said Tiffany.
On hearing Tiffany’s words and seeing Pammy’s hand on her face, Ruby guessed what had happened. ‘Has he hit you?’ she asked, incensed.
Before Pammy had chance to speak, the man said, ‘It was nothing. She shouldn’t have been giving me grief, shouting her mouth off, right up in my fuckin’ face.’
‘He called me a fat cow!’ shouted Pammy, the hurt evident in her tone of voice.
Ruby marched towards the man, pushing Tiffany out of the way and holding up the whip. ‘Don’t you fuckin’ dare assault one of my girls!’ she thundered. ‘I don’t give a shit what your problem is; you never hit one of my girls!’
‘Well look at the fuckin’ state of her,’ said the man but, despite his confrontational words, Ruby could tell that he had become wary at the sight of the whip. ‘You don’t expect me to pay full rate for that, do you?’ he asked almost beseechingly.
‘I’m not interested in your bullshit!’ yelled Ruby. ‘You knew what size she was when you booked her. You’re just fuckin’ trying it on. For your information, Pammy is one of our most popular girls and you’re lucky to spend any fuckin’ time with her.’
‘Pffft!’ hissed the man.
Suddenly Ruby lifted the whip high and sliced it through the air so that it gave out a mighty cracking sound. The man was visibly shocked, his eyes growing wide as he quickly stepped back.
‘Right, now are you gonna leave my premises like you’ve been told or do we have to fuckin’ force you out?’ she asked.
Despite his apparent concern at the sight of Ruby wielding the whip, the man must have thought he still had a strong argument and seemed to fancy his chances against a bunch of women. ‘I’m going nowhere till I get what I came for. What about her?’ he asked, nodding at Tiffany. ‘Isn’t she available?’
Without warning, Ruby brought the whip down swiftly on the man. It struck the top of his arm with several of the tail ends twisting round his body and biting into his back. The man yelled and gripped the top of his arm, instinctively advancing towards Ruby. Then he seemed to think better of it, and stopped where he was, his face a mix of pain and indignation.
Seeing his cowed reaction, Ruby bent to the ground and scooped up his shirt, throwing it at him while still clutching the whip in her other hand. ‘Right, now fuck off!’ she yelled. ‘Unless you want more of the same.’
The man grasped at his shirt and pushed his arms through the sleeves, then grabbed his jacket and ran from the room without even bothering to fasten his shirt buttons. Ruby turned and watched him leave, feeling gratified as she spotted the blood seeping through the back of his shirt.
‘And don’t fuckin’ bother coming back!’ she shouted after him before turning to Pammy who had started to put her clothes back on with trembling hands. When Ruby saw the look of shame on Pammy’s face it reminded her of how she’d felt as a child when people had looked down on her with a mix of pity and scorn. Her anger at the man was swiftly replaced by sympathy for Pammy.
‘Are you two OK?’ she asked. Both Tiffany and Pammy said yes even though Ruby could tell by looking at them that they were both shaken. ‘Take no notice of that fuckwit!’ she said to Pammy. ‘We both think you’re beautiful and so do lots of the clients too.’
As Tiffany nodded, Pammy managed a half-smile before Ruby said, ‘Why don’t you take the rest of the night off, Pammy? You’ve only got one more client booked in so you won’t be losing much. And I’ll not charge you for your room tonight so you won’t be any worse off.’
‘OK, thanks,’ said Pammy, her voice tiny and shaking.
Ruby knew that, although Pammy had the strength of character common in most of the working girls, that cruel man had touched her sore spot, and she was on the verge of tears. Ordinarily, Pammy let everyone know how proud she was of her ample cleavage and generous curves, but Ruby could now see that it had all been an act.
Ruby knew too well that it didn’t take much to undermine your confidence and take you right back to that place of insecurity and inadequacy. After all, it was the very place she had come f
rom as a child when she felt inferior to all the other girls who always had more than her. Ruby crossed the room and put her arm around Pammy. ‘Please don’t let an arsehole like him get to you, Pammy. You just remember, you’re beautiful in your own way.’
Then she and Tiffany left Pammy alone to shed a few private tears before she pulled herself together and shielded her insecurities behind a low-cut dress and a fresh application of makeup.
‘You sure you’re alright?’ Ruby asked Tiffany later that night when her own client had left and she’d joined her partner at the reception desk.
‘Yeah, fine now,’ said Tiffany. ‘I hope Pammy will be OK.’
‘She’ll be fine. You watch, girl, she’ll come bouncing back through that door like nothing happened.’
‘What about you?’ asked Tiffany.
‘I’m OK,’ said Ruby. ‘I can easily handle a little shit like him.’
‘I noticed,’ said Tiffany, laughing.
Afterwards, Ruby thought over what she had said to Tiffany about her ability to handle the awkward client and her mind drifted to the problems she’d had to deal with since the club had opened. As well as abusive clients and visits from the police, Ruby had had one of the more popular girls getting too cocky. She’d confronted Ruby, telling her she should be passing more clients her way until Ruby had told her to fuck off and see if she could do any better elsewhere. She’d lost a few clients as a result of the girl leaving but had soon found a replacement and gained new clients.
Yes, she’d had her share of difficulties in running a brothel but nothing major, and certainly nothing as bad as what she’d faced as a young girl working the streets of Manchester. She’d handled all the problems at the club with help from Tiffany, the love of her life. And, despite all the challenges, she still loved her status as manager as much as she had at the outset. It was her life. There was nothing she could think of that she would rather be doing. And she wasn’t prepared to have it spoilt by anybody or anything.
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