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Ana didn’t know how many times
she heard the buzz of her flat’s intercom before she managed to locate it in
the hallway. Who could it be? she wondered, still
wearing only a towel and mostly lost in the revelry of her thoughts.
“It’s me,
Khedra,” the tinny voice on the intercom announced. “Can I come up?”
The
Personnel and Training Manager from the Brothel! What did she want?
“Of course! Of course!”
Ana replied in a panic about what to wear. She
hurriedly dashed into her bedroom and slipped on a sleeveless floral dress and
knickers less with regard to appearance than with the need to get dressed. She hadn’t found her sandals when she opened
the flat door, her hair still slightly damp.
Khedra was
a tall slim woman in her late thirties who dressed very smartly in a green suit
with a silk scarf around her neck. If Ana didn’t know, she would have assumed
she worked for a bank or an insurance company. She was however very amiable and
solicitous of Ana’s welfare. It might only have been her prejudices that made
Ana somewhat wary of her, but she certainly didn’t feel overwhelmingly grateful
for this unexpected visit.
“I see
you’ve made the flat very homely,” commented Khedra affably, looking at the
posters of
“Yes, very
well, Miss Jismia,” Ana said nervously, standing by the doorway and wondering
why she’d chosen those particular flowers.
“Call me
Khedra, Ana. Do you mind if I sit down?”
“Of course not,” Ana replied as Khedra lowered herself into one of the
two armchairs facing the television. She sat in
the other armchair, after first turning it round to face Khedra across a small
coffee table.
“I hope you
don’t mind me visiting you like this. But I happened to be in the area and part
of my duties, as you know, is to ensure that all our employees are happy in
their working life. And of course I have especial concern for all our new
employees. I like to see that everyone is contented and that everything is
well. I trust that the flat is satisfactory?”
“It’s very
nice. I’m very grateful.”
“The
Brothel has a reputation for supplying only the best accommodation to its
valued employees. I hope also that you are satisfied with this district. You
should be. The Jadid Quarter has a good reputation in this city. Good
amenities, good schools, an excellent bus service and, of course, no shortage
of churches if you should be of a religious bent. Are you a churchgoer?”
“Not
really. Only occasionally.”
“Many of
our employees are very religious: surprisingly, amongst not our administrative
staff, but the working girls. I hope you’re getting to know Blad a bit better.
It must be quite different to what you’re used to.” She nodded at the posters
of the open wheat fields of
“I’m
beginning to get used to it.”
“And it
goes without saying that you are a lucky girl indeed to get such a nice flat in
such a pleasant part of the city. My home is a little grander than this, but
then I have worked hard to afford it. It’s a detached house in the Honey
district. Do you know the area at all?”
“I’ve heard
about it.”
“It’s very
nice. Wide avenues, large parks, big houses and shops selling
the most gorgeous but fabulously expensive clothes. My house occupies
nearly a quarter of an acre - that cost me a fair bit I can tell you! - with four bedrooms, two living rooms and two bathrooms. And
there’s only me living there!” Khedra chuckled whimsically. “I really don’t
need so much space, do I? But it’s nice to be able to afford it, don’t you think
Ana?”
“Yes, very
nice. I’m sure I’ll never be able to afford anything like that. You must be
very well paid.”
Khedra
frowned. “You know that it’s not policy to discuss salaries, Ana. But between
you and me, yes, I have done very well out of my many years of service for the
Brothel. I’ve done very nicely indeed. But you are wrong, my dear, in supposing
you could never afford something as nice yourself.”
She smiled
broadly at Ana and then opened a magazine that Ana had bought. It was one of
many women’s magazines that could be bought in the shop opposite featuring
romantic stories, knitting patterns and general articles. Khedra flicked
through it, clearly bored by its contents and put it down without comment.
“I suppose
you might wonder how I’ve managed to afford so many expensive things. Look at
these rings.” She spread out her fingers to display the three or four plain
gold rings she had on them. “Each of them is worth more than your television
set. This suit cost more than three months of your salary, and I have several
others. Part of this comes from my salary. The Brothel, as you know, is a
believer in offering competitive salaries to its staff, and I can honestly say
that my pay is in the top quartile for my grade. Which is
quite senior. Some of it has come as a result of astute investment. I
have quite a portfolio of share-holdings I can tell you. But most of it has
come from working overtime in the services of the Brothel’s less administrative
business.”
“Less
administrative business?” wondered Ana, who was terribly conscious of the
bareness of her feet in front of her well-paid colleague. What must she think?
“The
Brothel as a company requires administrative and ancillary staff for its
operations to be a success. There need to be receptionists, secretaries,
cleaners, technicians and, of course, managers. The Brothel has a fairly open
policy regarding the rôles performed by each member of staff, particularly
concerning the supply of the services for which it is most well known. In this
capacity, we as managers have been very flexible in allocating work to those
the Brothel employs. Some working girls put in hours at reception for
attractive rates roughly equivalent to their Performance and Appearance Rating
...”
“Equivalent to what?”
“The
banding that each of the working girls receives,” explained Khedra noting Ana’s
puzzled expression. “You know, some girls are Alphas, some Betas, and so on...”
“Oh yes. I
see!”
“In
addition to providing extra work for the working girls (and the working men if
an opportunity occurs), we also offer opportunities to other staff to become
more actively involved in the provision of services. The rates are very
attractive: being higher per hour than the average working girl would receive
for the same Performance and Appearance Rating, or PAR for short. The Brothel
has a policy of explaining to its employees what the extra work opportunities
are, how to apply for them and what the remuneration is. I would urge you to be
aware that these are not merely opportunities we believe that our staff should
be just aware of. They are also very desirable options which staff are actively
encouraged to seriously consider.”
Ana wasn’t
quite sure what Khedra was getting at. “Are you talking about part-time work as
a prostitute?”
“Yes, of
course. Didn’t I make myself clear?”
Ana shook
her head vehemently, studying her bare toes in the carpet pile. “I don’t want
to do that! Not ever! Not that!”
“I wouldn’t
have been doing my job as a PTM all these years, if I didn’t understand the reluctance
you may feel in doing additional work which not only erodes your free time,
which a young lady like you must no doubt relish to the full, but has an
unfortunate reputation which I only hope that greater familiarity and
reflection will dispel.”
“I would
never. I could never. My parents...”
“You are
not in any way expected to do anything you don’t want to, Ana. All I’m doing is
presenting to you the exciting and rewarding opportunities that are open to you
while you are an employee in our concern. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I
weren’t to do so.” She smiled reassuringly. “I’m sure your parents and family
would soon come round to respecting any career decision you made which brought
you a better income and such exciting prospects. I have supplemented my normal
salary for years with a degree of extra work - often conveniently overlapping
with my normal hours as it does for all administrative and ancillary staff
willing to exploit such opportunities, as I shall be more than willing to
explain. This extra work is not only within the confines of the Brothel, where
I have my own room for the purpose, quite separate from my normal office, as is
only right. It would not do to confuse my rôle as a PTM with my other
capacities. This work has often involved travel, meeting interesting and
well-connected people, and visiting the most exotic restaurants and gentlemen’s
clubs. And it is an opportunity I would strongly urge you to consider sooner
rather than later, as unusually among careers this is one heavily biased towards
the younger and often less experienced.”
Ana really
didn’t want to continue this embarrassing discussion. “Prostitution’s just not
something I want to do. I wouldn’t enjoy it at all.”
“I
understand your attitude, Ana. Undoubtedly, it’s not everyone’s preferred
career option. But were you to show interest, there would be great flexibility
shown towards your general clerical and secretarial duties. I believe you’ve
shown yourself quite adept at these - better, I don’t mind telling you, than
your predecessor. However, I think I ought to outline the benefits of taking
advantage of these exciting opportunities. I’ve already hinted at the enhanced
income you would enjoy - which at a preferential employee’s bonus takes the
earnings of a Gamma to the level of a Beta, and those of a Beta to the level of
those of an Alpha Minus. The rates and conditions are not to be sniffed at.
I’ll leave you this employee brochure which outlines them in greater detail.”
She placed
a glossy brochure on the table that featured the photograph of a very ordinary
young lady dressed in very ordinary working clothes (nothing like those of the
prostitutes at the Brothel). She was smiling broadly while leaning against a
similarly unexceptional dining table laid out for a
small dinner. The front cover had the words Opportunities in Customer Satisfaction just above her forehead. Ana
picked up the brochure and flicked through pages in attractive printface which
showed the same woman in other equally unlikely settings such as restaurants
and tourist sights. The only picture at all associated with the Brothel was the
swimming pool, where the women were photographed so that it was impossible to
tell what they were wearing.
“You’d like
to earn more, wouldn’t you Ana?”
“Well...
yes...”
“And this is
an opportunity to do so. But, as they say, money isn’t everything, although our
surveys have shown that for the overwhelming majority of working girls - 78.9%
in fact - money is the chief reason quoted for this choice of career. There are
also the character-building aspects of the job. It would make you much more
assertive and a great deal fitter. It is also excellent training for a married
life. Do you have a boyfriend at the moment?”
Ana blushed. “No, not at
the moment.” Nor indeed had she ever one, - a fact that had sometimes
troubled her when she saw the apparent happiness of her friends in
“Well, when
you do, you’ll find that the satisfaction and quality of service you’d be able
to provide after the excellent experience that only a working girl can achieve
will be something for which you will be forever grateful. Indeed, many of our
employees are now happily married to former clients whom they met in the course
of executing their duties. However, as you can possibly guess, it’s not
altruism alone that motivates the State Brothel to offer its employees such
attractive opportunities. The Personnel department will be very grateful for
the extra services. It is constantly on the lookout for suitable staff. It
seems that however well we have succeeded in achieving, or better than
achieving, our recruitment quotas, the demand for services continues to exceed
the supply of provision. I for one would be extremely grateful were you to assent to so provide your services.”
“It’s just
not what I want for a career...”
“Well, it’s
true that you have been taken on as a
secretary, and there are very few employers who can extend to such staff the
extra work that we are able to do. However, even if one were to ignore the many
other benefits of this extra work, I am sure it would be advantageous for you
to gain a greater insight into the Brothel’s non-administrative work. This is
also certain to enhance your career prospects. We have always preferred to
promote rather than recruit whenever more senior positions need to be filled,
and preference is inevitably extended to those who are more actively involved
in the running of the business.”
Khedra
skimmed through the pages of the brochure which Ana had returned to the
coffee-table. “No doubt you have noticed that a great deal of the remuneration
relies on your PAR. Naturally, I’m in no position to guarantee what your rating
might be. I imagine you would be a Beta. Possibly a Beta Plus. But this of
course depends on an initial full body assessment, subsequently supplemented by
data collected from client satisfaction questionnaires which customers of your
services would be requested to complete. However, assuming that you are a Beta,
I think you’ll agree that the terms of pay, conditions of service, sickness
benefit, holiday entitlement and pension provision are really second to none.”
Ana felt
obliged to look at these details with more care. It was displayed in a table,
and showing a sliding scale of pay and benefits which were really very good
indeed for the Alpha Double Plus. Those for an Epsilon Minus, however, were
rather worse than her own at the moment - and reflected that even the ratings
of the highest ranked prostitutes dropped with time. How long would it take to
sink from a Beta to the depths of an Epsilon Minus? While Ana was reading,
Khedra pointed out additional attractions, such as travel allowances, a company
share scheme, a clothing allowance and the quality of the accommodation
provided.
“For some
of our more valuable staff, we pay a substantial contribution towards the
maintenance and cost of their private premises on the understanding that it is
used at least occasionally towards the provision of services for the wealthier
and more fastidious client. There is no mystery, of course, in how we can
afford to be so generous towards our staff. Our services are in very great
demand and provide a sizeable contribution to the government’s revenue.”
“Are there
any problems if I decide not to take advantage of these opportunities?” Ana wondered. She didn’t like the way she felt Khedra was
pressuring her.
“Problems? Whatever do you mean?”
“If I don’t
work as a part-time prostitute will there be any
negative results?”
“The State
Brothel does not, as an employer, discriminate in any way against any employee
who refuses or simply does not wish to actively participate in its Customer
Satisfaction Programme. You have my word that should you decide not to enrol on
this scheme, no one will think the worse of you. But this is negative talk,
Ana! You should rather consider the positive aspect. By taking advantage of
what the Brothel offers you: you will be healthier,
wealthier and it will greatly assist you in an administrative or clerical career.
We take a very positive view of staff who have shown
themselves willing - particularly those such as you with a potential PAR as
high as a Beta! Think not of Negative Discrimination of which I hope we are
never guilty. Think instead of the Positive Discrimination that would instead
be extended towards you for the rest of your working life in the services of
your employer.”
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