7. Chapter 7 – Tamen
Chapter 7 – Tamen
“I won’t lie to you; seniority means nothing anymore. From this point forward, you’re all starting at zero.” I announced, as I paced the stage, surrounded by the women of Prism.
The women who previously worked at The Den, anyway.
They surrounded me. Watching and listening to me as the boss they hated simply because I ruffled the feathers of normalcy. I shook things up.
“I’ve hired twenty-seven new girls to join the lineup here at Prism.” I announced, pointing to the temporary sign hanging by the entrance to the stage room. The threat of competition sparked immediate whispers amongst the women; a hushed, urgent tide of rivalry. “They’re hungry for their share of cash. And they’re willing to do their part to earn it.”
“And we’re not?” A woman spoke up from the crowd, glaring at me defiantly. She had black hair and eyes just as dark to match her all-black outfit. “You act like we’re not the ones who came in here night after night when things were shitty, working our asses off for pennies. Like somehow we’re going to give up now that you’re promising us more.”
“Raven, right?” I paused, facing her head on where she sat below me. I had been studying the employee line up because, as the owner, it was my job to know what each of my staff had to offer the business. And not just of the sexual variety. I wanted to know what they were going to bring to the table to make Prism as successful as possible.
The woman’s dark eyes squinted slightly like she didn’t like me knowing who she was, but nodded once. Or maybe it was because she had spent time with me before, but I didn’t remember her.
“Right,” I continued. “I don’t want any of you to give up, but it will happen.” Stating factually, “By the time the doors open for the grand opening, twenty percent of you will be gone.” I shrugged, sliding one hand into my pocket. “That’s over twenty-five of you, gone. Look around this room and pay attention to the company around you. I bet not a single one of you would pass a lie detector test if I asked you if every person in this room deserved to stay. Or better yet, if you would keep them if you were the boss.” Wide eyes slowly glanced around at each other, silently assessing their counterparts and admitting to themselves that I was right. “Some of you will quit. Some of you will be fired. Some of you will leave kicking and screaming at the injustice of it all. But the facts remain the same, not all of you will survive.”
“And you think fresh blood can survive the actual job ?” Raven countered and more than a few heads nodded in agreement. “More than half of the girls that try this job quit after the first night. Most after the first dick comes their way.”
“I’m aware. Anyone that fails will be replaced.” I acknowledged. “I have a list a hundred names deep of women willing to do anything for a chance.” Turning away from her, I went back to address everyone. “My point is, if you were out shined by someone before, now is your chance to become the object in the way, not the shadow. With that, I’ll leave you to the talent management team I’ve assembled to work with you all. With their help, you’ll establish what exactly your strengths are, and how you can improve where you struggle.”
“Are they going to teach us how to have sex?” A younger girl toward the back piped up and as soon as the words left her mouth, a blush covered her cheeks. “I’m sorry, I just don’t see how a talent company can help us here.”
“What if I told you I only want twenty-five percent of the job to be about actual intercourse?” I asked, and her eyes rounded even bigger, which I didn’t think was possible. The talent team lurked at the edge of the stage, a group of five women who I hoped would earn the respect of my employees so they could actually open up their walls and learn from them. “I don’t want any of you to bank all of your earnings on what’s between your thighs. Believe me when I tell you that high end customers want far more than just penetration from you. They can get that at home from their wives.”
“Then what do they want from us?” The same young girl shook her head in confusion.
I nodded to the talent team, and the owner, Connie, stepped up on stage, taking over. “Attention.” She replied with a sleek smile as she looked at the women. “They want to feel craved for.” With one more glance my way as I backed away, she grinned, “Men want to be coddled and treated like our entire world revolves around them. Which we all know is far from the truth, but we’re going to create the illusion that for the time they’re here, they’re the most desirable men in the world. And in turn, most of them won’t even request sexual satisfaction from the transaction.”
I walked out of the room toward the smaller makeshift meeting space where Ember was working with the new girls.
Sloane.
No matter how many times I tried to use her stage name, as she preferred while we were at Prism, I continued to use her real name in my head.
Or even the nickname I’d given her; Rainbow.
They fit her so much better than Ember, for there was so much more to her than just the glow of her eyes.
Even her rainbow hair no longer felt like the cause of her nickname from me. Everything else about her was colorful and powerful, casting different shades of her personality on me, depending on how she felt at that moment.
I silently entered the meeting space upstairs, where a few of the client rooms had been opened to create larger rooms for hosting group activities.
“You mean we don’t get to pick who we sleep with?” A voice asked from across the room as I hid in the shadows to watch where my Rainbow stood at the head of the group with her arms crossed over her chest.
I’d started relating her moods to the colors dyed in her hair as a distraction to gauge how to interact with her.
Right now, she was annoyed; purple.
“Does a doctor get to decide which patients to treat?” Sloane snapped back. “Does a waitress get to decide which customers to serve? No.” She held her hand up, stopping whatever probably dumb retort the girl was opening her mouth to clap back with. “The answer to those questions and yours, is no. You do not have a choice. That’s not to say there isn’t some begging, borrowing, or pleading that you can do with your coworkers or your managers to trade here and there. But it’s not about picking and choosing unless there is some legitimate reason to pass on a client.”
“There is no picking.” I called out, announcing my presence and walking into the room as every head turned to stare at me. I hadn’t met most of these women before, and the black-haired Raven from the other room’s words came back to me as I looked over the crowd.
And you think fresh blood can survive the actual job?
Dammit, the answer was no. Looking at most of the fresh youthful faces in the crowd, I knew we’d lose more of them than I had expected after the first night.
I gritted my teeth and joined Sloane at her spot at the head of the room. “The customer picks. They’re the ones with the power to decide. If you don’t do the job you were hired to do, you won't work here anymore.” I turned to Sloane and caught her fiery eyes as she stared angrily at me. “Change of plans, I’m hosting a party in two weeks.” Looking back out at the women, “Any of you left employed here by that time, will work the party. Ten of the seasoned vets will work it too. But make no mistake, they’re the best of the best and their sole task of the night will be to get you fired. Whoever makes the most money that evening wins. If you lose, all of you are fired.”
Gasps and sputters filled the air, including some from Slone at my side. “What’s the point of that?”
I looked at her, soaking in the way her eyes rounded when I stared down at her and imagined how she’d look on her knees, but kept going before I got anymore distracted.
“The point is, the Vets don’t think any of the fresh blood has what it takes, and I’m inclined to agree with them.”
Sloane shook her head, and waved her arm out at the crowd of shocked onlookers. “You hired them!”
“I know. And pretty faces and nice bodies will not be enough to survive. You know that.”
“So what?” She sputtered, putting her hands on her hips, “You plan to pit them all against each other?”
“No.” I shook my head, “I plan to let you spend the next two weeks training them to be the picture perfect entertainers of Prism. And if you do it right, they’ll win. There’s twenty of them to the ten vets. And then they’ll get to make something of themselves at the grand opening.”
Sloane rolled her eyes and shook her head, cracking her neck in aggravation. “You’re just starting drama between the two groups before they even meet. They’re supposed to be coworkers and equals. That’s what you said!”
“Yeah, well, Raven makes a convincing argument against that plan.” I turned back to the crowd. “If you want this job, listen to Ember and learn as much as possible from her. She’s the best in the game. And then go out there and fucking earn it.” I glanced back one last time at Sloane as I walked back through the crowd. “Oh, and Rainbow,” Her eyes squinted angrily, “We have an event to attend tonight. Your outfit will hang in my office after training is over. We leave at ten.”
“Sure, whatever you say, boss.” Sloane groaned back as I walked out. I smirked and walked through the construction site whistling a stupid fucking tune as I went back to the stage room to share the new plans with the Vets of Prism.
It was time to give the women someone else to hate beside me.