13. June
June
A nother Friday afternoon, another set of rounds to make in the Manoir.
Since Monique geared up for her maternity leave, June was tasked with more chores.
Didn’t help that Monique was told by her doctor to rest as often as possible and stay off those dainty feet of hers.
So while the madam holed herself away in her office to do paperwork and have business meetings as usual, June became queen bee of the front end.
One of her favorite things to do was to use Monique’s key to access the camera control room.
There were two, and the one by her chambers was the good one, full of cameras peering into everyone’s bedrooms and other private places that clients liked to use for sexual services.
(Minus any bathrooms. Nobody would ever sign off on that.) Everyone knew about these cameras, since they were mostly for safety purposes, but few cared.
When one exchanged money for sex in a pleasure house, they knew they were under surveillance.
Whether or not they knew June was watching was another matter.
“My condolences on that birthmark,” she said, propping her bare foot up on the table so she could paint her toenails. The fumes in that room would get to her eventually.
She handled it like a pro, though. There was no sound on these live feeds, but June could tell that Grace was putting on the show of her life as she pretended to be enthralled with a client’s complete lack of charisma.
It must have worked, because that bozo looked so damn proud to be there, beautiful woman in his presence.
It was either watching Grace or Holly, though.
They were the only two currently with clients, with the others waiting for appointments.
Who wanted to watch Holly? Not. Me . She was the epitome of overacting. Lots of clients liked that, but June always wanted to roll her eyes until she choked on them in her throat.
That was until she saw something that unnerved the shit out of her.
June didn’t know the man Holly was with. He was new, from out of town… and beyond, probably. Right in front of the black and white camera, he backhanded Holly so she crashed into her bed, hand on her cheek, and not in a hurry to get up.
Toes half dried, June grabbed the keys and hit the panic button on the wall.
Holly’s room was only a few doors down. June pressed her ear against the door and heard the muffled sounds of a man threatening to do worse if Holly didn’t do what he wanted.
Why, I’m gonna…
June lightly knocked on the door.
“Go away!” Holly called. Yeah, right . June pulled out her ring of keys and thumbed through them until she found Holly’s.
No one in her business wanted to deal with this shit.
Clients like whoever this was already had violent tendencies, and being a woman – no matter how seasoned she was – June was at a distinct disadvantage, but nobody was assaulted on her watch, and that kind of “play” was absolutely not allowed.
The man got the boot the moment he laid a rough hand on Holly.
Nevertheless, the next few minutes were tough to digest.
Yelling. Threats. The meeting of an ex-Navy SEAL and a heavily pregnant madam who knew every law on the books.
Before Holly could cry out again, everyone was in the room, tackling the guy, dragging him around, throwing blankets on top of Holly, and threatening to call the police and lawyers.
Peter, the bouncer, was enough to get the guy scrambling out of there.
He left behind his wallet, but nobody was in a hurry to run it out to him.
Peter offered to chuck it at his head and knock him unconscious.
“Gracious,” Monique muttered. She had stayed at Holly’s side the whole time. Was she grateful? No! She crawled from beneath her blanket, red on her cheek and anger in her eyes.
Anger at June.
“What the hell!” she cried, while the bouncer left the room to make sure the guy was gone from the premises. That’s what the backup security team on the outer grounds was for. “I was working! Do I barge into your room when you’re with your clients?”
June’s mouth dropped open. “Are you seriously trying to tell me that wasn’t what I thought I saw and heard?”
“Fuck off!”
Monique got up. “You and I will talk later.” Who was she saying that to? Probably anyone who would listen. “I’m going to check on what’s going on out there.” She put a hand on June. “I trust you will take over from here?”
“That’s my job, right?”
“Fuck your job,” Holly mumbled as Monique left and closed the bedroom door behind her. “What about mine?”
“Yeah, what about it?” June turned to her the moment they were left alone. “You want your career to end now… let alone your life?”
“It wasn’t that bad!”
“Let me guess… you had control over the situation.”
“Yeah!”
Typical . Typical na?ve brat who was probably too immature to be working at a place like this. “You didn’t. The moment that guy put a hand like that on you, his time here was over. Nobody hits you. Do you understand me? It’s not acceptable!”
“Says the woman who has the richest fucks around lining up to be her patron. Do you know how long I’ve had to wait for you to finish your stupid game so I can get a patron? I’m making the least amount of money here because of it! A girl does what she has to!”
I’ve heard that a million times, coming from my own mouth. Time for some real talk.
“I’m sorry you’re not making as much money as you want, but you won’t be making any money at all if that shit happens. You’ve been given a panic button for a reason. You’re lucky I saw that happen on the cameras.”
“Nothing gives me job security like knowing you’re watching me work.”
“Shut the fuck up. Even if it wasn’t my job to keep an eye out for that shit, I would do it anyway. I won’t stand for those types of clients coming around here. It is not allowed. Full stop.”
Holly pouted, hand on cheek. What do I say beyond that? They weren’t friends. They were barely good at faking a mutual sexual attraction for the right clients. That was part of being a professional. Something Holly still had trouble getting a grip on from time to time.
Before June could find a new way to reprimand her again, Holly slapped her hand over her eyes, refusing to cry.
Ah, shit . All June could do was sit on the edge of the young woman’s bed and pat her on the back.
No sense saying anything. What could she say?
Whatever bothered Holly was deeply personal.
Like no two employees of the Manoir had the same experience or relationship with sex as another, no two could know how to console each other about it.
Yet part of June’s job as courtesan liaison was to interpret what was happening behind the scenes and do something about it, if applicable.
“I don’t know what it was like for you before you came here,” June said, “but you need to know that this is a place where your safety is the most important thing. No one has the right to even pay you to treat you like that.”
“Has anyone done that to you?”
“Many times. Not in a long, long time, though.”
“Why do you keep doing this? Don’t you get tired of it?”
Here we go . Everyone wanted to know why June hadn’t retired by thirty.
“I do it because I love it. It’s not my job.
It’s my career. It’s okay if you think it’s a job and that you will move on when the time is right.
Don’t let anyone tell you that it’s not okay to enjoy what you do here.
Likewise, it’s okay to have a bad day, or to realize that it’s not always going to be great.
” Nothing worse than a newbie who had romanticized it all.
“We’re in a unique situation, because most people treat what we do with disrespect and disdain.
Most of what we do here is unregulated and illegal.
Monique and I work every day to make sure you’re safe and that we all don’t get arrested.
This is one of the best places you could work to make money. ”
“I guess.”
Oh, the young . That was as close to “I guess you’re right” that June was going to get from Holly.
“I simply want to make sure you understand that this was not acceptable, no matter what. We can’t have those types of clients coming around, let alone spreading the word that we allow that shit.
It’s not just your safety. It’s our reputation.
Our reputation means the best, well-paying, and respectful clients. ”
“They’re not all respectful.”
“This is true. Unfortunately, it’s the nature of our business.” June put a sturdy hand on Holly’s shoulder. “Are we okay here? You can take the night off if you want.”
“No way. I’ve got appointments to keep. One of those clients could become my patron.”
“I’m sure Monique is going to focus on you as soon as my business is settled. Don’t worry. We won’t expand what we’re doing until you’re secured here.”
“Good. I’m tired of being the new girl. Hire some more so I can have my peace.”
June left Holly in her room, but made sure the bedroom door was ajar. If Holly really wanted it closed, she could get up and do it herself.
“Everything all right?” Monique asked at the top of the grand staircase. “That man won’t be coming back here again. I’m glad you kept an eye on it.”
“She’s fine.” Probably. “You should talk to her later, though. Give her some space now.”
“I don’t doubt it. She reminds me a lot of you.”
June was taken aback. “How so?”
“Do I have to tell you? She’s ambitious and knows how to play her game. She’s going to make us a lot of money here as soon as she matures a bit. I’ve already got regular clients of hers asking about patronage.”
“She’ll be glad to hear that.”
“I’m sure, but like you, she’s also stubborn.”
“I won’t argue with that.” June shrugged. “At least I know how to pick my battles.”
“You’re ten years older than her. I should hope so.” Monique turned toward the hallway. “You’ve got an appointment with Ms. Bolivar to get ready for, right?”