I could feel Mr. Bob watching my reactions. Mrs. Brittany sat back, her mouth twisting. My silence seemed to annoy her. I wasn’t pleading enough for her to keep me.
“You can get up and walk out of here without any problem,” she said. “We’ll deliver you to whatever hole in the wall you’ve found, no questions asked. You can even keep that dress and those shoes, right, Bob?”
“Oh, absolutely.”
“I’m just asking questions. You told me to ask them. I’m not saying I don’t want to do this,” I said.
“I’d like to hear you say ‘I do,’?” she replied. “With a convincing tone.”
“Sounds like I’m getting married,” I quipped, looking at Bob for a smile, but he didn’t even blink. I took a deep breath. “Okay,” I said, with all the firmness I could muster. “I do.”
“Good. Now we have only one question to answer,” she said.
“Which is?”
“Will you do?”
5
Mrs. Brittany stared at me a moment. Then she smiled, nodded, and opened a desk drawer to produce a printed document.
“I want you to read this and sign it. I ask everyone we’re considering to do so. The document is not legally binding in any court except the court I hold here, but I like certain things made very clear in black and white so that there are no misunderstandings.”
She pushed the papers across her desk. I rose, picked them up, and began to read them. It certainly was written like a legal document. In return for the privilege of being trained to become a member of Mrs. Brittany’s enterprise, I had to agree to a number of rules and conditions. Nothing guaranteed that I would become a member. That was clearly stated, as were the conditions.
I was never to smoke unless the man I was with smoked, and then only if he approved. If I was already a smoker, I was to stop immediately.
I was never to do any drugs or ever drink too much or do anything to embarrass myself in public. I was to keep in mind that I always represented Mrs. Brittany.
Except to Mrs. Brittany or someone she had approved, I was never to talk about anyone I had been with or what they did or what we did together.
I was never to discuss Mrs. Brittany or the organization or speak about Mrs. Brittany’s residence and my training, and if I should be approved, never without her prior permission was I to reveal to anyone that I was an employee of her company.
Pregnancy, even if I could have an abortion, was grounds for immediate dismissal.
I was never to leave the country without permission or be unavailable for an assignment unless Mrs. Brittany had sufficient warning.
I couldn’t change my hairstyle, my makeup, or the style of clothes I wore without first getting her approval, and I could go only to salons that she approved.
I paused in my reading.
“This sounds more like a form of slavery,” I said. She smiled at Mr. Bob, who also smiled. “I had more freedom living under my father’s iron hand.”
“And you have the freedom to return to it,” Mrs. Brittany said.
I glared back at her a moment and then returned to the document. Something occurred to me, and I looked up again. “I understand you want everything I do kept secret, but what if my picture is taken with one of these men and it appears in a magazine or a newspaper?”
“Not likely,” Mrs. Brittany said. “Many of them will be married or engaged or men who do not want to be compromised in any way. If that should happen, you would always be listed as an unknown escort, anyway. You might see celebrities, but they will avoid being seen with you in public. It’s a requirement that they accept and cherish. We take great pains to protect our clients. You’ll see, if you get there. I especially don’t want my girls pursued by the paparazzi. Something like that could ruin them, and I have too much of an investment in every one of my girls to risk that. Understand?”
I nodded and read on.
The second page went into the training. The first thing mentioned was what Mrs. Pratt had told me: I was forbidden to have any sexual relationship with any member of Mrs. Brittany’s staff.
I had to follow all instructions regarding my exercise and diet. Any resistance or insubordination would result in immediate termination. I was not to have any communication with anyone on the outside while I was here.
There was also, as Mrs. Pratt had mentioned, a kill or termination fee. It was five thousand dollars.
I looked up sharply when I read that. I could start and quit and get five thousand dollars?