Chapter 7

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 shed 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 Rif that Ana had sellotaped to the wall to remind her of home. She wandered towards a vase of small flowers Ana had placed prominently on the living room table. She stooped over to examine it more carefully. "Very nice. Very nice. I hope you're settling in well in your new home?"

"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 Rif. "It's not too intimidating for you, I hope?"

"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."