Chapter 5

The three women slept until the early afternoon. Then they loaded up Alexandra’s car and drove to the airport. It was a silent drive, as Margaret continued to snooze, and Jennifer drowsily contemplated the events that were taking her to Nevada.

She had not planned on going to work for her aunt. In fact, she had recently gotten a job as junior bookkeeper at Honest Bob’s Lincoln-Mercury-Ford. Of course, she had been wearing a very tight skirt and a not quite opaque blouse when she applied for the job, but all’s fair in love and the job market, she thought. One night after her aunt arrived they were talking about the new job in the kitchen when her mother, watching the local news, called out.

“Jen, you might want to see this.”

Entering the living room, she was aghast to witness Honest Bob being removed from his office in handcuffs, as the announcer intoned that he was being arrested for title fraud.

“Honest Bob seems to have had his hand in the till,” quipped Margaret.

“Oh, my God! I was supposed to start working there next week!”

Margaret replied, “Well, hun, there’s going to be a small delay, say five to ten years.”

“But what do I do now? I turned down my other offers.”

“Come to work for me. I need a bookkeeper.”

“What?” cried Alexandra.

“Yeah. I need someone to keep the books, and act as secretary and office manager. My last assistant recently quit.”

Jennifer was too much in shock to fully understand the discussion. She only heard bits and pieces of Margaret’s responses to her mother’s questions.

“ ... well, it’s about time she learned the family business ... No, I only need her for the office work ... I’ll take good care of her ... she’s a big girl now...”

And it had been settled. The pay was about what Honest Bob would pay her in five to ten, and she would stay with her Aunt Margaret, so room and board were covered. Alexandra still seemed to doubt the arrangements but smiled and gave her blessing when Jennifer pleaded for the chance.

The two women settled into their seats in first class. By now, both were well rested, and Jennifer wanted to learn the answers to her many questions.

“So, what exactly does Lakehouse Services do?”

He aunt thought carefully before answering. “It’s a brothel.”

Stunned, Jennifer could only whisper, “What did you say?”

“A brothel. You know, a bordello, a cat house, a knocking shop, a bawdy house. A whorehouse.”

“And you want me to be a...”

“A bookkeeper and secretary. That’s all. Just a bookkeeper and secretary. I have a number of girls to take care of the customers.”

“But that’s illegal. And, I, um, but...,” Jennifer stammered.

“No, it’s not, at least not in Nevada, in the county I live in. It’s a perfectly legitimate business. I pay taxes, support the high school football team, even accept Visa and Mastercard. We simply provide a more unusual service than you had expected.” Margaret placed her hand on her niece’s arm. “It’s really a nice place. I run a first-class business. How should I put this, an elite establishment.”

“And all I’d be doing would be the books?”

“And other secretarial functions. Office manager. Ordering supplies. Writing checks and paying bills. Greeting customers. That’s all. To be honest, Jen, you’re not really qualified for the rest of the business.”

Now Jennifer was really confused. “But, I mean, I know how to fu...”

“Yes, you do. But there’s more to it than just the old in-and-out. You’re a talented amateur, but nevertheless an amateur. It can take years to develop a high-end professional, and the turnover is a killer. Don’t worry. You’ll see what I mean.”

Jennifer was silent for about half an hour. She had hardly even noticed the takeoff. When drinks were being served, she turned towards her aunt, by now reading a paperback romance, and asked, “What did you mean, about it being a family business.”

“Well, you could say that servicing the public is in the blood, at least on the female side. Your great-grandmother started the place back around the turn of the century. She was a mistress to some rich San Francisco banker. Well, he went belly up and jumped out of his window, and when the dust was settled, Granny had title to his Nevada property. I looked it up a few years ago, and I’m not at all sure that title passed properly, but it all settled down.”

“Her mother had apparently worked her way across country on her back, if you get my drift. And a few generations before that, some great-great-whatever-grandmother was transported to the Colonies for prostitution. So, you see, it seems to be inherited. I’m sure you would have a fine hand at the business if you wanted to.”

“What about since my great-grandmother? What happened then?” asked Jennifer.

“Well, your grandmother, Alex’ and my mother, inherited from her mother. She was born out of wedlock, as they said then, but didn’t seem to give a damn. She was a real beauty - you take after her a bit, except for the blond hair and blue eyes. That you get from your dad. Anyway, she worked there and then ran it until her death.”

“How’d she die?”

“Car wreck. The cops told us that when they pulled the bodies out of the car, they found an erect penis in her throat. The driver had been thrown twenty feet. I think we know what caused the wreck.” Margaret smiled. “She was fifty-eight at the time, but still had quite a bit of get-up-and-go, if you know what I mean.”

“So, then you inherited? But that means that Mom...”

“Yep. That means Mom. We were both sixteen at the time. Somehow, we finished high school, while working nights at the Lakehouse, and trying to make ends meet. When we graduated, we were able to put all our attention to running the shop and things started going really well. In a way, that’s how your mom met your dad.”

Jennifer was having a tough time fathoming all she was learning. First that her aunt was a whore, running a whorehouse, and that her mother had been a whore. And now that her father met his mother at the whorehouse. “Dad was a customer?”

“Oh, no. I don’t think he ever knew what your mom had done for a living. When we turned eighteen, she took a vacation to Miami. I stayed behind to run the place, and she was going to do the same for me afterwards. And she met you dad. He was at some kind of engineering convention. He was twenty years older than her, bald as a billiard ball, and short. God only knows how, but they fell head over heels in love. She extended her vacation a week, and then another week, and then another. Finally, I called her to read her the riot act and she invited me to the wedding.”