Chapter 64: A Woman's Place

Primrose

2088

"I'm sure it'll be no surprise to you at all as to why I've asked you to come and see me, Primrose," said Polly who was sitting in a plush armchair on the other side of a huge oak desk with one stockinged leg crossed over the other.

There weren't many company directors who dressed like Polly, especially those who were women in their forties. The blouse she wore revealed the full magnificence of her bosom. Silk stockings accentuated the splendour of her legs almost up to the garter. Such an outfit would be wholly inappropriate in most professions, but not so for a director of Empire Cleaning Services.

Primrose was naturally wary whenever she had occasion to speak with senior management. She mistrusted Polly's effusive amiability. Perhaps a client had complained about her. She knew how very fickle they could be. It was so easy to misjudge intentions or misread the subtle signs of what a client really wanted. And if it wasn't to be upbraided for a fancied or real offense, what else might her employer require her to do? She'd participated in many orgies and knew for sure that some clients' refined and perverse tastes were well beyond her comfort zone. Would she be called on to help out where she really rather wouldn't?

"You've been exemplary in the last few years you've been working for us, Primrose," the director continued. "You're popular with the clients, you get on well with the other staff, and you show genuine professionalism. I've watched you at work many times and I've been impressed by how well you conduct your business and how much you appear to enjoy it. Of course, it's not necessary that you should enjoy having sex with strangers, but I have a notion that you don't often have to make much effort to give a positive impression. Am I right?"

Primrose nodded. "It's not always good," she agreed, "but I sometimes get more out of it than I expected."

"You're a real natural," said Polly with a broad indulgent grin. "I'm not sure I was as proficient as you when I was your age, but standards weren't so exacting then. Clients were usually less demanding. But the law regarding prostitution was very harsh around the time of the Government of National Unity and we had to operate very discreetly. However, things are more liberal now and likely to get more so."

"Is that so?" asked Primrose who was rather hoping that Polly would get to the point. Although she'd made love with Polly many times and knew her to be a passionate and considerate lover, she was very much aware that she was a company director. If Primrose was about to be sacked, it would be after precisely such a preamble as this.

"I'm not sure how much we would initially profit from full legality," said Polly. "As a cleaning agency we pay rather less tax than we would if we chose to declare the real nature of our business. But we have authoritative advice that the professional services we provide are about to be made fully legal. That means that agencies such as ours will no longer have to operate in a clandestine manner."

"How does that affect me?" wondered Primrose who could already anticipate both the opportunities and problems that might arise.

"As I say, Primrose," continued Polly, "we've been very impressed by your professional skills and not only by your talent at addressing your clients' requirements. We think that you are exactly the kind of woman who'd be ideal as the public face of our company—at least as far as our London operations are concerned."

"Am I going to be promoted?" Primrose asked. She wondered whether an increased salary would actually be worthwhile given what she made in tips, overtime and expenses.

"Yes, indeed," said Polly whose smile broadened yet further. "If you want to, that is. You can still serve clients if you so wish, but it would only be whenever and with whomever you choose. Although you may want to maintain a close relationship with your clients for the sake of your professional skills, the proposed package should be quite generous enough for you."

"What exactly is the role you're talking about? Am I going to be taking someone else's job?"

"That won't be necessary," said Polly whose smile didn't change at all. "You're right to be concerned about your continued relationship with your colleagues, but we run a very profitable business at Empire Cleaning Services. It will be a totally new role."

"What would I be expected to do?"

"As I say, Primrose, you would be the public face of Empire Cleaning Services, London."

"Isn't it something that someone like you would be better qualified for? You've worked here for far longer than me. And you know the business better."

Polly frowned slightly. "The reason you would be a better choice than I might be," she said slowly and emphasising each word, "is precisely because of the things that you are and I am not."

"What do you mean?" asked Primrose, aware of a change in Polly's tone.

"You're a well-educated young woman," Polly continued. "You are modestly dressed, well-spoken and impeccably middle-class. Our business is profitable now and will continue to be so in the future. What differentiates Empire Cleaning Service from the competition is our level of discretion, the class of our clientele and the standard of service we provide. We need to demonstrate to potential clients that we shall continue to be just as discreet in the future as we have been in the past. We need to persuade officers of the law that we shall fully comply with our legal obligations. And we need to notify potential clients that we provide a service that is second-to-none. Of all the women on our payroll, you're the one who could best promote the business. You won't make foolish mistakes that might alarm well-connected clients who want their use of our services to remain confidential. There is a risk in the new legal environment that the distinguished Empire Cleaning Services brand will become compromised and our client base will move their custom elsewhere."