CHAPTER 3
Ember
“I just wish you were going too,” Ember groaned. She adjusted her dress once again and began to apply the finishing touches to her makeup.
“Well, I guess I wasn’t what they were looking for,” Liza said.
“That is so unfair. You are so beautiful. They can’t tell if someone is worthy just by an emailed video audition.”
“Well, apparently, they can, or at least they do because that is how it works,” Liza said.
When Liza had first told Ember about the job they’d both been under the impression that they would just show up and sign up at the club to be entered into the auction. But that morning Liza had received a phone call from Vienna, the woman in charge of the audition process and she explained that every girl who hopes to sign up has to email them a video sample. They wanted to see if they had any outstanding talents, how they conducted themselves, how they spoke, etc. Vienna was calling all the names on the online registrar which they were required to fill out and she saw that Liza and Ember had failed to send in their audition videos.
So now here they were. Liza had failed and Ember had passed.
“I don’t want to do this,” Ember said.
“What? You would be crazy not to,” Liza replied.
“Part of the reason I talked myself into it was because you were going to be there,” Ember said. “Now I’m going alone. I’m going to feel like some piece of meat on display up there; it’s going to be humiliating. I’m not going.”
“Yes, you are. You have to go now, for the both of us. I know you will do great and have a blast. Just relax. You’ve never been the type to need hand holding. Don’t start now.”
Ember groaned. Her friend was right. She needed this and she knew she deserved it too.
“Ok, I’ll go. I have to admit I am a bit nervous, now. What if I get there and no one bids on me? What then?”
“Well, in the unlikely scenario that happens you had a great time. You at least get a night of free drinks. The girls in the auction damn sure don’t pay for drinks.”
“Then I’m getting beyond hammered,” Ember replied. She walked into the bedroom and grabbed the dress she’d picked out, off the bed. After giving it a final look she began to put it on.
“I like the red better,” Liza commented.
“Really? I’ve always thought that blue was more my color,” Ember said with a hint of sass.
Liza laughed. “Well, every color is technically your color, but the red one happens to be just a bit tighter and it accentuates your booty and your bust just right.”
Ember stared at her incredulously for a second. “Did you get a job as a fashion designer when I wasn’t looking?”
“No, but I did minor in it,” Liza replied.
“I learn more twisted things about you every single day,” Ember teased. “You think you know a person…”
Ember put the blue dress back on the rack in her closet and grabbed the red. After putting it on she realized that her friend was indeed correct. She was killing in this red dress. There was something about it that made her body pop even more.
Liza picked out a pair of her own shoes to go with the ensemble and the outfit was complete.
“You should wear your hair down,” Liza said.
“Really? You don’t think it looks a bit more upscale and chic when I wear it up?”
“It does, which is the problem. You want to appear high classed and fancy, like fine wine, but you also want to appear youthful and playful.”
“I think you missed your calling,” Ember said letting her hair down. After a few strategic fluffs, she had to admit she did look dressed to kill.
She said goodbye to Liza and left the apartment. She decided to drive herself to save money on a ride. It was actually not that far to Club Privaat. She’d driven by there several times over the past few months while running errands around town.
The night was warm and somewhat comforting. She loved the summers in New York City. They were mild, sometimes hot, and very humid. Most people hated the humidity but she’d always embraced it, like a warm blanket on a cold night. The air had that same kind of comforting weight to it.
She started to turn the radio on, but decided to drive along in silence. She wanted to clear her mind and get a strong head going into this. Her nerves were still rearing full force and she was tempted to take a valium to calm down. She used to have difficulty relaxing, especially when she was in college and her doctor had prescribed the Valium for this reason. It helped quite a bit except it helped a little too much and she was left almost unable to function until they got the right dosage for her.
With her new job and the stresses of adulthood being thrown at her from every direction she had her doctor refill the prescription. Just having the meds available had given her the peace of mind she needed to calm down and she had not taken any of the pills since she had the prescription six months ago. Growing up in such a religious house she’d been taught the dangers of medication and how easy it was to abuse such things. An attitude of hating medication had been instilled in her at an early age. But it wasn’t just the idea of medication being unhealthy. Ember felt that taking it was admitting defeat somehow, that she could not handle things on her own. This was a feeling she’d fought hard her whole life to suppress, which was the main reason she worked so hard. Of course, the downside of all of this was that eventually the stress built up inside and ate away at her until it just overwhelmed everything.
But Ember was tough and she believed in fate. If she just held on good things would happen, like tonight for instance.
Ember pulled up to the parking lot of the club and walked toward the door ignoring the looks from the line that was forming halfway around the block already. She pulled up the screenshot of her auction acceptance on her phone and held it out for the bouncer, walking past all of the other people standing in line with gawking faces, which became even more pronounced as the bouncer nodded and ushered her right through the door.
“That’s not fair!” “What the actual hell?” “How come she gets in?”
The sounds of dissention echoed behind her disappearing into the roar of the music inside the club as Ember made her way through the entrance.
The club was intense. The floors were made up of tiled squares that lit up different shades of neon under your feet seemingly moving in time with the driving beat that was pounding in her ears. The lights were flashing multicolored beams at her face blinding her momentarily until her eyes adjusted. She could now see several disco balls hanging from the ceiling pulsing out beams of light becoming giant strobe lights.
So far, the club was mostly empty except a bevy of girls, most of them hanging out with each other by the bar area already getting very drunk. It was almost as if it was planned…
Sexy bartenders with muscle shirts stood behind the bar mixing drinks, flirting, singing and dancing a la the Tom Cruise movie “Cocktail”. Ember was caught up in the sexy distraction for a few moments herself, but she had somewhere she was supposed to go, if only she could find out where that was…
That was when she noticed the doorway towards the back of the club with another bouncer standing there.
“Are you here for the auction?” He asked her at the entrance.
“Yes,” Ember said showing him her screenshot pass.
“Ok,” he said. “Follow me.”
This bouncer was really loving life…
She followed him down a long corridor with all sorts of risqué posters hanging in glass frames propped on the wall. Most of them were posters of adult movies, although some were in French it seemed. The pictures were descriptive enough and Ember found herself becoming a bit embarrassed.
They ended up in a large lounge area with a small bar where a group of beautiful women were all gathered around mingling and laughing with each other. Most of them had drinks in their hands and Ember could have sworn that they had pre-gamed before they got here. Did they think being staggering around drunk was going to make them more desirable?
“Just wait here,” the bouncer said. “Vienna will be in shortly.”
Ember stood there for a moment feeling a bit awkward. She took the time to access her competition. The intimidation was already setting in. These women were beautiful. Most of them could have been Victoria Secret Models if they would just develop a slight eating disorder.
She ordered a Malibu Rum and Coke from the bartender and took a sip. Wow, that was strong. Maybe they did want the girls to be drunk. Perhaps the guys were counting on it. Well, they were going to be disappointed in her.
“Hi, I’m Violet,” a voice blasted in her ear.
Ember turned a bit startled to see a beautiful blonde girl with a doctored chest, long toned legs, and a wide smile. She looked as if she were finding it difficult to stand still and find the floor at the same time.
“Hi, I’m Ember,” she said.
“Oh, wow! That is an awesome stage name! I wish I could have thought of something better than Violet, but someone told me it suited me.”
“It’s not a stage name; it’s just always been my name.”
“That is so cool!”
Ember was tempted to ask Violet her real name but quickly realized she did not care.
“So, is this your first auction?” Violet asked.
“Yeah, it is. Is it that easy to tell?”
“Well, you do have that deer in the headlights thing going on, but that will disappear soon. I’ve been doing this a few months.”
“Really? What’s it like?”
“Oh, it’s fantastic. The guys have all been great and the money is so nice. It’s like getting paid to be treated like a queen.”
“Wow, that sounds like something I could get used to.”
“Oh, you will,” Violet said. She ordered another drink from the bartender.
“Are you sure you should get drunk before? I mean, is that normal?”
“Yeah, definitely. The guys love it. They want fun, sweet, girls. I’m never sweeter than when I’m a bit tipsy. And if you can play up the ditzy angle then that is all the better.”
“Really?” Ember asked. “I’m not sure I can do that. Hell, I’m not sure I want to do that.”
“You might get lucky. I mean all the guys are different, which makes things fun.”
“Is it not the same guys all the time? Or do you see a lot of new faces?”
“It’s kind of mixed. There are regulars and then new guys on the scene too. I’ve gone out with some of the same guys on multiple occasions.”
“Ok, how often does sex happen? I mean is it really expected?”
Violet laughed. She took a big gulp of her fruity drink.
“No, it’s not expected really. But it does happen a lot. I mean, these are fantastic guys. The whole thing is kind of a fantasy. I mean it’s almost like it’s not real, which is probably what makes it so much fun. You can be someone completely different from who you normally are and you are being treated like a princess. All these guys have a lot of money and they always spoil you rotten taking you out on the town, but honestly the thing that is most attractive is the confidence, the swagger, the strength these guys have. It’s like every perfect guy from every movie you’ve ever seen come to life. The money is just kind of a bonus. I totally quit my day job last month and I just do this full time.”
Ember felt like her head was going to explode. There was a lot to take in there. But Violet did seem very happy, as did the rest of the girls. Maybe she was going to love this.
“I hate to pry, but is the money really that amazing?”
“It’s awesome! I’ve been averaging about fifteen hundred in commission a night. I do this two or three times a week. It’s been fantastic. I paid off all my debt, bought a new car, and I just bought a new house.”
“Wow, that is something. I just hope I’m good enough to get picked.”
“Oh, you will be. You are beautiful and have that right look. The guys like a girl who has an air of innocence about them. I get that from you.”
Ember was a bit taken aback, but she could not help but marvel at how insightful a ditzy girl like Violet really was. She was learning a lot of information from her and it was nice having someone showing her the ropes.
“OK, ladies. Listen up.”
A tall woman with jet black hair wearing a black dress walked into the room. She was gorgeous with an intimidating presence as if she owned the entire world, or at least thought she did. Ember took an instant disliking to her. She hated to see women who were so confident they were just brimming with arrogance. Weakness was usually found at that person’s core, a flaw they tried desperately to cover up by overcompensating. In past dealings with such people Ember had learned that the best way to take them down was just to outperform them and allow the results to speak for themselves. This often led to anger and the occasional epic meltdown.
“My name is Vienna,” the woman said. “I am in charge of organizing the Auction as I have done since the opening of the club. We have a very successful auction going and we aim to keep it that way by only accepting the very best applicants. That is why you are here ladies; because you are the best. Don’t forget that. Keeping that firmly in your minds will help you all to remember to stay focused and to have fun. I have seen many girls who had great potential to do well here lose it all because they lacked the confidence to realize that they truly belonged here. Don’t let that happen. You would not be here if we didn’t believe in you, ok?”
The girls gave Vienna a round of applause. Ember rolled her eyes a moment but quickly joined in hoping to stay with the group. She did not want her immediate disdain for Vienna to get in the way of why she was here.
“Ok, now the Auction will start very soon. I will quickly go over the ground rules. This is a dating auction. Our clients are all very wealthy gentleman who wish to have companionship with elite women. You are elite in beauty, intelligence, charm, and talent. They are paying for you company and only your company. Now what that means to you is something that will be worked out between the two of you. The most common question is whether sex is implied in the contract. No, it is not. What the two of you end up deciding to do together is your business and only your business. You are not prostitutes so don’t think for a second otherwise. You are top escorts; that is all.”
Hearing the words straight from the top helped Ember relax a bit. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe Violet, but the girl did lack a bit of credibility with her ditzy character and her growing level of intoxication.
“Now, when you are auctioned off you will receive twenty percent of the payment price. That twenty percent will be directly deposited into your account within twenty-four business day hours.”
“If you have any further questions, I will be around. For the meantime just hang out in the club, have fun and we will announce when the auction is to begin. At that time, you will arrive in the backstage area and I will tell you what to do from there. Thanks ladies, and let’s have a great night!”
A roar of applause erupted through the small lounge area. The other women seemed to have a great deal of respect and admiration for Vienna that so far Ember was having difficulty really seeing. She was not sure what this woman had that was so special, but she was eager to find out.
Maybe the girls were just kissing her backside. Ember was quite familiar with that sort of thing at the office. It made her want to vomit.