Mirage - Alice Tribue Page 0,47
is another.
Walking to the door, I stop and wait for Ivy. “Let’s just get this over with.”
The walk down the corridor is a short one, but it’s filled with nervous energy, a little bit of sadness, and more relief than I would’ve ever thought. I’m ready; deep down, I’m ready to put an end to this.
The chatter when we walk into the room is as it always is, these girls can talk, they can gossip, and I know all the conversation is about Katie and what happened to her.
“So, I have a few things I want to go over with you all.” All eyes are on me and I take them all in, thinking about all of their individual stories, the reasons why each of them is here, and I hope that they’ll be able to move beyond this.
“Let’s start with the dress code. Some of you have walked in here this morning looking as if you just got done working your street corner. This is not that type of service; I shouldn’t be able to see your ass cheeks hanging out of you shorts. I should not see the entire MAC spring line painted all over some of your faces. When it comes to appearance, ladies, simple and clean are best. Leave a little to the imagination, and as for the make-up, less is more. We sell fantasies here, desirability, we make the unattainable attainable. If these men wanted trashy, they wouldn’t be coming to me, so please take pride in your appearances.”
I sigh, taking a look around the room and giving time to let my words infiltrate through some of the more thick skulls.
“On a different note, I know a lot of you are worried about Katie, but I promise you that she’s okay, and she will be fine.”
“What happened to her?” Tiffany asks; she’s been working for me for two years now and is probably the most easygoing of the bunch.
“She was assaulted, and she’s still in the hospital, but she’s doing better.” I give them a minute to talk amongst themselves before proceeding.
“In light of this and other situations, I have to stress that you girls be extremely cautious when you’re out and when you’re with your clients. We’ve been lenient in the past, but now, more than ever, we want you checking in before and after your scheduled meetings. You text me or Ivy and you let us know.”
“How long are we going to have to do that?” comes from Megan, one of the youngest girls.
“One month. You will be doing this for one month, beyond that we will begin having individual conversations with you about your future.”
I can almost hear a collective inhalation of breath. They all brace and look at each other with confused glances.
“Exactly one month from today, we will be shutting this service down.”
Voices erupt, so loud that I can barely make out anything that they’re saying. I cross my arms over my chest and stare at the ground, taking a moment to regroup and giving them a moment to settle down. Ivy moves to stand next to me.
“You all need to hear us out; this isn’t something that was entered into lightly,” she says, her voice firm, demanding their attention. I look up at her and nod, ready to take the reins again.
“This is something that I’ve been thinking about for a long time now, and like Ivy said, I didn’t make this decision lightly. We’ve grown far too big over the last few years, too big for me to control, and the more incidents that happen, the more likely it is that somehow at some time, all of this is going to fall into the hands of the wrong person. And if that happens… well, if that happens, we’re all screwed, ladies. It’s time; it’s time to cut our losses and move on.”
Megan pushes to her feet. “Where does that leave us?”
“Megan, you know me. You know me well enough to know that I wouldn’t leave you girls with no options. I have many contacts, many business owners, who I can call to get you placements. Ivy and I will be starting work on a second day spa soon, and there will be opportunities there as well. For those of you who are happy with your current occupations, then we can discuss that further in private on a case-by-case basis.”
The silence is eerie. You could hear a pin drop in this room, but I have their attention and I