‘No, go for it, I’m as clean as a whistle.’
As he was disrobing I was praying for him to be disproportionate, but even from the other side of the room—and on the slack—I knew I was out of luck. I made my way over to the lamp where he was already standing.
God, please let him have herpes or VD, even a mild dose of warts would do.
As I held it in my hand it began to grow and as hard as I looked I could find nothing suspect. The bloody thing was like a weed, it kept growing in every direction, and must have been at least eight and a half inches long. My hand could barely go around the damn thing. Reluctantly I took the money downstairs and returned to the love machine.
Every touch, every stroke, every minute was agony. I fought tears for the whole hour; I must have given him the longest head job he ever had, just to avoid the rest of my duty.
After kissing him goodbye, which is never more than a quick peck on the cheek, I marched in to Louise.
‘I don’t care if you sack me, I cannot handle another client, I am in agony.’
‘Fine then, but I expect a medical certificate with today’s date on it and if they don’t find anything you will be looking for a new job.’
All I wanted was sleep but now I had to go to the twenty-four-hour clinic to appease this bitch. When the doctor finally saw me he couldn’t believe it. Apparently I had a large blister that had erupted and was now infected.
The following day I was not working or rehearsing so I decided to take my boss Gino up on his offer to give him a call if ever I had a problem. He was receptive to my phone call and agreed to have lunch with me that afternoon. I wanted him to know the tyranny we were all under with Louise’s management.
‘Kate, how nice of you to organise this lunch, I’m just sorry I didn’t get around to it sooner myself. You know, I’m very proud of you, you have been our top earner for the last five weeks in a row.’
I told him that I was enjoying working there, and that I was grateful for the income. I also shared my ambitions and some of my thoughts. Gino was a lovely man, not at all what you would expect from a super wealthy pimp. He arrived for lunch dressed in jeans and a casual shirt. If I didn’t know better it could have been the same outfit I had first met him in. It was refreshing to meet someone who was not consumed by the trappings of wealth. He made me feel comfortable enough to discuss what I really came to talk about. I told him of the verbal abuse, the threats, the intimidation and of course the basic lack of respect at the hands of Louise. To my surprise, he was already aware of it. I thought I would test my bargaining power with him.
‘I don’t know if I can work with Louise any more, I don’t feel safe or protected by her and I certainly can’t work with a giant pus-filled blister on my labia.’
‘Well, that’s a shame, but before you leave, give me two weeks. I’ll see if I can’t talk Louise out of this perpetual PMS, and, don’t worry, I won’t mention that we lunched together. ‘
Feeling somewhat appeased I changed the subject to something less intrusive. I knew holding the position of top earner meant nothing in the big picture. I also got the impression that Gino and Louise had been playing good cop, bad cop for some time and would probably continue to do so long after I made threats of desertion.
But to my surprise, I was wrong and Gino did have a plan in mind. He was in no hurry to lose me!
My threat wasn’t entirely empty—by now I was holding my own with my dancing career. I was getting regular gigs through Gala Records and was appearing in numerous film clips, which paid pretty well. I was constantly invited to attend parties with international acts as well as big Australian bands. But I was starting to sour on the whole industry. Amazingly, there seemed to be more orgies and drugs in the music industry than in the sex industry, which really turned me off. I didn’t touch drugs, I was paid for sex, so why would I give it away just for the privilege of saying that I was in the in crowd. I felt that I already had earnt my right to be there through my talent—providing sex as well was, in my mind, redundant.
16
Madam’s Revenge
There was certainly a different feel in the air when I returned to work. Mind you, no apology was forthcoming upon presentation of my medical certificate. I decided to overlook it and get on with the business of making money. The girls and I gossiped about my lunch with Gino, and many were grateful while others thought I should dig my heels in and prepare myself for the wrath of Louise.
The lovely old grandfather clock struck, letting everyone know if they weren’t ready now, they were in trouble. Louise sauntered in.
‘Ladies I want you all to go do the rounds, except for April and Kate.’
While everyone else made their exit, April and I stood there looking at one another wondering what we had done wrong.