‘My friend and I are here from Saudi Arabia on business for a week.’
‘I’ve heard that’s a very beautiful place, but you asked me a question and I was rude to not answer. For that I apologise. The price you were quoted was $500.’
‘Well, I can’t remember being quoted that price but I am sure you are worth it so I won’t insult you by disagreeing.’ He pulled my money from his briefcase, and it was at this point that I realised I could have got away with a lot more. He must have had at least $10,000 stashed in his briefcase. I pocketed my money and took to the job at hand. It was all over in ten minutes.
‘Now, Annika, you are welcome to leave or could I invite you to join me for some room service.’
I had been conserving my cash by avoiding meals except for cheap noodles so I took him up on his offer. I ended up chatting over a truly magnificent meal until sun up. He was a wealth of knowledge when it came to the Singapore sex industry. He told me that I was going about it the wrong way, that I should be with an agency ran by a man named Mr Peters in Orchard Road. I instantly recognised that name. My client gave me Mr Peters’s phone number and vowed that he himself would call him tomorrow and recommend me.
So with a full belly and a full wallet I left a lot wiser and more connected.
Considering the late hour that I got to sleep I woke reasonably early. Before showering I called the agency that my client had suggested and made an appointment that afternoon. I spent a long hard hour in the gym, then ran over to meet Mrs Chen. When I told her that I had managed to get more out of last night’s client she was very happy but felt it was her job to chastise me, all the while with a big grin on her face. She would only accept a mere $50 extra, saying that I had earnt it not her. She was so sweet.
***
I was fifteen minutes early for my meeting with Mr Peters. Once I was there I was glad for the extra time because I was convinced that I had come to the wrong address and would have to start all over again. It was an office like any other: fax machines, photocopiers, a reception desk, a waiting room and a secretary answering calls.
I turned to leave and check the floor number, when the receptionist yelled out, ‘Can I help you? Do you have a three o’clock appointment?’
I couldn’t believe that this was an escort agency.
‘Take a seat, Mr Peters will see you in a minute. Can I get you a coffee?’
Before I had a chance to answer she had let Mr Peters know I’d arrived. It turned out that she was not the receptionist but one of the working girls. She was extremely chatty, and made me feel right at home. By the time Mr Peters called me in she had told me everything that I needed to know and more. She even told me stuff that I didn’t want to know.
Mr Peters turned out to be an Indian in his mid-fifties. He was very polite and business like. He exuded a fatherly quality. His first question was to ask me how I had heard about his business. I told him about my client from the previous evening, and all the clients who’d visited me in Perth. He asked me a few other questions, which were more personal than professional. It struck me that his inquiries seemed heartfelt rather than probing for background information or character. He asked me why I was looking for work, and where my family were from.
Then he seemed to change and the business side of him resurfaced. He went on to explain how he ran things, he took a few notes about me and wrote some things down for me to memorise. One was the address of a photo studio where I was to go and get photos taken, which would then be made available to overseas clients requesting girls to visit them. He told me what to wear, what time to show up and what room the studio was in.
He told me what to charge clients and what his cut would be. The last bit shocked me so much that I had to ask him to repeat it just in case I had indeed misheard him.
‘Your client pays $200, usually that is paid directly to me before you leave the office, but if it is an out call you collect it from him. That entitles him to two hours of your time, which includes dinner, drinks, dancing and coffee, but no sex. It is your job to talk him into a little extra. The white girls usually charge between $600 and $900 for short time sex. You should be able to get $700 no trouble.
‘So dinner should last around an hour and a half and then you ask him what he was planning to do for the rest of the night. If you are any good he will ask to take you to his hotel room. Once in his room, ask him for the $700 then get down to business. After three hours is over, ask him if he is happy and if he wants you to go. If he wants you to spend the rest of the night, it will cost him another $800. You can be flexible here depending on what time it is—sometimes you can ask for more, sometimes less.