Quick Author?s Note: Just to make sure you all understand as you read this the story will be a subjective third person narrative, meaning you?ll see what goes on in the story from more than just Ali?s point-of-view. So a lot that goes on Ali might not be there or know of it.
~Chapter One~
He lit a cigarette, and rested his hand on the girl?s thigh. She squirmed a bit in her seat, but the look he shot her caused her to lean over and smile. Top always had Ting sit beside him; she first caught his attention when he was eighteen, in the middle of his rise to power. She was probably only sixteen at the time, but she was alone and lost on the streets. Using his charm, he convinced her to return to his club with him, and since then she?s been the only girl Top cared for deeply. He was a business man, however, so he occasionally had her sleep with customers. However, the customers had to be high powered and very wealthy to even ask Top if they could spend a couple hours with Ting. The price tag he put on her was more or less $50,000, and even with such a hefty price she was one of the most sought after girls that Top owned.
Ting did not understand why Top found so much interest in her, but she did realize that nearly all the girls that Top owned wished to be in her position. Truth be told, she wanted to escape. Even if she only had to sleep with other men about once or twice every six weeks, she felt it was once or twice every six weeks too much for her to handle. Every time she was done having sex with a customer she always felt sick to her stomach. She could not believe that all the other girls did such a thing not only every night, but multiple times a night. Even though Top treated her well, and claimed that he loved her, she hated him for making her sleep with other men.
?So what are we waiting for?? Ting asked as Top bent down to kiss her on the neck. They usually were not out in the front of his club, Tempo, this early. Most times he was in the back ordering Lady Larissa which girls were going where for the night.
?Do you remember that cute blonde girl that was talking to me a few months ago?? he asked. ?The one who looked a bit like that tv show investigator you like so much??
?Oh, yes, what about her??
?She?s a reporter for a big magazine, and she wants to follow us around for a year.?
?You?re going to let her?? Ting was surprised. One of the reasons why Top was so successful was due to the fact that he was rather elusive to the public.
?Why not?? he asked. ?While she?s here I want you to help keep an eye on her. I don?t want anything to happen to her.?
?Do you like her?? Ting asked, a gentle smile crossing her lips.
?Not like how I like you,? he said, resting his hand on the back of her neck. ?I only have eyes for you, baby.?
?Good,? she said, plastering on the best smile she could fake.
?Kiss me,? he ordered gently. As Ting kissed Top, letting his hand roam further up her barely-there skirt, there came a tap onto his shoulder.
?Sir,? one of Top?s security guards announced.
?Yes?? he asked moodily, hating to be interrupted when he was busy feeling Ting up.
?Ali Bradley is here,? he said, moving aside to show off the petite blonde woman who had been so eager to spend a year of life with Top and his company.
?Thanks, you can leave,? he said, gesturing for his security guard to go back to work. ?Ali, sit down.? He motioned his hand to the seat across from him and Ting. ?Did you have a difficult time coming in??
?Not at all,? she replied, looking at the girl sitting beside Top. She was very pretty, though she looked somewhat defeated, but Ali figured that being a girl in a place like this would defeat any girl. She was very curious as to who this girl was. The three times she had met with Top before in the flesh, this girl was always beside him. Surely Top did not have a girlfriend?
?This is Ting,? Top said, putting an arm around the girl. ?She?s my main girl.?
?Oh,? Ali said with a nod. ?No last name??
?I don?t give that kind of information out,? Top replied. ?You should know that.?
?It?s worth trying,? Ali said. ?No last names, got it. Aside from coming in here every night, I was wondering, would it possible for me to drop by during the day? I would like to see what you do when you?re not running business at night.?
?Sure,? he said with a shrug. ?While you?re here during business hours, though, I advice you wear this.? He handed her a red leather bracelet. ?I?ll be upfront. It?s a tracking device, to make sure you aren?t going to double cross me, but it?s also for your safety. I have all my girls wear some sort of tracking device. Yours is a red bracelet to let the customers know you?re not to be touched. The girls who help run the place all have one.?
?Thank you,? Ali said as she slipped the bracelet on. ?You might want to give some to two of my friends: the ones who are escorting me. They?re still trying to free their schedules up, so they won?t be here tonight with me.?
?It?s fine,? Top said. ?I?ll give them their tracking devices when they arrive here.?
After talking some more about certain safety precautions she was to take, Ali followed Top and Ting away from the loud main dance floor of the building, and went to quieter and well lit back. There were a lot of scantily clad women strutting around in heels as well as some men following a few of the girls into rooms.
So this was a secret to his success; Top managed his hoes inside the club. It was difficult enough to get into the club, and she now realized it was for more than just his paranoia.
?This is Lady Larissa,? Top said, pointing to a woman standing behind a counter. Lady Larissa wore a very serious face, and gave a curt nod to Ali. ?She?s the innkeeper, I guess you can say. If you need anything at all, she?s the one to come too. She helps me run the place and keep the hoes in order.?
?It?s nice to meet you,? Ali said, holding out her hand.
?Same,? Lady Larissa said, shaking Ali?s hand.
Top glanced down at his watch, and said, ?Well, Ali, my girl and I have other business to attend to. The place is yours? to explore.?
He left, and Ali was confused. What was she supposed to do now?
?What do you want to know?? Lady Larissa asked, forcing Ali?s mind to come back to where she stood. Ali took a few moments to continue to look at Lady Larissa. Even the mother hen of the whorehouse was pretty, she thought.
?How does this work?? Ali asked. ?Do the men have to enter their names on a list to get with the girls??
?Oh no,? Lady Larissa said. ?We have three different jobs for the girls. The newer girls are very inexperienced so they go stand outside by the bars. We have some boys overlook the jobs there, and when a customer sees a girl they like, they buy a drink for the girl. The girl with a drink must do whatever the customer asks so long as she still has a drink. Once the drink is empty, if the customer does not buy her another round, she must go back to wait for someone to buy her a drink again.
?We also have some more experienced girls walking around the club, like traditional girls do on the street. If a customer sees what he likes, the girls bring them back here, and get to work in one of the rooms. It?s much simpler in this case.
?And finally, we have our high rollers girls. Their pictures are displayed at the high roller?s lounge, and these girls walk around to encourage the customers to buy more drinks, perhaps get with some other girls, and of course, showcase themselves in the flesh to the men. If a high roller is interested in one of our expensive girls, Top or I arrange the affairs, and they come back here.?
?Why are they called high rollers girls? Surely it?s not because they?re girls who are worth more??
?Actually, yes. These girls have a certain quality about them that our regular girls do not have. See? These two are biggest money makers.? Lady Larissa pointed to two photos on the wall of two very pretty women. ?Fefa and Jessy. We call them the Brownie Twiis because they?re both mysterious like that, and they make around the same amount of money.?
?So how much are these high roller girls worth? Like, five hundred??
?Oh, no, the cheapest are fifteen hundred.?
?And men fork over that much money?!?
Lady Larissa grinned. ?Yes,? she said. ?People spend their money all kinds of things, and the more time you spend here with us, the more you?ll realize that it?s not that uncommon to waste thousands of dollars on women.?
Another reason why Top was so successful: he knew how operate a business so his customers were constantly spending money, no matter how little or how much. Also, with the amount of women he owned, and the way he managed it all, he probably easily made around a million a night. Probably exaggerated Ali thought briefly, but with all that he had, Top was not poor, that much was true.
