Desperate Measures

by Stephen Leather

  Yesterday a customer booked me for two hours with Dao and I went to her apartment. When I first met Dao I thought she was a quiet innocent young girl but now she is so crazy. She was drinking Thai whiskey and as soon as the customer came she was kissing him on the lips and rubbing his groin before he had even paid his money. That is not professional because sometimes customers come with not enough money and sometimes with no money at all. She knelt down and gave him oral and I asked him for the £300 and it was funny because he took out his wallet and paid me while Dao was giving him oral.

  Then we went into the bedroom and before I could do anything she had put a condom on him and was having sex with him. He came really quickly and I realised that actually she is not that crazy. The customer had been in the apartment for just ten minutes and already he had come. Then we gave him a massage for an hour and a half and then I gave him oral and I had sex with him while Dao kissed him. It was only after he had gone that we realised we didn’t even know his name.

  I showered in Dao’s bathroom. My itch has stopped and I have no discharge which is good and it means the medicine worked. I am so happy that I didn’t have anything serious. The doctor said that Chlamydia is quite common and that a lot of girls have it without even knowing they have it.

  As I was walking back to my apartment Oliver phoned me to tell me that I had an hour incall at a flat in Battersea and that the customer wanted to see me straight away. I ordered an Uber taxi. The driver kept looking at me in the mirror and he asked me where I was from and I said Malaysia because I didn’t want him to know that I was from Thailand. He said that I looked like I was Thai but I said no I wasn’t. He said he had once had a Thai wife but that she had stolen all his money. He said he had met her in Pattaya and he had built a house for her in Korat and that she had said that she was pregnant but it was all a lie and that actually she already had a Thai husband. He started saying horrible things about Thai girls, that they were all liars and that all they cared about is money, and I was so angry but I didn’t say anything. Actually I thought it was his own fault. He was fat and bald and ugly and he said that his wife was young and pretty. Why would he think that a young pretty girl would love him? Of course all she wanted was his money. What else did he have to offer? Nothing. I think it serves him right. We Thais have an expression – Som Naam Naa. It means serves you right. It was his own fault. I gave him one star when the ride was over. Reviews are as important to Uber drivers as they are to escorts.

  The customer’s name was Richard and he was English and quite nice but he kept wanting to do anal. I said that I didn’t do anal and he said that when he had booked me he had been told that I did. I said that was wrong and that if he wanted I would give him his money back and he could get another girl but he said no, he wanted me because I was so pretty so we had sex and I pretended to come and that made him happy.

  As soon as I got home Oliver phoned me and said that I had a ninety minutes incall and that his name was Luke. Actually I had seen Luke before. He liked to make love many times and I was tired already. After he had sex with me the second time I went into the bathroom and took some of Vince’s cocaine to give me energy and then I had sex with Luke again. In ninety minutes he came three times and he wasn’t taking Viagra, I am sure. Before I did this job I would never think about taking cocaine but now I understand that it can make the job a bit easier. Customers don’t like it when a girl is tired or has no energy.

  I had four more customers during the evening, all incall. By the time I went to sleep I had used all the cocaine that Vince had left me and my heart was beating really fast but I am sure that all my customers were really happy because I had £250 in tips!

  Chapter 73

  Thursday July 2. I wanted to go study online yesterday but I woke up too late and my head hurt like I had a hangover even though I hadn’t been drinking. I didn’t know that cocaine could give you a hangover! Actually I didn’t wake up until one o’clock in the afternoon and that was because Oliver was ringing to tell me that I had an incall booking for two o’clock. I didn’t feel like working because I was so tired and I had a headache and I wanted some cocaine to give me some energy but I didn’t have any so I made myself as cup of coffee instead.

  The customer was called Wolf and he was from Germany. I asked him if Wolf was his name or his nickname and he said that his name was really Wolfgang but everyone called him Wolf. I laughed and said that he was the first Wolf who had ever fucked me and he laughed. He was very good at sex and after half an hour he said he wanted to book me for an extra hour and I called Oliver and he said it was okay but that I had another incall booking for four o’clock. Wolf made love to me four times and I was a bit sore and I only had time for a quick shower before the next customer rang the bell. He said his name was Adam. He was wearing a suit and he kept talking to people about apartments so I think he was an estate agent. He didn’t smell very fresh so I had a bubble bath with him and made sure I used lots of shower gel.

  As soon as Adam went I phoned Oliver and Oliver said that Robert had booked me for four hours starting at nine o’clock and that made me really happy because I enjoy being with Robert and it is easy money.

  I fell asleep on the sofa while I was watching a Netflix movie but then Oliver rang me to say I had another booking.The incall booking was an old man in a suit with a briefcase who didn’t say anything to me. When I opened the door he handed me my money and went into the bathroom and showered and then he came out and lay first down on the bed while I gave him a massage and then he turned over and I gave him oral and then I got on top of him and then he came and then he went into the bathroom and showered again and then he dressed and left. He said not one word. And he didn’t even smile at me. You know, I think it would be better for him if he saved his money and took care of himself.

  After he had gone I lay down on the sofa again to get some sleep and the phone rang and it was Nancy. She was asking how busy I was and I told her very busy and she said that she was very busy, too. In fact she said that all the girls were busy. She didn’t know why. Maybe it was because there was no sport on the television and it was a cold day, I said. But she was right. It was a very busy day. It wasn’t the evening yet but I had been working for four hours already and I had four hours booked with Robert. Eight hours in one day is a lot, though at least I don’t have to have sex with Robert. Actually, time with Robert is quite relaxing, though sometimes it does tickle when he licks my feet.

  I had just fallen asleep when the phone rang again. It was Oliver. I had another incall booking, this time for an hour and a half, and the customer wanted me to wear my nurse’s uniform.

  Before I went to see Robert I phoned Vince and asked him if I could have some more cocaine. I was so tired that I was sure I would fall asleep and I didn’t want Robert to think that I was bored with him. Vince said he would bring some around and he did and then he asked me for £200. I was a bit surprised because I thought he would give it to me but of course it is his business so I paid him. If he did give me free cocaine it would be like a working girl doing FFF, I suppose.

  When I went to see Robert he asked me if I was okay because I looked tired and I said I was fine. Then he took me into the kitchen and gave me a peanut butter sandwich and a chocolate milkshake and then we went into the bathroom and he gave me a bath and then he carried me into the bedroom and licked my feet and played with himself. I wish all my customers were as good to me as Robert.

  I got home at half past one and then Oliver rang me to say that I had another one hour incall. I was so, so, tired and the customer was a bit rough and had been drinking a lot but I just closed my eyes and thought about all the money I was making.

  Chapter 74

  Friday July 3. I was very busy again yesterday. I don’t know why but it is good because I am earning a lot of money. I am so busy that I have had no time to do laundry so I put twelve towels in a black rubbish bag and took them to a laundry. The woman who took them was from Poland, I
think, and she frowned when she saw so many towels. I just smiled and didn’t say anything. I had a lot of bills to pay, too. I had my electricity bill which is quite high because of all the hot water I use and my council tax bill which I have to pay every month. Just living is expensive. Say you want a bottle of water. In Thailand you can go to a minimart or a 7-11 and bottle of water will cost twelve baht which is less than 20p. But in London a bottle of water costs £1. A Kentucky Fried Chicken meal in Thailand costs about £4 and they will deliver to your house. In London it will cost twice that. And you know, if you eat KFC in Thailand they give you a metal knife and fork and real plate. Some things are much better in Thailand. But not the money that people earn. In London people get a minimum wage which I thinks is about £8 an hour. That is about 320 baht. But in Thailand people working in the fast food industry earn 300 baht a day. Can you believe that?

  While I was in the post office paying my council tax, Oliver phoned me to tell me that I had a customer at eleven o’clock for one hour’s incall. I hurried back and got ready. The customer was called Ray and he was very nice. He was about fifty I think and had long hair and he could speak some Thai. He said that he liked Thailand and Thai people so I was happy to tell him that I was Thai. I gave him my phone number and said that I would like to see him again, which is true.

  After Ray left, Oliver phoned me and said that I had two bookings, one after the other, and then when the second one had gone he called me again and said that I had another booking, this one for half an hour’s incall. I had never done half an hour incall before but he said it was okay and that I could charge £100 and that his share would be £35. Actually I was not happy with half an hour but I did not want to argue with him. The customer was not very nice and he smelled bad but he said that he didn’t want to shower because he didn’t want to waste time so I had to make love to him and it was really bad.

  I don’t understand why Oliver gave me a half hour booking. The website says one hour is the minimum unless something has changed. I phoned Nancy and she said that Oliver had given her two half-hour bookings and she wasn’t happy either because seeing a customer for half hour is actually hard work. With an hour you can relax but with half an hour you are just trying to make the customer come. She said that we should speak to Oliver on Sunday night and I said that was a good idea.

  I slept for a little bit in the evening but then Oliver phoned me and I had an hour’s incall followed by half an hour’s incall followed by another hour.

  Then Candy phoned me and asked if I was busy and I said yes, I was almost too busy and she said that all the girls were. In one way it is good because we are earning a lot of money but in another way it is not so good because I do not have the time to even shower properly. And I am so tired that when the last customer goes all I can do is sleep.

  Simon called me and said that he had tried to book me but that Oliver had said that I was busy and I said yes, I was very busy. Actually, I would rather do three hours incall with Simon than see three separate customers. With Simon I get to watch a movie and eat and cuddle and just have sex once. But with three customers I have to have sex with three men. I told Simon that next time he should book me early and he said that he would.

  The last customer left at three o’clock in the morning. All my towels were wet and I had run out of toilet rolls and shampoo. I phoned Ice and told him how much I missed him but then I had to stop talking because I missed him so much that I felt my eyes fill with tears. I fell asleep wearing my suspenders and stockings because I was so tired.

  Chapter 75

  Sunday July 5. I was very busy on Friday and Saturday, and now I know why and I am so angry but I don’t know what I can do about it. I had five incalls during the day on Friday and three of them were just for half an hour. Then Simon booked me for three hours from eight o’clock until eleven and he bought me some Chinese food and we watched Netflix movies. I chose Déjà Vu which has Denzel Washington in it. It was a movie about seeing into the future. I wish I could see into my future. I was so tired that I fell asleep while I was watching the movie. When I woke up Simon said that he didn’t mind and I felt a bit sad for him because he had paid a lot of money and all I had done was eat his food and sleep. I told him that I was so busy and it was making me tired and he said not to worry. Actually I should have phoned Vince and bought some cocaine because when I take cocaine I have lots of energy.

  Simon left at eleven o’clock and then my phone rang. It was Moon, one of the A1 agency girls. She said she had seen my picture and I thought she meant on the agency’s website but she didn’t. She had seen my picture in a telephone box. I was so shocked and I asked her what she meant. She said that some working girls advertise with cards in phone boxes. The cards have a picture and a phone number and say what the girl will do. Moon said that my card said I would do ‘A levels’ which is anal and ‘O levels’ which is oral. I said that was not true and that I never did anal but Moon said she was sure it was me and she described the stockings I was wearing in the picture and I am sure it is one of the photographs from Oliver’s website.

  Moon said that the girls who advertised in phone boxes weren’t as high-class as agency girls. Their customers were cheap and walked around the streets looking for sex and no one knew who they were. She said that she knew a girl who worked in a flat near Oxford Circus and she advertised in phone boxes and she sometimes saw more than twenty customers a day. Customers could pay just £30 for oral and £50 for sex if they were really quick. Moon said yes, you could make good money that way, but you were sure to get sick because it is not good to make love to so many men.

  I just sat there shocked because now I know what Oliver is doing. He is advertising me in phone boxes. That is not fair. When I joined the agency he told me that he knew who his customers were and that his customers were all high-class rich men who wanted to spend time with a pretty young girl. But now he is sending me low-class customers who have been walking around the street looking for sex.

  I didn’t tell Moon that because I was shy. I said that maybe someone had stolen my photograph and Moon said yes, sometimes people did that. If a girl wasn’t pretty then she wouldn’t get any customers but if she used a photograph of a pretty girl then the customer would come and hopefully not change his mind when he saw it was a different girl. Actually some of the agencies do the same thing but it is not a good idea because if a customer is paying £150 or more for a girl then he should get what he is paying for.

  I tried to smile but inside I was so upset that I felt like crying. I asked Moon if she knew what had happened to Bee and Moon said that she had been robbed and killed. The man who had killed her had taken all her money and her jewellery and the police didn’t know who it was but thought it was maybe the man who had been stealing from working girls in London. I said that Bee didn’t have CCTV at her flat.

  On Saturday I went to Oxford Circus and walked around looking in phone boxes. There were a lot of cards advertising all sorts of working girls. There were Asian girls and black girls and Japanese girls and farang girls too. I saw my photograph on a lot of phone boxes. And I saw Nancy and Sandra and Candy and Alice as well. My photograph had a black strip across my eyes but you could tell it was me. And it did say that I did A levels which is not true. Nancy’s card said ‘Does All Services’ and Candy’s card had a picture of her in her domination outfit. The number on the cards wasn’t the number that Oliver uses on the website. I took some of the cards and then I went to see Nancy. I showed her the card with her photograph on and she was so angry. Chris was there and he was angry too and said that we should stop working for Oliver because he was just a pimp.

  Nancy said that we should talk to the other girls and that we could all talk to Oliver on Sunday night and I thought that was a good idea. I gave her the card with Sandra’s photograph on it and said she should tell Sandra because I think Sandra is still angry with me and I went to see Candy. Candy was angry and she said she would go and tell Alice and then
my phone rang and it was Oliver to say that I had an incall booking. I wanted to tell Oliver that I knew that he had been lying to us but I didn’t because it would be better if all the girls were there at the same time.

  I was very, very busy on Saturday. I had nine customers and they all wanted sex. By five o’clock I was so tired that I could hardly keep my eyes open so I phoned Vince and bought some cocaine off him. I wanted to tell Vince what had happened but I didn’t have time because my next customer was due. I am so angry at Oliver but we can get it sorted out on Sunday night. Then we can all tell him that he is not being fair.

  Chapter 76

  Monday July 6. My life feels like a nightmare but I know it is not a nightmare, it is real and I won’t wake up and find that it’s all a dream. I don’t know how this has happened but I have a big problem now and I think it is a problem without a solution. I have spent all day crying. Except when I have a customer, then I have to pretend to be happy but inside I am sad, sad, sad. And I am scared, more scared than I have ever been in my life.

  I had spoken to Dao and Nancy and Candy and Nancy spoke to Sandra and Vicky and Rachel and Candy told Alice what Oliver was doing and we all agreed that on Sunday night we would go to the Sloane Square flat and talk to Oliver and tell him that we didn’t want our pictures in phone boxes.