In her own rooms, where she was left alone to unpack, Candice found all manner of lovely clothing for herself and her girls, every type of makeup, moisturiser, fragrances, and bath salts. The bedding was all of the finest quality, the curtains were made of deep gold velvet, and the bathroom separating her room and that of her daughters was bigger than any she had ever seen. Candice felt she had hit the jackpot here, and there was still the rest of the four-story mansion to see. According to her calculations, there were ten bedrooms in the house and another of the girls who lived there, also in the east wing of this floor, had children almost the same age as Sienna and Crystal. Bonnie assured Candice that she would make firm friends with all the women in the house, because as she put it, she only chose the finest to work for her.
It was Candice’s assumption that the club where they all worked in shifts was somewhere close by and that the staff could walk to and from their employment without needing to use public transport or cars. She simply couldn’t wait until her two girls came home and saw how wonderful their lives were about to become all because of this fantastic lady whom she had met by chance.
Candice wanted to chat with Bonnie about her new job and where the club was. She even wanted to go and have a look at it in daylight if she could, but Bonnie insisted she go have a bubble bath and a rest and then they would have lunch with some of the girls so she could begin to make friends with them. She had to admit that sounded lovely. She went upstairs to her rooms and had a long, luxurious soak, a glass of sparkling water, and some mango and peach slices, which Bonnie brought to her room while she was bathing.
Lunch was lovely, too. She had slept for a little, unintentionally, after she had lay down on the bed just to rest her eyes for a moment. There were platters of meats and seafood, bread sticks, and pastries, and it was all so wonderful to be part of a family scene like this. Bonnie was right; she truly enjoyed the company of the other girls, although they all looked a little tired. She expected they had been working a night shift and needed some more rest before their next one. Each of them had their hair in a similar style to Bonnie’s, and their makeup was absolute perfection, just as hers was. It seemed she had taught them well and that they had wanted to emulate her beauty and example down to the last degree. Candice, too, would have liked to look as good as Bonnie did, and although she was a good number of years older than the other girls, she looked wonderful!
Lunch and a tour of the first three floors of the massive building lasted well into the early afternoon, and afterward, Candice wandered around the rooms just enjoying the beauty of the furnishings. Candice really loved beautiful furniture and drapes, and in this home, every room housed nothing but the best. While she was wandering about, she came upon the lifts again and wanted to finish off what they had started in their tour. Bonnie was called away during the tour, so they never made it to the top floor. Candice’s curiosity wanted to be satisfied. She hopped in the lift and pushed the button to go to the fourth floor. The doors slid open and she stepped out, but found herself disappointed, as she had already seen these rooms. This wasn’t the fourth floor; it was the third, which she had already explored with Bonnie and a couple of the other girls. Getting back into the lift, she pressed the fourth floor button and the doors slid closed. She felt the lift move a little and then the doors opened again, on the third floor. Candice found this very strange, but she got out anyway in search of a staircase that would take her to her desired destination, but although she searched the entire level, she could find no staircase leading up to the next story. There was one that led down, so she walked them slowly and went back to the lounge area to await the arrival of Crystal and Sienna. She figured she’d have a look at the upstairs later.
Chapter 7
The school bus stopped about fifty feet from the mansion, and Sienna and Crystal got out. This place was almost as though it were made for Candice and her daughters. Nothing could have been more perfect. Candice had given her girls a note for the bus driver to tell him where they now lived, and behold, they were delivered like parcels to the front door. Can- dice opened the house to them with great flourish, the girls with their mouths wide open and their eyes everywhere at once. In the last few days, they had all had their birthdays, so Sienna and Crystal were now the grand old age of seven years and Candice was twenty-three. Her children were now old enough to under- stand the wonder of such opulence, and they wanted to touch everything but held back because they knew that was the wrong thing to do in their new home.
Candice led the two of them to their rooms. They were amazed by their perfect room, the wonderful toys, and the pink, lacy spreads on their beds, like something from a little girl’s dream world. As she showed them the bathroom and her room, Candice became aware that they were no longer alone. Just outside the door stood Bonnie, two other children of about nine or ten, and four other young women who were not working at the time and were home relaxing. They were obviously bursting to meet Sienna and Crystal and get to know the gorgeous human Barbie dolls who would become their close friends and playmates. Crystal and Sienna hid a little behind their mother, but when Candice told them it was quite okay, they ventured out and met each person in turn. As usual, they were an instant hit, and Candice glowed with pride at the beauty of her children and the way they warmed so quickly to the others who just wanted to hug them and touch their golden blonde hair.
They had a wonderful evening of games, food, and hide and seek, and every now and then, they would be joined by a couple of new young residents and a few of the original group would leave. All in all, there were seven girls who worked for Bonnie, and Candice made eight. There were now four children in the house, all female and all very beautiful, just like their mothers. Everyone had exchanged names, and when Candice returned to her room, she wrote them all down, with short descriptions of each of them, so she may have at least some chance of remembering.
Katrina was tall and blonde, a little like Candice, with hair that reached down to her lower back, and Elise was a little shorter with jet-black shoulder-length hair. Jacinta was a redhead, and Candice just loved her beautiful porcelain skin. When she thought there was none who could be more gorgeous, she met Celine, who had pale blue eyes and golden brown hair and an even paler colour. Cindy had dark brown hair and gorgeous dark tan skin, which made Candice feel she may have some Latino bloodlines. Sharon was a pretty little thing with soft blonde curls and fine girlish features.
Finally there was Tamara, who was a shorter but well-toned woman, a bit older than the others, with short brown hair and green eyes. She was the mother of the two girls who had made instantaneous bonds with Sienna and Crystal. Her girls’ names were Dianne and Carly, and they became the main topic of conversation between Candice’s girls for the next week or so as they learned about each other and formed a strong friendship amongst the four of them. They were two and three years older than the twins, and each of them had rich dark brown hair in soft waves down to their hips. One of the favourite pastimes was brushing and styling each other’s hair, dressing up in their pretty costumes and dresses, and borrowing their mother’s high heels and jewellery to play the part of runway models. They explored the house and played in all the rooms in which they were welcome and even some where they were not. Candice was curious and asked Sienna and Crystal about the top level of the house, but they, too, could not find their way up there. This certainly didn’t worry them at all; there was plenty to explore without the top floor, but Candice fully intended to ask Bonnie about the broken lift and what was up on the highest level of the building.
They had been in the house for nearly two weeks. Candice had been watching the other girls, learning the ways of the house and helping out wherever she was able. All of them pitched in to keep the house tidy, but the bulk of the cleaning was professionally performed twice a week by a company employed by Bonnie’s accountant. All their meals were prepared for them by an Italian lady called Maria, and could she ever cook! Each meal was carefully created with the f
reshest ingredients and portion controlled to the girls liking with lots of fresh salads on the menu and iced tea to quench their thirsts.
After two weeks had passed, Candice began to feel that she should broach the subject of work with Bonnie, as she thought she wasn’t properly pulling her weight in the household, but Bonnie felt it important that she form friendships with the girls and chat with them about their work and what their roles were in the fondly named big house. Despite her belief in the goodness of these people, Candice had started to feel a bit strange about the world she had stumbled into. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she had begun to feel uneasy. So, with a little trepidation, Candice started asking the questions and starting the conversations to find out where the club was and what each of them did. She asked about their odd rostered hours and all the important ins and outs. With Bonnie’s okay, they began telling her about the club she now belonged to.
Chapter 8
For the most part, only one word came from her lips as she learned the truth from the women she now considered good friends. Now she understood why Bonnie wanted her to form a bond with the others and to find trust between them. The news was not what she wanted to hear, but she had to admit that she had started to suspect this was more than a nice little nightclub she had been initiated into.
“No, no, no, oh no!” she wailed in disbelief. How on earth had she gotten herself into this? The four girls she felt the closest to were there to help her through the initial fear and shock of it all. Katrina, Tamara, Cindy, and Jacinta all gathered around her in a hug that warmed her heart but did nothing to still her mind. They talked softly and soothingly to her, saying that she would get used to the idea, that Bonnie took good care of them and loved them all, that she only chose the kindest men for them, and that this was the best gentlemen’s club in the whole country. They told her honestly of what was expected, what was allowed and not allowed, and how they were sought after by only the wealthiest and most prestigious men. None of them had ever been hurt by one of their callers, and they were treated with total respect or that client was never allowed to return.
Although Bonnie seemed like a big softie, she controlled the clientele with an iron hand and would never put her girls at risk. They were paid very well, and unlike a lot of these types of establishments, theirs was fair and lucrative for both the owner and the girls who worked there. Each of them in turn told her that they would never leave to go elsewhere because here they were treated like princesses and not prostitutes. By the end of their conversation, Candice was almost convinced that it wasn’t so bad after all. Tamara, who was a mother herself to the other two children of the house, was careful to tell her that she would be well looked after and so would Sienna and Crystal. Tamara’s children loved living there with all their aunties, and they were not in the least bit aware of the industry in which their mother was involved. To them it was a great big palace of wonder where they were the star attractions. Tamara assured Candice that it would be the same for her.
Candice needed some time to think. She carefully avoided Bonnie that evening. As though Bonnie understood her need, she left Candice to consider her future as a part of the club in the big house.
The next morning, Bonnie asked Candice to come into her office after breakfast. Candice knew for sure what was coming. This was the crunch point, where she would be asked if she could handle the new world in which she found herself. The girls told her that Bonnie would be kind, and with that and the encouragement of the whole seven of them, she knocked on the door of Bonnie’s office. It was answered by the elegant woman, and Candice was invited in, a glass of iced tea with lemon on the table before her and a contract ready for her to sign. Candice became concerned about signing an agreement, and panic rose up in her throat. A flurry of words and tears came out all at once. “Why didn’t you just tell me? I don’t know if I can do this.” As Candice became more and more distraught, she became impossible to talk with. Bonnie just let her say all the things she was thinking, and then she began explaining her position and what would happen should she truly feel this was not the place for her.
Candice had sunk into the cosy brown leather lounge chair and was now holding a cushion against her chest, hugging it for dear life. She was a mess, spent from her emotional outburst, and she sat quietly listening and not speaking at all as Bonnie tried to help her understand her role and her responsibilities now that she resided in the house. Although Bonnie spoke in soothing tones, she was clear in her message and noncompromising in her intent. She laid out the pros and the cons of a life within her protection and a life outside of the house. She warned Candice that without her, she would be homeless with two little girls, jobless without any support financially, unable to keep her girls in school, unable to buy them food, and eventually, even unable to keep them with her, as the child protection agencies would surely find out about them and she would lose everything.
She said that Candice could find herself so lost and bereft that some horrible pimp would come along and offer her the same kind of work, but without love and protection, without the opulence and care, and without the value of family and kindness she was offering to her. In short, Bonnie felt that Candice would end up in the same kind of life anyway, just that her way was so much better and she was convinced that Candice would be happy once she became used to the idea and tried it for a while. Bonnie was sure enough that she would rise to the challenge that she offered to give her two weeks to make up her mind while she experienced the gentlemen callers and tried her hand at pleasing them. The contract could wait until then. Without giving her another opportunity to speak, Bonnie gently pulled her up from the lounge chair and opened the office door for her. As Candice walked through the doorway, Bonnie touched her on the arm. “Candice, you are beautiful and I know this is not quite what you wanted for your life, but what I am offering is a good thing for you. You will find your strength and you will be a fine leader one day, just as I am. I can see the gift in you. Let’s talk again tomorrow morning. Off you go. Rest—and think.”
Chapter 9
Instead of going back to her room, Candice did something she said she would never ever do. As she left the house, she had one thing in her thoughts—just one thing—and she would later wish she had never begun. She had seen the effects of it, knew how it could destroy a person, and even more than that, she knew it could be her undoing just as it was for her mother. The tendency for Candice to succumb to the pull of alcoholism was quite strong, as she had watched her mother do exactly the same. Despite this warning, right now all she wanted was to feel some- thing else other than the weight of the world resting squarely on her weakened shoulders.
This was a decision too hard to make, too huge to fathom, too far outside her comfort zone, too barbaric to consider. She knew there was a bottle shop just a block away, and just over the road was a park with enough undergrowth where she could hide and disappear for a time, just enough time to vanish from the world and to dull her pounding thoughts.
In the park, in the bushes, in the dark, in a total mess, Bonnie and two of her friends found her that night. She wasn’t the first, nor would she be the last, to take refuge with a bottle to take away the pain, even if temporarily.
They half walked, half carried her home, undressed her, washed her face, put her in a pretty satin nightgown, and popped her in her bed. The twin girls happily stayed over in Tamara’s end of the wing that evening, and in the morning, Bonnie was there waiting for her to wake.
“Hi there,” she said to Candice. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“Oh, Bonnie, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” Candice’s voice cracked with the emotion coursing through her. “I said I would never be that person. I made myself that promise .
. . ” She trailed off, her tears wetting the pillow beneath her head. Bonnie told her that she would leave her now, but that they would have to have a chat sometime that day. With that, she walked out the door and quietly closed it b
ehind her.
Candice was sorry. She hoped she hadn’t blown her chance with this lady she respected so much. Sometime during her drinking binge the previous night and even this morning when she was feeling sick but sober, Candice realised that even though this indeed wasn’t what she thought she would become, she was on a good thing and she should at least try to see if she could stomach the idea. The other girls had told her that it would be somewhat repulsive at first, but that she would learn to divorce her head and her heart from the task and it would become simply her job, not something that affected her real life. She wanted to believe them, but Candice still felt so young—one day she wanted to feel the love of a man who truly cared for her. She couldn’t see how she could have a respectable life and a husband if she made her living as a prostitute.
Still she got up out of bed, resolved to honour her friend and employer and to agree to the trial period of two weeks. It wasn’t because she wanted this kind of life, but because she felt the alternatives could be so much worse. She didn’t want to lose her children because she was scared or even sick to the stomach about the idea of men she didn’t know all over her and inside her. She went to Bonnie’s office.
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