Page 37 of Their Courtesan
Chapter 10
JUDITH
“Where the hell is she getting this figure from?” Monica flipped a paper over and stared at the chicken scratch handwriting. She then flipped it overagain,glaring through her wire-frames. The only time Monica Warren brought out the spectacles was when it was soft audit time.
The taxes for the previous year were done and filed already, but the madam of the Château insisted on doing a soft audit every quarter. By “soft audit,” that meant going through the numbers her employees submitted and making sure they added up. While Judith and the others kept lots of shit off the books, therewerethings they were expected to submit to Monica for auditing. Judith had long learned what to and not to submit. She went ahead and submitted all on-the-book favors, but kept things such as condomless sex in her own pocket. That was one of the things Madam Monica didnotlike… even though everyone did it when they felt like it.
As head-girl of the Château, Judith helped with the soft audits. That sunny Monday morning was spent in the madam’s office going over figures and discussing who was doing the best out of all the girls. Judith was the only one who was ever privy to such delicate information, even though she didn’t know everything. For instance, she had never audited Grace, and had no idea how much money that woman was pulling into the business.
“Seriously.” Monica held up a paper labelled HOLLY JONESMITH in front of Judith’s face. “Every time I add this up, I come out 300 dollars beneath her self-reported figures. Where is that extra 300 coming from?”
Judith scanned Holly’s atrocious cursive handwriting, looking for the extra figures that apparently were not adding up. “There.” She pointed, and Monica jerked the paper back to see for herself. “Services rendered two months ago. With a client named Granith. Or Grant. Can’t tell.”
Monica growled before slamming the paper on her desk.Someone is hormonal today.Ever since she announced she was pregnant two months ago, Monica had released the hounds within her. Before, she had been a model of propriety, even in private. Now, having been married and impregnated, she had gained a barrel full of confidence that she didn’t know what to do with. Judith was used to it now. In fact, she found it amusing.Finally, she’s on my level.
“What the fuck is NC?”
“North Carolina?”
Monica was less than impressed with that answer.
“You know what it means.”
“I was hoping it didnotstand for ‘no condom.’”
Here we go.“She’s still new and dumb. She probably forgot that’s not allowed.”Hypocrite, hypocrite, I am such a hypocrite.“I’ll talk to her.”
“See to it that you do. I will not risk any of you spreading God knows what to every man of means in the region.”
“Uh huh.”
Sighing, Monica tossed Holly’s folder onto the other side of her desk and rubbed her forehead. “Here I was thinking of remodeling one of the guest rooms and getting a new girl. Not if we can’t keep the new one we have from screwing us over.”
“Really?” That was news. “Are we really that busy now?”
“You’ve seen it on the front lines. Even on slower nights most of you have at least one client.”
“That’s true. Still, didn’t think you would be ready to take care of six girls.”
“It would still be a ways away, but I feel like we’re leaving more money on the table by not having a bigger on-site staff. These days I have to hire more temporary girls for the parties we’re throwing.”
Judith had to give her that. “Anyway, I’ll talk to Holly. Give her the ol’ condom talk.” She pulled a paper from the stack in her lap. “Speaking of Trojan horses, we’re low on lambskins. Should I put in an order?”
“Go ahead.”
They went back to working in silence. Monica had expelled her frustration and was able to concentrate on figures again, her fingers flying over a calculator while little curses burst from her lips whenever she screwed up. Judith ignored her while she looked over Chelsea’s figures. Thankfully, that woman had much nicer handwriting.Andher figures added up perfectly every time Judith checked them.Bless her.She and Judith had learned at the same time when not to report certain things.I don’t want to know them.Grace once let slip that she did condomless anal for a client, and Judith couldn’t look her in the eye for the rest of the night.
“By the way,” Monica said, removing her glasses from her face. “I’ve heard back from a couple regulars who might be interested in bidding on you.”
Pencil lead snapped beneath Judith’s firm grip. “Go on.”
“The first is Howard Dennis. Remember him?”
“Vaguely.” After a while, all the men blurred together if there was nothing special about them. There had been nothing special about Howard Dennis. “Who is the other one?”
Monica did her best to contain a snort in her nostrils. “Nicholas Mills.”
“Fuck that.” Judith had done her fair share of elderly men, but Nicholas Mills was old enough to be her grandfather. “Can he evenaffordme?”
