Page 25 of Peasants and Kings
“No. Definitely not. Damn, this is all sorts of weird. I’m talking about making my living by selling my body. How did you reconcile it when you first began?” I asked.
“You’ve been on dates, right?”
“Of course.”
“Have any of the men you were with paid for dinner?”
“Yeah. Most of them, but that’s not the—”
“Did you sleep with any of them? I mean, after they paid for dinner and held doors open for you and treated you like a queen?”
“A few.”
“So technically, in a roundabout way, you’ve slept with men for money. I mean, it was food, and society doesn’t like to call a spade a spade, but basically you got something and were treated a certain way, and it made you feel good and then they got something in return.”
“I disagree. I slept with them because Iwantedto. There was no coercion or demands. I could’ve gone home alone. A lot of the time, I did go home alone.”
“So, we’re talking choice, right?”
“I guess so, yeah.”
“I have a choice,” she said. “I don’thaveto do this job. I choose to do this job. I choose who I want to spend my nights with, and you will have that choice too. I don’t feel used or dirty or ashamed. I get paid for something that most people give away for free. It’s like going on a date where at the end of the night you get to keep a shitload of money. None of it is forced. Sex is the oldest profession in the world. Why aren’t we allowed to use what we have to our advantage?”
“It’s an odd sort of rationalization, but I see what you mean. Your life seems pretty charmed.” I flashed a smile that wasn’t genuine. “How do you feel? I mean, from when you started until now?”
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have an adjustment period. The act itself wasn’t the problem,” she admitted. “It was all mindset. I had to forget everything I’d been taught about sex, you know? The Rex taught me to value myself—to have pride in my body and to own my sexuality. I earned my condo and my car. I earned the three hundred-dollar highlights in my hair. I earned the salt scrubs, the trips to Monaco, the designer clothes, the jewelry given to me as thank you gifts.”
It was all about the presentation, I realized. How she rationalized using her body for her financial security and outright luxury.
“The first time is the weirdest because you’re deconstructing your programming. You’re unraveling everything you’ve been taught to think about sex. Rex girls aren’t normal prostitutes.”
I flinched at the word.
“It’s not ugly, Sterling. I go to Rex events or fly to private estates for parties. And even though everyone knows why I’m there, I still get to choose who I want to spend my night with. Do you know where I was last month?” she asked suddenly.
“No. Where?”
“Monte Carlo. Me. In Monte Carlo. Do you know how much money I lost at the casino? Ten thousand Euros. Do you know what the duke I was with did? He laughed and gave me a diamond necklace just because.” She leaned back against the plush cushions of her custom designed couch. “People can judge me all they want. But I don’t have to answer to any of them.” She shrugged. “I make more than plastic surgeons in LA. What does that tell you?”
“How can The Rex get away with running a brothel?” I asked quietly. “It’s illegal.”
“Not if you grease the palms of the right people. The world is a different place if you have money, Sterling. Remember that.”
Tiffany gently took the teacup from my hands and set it down on the coaster. “You need a real drink. And a place too loud to think. Come on, get dressed. I’m taking you out.”
“Too loud to think about the fact that I’m about to become a high-class hooker?”
She waved her finger at me in admonishment. “I have one rule. And one rule only.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re not allowed to call yourself a hooker or an escort. You’re a courtesan. Got it?”
“Got it.” I paused. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Have you ever had a client not treat you well?”
