Page 2 of Hotline
"Um," I say sheepishly as I look around. "What is it that we actually do here? Do we sell knives? Extended warranties? Apple cider vinegar gummies? What exactlyisthis place?"
This office is rundown and dusty. There's a copier in the corner, and someone is slamming their fist on it and cursing under their breath.
And everyone here is a woman.
Maybe we sell tampons?
Marilyn tilts her head to the side.
“Oh, my sweet, innocent new friend. This is a place where a name like Opal won't fly.”
"Can you please tell me why that is?"
She crosses her arms over her chest and leans back in her seat.
"You know how strippers have fake stripper names?"
"Sure. I'm aware of that."
"My real name is Gertrude," she says. "Opal isn't bad, but you'll need something else."
My heart drops.
Oh dear god.
"Why do I need a fake name?" I ask Marilyn with a shaky voice.
"You really don't know?" she says, her lips turned down at the corners.
She stands up and motions for me to do the same.
"Follow me."
I get up, but I feel weak as my heart knocks around in my ribcage.
"Here's your training," Marilyn says as she guides me along a row of cubicles. "There are a lot of lonely men in this city. There are a lot of men who just want someone to talk to. There are a lot of men who want to pretend they’re talking to their fantasy girl. Sexy librarian, MILF next door, French maid, what have you. Some men have a weird fetish and want to play it out in a safe environment. And there are some men who just want a quickie phone call to blow off some steam."
She guides me around a corner.
"And here we have the break room. We've got fantastic coffee and unlimited snacks."
"So this is a place where…"
"Yes," Marilyn cuts in, nodding sagely.
The walls seem to close in on me.
I squint up at the fluorescent lights on the ceiling.
"It's so bright in here. I always imagined that a place where sex work happens would be darker than this."
Sex work…is this sex work? It is, isn't it?
"For thereallysexy stuff, you need to go next door," she says with a shrug. "That's where the cam girls work."
She says it all as though it's an everyday thing. Totally mundane.
A shiver runs through me.
