Tangerang, January 2018
“Afternoon, babe.”
Ramon flashed his smile at everyone in his crew. He immediately took the main seat and opened his notebook. The men and women in the room waited for instructions.
“Where is my Barbie?” he asked.
They instantly exchanged glances and looked around, searching for the person their boss meant. The girl he had just mentioned appeared in the doorway, panting. She must have run there, considering she was almost fifteen minutes late.
“Here you are, Stela.”
“Sorry.”
Stela quickly sat in the empty chair. She was still wearing her complete school uniform. She didn’t forget to smile at her friends who had arrived earlier.
“Awan, come here!”
The boy named Awan immediately stood up. He walked over to Ramon, who often called for him. The boss handed Awan a list of clients.
“Hand them out according to the names.”
The boy simply obeyed. He quickly handed out the cards according to the names printed on them. Ten people were sitting in the room marked VIP.
“Read their characteristics and requests carefully. The meeting time and location are listed too,” Ramon explained.
“What the hell is this, Ram? I have two clients today?!”
Stela grumbled after looking at her card. It listed the names of two people who had booked her at different times. This hadn’t happened just once or twice—she had complained to her boss about it many times.
Ramon immediately went over to Stela and told the girl beside her to move. He pulled his chair closer to Stela and stroked her hair, trying to calm her down.
“Baby, a lot of people can’t resist your beauty. It’s okay, right? Two is still better than eight—the number who wanted you to accompany them earlier, sweetheart.”
“I’m still in school, Ram. I have plenty of homework.”
“I’ll do it for you. How about that?”
The girl let out an irritated sigh. Whether she liked it or not, she had to go along with him. Stela couldn’t deny that she needed people who liked her in order to make money.
Living alone in a big city like this certainly wasn’t easy. Stela had run away from home after graduating middle school. Her shameless stepfather had been the main reason she left.
Luckily, she met Ramon. The man offered her a friend-rental job. Without having to sell herself for sex, the girl could easily rake in money.
There wasn’t much she had to do: watch movies, eat, go to the mall, or visit an amusement park. None of it harmed her in the slightest.
“Next time, if I get two clients in one day again—or even more—I want a raise.”
Ramon laughed as he repeatedly slammed his hand on the table. Everyone stared at him in confusion. Stela, sitting beside him, shot him a scornful look.
The man lifted Stela’s chin with his hand and brought his face close to hers. Ramon smiled at Stela’s face, which looked as if it wanted to eat him alive.
“Sweetheart, don’t worry about payment. Just do what you’re supposed to do,” Ramon said, stroking Stela’s cheek.
The girl immediately slapped Ramon’s hand away. She turned her face aside and clicked her tongue. Ramon got up and walked back to his chair.
“Today’s meeting is over. You’re free to leave!”
Stela sat prettily with a glass of iced chocolate in front of her. She was waiting for one of her customers, who wanted her company while watching a horror movie. The girl had deliberately arrived early so she could earn extra points.
The mall was fairly quiet today, since it was still a long way from quitting time and it wasn’t the weekend. Stela stirred her drink out of boredom. She wondered why the man who had rented her had chosen the food court as their meeting place instead of meeting directly at the theater.
“Hi.”
Stela turned toward the voice. She smiled at the man who had called out to her. Inwardly, she cursed when she saw that the person in front of her was far from what she had expected. Once again, she’d gotten a customer who was pretty old, at least in her opinion.
“Hello,” the girl greeted him with a very sweet, completely fake smile.
She immediately stood and shook the man’s hand. In her head, Stela played a guessing game. Was the man in front of her already well past thirty? His mustache and beard made her think so, and he wore glasses too.
“Have you ordered?” Stela asked, making small talk.
“Yeah, I have. What time did you get here?”
“Just now. Maybe fifteen minutes ago.”
The girl tried to attract his attention. Exaggerating her own qualities was one way to get a tip. Stela loved showing off her strengths. Her confidence was also a major bonus. More than a few customers became regulars and refused to go with anyone else.
“Want to head to the theater now?” the man asked, and Stela nodded.
Without hesitation, the man reached for Stela’s hand and held it. She didn’t object—that was the service he had paid for. Stela didn’t let her smile falter even slightly.
Stela’s steps were firm as she followed the man, who still hadn’t formally introduced himself. It was perfectly fine; she already knew who he was from the notes Ramon had given her. She paid no attention to the strange looks from people staring at them. The girl chose to think positively: amid all the mocking remarks, surely one or two of them had assumed Stela was his daughter, younger sister, or niece.
He didn’t let go of her hand until they entered the cinema, where the movie they had ordered was playing. As usual, Stela was in for an interesting sight: watching someone buy her ticket, food, drinks, and everything else. Those expenses were separate from the payment to the forum, so Stela basically got paid twice over.
“Don’t be scared, okay?”
Stela smiled and focused on the screen again. He reached for her hand and held it once more. The girl could only resign herself to it.
“Come here,” the man said, patting his shoulder.
Understanding the instruction, Stela immediately leaned against the man’s shoulder. His hand never stopped stroking her hair. The scent of the girl’s body mist and shampoo made the man addicted to her. He even brought his nose close to Stela’s head to savor the sensation.
“You’re sweet, like a piece of fruit.”
Stela slowly massaged her legs, exhausted from dancing with her second customer. As soon as the man said goodbye, she went to rest on one of the empty sofas. The bar was extremely crowded today; Ramon had brought in a fairly famous DJ from DKI.
The girl checked her account balance. She smiled when she saw that the number had increased. Stela leaned her head back and massaged the nape of her neck.
“Legs sore, Bu Haji?”
Stela threw her heel at Simon. The man loved teasing her, regardless of the situation she was in.
“What are you doing here? Go dance,” Stela ordered.
“I’m tired, Stel. Besides, my missus already went home—her husband called.”
Stela just laughed when Simon used missus and babe again. The man often got older female customers, whom he jokingly called his missuses. He used babe to refer to their husbands.
Stela’s laughter stopped when she noticed the commotion at the sofa across from her. One of her coworkers looked uneasy in her seat. The bar’s lighting was flickering, making it difficult for the girl to focus.
“What’s wrong with Kekey?” Stela asked Ramon. The man immediately looked toward the girl Stela had mentioned.
“Shit!” Simon cursed.
Stela was startled when Simon suddenly ran off after seeing the middle-aged man. The man was trying to force himself on their coworker, Keya, attempting to touch her private parts. Without a word, Simon punched him.
“You bastard!”
The hard punch shocked a lot of people. Stela ran over to Keya too and pulled the girl into her arms. She felt sorry for her when she felt the girl trembling.
“Are you okay?” Stela asked in a panic.
“It hurts, Stel.” The sweet girl began to shed tears.
“Did he go all the way?”
“Yes... and as far as I remember... that service isn’t listed in the notes, Stel,” Keya said innocently.
“You idiot. Don’t ever agree to do something that isn’t paid for. Remember! We have to keep the bar safe. Anything involving sex is forbidden.”
“Stel... he said... it was with Ramon’s permission.”