EXTRACT FOR
Gladiator's Prize
(Terri Pray)

One









"Are you certain you're ready to work with this couple again, Kami?" Phillipa paused for a moment before she dropped down onto the luxury couch that held pride of place in Kami's home. The well-padded structure welcomed Phillipa, offering both comfort and support. "The last time you worked with them you were emotionally out of it for a week." A flash of concern moved across the older woman's features.

Perhaps turning the assignment down might have been for the best, but whatever had happened when Kami had last worked with the couple had faded within a few days. And she hadn't been working for the rest of the week, so the extra time to recover had been nothing out of the ordinary.

"I'm fine, Phillipa, really I am. I took the rest period you wanted and checked in with both my therapist and my primary. I'm completely back to normal, and you're welcome to check in with my primary, though the report was shared with your office." It had been far more than merely being exhausted, but she'd learned that after she'd had a little time to digest what had been going on. 

There'd been something under the way the couple had treated her, how they'd acted around her, or the scene as a whole that had called to her in a way she'd never experienced before. Either before having the implant, or since. 

A deeply buried private need that had, in some way, been answered in the scene. And one she hoped to feed again when she worked with the couple this time around. If she could come to understand what was happening to her around them, or see if it was a fluke, then she'd have a better handle on it. 

"I'm not entirely sure about this, Kami. My guts say I need to find someone else." Phillipa met Kami's gaze. 

"I've been given a clean bill of health, haven't I?" Kami wriggled her eyebrows and tried to ease the growing tension in the room by adding a lightness to her words. "You've read the reports, haven't you? If not, I've got copies here." She'd learned years ago to keep full copies of her medical records on hand, at least at home. Though they obviously weren't left out where anyone could see them. 

"Yes, I'm well aware. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to drop my concern about you. Remember, I was there when you served them, and saw how long it took for you to begin to recover. I saw how pale you were." Phillipa frowned and gave a quick shake of her head, her gaze fixed on Kami. "They're good people, decent clients, as they've been back once before to work with another of my girls. I can always pass this scene onto one of the other ladies. I'm sure I can get them to accept or at least push this one back another week if they are set on working with you."

"No, there's no need to do that. I want the job. The assignment." Kami's jaw set as she kept her gaze fixed with Phillipa. She couldn't let the woman see the emotions threatening to spill from deep without. To do so would give Phillipa more insight into Kami than she was willing to share. "Let's be honest. They've asked for me. I'm happy to work with them, and I see no reason to disappoint the clients. That would be bad for business."

Phillipa paused, her eyes narrowed. "All right, but I'm putting it on record that I'm not happy with this or your choice, but I've no good business reason to turn them away." She ran one hand back over her hair, brushing back the loose strands that threatened to catch on her eyelashes. "I'll be the one watching the scene, I'm not leaving it to anyone else this time. One sign, the smallest indication of a problem, and I'm pulling you out. Especially as they've made it clear that this time they will be pushing the boundaries." The older woman smiled but it didn't touch her eyes. "You're alright with that, or have you seen sense? You really don't have to take this on right now."

"I have a choice?" She grinned. No more than you do, Phillipa. If you thought the problem was with the clients, you wouldn't have signed with them again. If you really think it's with me, you could put me on mandated time off until you get to the bottom of it. The truth was Phillipa was a businesswoman. Bills to pay. Clients to keep happy. God, how she wanted, just once, to be able to say all of that, but what good would it do her?

Phillipa was a realist, but that didn't mean she'd appreciate it being pushed down her throat. No, it was far better to use a little humor to take the sting from the situation. 

"No, I suppose not, but it doesn't hurt to ask."

There was always a choice. Accept the client or not. 

"You're a stubborn woman, Kami." Phillipa laughed and the tension eased for a moment from the older woman's shoulders. "You know, I'm one hell of a stubborn woman as well, and I like having others like me around. You and Jen, and the others have kept me on my toes. You'd have me old and worn down if I didn't keep to my rules when it came to the scenes and clients you take on. Or the amount of time your body and mind both need to recover before taking on the next. You'd all wear yourselves out to wraiths but for me."

"I'm not going to dispute that one." Not only would it be a waste of time, but she'd be defending a lie. It wasn't unusual for sex workers to only stay in the trade for a few years before needing to step back. Some lasted longer, but time caught up with all of them sooner or later.

With that in mind you kept busy, took on as much work as possible to set aside funds for when you could no longer work. Alright, with Phillipa they had a little leeway as there was a retirement fund she paid into and if you left the industry, and didn't return for at least a year, you could cash out your share of the fund.

"So, if I wasn't strict with you all, it would blow up in my face. My business would go down the drain and heavens alone know what would happen to you and the others." Phillipa took a deep breath, her features once more placid, but her hands trembled on her lap. "Which means you all have to listen to me if you want to keep working."

"Ah, but you'd think me boring if I rolled over, bared my throat, and did whatever you wanted of me."

"You'll do it for clients but not for the woman making sure you get paid?" Mischief sparkled in Phillipa's eyes. "Damn, sometimes I despair of this job and the women I work with. I swear you're going to conspire to put me in an early grave."

"No, nothing like that at all, boss." Kami rubbed the back of her neck and watched her boss closely, searching for a sign that Phillipa would see past her mask. "Sometimes we just think you're a little over cautious, that's all."

"I wish I could say there's no such thing in this line or work. Or that my caution is never warranted."

"I guess not, but it can be a bit stifling." It had been decades since pimps were taken care of and pleasure workers like herself were legalized and protected from the horrors that street walkers, corner girls, or others had been forced into the work. Found themselves beaten, robbed, and worse in the course of their work. No, the world and laws had changed, but it didn't prevent the risks entirely. Nor did it prevent women like Phillipa from worrying every time a client closed the door with one of her people.

"True, I understand how it might feel from your side of the table." Phillipa shrugged and the tension eased a little more from her shoulders. 

"So, you can't expect us to all be laid back about it, especially when there's a juicy scene on offer. Oh, don't get me wrong, boss. If I was in your position, there's a decent chance I'd take the same level of precautions with the men and women on my books. But I'm not in your seat, so I'm going to bitch and moan in the hopes I'll get my own way." Kami flashed a grin; one she didn't feel. "Besides, you'd think we'd all been replaced by clones or drones, or something similar if we didn't make your life a misery over things like this."

For a long moment Phillipa didn't say a word, then she finally locked eyes with Kami, then her gaze turned distant. "You do realize that I was one of the original women who had the implant done? The very one you and Jen now use, or a close model at least. I've been in your shoes. I worked for the same agency under the previous owner."

"I didn't know that." How could she not have known? No one had mentioned it.

Phillipa turned her head, breaking eye contact. "Very few people do." The woman lifted one hand, turning it this way and that. "So, I know what it's like work like this, to be everyone for each client. To put it all into the scene and then deal with the fall out later, so please don't give me any more bullshit about what happens after a client has gone. What I saw in your eyes the last time you worked was something I've seen only once or twice before. You reacted to it, to them on a deeply personal level. And I'm concerned that's going to happen this time around as well. Which would mean you need an extended mental health check. More than a one and done session with your therapist."

"You're worrying for nothing. I'm not going to make the mistake of stumbling like that." Kami shook her head, affecting her best 'look at me, I know what I'm doing', but it had no impact on Phillipa. "I'm stronger than that, you know I am, or you wouldn't allow me the chance to take on these clients again."

"You also looked like someone who'd found a piece of themselves in serving them, and then had it torn away from them." Phillipa explained, a soft light touching her eyes, creasing the tiny lines at the corners. "I don't want to see you, or anyone else, go through that again, but that's nothing more than my personal belief. I'm worried about you, can we just agree on that part, Kami?" 

"Sure, I can do that." Maybe the woman had a right to be worried about her, but Kami wasn't about to suggest such which would only add to the risk of being pulled from the scene before she'd even had a chance to begin. No, she needed this job, this scene. It called to her with a passion she couldn't fully explain. Even before she'd read through the details and understood exactly what they had in mind, she'd known she would need to take on this job. 

With them.

The ones who'd made her feel more deeply than she'd ever experienced before in a scene.

"Why do I get the feeling you gave in too quickly?"

"No harm in agreeing to that much, not as far as I can see."

"Kami, you're not fooling me. You're being too compliant. You forget how well I know you." Phillipa frowned and nibbled on her bottom lip. "But then again, I suppose it makes sense when I know how desperate you are to take on this assignment." The older woman's eyes narrowed. "Kami, just remember. No matter what happens, or how deeply you want to do this and see it through to the end, I'll be watching. If I believe, in any way, that this is going wrong, backfiring, risking your health or sanity, then I'll call a halt. No second chances. Clear enough for you now, Kami?"

"Crystal, ma'am." She forced a calm smile into place. "It won't happen. I'm not about to-"

"You'll be under the thrall of the implant, remember? You won't have a say in what's going on and you're going to believe you're their slave, Julia. An innocent until you caught their eyes."

Julia.

The same name as before, following the same storyline about the young slave who'd been introduced to sex at the hands of her master and mistress. That was enough to set a shiver running through her eager body. "True enough, there are times I wish the implant would allow for us, for those set to watch over you, to take control of the situation if things go awry."

"Which is why those with implants are only permitted to work through houses like mine. It's too dangerous for you to work unsupervised and it would be far too easy for the implant to be misused by an unethical client."

"They'd need the interface for that to happen."

"And if someone has enough money, they can buy one. Don't get cocky. Money still pays to silence tongues when the right person desires an upper hand with their partner."

"I'm not going to get cocky." Phillipa was right, and yet she couldn't help but wonder about being with a private client. One she could trust to explore the darkness with.

"Kami, just be careful. I know dealing with the rush of memory and emotion can-"

"I'll be fine. After all, you'll be there when I come out of it. There's nothing for me to worry about. You wouldn't let any harm come to me." Hadn't they just gone over this?

"There's always something to worry about."

"Now, this scene." Kami lifted the file and tapped the page. "They've got others involved this time. Friends or?"

"One staff member as before, plus a second coming in for a short time, and a friend of theirs. This role," Phillipa brushed one finger over the name. "Will be the husband, and the male staff member will be helping to entertain the wife for this scene. Don't worry, he doesn't need an implant, so your fee won't be split with anyone."

Not that she'd have lost much if a second implanted pleasure worker was involved, only a fraction from the extra staff needed to keep a close eye on things. 

Kami smiled, a slight nod enough to convey her understanding as she reread the details one last time. Her core clenched as a hunger built far sooner than normal when she prepared herself for a client. "Well, it will certainly be interesting."

"Just remember what I said, Kami."

It wasn't something she was likely to forget, but that didn't prevent Kami from flashing her infamous vague smile, one deliberately cultivated, or fluttering her eyelashes in a way she knew would annoy Phillipa. "You said something, boss?"

The look on Phillipa's face said it all.