The X-Project

Meanwhile, the rest find themselves meeting their new employer.



It wasn’t exactly the hardest place to find. They had been hundreds of yards away when the huge red and pink neon sign erupted from the forest cover; HARGA’S TITTY CITY in massive letters, overshadowing the respectably sized roadhouse below. Attached to the back of it was a long, relatively new concrete building, warehouse style, with ‘Lush Productions’ over the plain glass door. It had been spelled out in the emails they’d received to their queries, inviting them in the bland lobby.

A woman collected their ‘resumes’ of sorts – mostly a collection of pictures and some fake productions that hadn’t existed until the day before. A basic Google search would back up the claims, and it had just taken a few hours to photo manipulate the images to meet the requests. She came back a few minutes later and gestured them to follow her.

“I’m Ingrid. Sylvie will meet with you in a bit. They’re just wrapping up a shoot.” She paused and looked at the names. “So, which of you are dancers and which are performers? Or both.”

“Sienna, dancer,” Paige answered efficiently, rolling a small suitcase behind her. The combination of it’s wheels clacking over the grooves in the tiles and her smart black heels made an interesting rhythm as she followed. “I’ve also done Sahara and Marigold in a pinch, if you already have one. I hate having to add Lyn and Lee when they sign in before me.”

When Ingrid turned her gaze towards Wanda, she smiled expansively. "Why limit yourself, darling? I can dance or perform, they are both fun and both earn money. My name is Jasmine." Her normal accent had been heightened and she looked like she had just stepped out of a European "entertainment" video - Eurotrash with the the belief that she wasn't anything of the sort.

"Name's Sunshine, but most just call me Sunny, and I'm like, the best dancer you'll ever see," Jubilee replied, popping her gum for emphasis, she'd decided to go full on ingenue for this job, getting hair extensions to make her hair longer and dying it a bright fire engine red before putting it in a pair of pony tails. She'd also put on a skirt so short it might not have been out of place as a belt on anyone else, topped with a cropped shirt that barely covered her chest, what there was of it. One of these days she was totally going to eat enough to have more then a b-cup but she worked with what she had. "I am so going to make you a shit-load of cash."

It had been a long time since she'd been sixteen with an attitude that could cut glass but Jubilee slipped back into the So-Cal mall rat bravado like it was an old raincoat.

It wasn't difficult to believe that the petite woman they met a few minutes later was involved in the adult entertainment industry - her long mane of blonde hair and perfect figure were straight off magazine cover like the ones you found stashed under a creaky mattress - but it was perhaps surprising that someone with her looks and stature was in charge of the whole shebang. As soon as she opened her mouth, however, it was clear she was all business.

"So, you're the new talent. All right. I'm Sylvie - I want you to think of me as your most important client. If I'm not happy, nobody's happy. I run a tight ship and I don't have time for drama or shit-stirring so if that's where you get your kicks you can just keep on walking." She paused, fixing each woman in turn with a steely gaze. "Got it?"

Paige nodded, earnest little worker shining through in spite of the persona. "Of course."

"My 'kicks' are earning money and doing my thing," Wanda said with a smile. "I have no problem in not biting the hand that feeds me, so to speak,"

"Super clear," Jubilee answered in turn, her expression might have been called innocent, but mostly she was trying to keep enough attention on Sylvie not to miss queues while taking in as much information as she could about her surroundings, anything might be useful later on. "You had to give that speech a few times?"

"You haven't been in the business long, have you sugar?" Sylvie asked with an expression that was halfway between a smirk and a semi-friendly smile. "Nevermind, you'll learn. Now..." she glanced through the folder Ingrid had handed over, pursing her lips as she scanned the fabricated resumés. "Right. Anybody dancing gets a flat rate, which you've already agreed to, and a cut of their tips, negotiable according to seniority - so you'll be starting at the bottom of the totem pole. But we've also got some perks... I like to look after my girls, so you'll get one meal on the house per shift, plenty of breaks and as many or as few shifts as you want. Any health issues, you come to me, I'll make sure you get checked out and treated properly - no questions asked. Same goes for performers, with a few more caveats which we'll discuss later," she directed at 'Jasmine' with a sharp nod.

"Do any of you need help getting set up in town? They're pretty used to people coming and going so there's plenty of short-term accommodation available."

Wanda tilted her head in thought and then nodded. "That sounds good. Can we come back to you if we have any questions?"

"Yes, of course. My door is always open - unless it's not. Then you should knock." Sylvie allowed a brief smirk to touch her lips as she put the folder away, then blinked her large blue eyes in surprise. "Oh! And one last, important piece of information. There's a local biker gang who have fed in quite a lot of money over the past year, and that means they get the special treatment. That mainly means that you smile pretty at them when they come in, and don't cause any trouble. If they give you any problems you come straight to me and I'll sort it out, but for the most part they're good boys, just a little rough around the edges. But then, you didn't come all the way out here for smooth, did you?" She flashed them a smile and then made a 'shooing' motion, the meeting obviously over.

"Ingrid'll get you set up on the rotas and show you around. I'll see you at your first shifts. Good luck, ladies, and remember - always leave 'em wanting more!"