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T H E__S T O R Y
This is the diary of Nancy Chan, turn-of-the-century call girl, who lives on
the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Although in her 30s, Nancy is at the
peak of her career -- a better 25-year-old today than she was at 25. When Nancy
began hooking, madams had answering services -- staffed by people -- and voice mail was non-existent. Most of Nancy's regulars don't realize
how long she
has been working -- and she frequently gets away with telling new
clients that she started "this year." Her boyfriend has no idea
what she does for a living.
Nancy has access to the safest and smartest ways of working -- her
good looks got her in the door, but she has maintained her
sterling contacts through diligence and common sense. Very early in
her career, Nancy experienced the riskier side of the sex business.
But if Nancy has any regrets, she's more likely to regret the free
sex she had when she could have been working: She sometimes has to
choose between making love and making money. On good
days, she gets to do both.
She doesn't tell her clients much about her past and
sometimes feels sorry for the working girls who are mired in the
world of adult magazine ads, strange phone calls and $99.99 hand
jobs. Nancy "works from her book" (trade lingo for a private client
list or Rolodex) and occasionally swaps customers with other
private call girls. In Nancy's circle, a Book goes for $3,000 to
$7,000. Individual johns are traded like baseball cards and each
girl has her own book -- names, prices and practices carefully
coded -- which she jealously protects. (It took Nancy about 10
years to build up her book.) Lesser call girls (who sometimes
advertise in the back pages of New York magazine) are politely
avoided unless they are willing to be saved from their "tacky"
circumstances. Those who make the transition -- like Nancy, who
used to work for an escort agency -- are often the most fanatical
about preserving these distinctions.
While not excessively bookish, Nancy can be a high-culture
snob. But she can also get distracted on her way to a lecture at the
Frick by a Prada handbag sale. Like most call girls, she is deeply
bourgeois -- but she gamely ventures downtown into Manhattan's
bohemia at least twice a year to see if performance art still gives
her a headache.
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M A I N__C H A R A C T E R S
Nancy's best friends, Jasmine and Allison, don't like each other.
Jasmine, businesslike and blunt, is Nancy's hardheaded colleague.
A former drug dealer who has always been good at saving money and
minimizing life's illusions, Jasmine runs a tight ship. She is one
of the best contacts a call girl can have -- and Nancy has often
benefited from Jasmine's advice. But her best friend's
tough-as-nails viewpoint can also be exasperating. Nancy and
Jasmine enjoy lunching together, trading customers and shopping
for lingerie.
Allison, though confused and guilty about having sex for money, is
naturally gifted -- new customers, calling for the first time, are
enchanted by her soft voice. Unlike Nancy, Allison has always
worked privately and has had it relatively easy, yet she yearns to
leave the oldest profession -- or at least claims she does. Allison
experiments with religion and dunks herself in the pool of every
trend that comes along. Her messy emotional life creates
unsettling waves for her clients and her friends in the Business --
including Nancy.
Matt, Nancy's boyfriend, is an up-and-coming MBA in his 30s putting in late hours on Wall Street. Accustomed to straightforward, aggressive women -- such as his high-powered boss or his older sister -- he has no idea what sort of double life Nancy is leading. Nancy sometimes yearns for stability and thinks about taking Matt home to meet her mom.
Milt, Nancy's favorite customer, is well-established in the world of finance. His business deals are frequently discussed in the Wall Street Journal. Middle-aged and married (for the third time), he craves sexual variety and emotional stability. As lewd as he is sentimental, he's not her easiest client -- but she has a soft spot for him.
More characters to come as the plot thickens ...
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C O M P L E T E__L I S T__O F__C H A P T E R S
Episode 1 Secret books and other tricks of the trade
Episode 2 The Just-in-Time Orgasm
Episode 3 The rules
Episode 4 Busty for an Oriental
Episode 5 Executive quickie
Episode 6 The education of a prostitute
Episode 7 New business?
Episode 8 Allison's addiction
Episode 9 Black market, black book
Episode 10 Thighs wide shut
Episode 11 Out, damned cuff link!
Episode 12 Veiled threats
Episode 13 Crossed love lines
Episode 14 Lesbian blind date
Episode 15 Through the hooking glass
Episode 16 Hurried Harry, Melancholy Matt
Episode 17 Natural selection
Episode 18 Missing women, mysterious men
Episode 19 Swooning over the messenger
Episode 20 He knows me, he knows me not
Episode 21 Unweaving April's web
Episode 22 Johns and lovers
Episode 23 Girl trouble
Episode 24 Great Expectations
Episode 25 Swollen with bliss
Episode 26 Amateur by the hour
Episode 27 Special delivery
Episode 28 For love and for money
Episode 29 Enigmatic revelations
Episode 30 Love vs. commerce
Episode 31 To work and to love
Episode 32 The Hookergram
Episode 33 Colliding worlds
Episode 34 Loose lips
Episode 35 Big issues
Episode 36 The pleasure principle
Episode 37 Totems and taboos
Episode 38 Caught between Milt's lips and a hard Matt
Episode 39 Saved by the Silence
Episode 40 Betrayal, his and hers
Episode 41 I fought the law
Episode 42 Occupational hazard
Episode 43 Out of order
Episode 44 The other cheek
Episode 45 Media circus
Episode 46 Location, location, location
Episode 47 Fates collide
Episode 48 Convention detention
Episode 49 Small world after all
Episode 50 Family matters
Episode 51 Resistance is futile
Episode 52 Sacrificial boyfriend
Episode 53 Last chance
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