Scarlett found the front office empty when she went arrived. She could hear someone in a one-sided conversation and decided they were on the phone. Good, this gave her the opportunity to take a look around. The office had better furnishings than a lot of the ones she'd been in recently. Still, it didn't tell her anything about the business.

Several tasteful nude photos positioned on one wall drew her attention. Interesting, she thought when the realization sank in that not all of the women were young, anorexic nymphs. They depicted women of all ages and sizes, unlike the pictures that stared out at you from the magazine stands. These women had character; and she liked to see women who came across as more than a pretty face.

A sound from the other room from which she'd heard the voice caused her to turn. The doorway filled with one of the most impressive women Scarlett had ever seen. The milk chocolate face radiated against the fabric of the yellow and brown African print that flowed around her tall frame and covered her head.

"You must be Scarlett." The woman smiled and approached with her hand out.

Scarlett felt her hand caught in the vise of the brown goddess who towered above her. When the woman released her hand, she fought the urge to check for broken bones.

"I'm Dulcie and I own this business. Let me get you an application and you can come on into my office when you get it filled out."

Scarlett watched as Dulcie rummaged through desk drawers for the elusive application form.

"Ahha, here it is," she grinned at Scarlett and waved the paper like a flag.

Scarlett made quick work of completing the questions. It didn't take forever to fill out her name and address. She stopped in the doorway and cleared her throat to get Dulcie's attention.

"That didn't take long." Dulcie held out her hand for the application and motioned for Scarlett to take a seat in one of the chairs across from her.

Seated, she watched Dulcie appraise the form. Scarlett fought the urge to squirm in her seat as the woman frowned. Great, here we go again. She crossed her ankles to keep the nervous jerk of her right leg under control and bit the inside of her cheek to stop the quiver of her lips. God, she hated interviews.

Dulcie laid the paper on the desk and her eyes locked on Scarlett. "Sugar, I see you haven't had much experience in the work world."

The woman had the stare of a cobra before it strikes. Scarlett tried to steady the four-inch heel that wobbled, even though she was seated. The impassive stare glued her to the chair as sweat pooled in her armpits. "No. I've always been a homemaker, but circumstances changed."

"Hmmm. I see. What makes you think you can do this job?"

Scarlett struggled with how much she needed to share here. It would help if she didn't feel pinned to the chair by 'The Stare.' Desperation topped the list of why she could do the job. "I need a job and I'm a fast learner."

Lord that was brilliant. Maybe I should add how well I think on my feet and what a great conversationalist I am.

"Do you know what kind of business we run here?"

"I don't think so." Scarlett's eyes darted around the office in an effort to pick up a clue on the type of business. The boss's office offered no more information than the reception area. Sweat trickled down her sides.

"You ever hear of adult entertainment?" A big grin spread across Dulcie's generous lips.

The phone rang before Scarlett could reply.

"Excuse me, sugar. I gotta get this since I'm short-handed." Dulcie reached for the phone. "Call Me Agency, how can I make your dreams come true?"

Scarlett had never heard anyone answer a phone in this manner. She watched as Dulcie listened to the caller and made notes for a couple of minutes before she replied.

"Of course, sugar, we got just the girl who can do that for you. Let's get the nasty payment business out of the way, and then we can get you on the road to pleasure."

Fascinated Scarlett waited as Dulcie pulled a credit card form out of the top drawer of her desk and begin to fill in information.

"How many minutes do you want me to set you up for, sugar? My, my. We do plan to talk awhile, don't we?" She punched numbers into a credit card machine as she chatted. "Okay, sugar, you're all approved. Let me get you set with one of our loveliest girls. Hang on and the next voice you hear will be hers."

Scarlett listened mystified, unsure what type of transaction this conversation covered. Dulcie punched another phone line and entered numbers, winking at Scarlett while she waited.

"Be right with you in a minute. This won't take long."

"No problem." Scarlett was in no hurry to get yet another rejection.

"Jill. How you doing, girlfriend?" Dulcie laughed at whatever was said in her ear. "Got a live one for you. He wants to talk to his mistress. Seems he's been a bad boy and needs to be punished. From the amount he had me run on his credit card, he needs a lot of punishment."

Punishment? Why on earth would someone call for punishment? Scarlett puzzled in her mind.

"Okay, hang on. Here he is." Dulcie pushed more buttons and listened for a few seconds, then set her receiver down gently.

"Did you get the drift of what we do here, sugar?"

"Well, I--uh--um. I'm not exactly sure. From what I heard, it sounded like someone wanted to be punished? But, why would they call you? How can you punish them over the phone?"

Scarlett felt the blood rush to her face when Dulcie exploded with laughter. Yep, she definitely needed to try stand-up comedy since she provided so much humor in job interviews.

"We don't exactly punish them." Dulcie told her. "You see, a gentleman calls in and tells what he wants to satisfy a fantasy. He is then connected with one of our Fantasy Techs, that's what our phone girls like to be called. Anyway, the lady will share his daydream and play along with him. She might even have ideas of her own that'll make him happy."

Scarlett nodded in agreement. She had no idea what Dulcie was talking about.

"In fact, some of our ladies are so good with playing games they get customers who keep calling and asking for them."

"That's nice." Scarlett nodded again as she watched Dulcie frown.

"I don't think I'm getting my point across here, so I'm gonna spell it out." Dulcie sat up straighter. "Here's the deal. Our particular style of adult entertainment is called phone sex. Men call in and want a woman to talk dirty to them."

"Oh my goodness." Scarlett knew she'd fall out of the chair if it didn't have arms.

"The man can either tell her all the things he wants have done to him, or what he wants to do to the woman. Some ladies are so good at the game, he calls back and asks for the same lady every time. When they want get their rocks off.... "Dulcie paused and seemed to be gathering her thoughts.

Scarlett still wasn't clear on what the woman meant. What rocks would a man have on him that he needed to get off? "I'm sure you'll think me ignorant, but I'm not familiar with that term."

She watched Dulcie shake her head as if bewildered, and then continue. "You see, the man is on the other end stimulating himself. Jerking off, or to put it in nicer terms, he's masturbating."

"Oh." Scarlett got the big picture and once again she felt her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. Okay, reality time here. This involves sex but you need a job. This woman hasn't kicked you out yet, even if you are the dumbest person she's probably ever seen. Be gutsy for once in your life.

"Anyway, does that give you an idea of what goes on around here?"

"Got it. Understand now. I honestly don't know if I'd do too well as a Fantasy Tech, but your ad mentioned office work."

"That's right. I need someone to post the girl's hours, run errands to the bank and post office, or whatever and field business calls when I'm not around. I got several other interests which take up my time, too."

Scarlett stood up. "When do I start?"

She caught a surprised look flash over Dulcie's face and felt proud of herself. Her heart skipped a beat when the woman across the desk hesitated.

"Look, Dulcie I really need this job. I'd shovel manure as long as it produced a paycheck." Scarlett knew she sounded desperate.

"Okay." Dulcie stood up and looked down at Scarlett's feet and a smile played across her mouth. "How 'bout I show you around the office and give you a run down on where things go."

Oh my god! She had a job. She resisted the impulse to hug the large woman in front of her. Instead she followed her into the reception area.

Two hours later Scarlett had a severe case of information overload and writer's cramp from the notes she'd taken. She flexed her hand and saw Dulcie look over.

"Well, I think we've covered enough for today. One area you need to think seriously about is education on the business. I got all kinds of books and magazines you can read."

Scarlett bet these would be the magazines found in the adult section of magazine stands, where she'd never considered peeking.

"They'll familiarize you with terms and words, so when you train for back-up dispatcher you'll know what the caller wants and where to send the call to." Dulcie grinned as she handed Scarlett a book. "Don't want to offend your genteel sensibilities too much to right off. We'll start you off slow and easy, and this one fits in your purse."

Scarlett took the book and read the title, Tropic of Cancer. Good heavens. She'd read this. How could she have forgotten so much of what Henry Miller described? Time for a refresher course.

"Thank you," she returned Dulcie's grin and slipped the book into her bag.

Outside in the sunshine, Scarlett leaned against the building and filled her lungs with fresh air. A quick glance at her watch told her she'd missed her bus and had over an hour before the next one.

The memory of her meeting with Reverend Phelps flashed into her mind. His reaction to Scarlett's new job and her fall into wickedness should give him lots of fodder for his 'hellfire, and brimstone' sermon this Sunday. Too bad she wouldn't be there to appreciate it. Oh well, as long as he lambasted her, someone else had peace. Wonder if the old hypocrite will learn anything from his own sermon. Probably not.

A quick scan of the street didn't turn up a coffee house, but across the street the neon 'open' sign on Hank's Tavern beckoned to her. Forget the coffee. A glass of wine better met her needs right now.