Becoming a Star Ch. 01

This is linked to the earlier story "Yes sir I can boogie." There is no real need to read that story as I have tried to incorporate the necessary information in this one. This is set in 1980 Birmingham so no social media, no internet, no smartphones so characters can be more confident about not being found out. Also social attitudes were very different then and this reflects that.

The idea is that the main character Joanna wants to become famous and is prepared to pay any price to achieve this. While she is worried about the consequences of being found out, she is willing to take more risks than the characters in my earlier stories.

A word of warning. I have deliberately chosen to generally have longish introductions, including back story and development of the underlying story and some flirtation before sexual activity takes place. That reflects my own preference in stories, but YMMV. I also prefer to have my characters normally consider the implications of their actions.

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It was three o'clock on a cold January Wednesday and Joanna was standing behind the counter with Janet at Monsieur Alphonse's waiting for the working day to end. She worked there three afternoons a week as well as on Saturday. Until five weeks ago it had only been a Saturday job, but her essay disaster had meant she needed to do more work.

Luckily Daddy had never been to the shop and so she had been able to tell him that she was a shop assistant in a women's clothes shop. This was strictly true, although a large number of the customers were men and her boss's specialities were lingerie and sexy costumes. The business also had a few side lines which daddy would definitely not approve of. They weren't compulsory and she did not do "overtime" at the flat or go on the Road Shows.

If she had told herself six months ago that she would behind the counter selling stockings rather than in front of the counter burying them on she would have laughed in disbelief. Unfortunately, since then she had blotted her copybook by getting an E in History A level last year despite getting an A for French and C for German and therefore had not get the grades she needed for Exeter. She had paid the price for coasting for the last two years preferring to be the queen bee at school and among her social group rather than studying. The English history paper had not asked questions on the few topics she had revised properly, and she had gone off the wrong tangent on two of the questions and only written a page on the fourth.

Darling Daddy had reacted by becoming a stern Father on hearing the results. He told her that she was a lazy cow who thought the world owed her a living, but that really she needed constant kicks in her bum to amount to anything. After the A level disaster, he had reduced her allowance and insisted on her retaking History and German. She had been given an offer to go to university in London this September if she got a B in history this year and was studying at a crammer.

He had also insisted on her taking a Saturday job to learn about the real world.

Originally she had chosen the job because of the twenty per cent staff discount and the fact that the lingerie and clothes really were excellent. She had quickly found out from Janet that an extra ten per cent discount could be obtained if she allowed Monsieur Alphonse (AKA Mr. Ernie) to play with her tits for around five minutes. This originally involved taking the blouse and bra off to avoid the blouse being creased and wear and tear on the bra and allowing him to face her and squeeze and suck her tits.

She might not have taken advantage of the perk if it had not been for David, her boyfriend at the time. David had this kink about imagining her having sex with other people and kept trying to persuade her to do a threesome with his best friends while he watched. When she described the special discount, he had badgered her to let Ernie have his fun. It had for a time satisfied him to listen her describe a slightly balding and overweight thirty-five-year-old man from Brum who pretended to be French playing with her tits in the office while she pretended to chew gum and look bored.

Unfortunately, the third time she did this Lou had walked in on them when Ernie had been sucking her tits and she had putting on her act. Lou had just loved the moment and fair do's Joanna had been a bitch to her. "I knew you were a hypocritical slut, Joanna. Ernie, she's chewing gum like an old whore being fucked against the wall in a pub carpark at closing time."

After that Ernie had reduced the discount to 25% until she negotiated a new deal involving a forty per cent discount with him. This required her to take her skirt, blouse, and bra off, bend over the desk in his office and let him fondle her breasts from behind. The real advantage for him was that it allowed him to rub his cock against her arse. While her slip and his trousers remained on, she could always feel when his prick hardened. She was also required to face a mirror and to look as though she was enjoying it.

She amused herself by seeing whether she could make him end the session earlier than five minutes and rush off to the toilet before coming in his trousers. If he was going to force her to smile then she may as well go the whole hog and pretend to be turned on by it or tell him what she knew he really wanted to do to her. What seemed to work best was speaking in French.

It had at the time helped satisfy David's fantasy of her having sex with other men without actually doing so. It had also been the beginning of the end of the relationship when she realised that her public school educated Birmingham University student boyfriend was imaging that he was her boss while fucking her doggystyle over the desk in his room and encouraged her to let Ernie fuck her.

She could not blame Lou for telling on her or indeed rubbing it in that she was no better than the rest of them. Christ, she had been a real cow when she had first started at the shop. She had been condescending to Ernie's wife Jill and the two long serving assistants Anna and Lou especially once she worked out what the side lines involved. She had been less of a bitch to Janet, but that was in part because that would have been like kicking a puppy and mainly because she knew she needed someone to speak to. She had assumed that Darling Daddy would relent and, when she realised that he would not, had already burnt her bridges with Lou and Jill. Anna was rather more forgiving, but seemed to take the view that it was now only a matter of time before Joanna joined in the other side-lines.

Joanna suspected that Anna was not wrong about this. The essay disaster had made her dependent on the job for money. The Crammer had written to Darling Daddy when she had submitted an essay comparing and contrasting Elizabeth 1 with Mary Tudor. Unfortunately, the crammer had asked for one comparing Elizabeth with Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots in the 1560s. They said that the essay had been excellent on the question it had answered but that such carelessness could result in her not doing herself justice in the exams.

In retrospect it was totally her own fault. She had been working moderately hard, but that week things had been busy socially and she had got behind. Daddy had worked out she had copied an essay from George. The giveaway had been that they had said it was an excellent essay, but on the wrong subject. Darling Daddy had reacted by becoming an even sterner Father. He had cut her allowance almost to nothing and would not think of reinstating it unless she performed well in her mock history exam in April. He also made it clear to George that while he could tutor Joanna, there was to be no lending of essays and no writing them for her.

This had resulted in her adding three half days a week to the time she worked at the shop and also, in combination with some other developments, being a little less fussy about how she earned money.

Unfortunately, his plan was succeeding. In the last month she had dumped David, studied hard and was even enjoying the subject. The crammer had told father the good news and he had taken it as vindication. She knew how her father's mind worked. If she performed well, he would decide that it was because she had been forced to knuckle down and earn some money and he would give her the bare minimum on top of her basic maintenance grant to get by on at university. As it was she knew she would receive the minimum from the local authority, and she suspected Daddy would only top it up to £1,000.

She had decided that if she was going to spending three years at university in London reading Modern Languages she did not want to be dependent on working most of the summer and at weekends to afford to have an enjoyable time. She needed another source of income. Modelling sounded attractive to her. She wondered whether Ernie's acquaintance would introduce her to his friends in the business as he had half promised.

Just then a man of fifty and a girl of around twenty-five came in. The girl was blonde like her, and the man was clearly not her father. Boss and secretary she guessed. Actually, maybe not, she was dressed rather sternly for that. The bun in the hair and the glasses made a difference. They were both looking tired. Maybe she was a junior in the company the man was a bigwig in. The man had a briefcase, and the woman was carrying a large pilot bag which seemed quite heavy.

Ernie came out of his office and turned into Monsieur Alphonse. He had an eye for the customers who might spend real money. Joanne half listened. The man sounded as though he was from London. Probably in Birmingham on business and wanted to mix some pleasure with it.

Myles said that the girl deserved a reward for her hard work this week and that Monsieur Alphonse's Emporium had been recommended to him. The girl looked doubtful about this and said that she could not imagine herself wearing some of these garments.

Ernie looked across at Joanna and raised an eyebrow. She nodded. She did not know either of them and so would be happy to do the modelling. Ernie offered this as a special service for discerning customers to enable them to visualise how the garments he sold would look on their girlfriends or wives.

Ernie then turned, "We do offer a special service for discerning customers such as yourselves. Our assistants are willing for a small fee to act as models showing how certain of the garments look on a female form. Obviously, we cannot afford to have copies of all garments we sell, but I believe that we have the ones you are most interested in available for showing and others will help give you the general idea. We have a private room in the back of the store."

The room was at the back of the store with a small "stage" with a wooden chair on it in the corner. There were mirrors on the walls by the stage which allowed the customer to get a full view of the garment and the girl. There was a record cassette player next to it. A comfortable sofa faced the stage and there was hat stand in which coats and jackets could be hung.

He looked over at Joanna, "La belle Suzanne here would be glad to be of service." She had been originally reluctant to offer the modelling service herself but had been persuaded when Ernie had said that she could call herself a different name in the shop and pointed out that she could wear her hair in a ponytail to further disguise herself. Besides which if all she did was danced or posed what was the harm.

She was normally Susan (Lou chose the aliases) but occasionally Ernie preferred to make it more exotic. This meant that she had some plausible deniability in the event that any acquaintance came to shop in the store, or she met customers in a different environment. She had hidden the fact of the Saturday job from friends and Daddy had not advertised the fact either.

The man looked at her and his companion. "I think that will be extremely helpful, don't you Joy."

The blonde said, "Yes, that should help."

The man said that Joy should look out for some more things she wanted to look at while he had a word with Monsieur Alphonse. The woman nodded and Joanne helped her choose things. Clearly a Grammar School type of girl. Clever enough but did not know how to make the best of herself. Bit like that girl Rebecca who was George's nemesis. Joy said, "It's hard getting the balance right. I don't want to be mistaken for a secretary, but I would like to dress more attractively." She did accept being measured by Joanne. The girl was two inches shorter and that was all in the legs. Breast size was nearly the same. Hips were within an inch. She pointed this out to the woman and Joy said, "That's good. It will help me choose."

Ernie was no doubt explaining the terms to the man. Normally the cost was £5 for thirty minutes with a pound refunded for every fifteen pounds which was spent. He would offer them a bottle of Freixenet sparkling wine at a price somewhere below the price they would pay in a hotel or wine bar and above the price that he paid for it. Ernie's motto was that if he did not rip people off on the things they knew the price off they were less likely to question his mark-ups on the clothes.

This modelling service involved her, Janet, Lou, or Anna wearing the display costumes and posing or dancing on a small stage showing them off to the customers. Ernie did his best to reserve the service to established clients and wealthy ones and to single men or couples.

She was paid an extra £2 for every half hour and got commission if they bought over £20 worth of merchandise. Janet, Anna, and Lou were happy to earn tips by sitting on the men's laps and allowing the men to feel their tits or stroke their legs on the pretence of allowing them to appreciate the feel of the material. It was also not unknown to allow the men to practice undoing the bras and after that they may as well cop a feel. Lou had established a scale of fees and woe betide anyone who did not charge at least union rates. So far Joanna had resisted this aspect of the service. Posing and dancing was one thing, being felt up was another. It was too close to being a girl darling Daddy would describe as the type you found behind the back of Rackhams.

She was rethinking her policy on this at least where it involved men like today's client who were from out of town.

She went to the staff changing room next to the back room and took off her blouse and skirt. Ernie came back and gave her the first set of clothes which to her surprise included a skirt and blouse. She gave him the measurements and he nodded. He then briefed her on how she should deal with the modelling, "Junior employee and boss situation. He definitely wants to spread a little Joy today and become her mentor. Sexy but not tarty. Remember to look like you are enjoying yourself."

He paused, "The man asked if you could start off wearing the blouse and skirt over the outfit and take them off when he asks. He's paying above the odds for an hour so it's a fiver for you. He'll tip you some more if you put on a good act. If he offers you a glass of the fizz take it. You should use your posh voice. Put those on and do up the blouse to the top. Don't bother about simulating the bun, but the ponytail is fine. It's a drôle de vieux monde."

She laughed. It was a shock whenever she realised that Monsieur Alphonse actually knew some French. It was indeed a funny old world.

She quickly dressed and looked at the effect and realised that she was dressing up in a sexier version of the costume Joy was wearing. The blouse was satin rather than nylon and was only semi-transparent. The skirt was tighter and shorter. She was wearing stockings rather than tights. Ernie did not actually have any ordinary shoes, but the stilettos were about as innocent as he stocked.

She walked into the room. The man was on the sofa. The girl was next to him sipping the fizz. There was a chair on the stage, and she sat down on it and crossed her legs.

The man was speaking to Joy. "No doubt you are seething that despite the fact that you did all the hard work the clients were more interested in speaking to Annabel."

The woman nodded, "It does seem unfair, Mr Frobisher."

"Myles. We're colleagues and not in front of clients now, Joy. I'm afraid that it is still a hard fact of life that if you want to be the first female corporate partner in the firm it needs more than your first-class degree from Cambridge, technical expertise, brains, and hard work. You need be better known within the firm and you will need an ardent supporter." He patted Joy's knee and left his hand there. Ernie was right about the man's intentions.

The girl pulled a face and sipped some more fizz. She said, "I know you are right. I can't rely on being a good lawyer." Joanne almost felt sorry for the girl. You work hard, do your best and then are told that to be promoted you have to let an old man fuck you. The girl seemed to nod to herself.

The man turned to her and said, "Suzanne, stand up and undo some of the buttons on your blouse and take off the glasses."

She did so and watched the man for a signal as to when to stop. He nodded when it had got to the respectable from the front, but not from above stage. She then took off the glasses.

He said, "Joy. You would agree that from where you are she looks perfectly respectable."

"Yes, Mr., I mean Myles."

"Suzanne, sit on the chair. Joy, stand behind her and look down."

They both did as they were ordered and Joy went, "Oh."

"That's why Annabel attracts the clients and the senior partners."

The girl asked, "Can I touch the blouse, Suzanne? I want an idea of how the material feels."

"Of course, Miss." After all the girl would be the one wearing it if it were bought, and it was not the man feeling her up.

The girl touched her on the back and stroked. "Hmm. That's really good material." She then moved her hands to Joanne's shoulders. Joanne liked the sensation.

Myles said, "Undo another button to see the full Annabel effect."

Before she had chance to obey, the girl had reached down and done as he requested.

"Stand up and walk around Suzanne. Show Joy that she can look attractive and professional at the same time."

Myles and Joy both seemed happy with her attempt. Bluntly she just carried herself the way she did at school and how she had dealt with the admirers at the Grammar schools after she had discovered university men. A look of I know I have what you want, but you aren't getting it.

Myles said, "See. You need to sell yourself more and be more confident. Look in the mirror and think how the clients would react to you if you dressed like that. You know that you are a better technical lawyer than Annabel. You must also be more confident than her and compete on her terms with clients and the senior partners."

It was possible that Myles did want to help her career and that the advice was good. However, she was also certain that his main aim was to have sex with Joy tonight. Her glass was being constantly topped up and Joanne gathered that they had worked most of the last forty-eight hours before in a solicitor's office negotiating a takeover deal and they had had about three hours sleep each night. The documents were being retyped to reflect the amendments agreed today and the deal would close tomorrow morning.

Joy was soon giggly and being introduced to the arguments favouring tight skirts and stockings for the office and moving beyond M&S for bra and knickers. Myles had sold the line that if you felt attractive underneath then that helps you sell the illusion. Joanne was included in the wine drinking at that point, the skirt and blouse were now off, and she was bending over.

Joy was even taking lessons from her in how to ensure men were imagining grabbing you by the hips and thrusting without thinking that you were inviting them to do so. Well, it was not put quite that way, but it was clear to Joanna what Myles had been hinting at.