Sasha Dances at The Landing Strip

"No - how could I? He has video of me stripping and having sex in his club. Who would believe me? Nobody. And now he wants to be my pimp." Sasha began to sob.

"Hey, hey," Stan came around the desk and sat down next to Sasha. He put his arm around her and held her as she heaved. "It's going to be ok."

"Is it? Can it ever be?" Sasha cried.

"It can be, it will be." Stan reassured her. "I like you, Sasha. You're a special one. You're a complicated girl, but you've got a big heart and a kind soul. Your future is bright and you don't deserve any of this. I'm going to take care of it."

"How?" Sasha begged. She was skeptical, but she wouldn't have asked for Stan's help in the first place if she didn't think he could do something.

"Let me worry about that." Stan replied.

"I don't know why you're so kind to me, Stan, but I appreciate you." Sasha whispered. He hugged her warmly.

"I like you." He said. "You made quite an impression upon me."

Sasha pressed her temple into Stan's chest.

"But Sasha," Stan continued. "Understand that in my world, everything is transactional. I will fix this situation for you. Then you owe me."

"Oh no!" Sasha exclaimed, sitting up with a start. "No -- not more!"

"No, no, no." Stan reassured her. "Not like Chidi. No. I may be a dirty old man, but I don't need to use rape and blackmail to get sex. No. That's not what I am talking about. Some day, though, I may need something from you. If that day comes, I will expect you to recognize your obligation without question."

Sasha felt reassured by Stan's words. "Ok. Yes. I will." She promised.

Stan stroked her cheek lovingly. "I'm glad you called me, Sasha. And I'm glad to help you. Head home. Keep your phone on, I may be calling."

Sasha thanked Stan again, hugged him, and left his office. The car ride home took twenty minutes. She opened the door to her apartment. Her cell phone rang.

"Hello?" Sasha answered.

"Sasha, it's Stan." Stan said. "It's taken care of. Chidi won't be bothering you ever again. He won't be reaching out to your father. And he is not expecting you to work for him in his club, or anywhere else."

"Oh my god!" Sasha could not believe her ears. How could her life shift from total collapse back to normal in a just one instant? "I don't even know how to thank you, Stan. This is amazing. You are amazing!"

"You're welcome. Just remember our understanding." Stan said.

"I will. I promise." Sasha responded gratefully.

"One last thing," Stan continued. "Chidi is going to call you shortly. Pick up. I know you probably don't want to talk to him, but I want you to answer the call. And I want you to record it. Can you do that?"

"Yes," Sasha replied, in her mind walking through the steps required to record a phone call. "I think I can. Yes."

"Good." Said Stan. "Keep the recording. Put it on a flash drive and put that in a safe deposit box at your bank. Got it?"

"I've got it. Thank you, Stan. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!"

"You're welcome. Take care." Stan hung up.

Not ten minutes later Sasha's phone rang again. She started her cell phone's recording software.

"Hello?" Sasha answered.

"Hello, Sasha? This is Chidi." The voice on the other end said.

"What do you want?" She asked coldly.

"I want to tell you I am sorry." Chidi said. "I am sorry that I threatened to call your father. I am sorry that I tried to make you work at my club. I am sorry that I filmed you and John without your permission."

"Is that it?" Sasha asked, unmoved.

"I am sorry that I assaulted you." Chidi said.

"Raped me." Sasha corrected him.

"I am sorry ... that I raped you." Chidi said, haltingly. "I have destroyed the recording of you and John. I will never bother you again. I will not contact your father."

Sasha's train had gone completely off the rails. Not even twelve hours earlier, Sasha was terrified that she might lose her job, her career, her family, her boyfriend -- her entire life. She had been terrified that her prospects as an up-and-coming investment banker were shot. She was staring down the barrel of an entirely different life as a sex worker.

If she were being honest, there were aspects of the fantasy of sex work that Sasha found powerfully arousing. The reality of actually becoming a sex worker, however, represented a future that Sasha was entirely unprepared to embrace. For now, anyway, one night as a nude waitress and one night of stripping had been sufficient to scratch that itch. Had Sasha been forced to capitulate to Chidi's demands, the trajectory of her life would have felt dark and terrifying. Forfeiting her hopes and dreams, her relationships, her future, would have devastated Sasha.

But then, in the space of an instant, her life was suddenly back on track. Sasha's control over had been restored. The ominous storm clouds that had massed over Sasha's head began to part. The actual sky outside of Sasha's apartment window literally looked brighter and bluer to her. Even the coffee evaporating and burning at the bottom of the pot that John had brewed that morning now suddenly smelled delicious.

"Anything else?" Sasha asked Chidi.

"No, that's all." He responded.

Sasha ended the call. She transferred the recording to her computer, from which she saved it to a flash drive. Sasha walked the mile to her bank with a spring in her step. She rented a safe deposit box for the flash drive, and then took herself out to lunch.

It takes some seriously bad luck to need so much good luck, but Sasha felt at that moment like the luckiest young woman in the world.

(To be continued...)