The Ballad of Verdene Molloy Ch. 02

To Verde's surprise, she found herself enveloped in a sympathetic hug.

"Look, kid," he said, drawing back and looking her in her good eye, "it's a fucking shitty deal, I'm not gonna deny it. But this is what you are now, at least until you get the cash to turn yourself into something else."

"All the cash in the world isn't going to wash off Draconian tattoos," she muttered.

"No," he said, "but instead of wishing they weren't there, you're gonna have to make the best of what they do for you. This is life punching you in the face. You gotta roll with the punch."

"I'd sooner have been punched in the face," she said after a pause.

"I bet you would," he said, "but in the meantime, I can offer you work. With tats like those you could make some serious money doing scenes. 'The girl you can't say no to.' I can see it all."

He grinned at her. It was so beyond fucked up, so utterly weird and humiliating and awful, that she had to laugh.

"That's it," he said, as she smiled sourly at him. "Laugh, Verdene Molloy, or the world laughs at you."

"What about security?" she said. "When you have scenes, you've got what, camera crew, security, all that. What's to stop everyone dropping everything and just gang-banging me?"

"Good point," he said, rubbing his chin. "But I think it'll be OK. I can use camera droids, and security isn't going a problem."

"Why not?" she said, hugging her knees to herself for protection. "If I'm gonna do scenes for you, I want there to be at least some guys in the room who aren't gonna be, like, overwhelmingly psychically compelled to fuck me. Being gay isn't gonna make them any less susceptible."

"No," he said, "but at least half of my guys should be totally immune to you."

"Why?" she said. He grinned again.

"They can't read," he said.