Tony spoke into a microphone that went straight through to the earpiece Sharon was wearing. ‘Give them all their cab fares home and say thank you for coming.’ He had seen enough. Here they were, being given a chance, and they weren’t prepared to take it. He even saw one put her chewing gum underneath one of his tables. Again, he spoke into his microphone and told Sharon to get her and her chewing gum out of there.

He looked up at the monitor and saw Sharon coming towards the office. She threw open the door and stood there, hand on hip. ‘Let’s not forget, Tony, that this was your idea in the first place. Now, this is only a few girls, so far, and it’s going to be a long afternoon. I don’t need you in my ear all the time.’ With that, she walked out.

‘Thanks,’ said Jake. ‘Now you’ve managed to piss her off. She’s going to nag me all evening because of you.’ Jake folded his arms and continued looking up at the monitors.

Sharon had already got her assistant to give some of the women their cab fares home. Even she could see they were not suitable. Their mannerisms were enough to put her off. Some of them were pure divas. They had the reputation of being the best girls at some dead-end pubs and they had got used to this status. It almost felt to Sharon that they thought they were doing her a favour by turning up.

One by one, Sharon let them go through their routines. Some, she stopped halfway through, as what they did was either far too explicit or just plain boring. Some didn’t smile, others just walked up and down, without any rhythm. They seemed oblivious to the music that was playing, they were on autopilot.

More strippers came through the doors and Sharon was slightly relieved that they looked a little younger and they had made an effort; although some were overdressed, that was better than not caring. She had her assistant show them all to the dressing rooms to change, and waited. Each one had a number; she had done this so that Tony and Jake could easily remember which ones they thought were suitable.

At last there were a few who showed promise, and who, with a little polish, could do well. They were good-looking and their figures seemed okay. It was difficult, because some were pretty but overweight and some were slender but not pretty. One by one, Sharon got her assistant to hand out cab fares.

What had originally been about a hundred girls was quickly whittled down to approximately thirty. Each, in turn, did their routine and gave it their best, given the fact they were nervous and in unknown territory. This was a far cry from what they were used to.

‘You do realise we’ve wasted the afternoon,’ said Tony. He was bored and his neck ached from looking up at the monitors. ‘How many more are there to go?’