“Hey Cassie, how’s things?” Mandy called out. She was always very pleasant—something that Cassie had misjudged. She’d assumed that to run a place like this one would have to be some kind of hard bitch, but Mandy was the complete opposite. She always asked after them all, wanted their feedback on the vibe of each evening, and sought their honest opinions on how things could be run better. She genuinely seemed to care about the clientele and their experiences.

“Can’t complain,” replied Cassie, walking back into the office to speak face-to-face. She nodded a greeting to Dee. “Had a good week, actually. I haven’t said anything about it before, in case it all fell through, but I’ve got a deal with a gallery to show some of my pieces after Christmas. Just for a couple of weeks, but it would be my own show for the first time.”

“Wow, that is good news. I’m really pleased for you.” Mandy smiled widely and patted Cassie on the shoulder. “Good for you!”

“That’s awesome!” said Dee, looking up briefly from the laptop screen in front of her.

“Thanks.” Cassie blushed a little at the praise. “So, am I in Green still?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind,” said Mandy. “One more week, and then I’ll put you in the rotation, if that’s okay? But remember, like I’ve said before, if you’re not comfortable in either of the other rooms, you just say. It’s not a problem.”

“I think I’ll be fine,” said Cassie, grinning. “I’m a big girl now.”

Mandy chuckled. “Well, let’s see how you feel about that after you’ve done a Saturday night in Red.”

Dee snorted.

“Okay, whatever,” Cassie mumbled and left the office to the sound of Dee and Mandy’s gentle laughter behind her.

It was a little running gag between them all that Cassie had no experience with BDSM, either as a participant or spectator, and on her first day had openly expressed concerns about working in Red. Although, after reading that anthology of lesbian erotica her best mate had given her, she wasn’t sure that was still necessarily true… She’d been a little taken aback—actually, make that a lot taken aback—at her body’s reaction to the handful of Dom/sub stories. She’d ended up so wet after reading the first one that she’d guiltily put the book away for a few days, deeply uncomfortable with this new knowledge of herself.