Chapter 16

Joey�s place was quiet with only a few people sparsely decorating the room. People came and went as a breeze blew it�s warm street scented breath into the aisles between the tables. Nothing was peculiar about the evening.

The normal number of girls were around and the trade of sexual services seemed to be flowing along with the general hustle and bustle, yet the air seemed charged with a strange presence, well at least around Sharon. Joanne had noticed a spring to Sharon�s step and tonight, she seemed a little peculiar in her actions. It was something Jo hadn�t seen in Sharon before, so it intrigued her. She had asked her how the interview with Christine had gone and although Sharon shared that everything went better than she could have imagined, she still had the feeling that she wasn�t hearing the full story.

Today, Sharon had been late. Joanne had already done a couple of jobs. They had chatted for some time delaying their move to the streets A couple of times she noticed Sharon was distracted. She was the same, happy girl. But her mind was somewhere else. Joanne couldn�t place it. It wasn�t what had happened with Tony. This was something else entirely. Sharon�s smile had a dreamy quality and there was an aura of peace around her. Yes, Sharon had more to tell...

The warm breeze seemed so refreshing and the coffee tasted even better since Joey had installed a new expresso machine. Sharon began to get a little fidgety. She began to play with her empty cup, spinning it on the table with her finger, until she lost control and it would rattle to a stop. Again, she started only to stop. She picked up her napkin and ripped it into little pieces.

"What�s the matter Sharon?" Joanne asked, concerned with her change of behavior.

"Just the regular. I�m sick of this game. I don�t want to go out to the streets again tonight. I had such a wonderful day. It�s a shame to spoil it."

Joanne patted her on the back, gave her a hand, and lifted her to her feet. "Come on girl, this is what we know. Let�s go."

The time was half past seven as Joanne bade farewell to Sharon with a kiss on the cheek to reassure her that she loved her. Sharon looked up and smiled as Joanne did so and grabbed her arm in a gesture that said thanks mate. The arm grab made Jo pause and look into her friend�s eyes. They both communicated that things were fine.

Joanne was the first to hit the street that night. A busker had taken up a position over the road from Joey�s and, being quite talented, he soon had a small group of onlookers. At this time of life the serious drinkers were half tanked. Other people were walking to the restaurant they had booked for dinner, or just causally browsing looking for something to entertain them. The odd street kid was doing a hustle on the unwary tourist, saying he needed a train fare home and an elderly drunk was going through bins along the road looking for recent scraps of food for his next meal.

The busker finished a routine and, as Joanne walked across the street towards him he pointed at her and burst into a rendition of Billy Joel�s �Uptown Girl�. It caused a face or two to turn but this wasn�t anything new to Joanne. One face in the crowd struck her as familiar, and as she looked, he approached her.

"Hi Joanne, how have you been?"

"Good," Jo said, trying to place the face.

"Are you working tonight?"

"Sure am."

"Well " he sort of mumbled to himself, yet loud enough for her to hear it, "How about it?"

" Fine, where�s good for you?"

" Oh, at my Hotel, I�m just in town for the week and I hoped you were working."

" Well luck's on your side Mister."

" It�s John."

A cab with a hail light on was cruising up the street and John lurched out to hail it. It pulled over to the curb and he took Joanne�s hand as they climbed in.

"Take us to the Regent Hotel please."

The driver pulled out into the traffic. As he turned to negotiate a position in the mass of cars, John placed his right hand on Joanne�s exposed leg.

Joanne looked at him, his charming smile, warm brown eyes and, although twice her age, a well kept body. She often looked into her client�s eyes and from that initial look, she could generally see something that would either set her at ease or make her decide to be careful. John put her at ease. Flicking through his wallet, he placed one thousand dollars on her lap. The cab driver gasped with desire as he saw almost two weeks wages on her lap, but his eyes quickly shifted back onto the road as he saw he had been caught looking by John, who smiled at him in the rear-vision mirror.

Joanne was about to ask what the money was for and did he want her all night when he put his finger to her lips and said �please don�t ask�. Used to reading between the lines, she acknowledged this and was silent. All the while her heart beat with the windfall she had just landed. It far outweighed the tip earlier in the night. She tucked the money into her purse and waited to see what would happen next. She felt happy to be in this cab. It would be a pleasure to sell sex to this suave sweet scented muscular businessman.

She found herself gazing into his eyes, as his gentle caress of her thigh seemed to comfort her. His touch was so gentle and considerate, contrasting with the majority of clients she had to deal with. His voice was deep and polished, as though he was an avid performer of presentations. It really suited his well-proportioned face. His dark hair showed streaks of gray, highlights of maturity. His resemblance to a well-known film star was remarkable. His mannerisms were refined and the creases in his eyes and face showed that he was quick to laugh. His hand was soft, rather like a musician whose hands were an instrument of his trade.

As they approached the curb of the Regent, in downtown Sydney, just up the road from the Harbour and the infamous Rocks, crowds of photographers were lingering in the foyer sporadically taking pictures. " What are all those photographers doing here?" Joanne asked.

"A big fashion launch is being held here tonight. The photographers are taking pictures of everyone they think is important." John turned from Joanne as the cab pulled to a stop and he handed the cab driver twenty dollars for a fourteen dollar fare.

They alighted from the car John looking fantastic. Joanne was glad she had put on a nice dress this evening, as they rapidly became the focus of a lot of attention from the press. John took Joanne�s hand and they made their way through a throng of eager photographers. Joanne smiled at the cameras and inside her heart was racing. John led her to the lifts and as the door closed amongst flashes of a camera held by a studio�s apprentice, she turned to him.

"What was all that about, John? " Joanne asked.

"Well I wanted to be in private before I told you, so wait until we get into the room and I�ll show you."

Another person in the lift reached over to shake John�s hand. John shook it.

The lift continued up to the second floor from the top before stopping. They alighted, alone at last. With eagerness in his step and a kind of boyish enthusiasm, he swept Joanne along at a pace that made her puff. He opened the door to his suite with a swipe of a credit card type pass.

When the door opened, he said in French, "Entrez."

 

*******

 

Sharon was not as fortunate with her first client. She tried to block the stale smell of tobacco as her trick pawed her entire body. He spat orders like a common foreman does, while his strong hands threw her around on her bed like a rag doll.

"Hey take it easy will you!"

"Just relax and enjoy baby."

He quickly resumed breathing heavy in her ear and ran his tongue up the side of her face, like a dog licking a bone. The man was panting with lust as he positioned himself to enter her. His callused hands dug at her skin roughly. His clothes lay strewn on the floor, stained with dirt and muck. His work boots caked in mud sat by the side of the bed.

Sharon lay on her back, naked, as the man slobbered up her body with his mouth. She closed her eyes, moaned like a pleasured partner and gritted her teeth in pain.

 

*******

 

A knock came to an eastern suburb's door. The house boasted a magnificent view of the City and was a ten-minute stroll from Manly. On a hill, it was amongst very exclusive and high priced real estate.

As the door swung open, both Peter�s warm smile and a dozen red roses in his hand greeted Sandra.

"Oh you shouldn�t have!" Sandra gasped in shock. Her face showed obvious surprise and delight.

"Come in, while I put these in some water."

Peter walked inside her house. The smell of an Italian dish filled his nostrils and across the lounge, he could see the dining room table set just the way, he had told her to. He followed her slim, well-kept figure with his eyes as she walked into the kitchen and put the flowers in a vase. Taking the flowers from the table, she replaced them with the red roses. The setting conforming to the scene in Peter�s novel.

"How�s your week been Sandra?" Peter asked assuming the voice and motions of his character.

"Busy, everyone wants something done yesterday," she replied. She approached him and threw her arms around his neck. Her mouth devoured his with an urgency that comes from many nights alone in a big house. Peter returned her kiss, playing hide and seek with his own tongue. He was a very experienced lover and he soothed her need by slowing the pace. Soon he was on stage, with his baton raised. Her need was his power, her urgency was her obedience, her body a new instrument for him too master.

Peter broke from the embrace and said "We�d better eat first, I�m famished, then we�ll have the energy to fulfill our fantasies. Sandra broke reluctantly from the embrace and after another little kiss and walked back to the kitchen.

Bending over she opened the fridge. Peter�s eyes drank in the body before him. "Do you want to select the wine?" She asked, motioning him to come to the fridge.

"Sure do baby. " he said grabbing her from behind and peering into the fridge. " This one looks pretty good, What do you think?"

"That�s a good choice, can you open it for me?"

"No worries, it�s been a long time since I�ve seen such a beaut bottle of wine next to Italian dishes. I s�pose that�s because I�m cooking and delivering them, not eating them."

"I thought you might appreciate sitting down to a dish that you didn�t cook. She took a seat at the table after serving the food and waited as Peter released the cork on the wine. He poured two glasses and sat opposite her, seeing the light shining in her face.

It was eight-o clock when they sat down to dine. A distinguished widow in her forties used her own spoon to seductively feed him. Everything about her appearance, her clothes, her mood, and the light flush on her cheeks was beckoning him to fulfill the after dinner entertainment. The dinner conversation revolved around a sexual fantasy she had and wanted to play out tonight. She would be on stage, that much was true, her fantasy fulfilled. Yet John Frederick, the pizza deliveryman, as she knew Peter to be, had another fantasy, and it was different to hers. It was a little surprise that would leave her gasping.

After the dinner they washed up, adding to the excitement as Peter methodically removed every print from the things he had touched. " Did you keep this a secret like I asked you to?"

"Of course. No one knows about us. It�s just the way we planned." she purred.

Peter grabbed the half-full bottle of wine with a couple of glasses and told Sandra to bring the flowers and the vase. " Come with me, I�ve hired a boat so we can fulfill your fantasy on the ocean, under the sky and with a magnificent view of the Harbour. I�ve got some food and more wine on the boat. Let�s go."

Sandra grabbed the flowers and as they left she said, " you are so full of surprises."...

 

*******

The view and sheer magnificence of the suite overwhelmed her as it swam visibly into her conscious mind. Joanne felt as if she had floated to the window. She drank in the scene of the Harbour in all its glory.

A Ferry from Harboard was docking and the Manly ferry was sending a spray of white across the water, which periodically changed its colour as it took on a reflection of the city�s lights. Birds flew in the ferry�s wake, hovering in the wind with ease as the ferry punched its way through the warm summer�s breeze. Numerous boats were visible from the window, some docked, others busy moving up the harbor and a train was traveling smoothly across the bridge.

Joanne turned and met John�s soft embrace, looking up into his warm brown eyes. "It�s beautiful."

"It�s my favorite Harbour." John said, stroking her hair as they stood together." It�s rare to have the opportunity to see another person so inspired by it as myself."

His voice held a tone that soothed her, and she even caught herself for a moment leaning into his hug and actually feeling secure. His arms were strong, his embrace showed extreme power, yet the tenderness of his caress had the endearing touch of a father - a loving father, one she had never had. Joanne sighed to herself; a few moments in life were to remembered; yet, so few of them would be as precious as this.

In his arms, she felt safe. She felt truly loved and floated in a feeling of happiness that she had rarely experienced. Her mind drifted to another memorable moment as she recalled her recent time with Sharon. She wished her friend could be here with her. Her mind raced back to the present and she gave John a kiss on the lips. They stood locked together, man and woman, in a dark and noiseless room.

John broke the embrace. " Can you please take a shower. I�ll lay an evening dress out for you on the bed, and could you put it on so we can go out for dinner." She looked at him with curiosity sparkling from her face but he just smiled and told her in a playful tone to hurry along. She knew he would say no more, but the anticipation of something unusual and special caused her to lightly run from the room casting off her clothes as she went.

After an invigorating shower and shampoo using all the wonderful toiletries to be found in the bathroom, Joanne felt as clean and fresh as any princess. She was just about to hop out of the shower when John�s hand appeared at the shower door and he said in a soft voice.

"No, don�t turn it off." He felt the water temperature with his hand. "Just how I like it." He climbed in as she was getting out without touching her naked body.

"There�s a dress on the bed. Some jewelry on the dresser and some makeup. A choice of three perfumes is also there. You choose which one you like. See you in a little while."

Joanne wrapped herself in a towel, put another towel around her hair and as she started to rub it dry, she stole a look at him. He was busy lathering some shampoo in his hair and the view of his body impressed her.

Upon entering the bedroom, she went over to the bed where the dress lay. It was remarkable. She had never seen a dress that she liked as much The cut was simple, elegant, but the deep glowing red of the fabric caused her to lift the dress to her cheek to feel it�s silky smoothness. Draping it in front of herself, she looked into the mirror. Then, with a sigh of pleasure she lowered it and looked at the label, John P Alexander.

That�s when she felt the full impact. He was the famous fashion designer and she was his escort. Well, this was certainly an honour yet, overcome with a feeling of worthlessness, Joanne felt like leaving. It took all of her fortitude to stay put and keep her mind from racing and doing backflips. She busied herself and started getting ready. She blow dried her hair and had just slipped the dress on, with no bra, when John entered the room. "Absolutely stunning!"

"It, It�s just so", Joanne couldn�t find the words though emotion showed in her eyes.

"It�s so you" John finished.

Joanne couldn�t take her eyes off her reflection in the mirror. She had never felt so special. The dress was perfect; it suited her skin, her dress size, and even her mood. The design was so figure hugging and simple that unless you were model material you wouldn�t dare to even consider wearing it.

"This is my feature dress for formal wear this year. I made it especially for you to wear. I have even withheld the naming of the dress for your approval. I�d like to name it after you. With the number of clients you see, you may not remember me, but I have never forgotten you. I�ve visited the Cross a couple of times to try and see you again but mostly you were already with someone else."

"How do you remember me? Why me?"

"I remember you because I opened up to you about my ex wife. You told me that you thought she was just using me for her own importance and that I was probably not the only guy she was having relations with. Not that I was any saint, by sleeping with you, yet that was the first time I had slept with anyone else and I was at a low stage of self-confidence.

You know, I went back and looked into my wife�s affairs and an affair is actually what I saw. We separated and she moved for a divorce. To cut a long story short, she married her lover.

Anyway, what drew me to you was your personality. You seemed so fresh and happy. Not at all what I expected from a hooker. You seemed genuine. You didn�t strike me for one minute as being dishonest. At the time, I needed to know that honesty still existed. To you I was just another trick and you shared a little of your heart with me.

I could not believe it. In my position everyone either treats you like a god or tries to stab you in the back. The whole scene is a farce with people pretending to be someone they aren�t. I didn�t want high flyers as my friends. I knew that there were good people out there, maybe even a good woman but the fact is that I hadn�t met one.

Then I meet you. You�re attractive. You�re not pretentious, and you�re a prostitute. Sure you can smell money when you see it and you would have known I was wealthy, yet it didn�t seem to change you. You were bubbly, happy, smart, steetwise but you didn�t look at me in awe. You proved that by giving me sound, straight advice which finished a marriage at which people where laughing behind my back, in full knowledge of my wife�s affair.

Just like the scenery before you tonight, my dear, you were a breath of fresh air. It is for that reason, my princess for the night, that I have chosen to have you wear my creation. It�s a gift for you, as my inspiration. It rightly deserves the shoulders I designed it for.

Joanne couldn�t believe her ears and she turned away embarrassed as tears welled in her eyes. No, she couldn�t accept this praise. She wasn�t worthy. She felt dirty and worthless. And yet this man was about to stake his international reputation on her.

He rushed to her side, grabbed her elbows, and turned her to himself. The tears that ran down her cheeks he collected with his cheeks as he said that he was proud of her. He told her that he knew she believed herself to be unworthy, yet to him, she was special - a beautiful, talented, honest woman in whom he could put his trust.

"Come on, trust me girl and let�s go and show these high flyers what an interesting person you are."

Joanne wiped the remaining tears from her face and grabbed hold of John. Her confidence lifted. A little while later they were in the elevator descending to the foyer.

"Can I get some pictures of myself with you, just to remember this?"

"Certainly can."

"Are you ready?"

"As ready as I�ll ever be I s�pose. "

The door opened to a flash of photographers. The foyer was bedlam. Reporters thrust microphones at them. Everyone was asking who Joanne was. John held Joanne�s hand and walked with a steady but sure pace into the main auditorium where all the guests rose and clapped on his arrival. He led her to the main table. He whispered comforting words into her ear. He pulled her chair out. Seated her and took his own place next to her.

"So John, who is this lovely lady at your side?" One guest asked.

"Michael, This is Joanne. She is very close friend of mine. I catch up with her when I visit this City of Sydney."

"It�s a pleasure to meet you Joanne," Michael said, extending his hand.

"Likewise," Joanne replied.

"And is this The Dress?"

"Yes Michael. John had given me the honor."

"Are you a model?"

"No. Just a regular women." Joanne looked at john for help.

"Joanne is being modest. She isn�t a regular woman. She wears this as a testament to what a sincere and honest lady she is. She didn�t ask for the honor, and until tonight didn�t even know."

"Well it looks divine on you. I couldn�t have picked a model that would do it more justice."

"Thankyou Michael, Joanne smiled. She was a little overwhelmed as she finally placed the face. Michael had been on the news a little lately. He was Australia�s foreign minister for trade.

An entrée arrived at the table and the introductions ceased for a time. After the entrée, a few business people approached John, some Joanne recognized, and some she didn�t. Each made a special note to welcome Joanne, and many complemented her on how she looked. Before the main course had arrived, she had shook the hands of some of Australia�s most influential men. More in fact in an hour, then in her career as a working girl.

The main course featured a fashion show of the whole new range of John�s designs. On the catwalk, Joanne witnessed four out of five of the World�s Super models. Suddenly she was feeling both outclassed, and at the same time very very special. For even the best models in the world didn�t have the honor of modeling the feature dress. It was her dress, and she was the most important female in the room. Tonight was her night in the spotlight.

 

*******

 

"Yes I know, but somehow I don�t think it happened in China Town." Christine was addressing her chief in his office at the station. She had been on the new case all day. She was tired, exhausted from the research, the questions, and the memory of the youth�s body. The chief was flicking through the recent missing children�s files. There had been a report lodged that a child went missing from George street the night before.

"Look here, here�s a recent one that fits. It was lodged only an hour after the mother found the youth was missing." It gives all sorts of details even included a recent photograph the mother brought in this morning. It was a black and white fax copy sent to all police offices. He passed it over.

"That�s him chief. Mitchell Johnson. What a way for a missing child to be found. "She read the report. Apparently, he disappeared while his mother was in the movies. When his mother came out of the movies, he had disappeared. It says here that the mother had done this plenty of times and he had never gone anywhere else. He was always playing the video games when she returned."

I�ll have to contact the mother. A sick feeling came over her. It was approaching eight thirty; not even twenty-four hours after the mother had left the child. Now she had to ring the mother to inform her of the boy�s unfortunate death. She dialed the number....

 

*******

 

Peter, alias John, led Sandra onto the boat. It was a fairly large cruiser, quite expensive to hire one for which you had to part with some large notes and prove that you were a licensed driver. He had Sandra settle on a seat on the lower deck next to the captain�s controls. He excused himself and went to the back of the boat where he draped a net bag full of fish pieces and prawns over the back. He started a little pump that pumped ten litres of blood out every two minutes from a large reservoir held beneath the deck. The cruiser, although a luxury vehicle, was set up for large shark catching. A blood supply in the lower levels, an integral part of the operation A gauge on the reservoir of blood allowed accurate measurement that could be charged out as an expense.

Peter smiled to himself as he returned to stand next to Sandra where he fired up the boat�s engines. They roared to life and settled into a slow hum as they left the side of the dock. The trip would take about half and hour. In the darkness as they began to make love under the stars a few hungry sharks would be sure to be lying at the stern awaiting a feed. Used to fishing trawlers cleaning and sorting fish as they came close to the Sydney Heads, these sharks would be pleasantly surprised.

 

*******

 

After the meal John P, Alexander led Joanne to the stage.

The audience went silent and John gave Joanne a pirouette, which she responded to marvelously. He whispered for her to walk the catwalk and then come back to him. As she set off, he admired this girl as she did a wonderful job of walking the catwalk. She returned amongst a round of explosive applause. John took hold of her and planted an affectionate kiss on her cheek, while quietly congratulating her on her wonderful performance.

Once again, the audience became silent as Joanne quietly took her seat. Cameras whirred as the live show went onto Network Ten across Australia and the world.

John took the microphone and stood silently with his head bowed, for a few moments.

Silence continued, then looking directly at the waiting audience, he began. " You know I could start this speech by saying what a great person I am, or I could even just say what wonderful people you are. Yet I choose just to say, Thanks.

As you know my personal life has seen some turmoil and I have been divorced recently. Things have been tough for me personally while coming to grips with losing someone I loved dearly. Yet through this pain I have grown and become more rounded in my view of life. Yes, the important thing is that I have grown.

We live in a world that likes to move at a rapid pace. With fast food and fast cars, jets and mobile phones, we rush about trying to make our world a better place for ourselves. Yet, I have found that some of the less fortunate in life see more beauty in touches of human kindness.

Through deep emotional pain ironically comes true compassion. There�s a hungry world out there crying out for love and sustenance. It is indeed a pleasure, therefore, to be standing here launching my new collection of fashion and stating that, from now on, the profits of my number one dress, the one this beautiful lady Joanne, is wearing, are to be the basis for a fund to help feed the homeless. I choose to publicly announce this so that you can also feel free to contribute.

Life touches us in so many different ways. And through our ups and downs, we grow into maturity. Up until recently, I thought knowledge; power and control were essential for happiness. Recently I have discovered that being vulnerable, just one of the crowd and willing to admit that I have a lot to learn, is far more rewarding.

Many of you may not agree. But, the most important advice I have received in the last year came from someone who had nothing to lose. When a person reaches rock bottom something happens. They become honest to themselves. They say what�s on their mind. They can see through the faces, the facade we call modern living and can cut directly to the chase. Yes, a prostitute showed me a thing or two about life, and it is this dress that I dedicate to her memory."

John�s emotional speech continued "Who would have believed that a man such as myself would have learnt the most about love and life from a person we assume would know the least!"

Joanne sat with her eyes brimming with tears. This lovely man. One of the world�s most popular men was talking about her. He was dedicating the dress to her and telling the world he had slept with a prostitute.

Still moved with emotion John added "Thank you for your support and attention." and left the stage.

The silence in the room was eerie. Not a person whispered but as John was nearing his table a woman in one of the back rows stood to her feat and started applauding. This set off a charge of emotion as people let go of the message they had heard and released it in their applause. The applause went on and on.

John, prompted by Joanne, stood to his feet and bowed. This raised the pitch and intensity of the applause as he did so. There were many people whose emotions had toppled over, and were openly wiping tears from their face. John had bowed his head and spoken directly from his heart. Every person knew the intimate details of his very public divorce. The papers had seen to that. The magazines had gone further, trying to spread dirt on his name, to increase circulation. But in spite of it, all John wrote his own headlines tonight. Headlines that would ignite the world and carry with it the sale of The dress, and in doing so increase the hope of the homeless The first, most popular and successful world designer, had admitted his affinity with the lowest of individuals. More then that, he had shared that only the last person society would turn to, was liberated enough to speak the truth.

The Master of Ceremonies walked to the microphone and without going into much detail said a couple of things to round off the evening. There would be cocktails and dancing into the night and he encouraged everyone to stay and socialize and enjoy themselves.

As the crowd went about their business, Joanne looked at the handsome man sitting next to her. He just sat silently leaning back, looking solemnly into some point over the other side of the room. She had seen a humbleness today that would stay with her for the rest of her life. This night, had been the best of her life. She found herself so charged with emotion that she wanted to run up and dance and sing. She wanted to tell everyone that John P. Alexander was the best man in the whole world. However, for the crowd�s sake, she controlled herself and simply whispered to him" My boy�s all grown up."

He looked at her and smiled and she returned it. He was encouraged to say something. "You know now what I had planned my dear?"

She nodded her head.

"The only thing that kept me going through this divorce was the memory of you. You touched me and gave my whole life a little more truth and direction. For this I could never say enough, or do enough for you, my princess."

As they entered the dance floor, the other dancers seemed to part. Over a hundred people were dancing while many more were looking on yet, as Joanne rested her head into the small of John�s shoulder during a slow rhythmic dance, it was though there were just the two of them there. Just as the dress fitted Joanne to perfection, so too her steps fitted John�s. The couple glided around the dance floor to the smiles of the onlookers. One of the most eligible bachelors in the world had teamed up with a mystery woman. Only a few suspected that Joanne might have been the prostitute to whom he had dedicated the dress, his latest and best creation.

The women found themselves wanting to talk to Joanne, to find out what home truths she could share with them. Whilst the men just wanted to have the pleasure of meeting the girl that had turned this man of steel, as they had known him, into a gentle, caring, human being. Joanne moved, one with her man, and listened eagerly to his words he whispered.

They both danced until late into the night and even when they were apart they were always a couple. The night was spiritual union of two souls who together found purpose in it�s sharing.

As the night drew to a close people came over to John to wish him the very best for his upcoming year, and to thank him for his contribution. Some people, who were touched by the speech, told him in their own words how it had impacted their life. At this level of success, it seemed that all the powerful and successful people treated you as an equal. To have the privilege to be treated an equal for a night gave Joanne a feeling of contentment. Her ability to converse with them freely gave her a little hope for her future.

Joanne commented on a couple of things and had her own opinions, which she more then adequately expressed, when asked. Yet, for the most part, she just stood holding John�s hand and being his partner for the night. She was thinking to herself that she had only recently seen the movie Top Gun where many elite flyers had inflated egos. She was proud to be holding the hand of this man whose humility was his best attribute. As she looked at him and listened to that deep controlled voice she caught herself wondering what life would be like knowing John on a personal basis. She knew in her heart that it was close to impossible yet on this night, a night when she felt on top of the world, she gave herself the treat of contemplating the thought.

John said a few more good-byes and shook a few more hands before they left the function room. Cameras flashed once again, as they crossed the foyer to the elevator. Anticipation stirred in Joanne as the lift traveled upwards. She could not recall one instance when she had ever looked forward to sex, but this was different. Although she was a prostitute, and had known so many men in an intimate way, never before had she found herself as sexually aroused as tonight. The elevator journey seemed never to end.