Nope.

Miraculously, Mark made it down to the entrance unscathed. Amanda and her company hadn't moved and seemed oblivious to the goings on he'd initiated, much to Mark's delight. That made his last job here much easier.

"Amanda!" he called, panting for breath. "We need to leave. This place is..."

Distracted by his objective, Mark hadn't noticed the raven haired girl moving towards him until he felt a small prick in his left arm. Using herself to shield Amanda from the truth, she quickly administered a small injection into Mark's arm. Now he was liable to behave like a lunatic, he'll fail the right **** test, and his belongings were likely being loaded down with more "bath salts" before she had even removed the tiny needle. And Annie had certainly dispatched more of her underlings to tamper with a few more of Mark's possessions, like his apartment. Thanks to Annie's influence, Mark's life was officially over.

"'This place is...' what?" Amanda asked, still oblivious to the world around her.

"Don't listen to him," her new friend said smiling. "Our boss sent word that he was seen shooting up and then started acting crazy. He shouldn't be trusted."

'Shooting up'? 'Shouldn't be trusted'? Had I actually accomplished anything this morning? Was my huge debt even real?

Amanda's mind raced, trying to contemplate all the negative implications that came with this revelation. Never for a moment did she consider that it was the dark haired Monique or her boss that shouldn't be trusted. Even her monetary considerations weren't focused on finding solutions, though that was due in part to the job offer. All she cared about was doing something about the slimy bastard that essentially **** her mouth.

"Oh, you got him already," a soft, feminine voice called back the way Mark came.

Amanda looked around Monique and found the source of Mark's end and her hopeful start. Annie had gotten dressed faster than Mark had hoped since she decided to only slide on a black cocktail dress and slingback shoes, keeping the replacement bra and panties in the purse at her side for later. If not for the drugging, Mark's face would have fallen at the sight, instead it was only the face of the ditzy blonde that clearly looked flabbergasted. As if answering to Annie's siren call, the police came in the front door and quickly made a dash for Mark.

Once he was firmly grasping Mark's arm, one of the officers asked, "This the guy?"

"Yes, sir," Annie answered sweetly. "**** use, **** possession, driving while intoxicated, and I believe there's a **** accusation as well. Monique, why don't you show the officers to Mark's locker and find his home address, this way the officers can quickly GET WHAT THEY CAME FOR and take their leave."

Annie punctuated the slightly louder part of her sentence with repeated winking, enough for Monique to flash a knowing smile upon her exit and extend Amanda's confusion. As if to finally illuminate the predicament, an older man, perhaps in his early forties, walked into the establishment behind the police dressed in formal wear and his graying hair carefully combed and cut.

The gentleman spoke first. "This establishment of yours always had a knack for finding the wrong sort of people."

"Judge Caito!" Annie called with obvious glee. "What are you doing here today?"

"I was in the neighborhood and saw the commotion. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to tease an old friend."

"Oh, you're not here to get a head start on Mark McLain's charges and trial?"

"Annie, that would be unprofessional. I can keep the police in line and help give him a fair trial, but it would bias my decision should I take the docket and preside over the trial."

"I guess that's true. By the way, I heard you were entering the political world?"

"Yes, I'm hoping to establish a few revisions to the law and make the whole system work better."

"Excellent!" Annie said while reaching into her purse. "You have my full support. Best of luck."

Illustrating her intent and bulging Amanda's eyes out of their sockets, Annie presented a fanned out collection of hundred notes, at least twenty of them, straight from her wallet. The sight of that "donation" got the judge to lick his chops like a starved dog looking for crumbs caught in its fur. While he instantly got the message to trump up Mark's charges and sentence, all Amanda got out of it was that Annie was loaded and someone she wanted to work for.

Judge Caito left without saying a word, only nodding his understanding with a wicked grin consuming his once friendly face. Mark and the police quickly left Stand-Ins, and they took a strange looking man with them out on a stretcher. Within moments, Amanda was left alone with Annie, the latter of which couldn't stop roaming her eyes all across the former's body.

Annie broke the silence first, "So, are you the girl Mark brought for me to interview?" Her gentle smile had returned again, and it was more than enough to win Amanda over and eradicate any doubts the police presence may have implanted in her. Sitting right next to Amanda and the sincere, sympathetic look in her eyes were utterly superfluous.

"Yeah, Mark said..."

"Forget about Mark. I want you to know that I am deeply sorry I exposed you to that lunatic. It's not much, but I'd like to offer you a few free drinks after your interview as a means of making up for anything he may have done. And I'd also be willing to support you if you want to file any complaints with the police against Mark."

"Thanks so much! But instead of drinks, could I maybe get a job without the interview? I could really use the money."

Annie couldn't help but chuckle. "I'll tell you what, let's go into my office and we'll see what we can do. My interviews are fun anyway."

The duo crossed the large room and entered an office on this floor. Unlike the true offices on the top floor, Annie kept this one a bit more trendy and vibrant, a feat that was fairly easy given it's extraordinary size. A fair number of apartments could fit into this office, an idea Annie got a head start on when she placed a bed and a bathroom in it. While it carried a desk, chairs, a filing cabinet, and a computer, it also carried a brand new plasma screen television, a top of the line sound system, and a personal bar filled with alcohols and complete with stools. Annie made this office more homey, both for her long nights of work and for the more hands on aspects of certain interviews.

"So, what position were you thinking of?"

"Um, Mark never mentioned any of what your girls do. He only mentioned the escorts and how it's legal."

"Not a problem," Annie replied. "You mentioned financial problems?"

"Yeah, I'm out of money, and I don't know how much I owe everyone."

"That complicates things a bit. However, to fix your problem of any size, I'll put you in one of the positions I invest in. The three main positions: bartender, dancer, and escort.

"Bartender, obviously, you work in a bar. You mix drinks, you keep the patrons happy, and you get both a salary from me and whatever you get off tips. The only hitch is that if you want to be one of my glamour girls who get serious advances in their salaries, you'd need to work in one of my flashier bars. Some of these have a bar top dancing and several contests that you'd need to both judge and referee. It also helps to get in on the action yourself. The others are topless bars, where you work in only thong panties and footwear. Same rules and idea otherwise. Your interview is simple conversational abilities, practical cocktail knowledge, and a body check.

"Dancer is also self explanatory. I can put you to work as a cage dancer in a club, or a stripper at a strip joint. Pays better in the second one, but both require a sense of rhythm and a spectacular body, more so for the strip dancing, where you'll be giving lap dances, bed dances, shower dances, and pole dances. The interview consists of seeing you dance each of the various dances you'll be required to dance, and a body check.

"Finally is escort, which, as you must know, is simply acting as company for someone when they go somewhere. While it helps to be familiar with the town, it's not necessary. Most clients might want sex, but as a rule we say no, but if you want to pay off your debt to me quickly, then you can be like some girls and accept the offer. Just don't let anyone outside our family know or you're fired. This requires a more intellectual and personality based interview, so I'll be asking more scholarly and personal questions and I'll need you to model a few of your outfits so I can get a sense of your style and perform a body check."

While she wouldn't admit it out loud, Annie wasn't too worried about getting Amanda a job. The sight of her was almost too much for even the experienced madam, she almost came when she first laid eyes on Amanda. Even if Mark hadn't brought her here, Amanda's fate would be the same: Annie's property. The only question is how to get her hooks in the girl. Any of the jobs would be nice, but this ditz was worried with each description and seemed to get confused at the bigger words. There was the distinct chance Amanda wouldn't get any of these jobs, and may even object to being one of the girls used by Annie's driver.

If push comes to shove, Annie thought, I can take pity on her and hit on her to see if she's willing to be my girlfriend. Otherwise, I can just **** her with a free drink and chain her in my basement at my mansion.