On Monday Ms Sinclair is working from home. You send her your report on time, like an obedient schoolboy. Her PA has the details of the horribly early flight for Wednesday morning and the hotel where the conference is taking place. Ms Sinclair has mailed you instructions as to your brief - you are simply to attend those presentations which she does not, and make detailed notes. She will meet you at the end of the day for you to hand them over. That's all. Meetings all day, a dinner in the evening, one night in the hotel. In your own room, apparently.
You arrive in Amsterdam on Wednesday morning glassy-eyed from the early start and too much coffee at the airport. A taxi is waiting to take you to the hotel which is right in the middle of town, on Dam Square. Museums to the south, elegant canal houses to the east ... and the red light district to the west. Hm.
The day itself is pretty dull - bland corporate presentations by managers from all over Europe. You dutifully take notes, feeling as if you are on a school assignment. You are nervous, eager to please and still confused as well as aroused by memories of what had happened on Friday. It's hard to concentrate. A friendly German colleague named Hans makes a bit of conversation with you. Apparently the plan is to hit the town once the formal dinner is over, maybe have a look at the red light district ... just a look, of course.
The last presentation finishes and you wait in the lobby for Ms Sinclair. There she is, immaculate as ever. Today the silk blouse is white. Black skirt, stockings and heels.
"Gareth, do you have those notes for me?"
"Yes Miss, of course." You hand them over. She looks over them.
"This looks good, Gareth, very thorough. Well done." Your heart leaps at the praise. Ridiculous that a grown man could be held in such thrall but you cannot help it. "I will see you at the dinner, Gareth, Business dress code still applies there. If you go out afterwards you may wish to change into something more casual. I have one more presentation to give - Mr Kleibrink, the manager for Benelux, has asked me to address his graduate trainees. That will be all, Gareth. And thank you for the notes." Just a note of warmth in her voice? Hard to tell.
"Yes Miss." You see her turn towards a group of expectant young colleagues who are waiting at the door of a meeting room. School again, you think. A tall, striking blonde at the back of the group catches your eye. No-one like that at your old school, you think.
The dinner is harmless but boring. You sit next to Hans who is very excited about hitting the town afterwards. Mr Kleibrink gives an over-long speech. Ms Sinclair is deep in conversation with fellow executives. As soon as you can, you escape to your room, put on casual clothes. Then back down to the lobby as people start to gather, barely recognisable in their non-work gear.
Then you see her across the room. Non-work gear indeed! So she is going to socialise with the rest? Even go to the red light district? Ms Sinclair is wearing a classic little black sleeveless dress with a neckline just low enough to give a glimpse of luscious cleavage. The dress hugs her slim figure perfectly. She has black fishnet stockings - you are now sure that she only ever wears stockings - and black patent high heels. She has let her hair down - literally. It tumbles in dark luxuriant waves over her shoulders. Around her neck is some kind of black ribbon choker. There's something a bit odd about the dress, mind. You get a little closer, then realise what it is. Her little black dress is made of leather. Jesus Christ!
The crowd moves off, out of the hotel - and westwards. Hans has latched onto you and is chattering away about the red light district, but you pay him little attention. Ms Sinclair is elsewhere in the group but you cannot seem to get close to her. You look around at the women in the brothel windows, luridly lit, seeming to float in the dark like the ghosts of sin. Touts at the entrances of sex clubs try to grab your trade - "Best girls in town!" "Our girls are really filthy!" "Come on gents, give us a try! Live pussy show!" The insistent thump of dance music thunders from the doors, no doubt the soundtrack to the lapdancers and strippers and sex shows inside. Smaller groups of men are breaking off from the crowd, looking at the individual establishments. Hans starts to haggle with a burly doorman over admission prices to something called the Thai Banana Bar. Then you hear a soft female voice close by.
"This is tourist stuff, Gareth." It is her, right next to you. You can smell her perfume rising from her cleavage. The brothel lights glint in her glasses. Her choker is a black ribbon with a tiny jewelled ornament in the shape of a black flower.
"Miss?"
"This is tourist stuff. These are shoddy rip-off joints, no quality. Here's a choice for you, Gareth - you can follow Hans and the boys and pay over the odds to watch a bored little Thai girl push bananas up her twat while a fake-titted Lithuanian skims your credit card behind the bar. Or you can follow me." There is no choice, of course. She begins to walk away purposefully towards a narrow side alley. You follow her. Out of the corner of you eye you see that Hans is staring open-mouthed at the sight of you going off with Ms Sinclair.
In the darkness of the alley, away from the lurid lights of the brothels and bars, she stops at an unremarkable front door. The plate above the doorbell has no name, just a small logo - a black flower. She presses the bell, a Dutch voice crackles from the intercom. She replies in Dutch. The door opens. Inside is a tastefully lit reception area. A pretty girl behind a desk greets Ms Sinclair, who shows her a small black card or pass of some kind which she must have taken from her handbag. More Dutch is spoken. Ms Sinclair signs a book, the girl gives her two cards both bearing the number 52.
"English is spoken here, Gareth," explains Ms Sinclair, "but not at reception. It deters the tourists.Take this card. This is a private members' club and no cash changes hands. If you want a drink or anything else, show the card, it will go on my account." You wonder what she means by "anything else." You look around. Stairs lead to an upper floor. In front of you is a heavy-looking double door. From behind it you can hear music - not thumping dance music but some kind of slow jazz - and voices and laughter, as if the room is full of people. Ms Sinclair pushes the door open and walks through. You follow her.