1: Bottoms for Hire.
Thirty-two Winchester Road sat just off the main bypass heading into the West End of London where small businesses and retailers of all shapes and sizes went about their trade. Today was the 20th of November and a steady drizzle fell from leaden skies as the huddled masses of the grand old city went about their daily routines.
Inside number thirty-two, the man and his new client walked into and looked around the empty first-floor room. The woman turned to the Estate Agent who was fiddling nervously with his clipboard making sure he had all the correct documents to hand.
"All right," she said after a moments pause, " I'll take it."
The bespectacled man smiled with relief and held out a pen. "Sign here please," he asked her, pointing to where she needed to write her signature to secure the lease.
Once signed, they both turned to leave. When she got to the door, she stopped and turned to look back into the room which was to become her own personal office. A quiet sense of satisfaction flooded through her. She had finally done it. She was on her way.
Molly Malone's Spanking Agency was in business.
*
Mrs. Brewster looked up from the faded glossy magazine she was reading as the door opened and the bell above it rang. She smiled at the tall, elegant, middle-aged woman who entered the small room where she worked part-time as a receptionist for Pinters Printers, publisher of various dubious titles including the renowned naughty newspaper, Adult Monthly News.
"Ello," she said pleasantly, "Can I be of assistance, dear?"
Molly Malone glanced around at the rather plain surroundings before opening her purse and taking out a typed note. "I hope you can," she nodded, "I'd like to place an advert in the next issue of your adult newspaper," she asked, handing over the details.
The receptionist took it and put on her wing-framed spectacles to read it. She glanced up at the younger woman who was flicking through an old copy of Best British Boobs magazine that lay on the top of the counter along with various ash trays and plastic plants. Blimey. What's all this then? Spanking Agency - Bottoms for Hire? Well, takes all sorts and as Betty Brewster knew far too well. Since she had started working here many years ago, she had seen practically everything there ever was or would be in regards to human sexual behavior. Men had more fetishes between heaven and earth than there were hairs on her shaggy mons pubis.
"How far is your circulation?" asked Molly, "Print run, returns, that sort of thing."
The receptionist had her notepad open and was counting the number of words as she jotted down the required order details. "Ooo," she responded as she tapped her pen against her yellow teeth, "We go all over London and the home counties, we do. Last month we hit nearly three thousand copies with less than one hundred returns. We're seeing a lot more people advertising with us right now. Usually happens with the nights drawing in. People stay indoors a lot more you see."
Molly nodded at her note. "Is that good to go?"
Mrs. Brewster waved a hand. "Oh yes. I've written down all your details and checked the word count. You just need to tell me what size of advert you want. You can have a full page advert, that's A4, for twenty pounds or a quarter page one for five. Black and white. Color is really only for something with photos."
"A quarter page will be fine, thank you," Molly replied, handing over a crisp Β£5 note, "When is the next issue out?"
"End of the month, dear. Twenty-ninth usually. That's allowing for unforeseen circumstances and everything. You know, Gods little tricks. Like the old Bill coming around."
Molly smiled as she zipped up her coat. She thanked the older woman and left the printers to make her way back to her new office. The rain had started to fall again and Molly unfurled her black umbrella as she stepped between the puddles on the pavement. Nine days. Nine days to sort everything out and be ready for launch. There seemed so much to do.
Thank God, she already had a secretary in place to handle all the paperwork and arrange the interviews for tomorrow. Interviews that had been booked through her various "contacts" she had met over the years. Around her, the hubbub of London traffic honked and beeped as she stood there in the pouring rain. Her life was about to change. This had been her dream for a long time and now it was about to happen. She was her own Boss and real people would be working for her.
Working at her Spanking Agency.
*
There was a quiet knock on her office door. Molly looked up from her desk. "Yes?"
The door opened and a frizzy explosion of peroxide blonde hair framing a sweet blushing face suddenly appeared from behind it. It was her new secretary, Dolly. "Miss Malone, the ladies have arrived for their interviews," she told her with her breathlessly excited voice.
Molly nodded and pushed back her leather chair from behind her desk. "Thanks, Dolly, send them in. I may as well see them all together to begin with," she indicated, waving her hand.
"Righty-ho," said her secretary, "Won't be a tick."
There was a slight commotion outside as the ten women filed in and stood looking fidgety and nervous before the desk where their potential new boss sat. Molly was pretty sure that all ten would be good to go as they had all been vetted and recommended by her contacts in the business. There was, after all, only one absolute requirement as regards their qualification for the job. Anything extra they were willing to do was simply a bonus for themselves and their customers.