It had taken a year and a half of waiting on the reservation list but finally today was the day. Hayden Blake stood outside the club, only a few people ahead of him in the queue now, and adjusted his hat and his mask. The whole line of people were similarly dressed, nothing given away about their true identities lest there be some sort of scandal or outrage at their involvement in such a controversial practice. Not that he was anyone important himself, but it definitely seemed to be the dress code, the two burly looking members of the door staff dressed similarly.
Privacy looked to be of the utmost importance here; even as he'd gotten closer to the door, he'd noticed that the guests in front of him were asked for a specific security code before they were allowed entry as opposed to their names. There had been a bit of commotion as one potential patron had forgotten his and was thus denied entry to the club. Something about accidentally deleting the email with the information in. As he watched the man storm off, he repeated his number in his head, desperate to avoid the same fate.
The website Hayden had purchased his slot on all that time ago had specified that all bookings were entirely non-refundable and that no liability was taken on behalf of the club for any circumstances that meant the booking couldn't be fulfilled. This apparently included patrons forgetting their security number too. Interestingly however, there was no other form of identification needed. Perhaps the club wasn't picky with who redeemed the slot; they got paid either way and if someone was stupid enough to reveal their number to anyone else, that wasn't the club's problem.
He would never have made such a grievous error however. Getting the booking had been bad enough, the previous year of overtime and odd jobs on the side to pay for it had been almost hellish, leading him at times to wonder whether it was really all worth it. But the club's reputation needed no justification; it offered services that could literally be found nowhere else, not in the same country at the very least. He had to fight back his nerves at what was going to happen, reminding himself that this would be the most incredible experience of his life.
Finally he reached the front of the queue. He stared up at the larger of the two doormen who was carrying a small handheld device that appeared to have all of the day's security numbers on, like a kind of digital guestlist. The large man paid him no heed, or at least he was pretty sure he didn't, the man's eyes being obscured by a pair of visor-like sunglasses. Hayden shifted from foot to foot, his nerves mixing with anticipation and excitement now that he was so close.
He watched the man lift his hand up to an earpiece for a moment before raising the guestlist and calling him forward with a deep, gruff voice.
"Security number," the large man boomed.
"P24601," he replied, just as he had been rehearsing for the last two hours.
"Enter," the large man said, managing to sound intimidating even only with a single word.
Following the man's instructions, Hayden stepped through the surprisingly heavy double doors and into a foyer area. The room was lit warmly and reminded him of the foyer at an expensive hotel, or at the very least what he had seen on TV, what looked to be marble pillars and clean precise lines all around in the architecture of the place. Ahead of him was a reception desk which was being manned by who he could only describe as an averagely pretty looking woman who could have potentially been in her late 20s or early 30s. She was dressed finely but modestly in a uniform that was figure hugging but equally showed no skin or gave too much away of what she may be hiding underneath. She smiled as equally warmly as the lighting around her as he approached.
"Welcome to Club Bespoke sir. May I take your security number please?"
Her voice was soothing and had a velvety tone to it. It didn't seem to really match her outward appearance but Hayden felt calmed by its sound and answered the question.
"Wonderful sir. I see that your reservation is fully paid for which is excellent news. My name is Clara, it is my pleasure to serve you today. Could I perhaps interest you in our members program? For a small monthly fee the members programme entitles you to preferential reservation booking as well as notifications of last minute cancellations."
"N-no I'm ok thank you," he replied, eager to get going but still feeling strangely relaxed by the woman's voice.
"Not a problem sir. Should you change your mind at any point during your visit, please let one of our Representatives know before you leave as our members program can only be signed up for on the premises. May I take your coat sir?"
With no one else other than Clara around him, he felt reasonably comfortable removing his coat and handed it over to the receptionist who hung it up on a single hangar in an open, doorless wardrobe behind her.
"If you wish to also remove your hat and mask, please feel free to do so. Your privacy is guaranteed from this point onwards but you are still free to wear them if you choose."
Seeing no reason to keep them on, particularly as he knew he was allowed to take them off now, Hayden removed them and handed them over to Clara who hung them up alongside the coat.
"If I may say sir, you are looking very good today," she said with a genuine looking smile.
Her words caught Hayden off guard but were certainly welcome. He had made as much of an effort as possible before coming today, scrubbing every inch of himself, carefully styling his hair and trimming away his usual stubble. He had even been making the effort to go to the gym for the last year and whilst not exactly 'in shape' he'd lost the pudge he had when he first made his booking and looked and felt better than he had done for most of his adult life. All in aid of tonight's experience, not that it would have mattered or so he'd heard.
"Thanks, that uniform looks great on you too," he said, only recognising he may have put his foot in it once the words were out of his mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend..."
"That's very kind of you sir, I'm flattered," she beamed.
'That was a close one' he thought to himself, all too aware of how the wrong word here or there could get him into trouble. Hayden never meant anything by it and there was certainly no malice behind his words, but he always seemed to say the most inappropriate things at the worst times, particularly when he was nervous. He understood that there was no place for it in the world now and wanted so desperately to not be that person or to be associated with the kind of people who did that for fun or out of some sort of belligerent, misogynistic feeling of entitlement. He had to accept that he simply sucked at talking to women in particular and that as it was his problem and not theirs, he needed to make every effort he could to try and be more careful about what he said, regardless of his intent. The relaxed atmosphere of the lobby and the receptionist's voice had clearly made him forget that for a moment.
"To confirm sir, your booking is for a standard room and is available to you for however long you wish today owing to the upgrade you purchased 3 months ago."
Hayden had originally opted for the standard room with an hour time limit, not thinking he'd need more than that, but he'd been able to accrue a little extra cash and decided if this was going to be his only time, he'd better make it worth the while.
"Please take this keycard, it will grant you access to the elevator to your right. Simply insert the card to summon the elevator and it will automatically take you to the correct floor. Your room number is 217. You will require the card to access the room. Please note that the card will no longer grant access to the room once you leave the room again. Should this be necessary for whatever reason, please speak to one of our Representatives who will arrange your payment for additional time should you need it. When you are finished, proceed down the hallway to another elevator that will take you to our exit suite. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
He spoke in agreement, but the truth was he'd barely registered half of what had been said beyond the fact that the card got him into his room. He took the card, gave his thanks and moved towards the elevator.
"Enjoy your time with us sir. I hope to see you again," Clara beamed at him.
