Desirée smoothed her skirt prior to pressing the com button. She was once again in front of the small office building where she had the aborted interview the previous day. She used the glass of the front door as an improvised mirror, making sure her makeup was all right and the wind hadn't turned her sandy blonde hair into a complete mess.
This time, she was a lot more confident about the company she was interviewing for. She had researched the agency both online and by calling various agencies and everything she had seen and heard told her both Veronica Franco and this firm were both legitimate.
Despite the fact that she knew she was nothing wrong with the company, butterflies still mated in her stomach. She still didn't understand why she had that sudden attack of nerves during the interview that caused her to masturbate furiously. She had quickly rejected the notion that Veronica had somehow given her something; Desirée didn't know much but she knew that aphrodisiacs were a myth. There was no drug on the market that would provoke that kind of reaction.
However it happened, Desirée was glad that her prospective boss hadn't noticed a thing, even though several people had stared at her strangely while she was taking the bus home. Nothing could have killed her chances of getting a job more than being caught masturbating during the interview!
Even more strange was that she still felt the remnants of arousal, only waiting for another attack of nerves to turn into full-on desire. "Keep it together, girl," she told herself while giving herself one last once-over. "Don't mess this up."
She checked her watch; right on schedule. She pressed the com button.
"Hello, Desirée," Veronica said, even though the teen saw no evidence of any cameras in front of the building. "Please come in."
The front door buzzed. Desirée opened it, walking inside. Veronica was waiting for her by the stairs, a welcoming smile on her face.
"It's good to see you again," the older woman said. "Did you check us out like I suggested?"
Desirée coloured. Her pale skin blushed easily. "Yes, I did," she admitted.
"Good," Veronica replied, leading her down the hall towards her office. "A young woman should be extremely careful about prospective employers, especially overseas firms. There are a lot of people who might take advantage of an attractive young lady like yourself."
She opened the door, waving the teen through. "By the way, I had some enlightening conversations with your high school teachers, and your former employers at Cletus' Crab Shack. They all think very highly of you."
"Thank you," Desirée said. The corner office was more comfortably furnished than the room where they had yesterday's interview. A large wooden desk dominated the corner, and sunlight shone through the large windows.
"No, thank you." Veronica sat down in the leather chair behind the desk, while the younger woman took one of the overstuffed chairs in front. Desirée placed her purse beside her left leg. She sat straight in her chair, the very model of the eager, competent young would-be employee.
"After reviewing your references, and from what I gleaned from our chat yesterday," Veronica said, "I feel that you are definitely someone we would like working for our firm."
"T-thank you," Desirée said, trying to control the sudden rush of excitement. "That's great."
Veronica crinkled her eyes. "I'm glad you think so. However, instead of teaching English to Japanese students, we have another position in mind for you."
"What's that?"
"Well," The older woman trailed a red-painted fingernail across the solid wood desktop. If Desirée didn't know better, she would have thought it was a nervous gesture. "This firm is actually a subsidiary office for a guild. I would like to offer you the chance to prove your acceptability in joining this guild."
Desirée frowned. "A guild? Like a union?"
"Yes. A union: a very old, well-established union." She pressed a button; the Venetian blinds on the windows turned, blocking the view of the outdoors.
"What is it?"
"The Guild of Courtesans."
Desirée blinked in shock. She half rose out of her chair. "What, like prostitutes?"
"No, not at all like prostitutes and I will thank you not to use that term in relation to what we do." Veronica's voice hardened. "We are educated, respectable professionals who provide a service to a distinguished, discerning clientele. A Guild Courtesan is a respected member of society: many artists, writers and diplomats in the Confederation began their careers as Guild Courtesans."
"I don't understand." Panic edged Desirée's voice. She was still half out of her seat. "What and where is this Guild? And what's the Confederation?"
"The Intergalactic Confederation." A voice spoke behind Desirée. The teen found herself staring at something that resembled a cross between a human and a toad. It had green skin and three eyes, blinking at her from behind wire-rim spectacles.
Desirée leaped out of her chair, holding her purse protectively in front of her chest. The frog-like creature made no movement towards her, other than holding out its 3-fingered hand.
"Desirée Tanner, meet Professor Ssurhuk-T'at," Veronica said dryly. "He's one of the senior teachers at the Guild School."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Tanner," the frog-like creature said, still holding out its right hand. It was wearing cotton pants and an argyle sweater. "By the way, an open hand possesses the same connotations in the Confederation as it does on your planet. You are perfectly safe with me, child."
Desirée gulped. She slowly extended her right hand. Ssurhuk-T'at's fingers were warm and damp against hers, clasping her hand in a firm grip.
"There, that wasn't so painful, was it?" the alien said, grinning its wide mouth at her. Desirée surprised herself by smiling back.
"I-it's a great pleasure to meet you, too. Professor," she added as an afterthought. "What are you?" she said, before she could help herself.
One side of Ssurhuk-T'at's wide mouth curled up in a smile. "I will be one of your teachers, should you be found worthy of being allowed to attend the Guild School. Based on your test results from yesterday, you appear to have some potential."
"Test results? Yesterday?" She snapped a stunned look at Veronica.
The small, slender woman had the grace to colour slightly. "I injected you with a dose of serum yesterday and monitored your subsequent reactions. You not only did not react adversely to the drug, but displayed an impressive control over your physical reactions, not to mention the capacity to achieve multiple climaxes within a short period of time."
"But . . . why?" Despite her shock, Desirée found herself intrigued. Or maybe just numb: too many things were coming at her too fast.
"Isn't it obvious, Young One?" Ssurhuk-T'at was sitting comfortably in the other chair, his long legs crossed at the knee. His webbed feet were bare. "Guild members may be respected members of Confederation society, but we are still courtesans. We provide a wide range of pleasurable services to a widely varied clientele. A greater-than-average capacity for giving and receiving sexual pleasure is a sizable asset in our profession."
"Yes, the professor is also one of my top courtesans," Veronica answered Desirée's unspoken question. "And should you ever have the pleasure of his hands on your body, you will soon discover why.
"But that is beside the point. Your school records confirm that you received the highest grades in your class, your teachers and former employers confirm that you are a hard worker, and you have other specific talents that we in the Guild need. We are offering you the opportunity of a lifetime."
"Several lifetimes, in fact," Ssurhuk-T'at added.
"We'll get to that later," Veronica said. "You clearly need a job, Ms. Tanner. We're offering you a career."
"W-what's this Confederation, and why haven't I heard of it before?" Desirée asked, trying not to dwell on the implications of what they were offering her.
"The Confederation is an allied group of numerous races and planets that have been closely allied for many thousands of your years," Ssurhuk-T'at said. "The reason why you haven't heard of it is because your planet is still too fractious to be even considered for membership. At this point, we're allowing you humans the opportunity to deal with your internal disputes and develop some form of effective world government before making our existence common knowledge."
"All communication with Earth has been interdicted by the Confederation," Veronica added. "The Central Government feels it's safer that way."
"However, several races in the Confederation have strictly defined time periods when they must copulate," Ssurhuk-T'at said. "Due to the vagaries of intergalactic space travel, many members of these races aren't able to make contact with potential mates when they go into heat. In some races, females only go into heat at specific periods while the males of the species continuously need to mate." He grinned infectiously. "That can prove to be highly distressing from their point of view."
