The Apprentice Dominatrix

Chapter Two: Decision-1

Chapter Two: Decision

The Grand Hotel Terrace Restaurant, Bucharest, Romania. July 27th, 2013

Zelda was already waiting for her when Alina arrived at the Grand Hotel for their meeting. Her father had once brought her here for a birthday ice cream treat to this very terrace when she was ten years old, she remembered. But that was the only other time she’d been inside the beautiful old building; and she doubted she could even afford a coffee here! The waitress led her to a table that was just inside the terrace area, where Zelda was tapping away on her laptop keyboard.

“Alina!” the woman said in a delighted tone. “I’m so glad you came! You look really lovely today…that’s such a pretty dress. Sit…please. I hope you don’t mind that we’re inside; it’s a little more private and there’s supposed to be a thunderstorm later.”

She quickly ordered iced coffees for them both, and waited for the girl to leave them alone.

“So, I’m glad to say that your criminal record is clean, as you told us,” Zelda said, smiling. “I managed to get a copy of your medical history, and that too is perfectly OK. We need to arrange for a blood test, and if that comes back clear then we can progress to more detailed scans.”

Alina held up her hands to stop Zelda speaking. “Wait a second…I feel like I’m here under false pretenses, because I decided I’m not interested in this…arrangement. I don’t want to insult you, but I just cannot bring myself to be…”

“A w***e?” Zelda asked with a smile.

“Like I said…I don’t want to be rude.”

Zelda clicked a few times on her laptop and then spun the computer around so that Alina could see.

“Who is this woman?” she asked.

“It’s…Maria Petrescu…the actress,” Alina answered.

“Have you seen her last movie? ‘The Forgotten’?”

“Yes...it’s really good.” She’d seen the movie only last year with a girl she’d been dating; it had been about the story of a group of Romanian partisans in the war, and Petrescu had played a young teacher who had joined the partisans, survived imprisonment and torture by the Nazi Gestapo only to be betrayed by her former comrades and denounced to the Communists after the war. She was shipped off to a prison camp in Siberia and became an unpaid s****l toy for the brutal camp guards.

“She gave an astonishing performance,” Zelda said. “I’ll admit I spent half the movie crying.”

“Me too… but…”

“Do you know who her husband is?”

“Isn’t it some Russian guy…err…the billionaire.”

Another few clicks produced a photograph of Maria Petrescu and her Russian husband. The woman was smiling, looking breathtakingly beautiful in an elegant evening gown, and standing a full head and shoulders above her diminutive husband. The man looked every bit of the thirty five years older than her, and had a leering, craggy face that only a mother could love. He was smoking his trademark Cuban cigar with one arm around his beautiful wife’s waist.

“They married for love, I’m sure!” Zelda said sarcastically.

“What’s your point? I’m hardly likely to get the chance to marry a billionaire!”

“But, my dear Alina…I’m offering you a far better deal. The lovely Maria has to sleep with…that thing. She has to kiss that disgusting mouth that probably tastes like an ashtray. Her job is to bear him children and to make him feel better about himself. And do you know the craziest thing of all? That awful little s**t of a man is already cheating on her. I know because I am friends with the woman who supplies his hookers.”

Alina looked at the image on the laptop. “You’re kidding…he screws around when he has a woman like that at home?”

“Darling girl…you’re too young to fully understand this, but the simple fact of life is that so many men – not all…but many – are pigs. They want to use you…and then when they are bored with you they throw you away – if you’re lucky.”

Alina felt a knot in her stomach. That’s exactly what had happened when Grigore had started cheating on Alina with his latest eager student. Except when she’d stood up for herself Grigore hadn’t stopped at just dumping her…he’d made it his business to ruin her life.

“Is your husband like that?” she asked Zelda. “A pig, I mean?”

“Stefan is an angel. You must agree he’s rather handsome, and handsome men can sometimes be bastards…but Stefan has a warm heart that I will love forever.”

“And does he cheat on you?” Alina asked.

Zelda shrugged. “No…I honestly don’t think he does; and he doesn’t need to go behind my back, anyway – if he wants something that I can’t give him then we would talk about it. But you’re trying to change the subject…and that’s very clever of you.”

Zelda paused and they both sipped their coffees. Alina wondered what her father would think of her being here like this. He’d always been so honest…so full of moral certainty; which was probably why he’d left the family almost penniless when he died.

“Alina…let’s talk about some options for you,” Zelda told her. “OK…your first two wishes are easy. As we said yesterday…it’s just a matter of money, which I can assure you will not be an issue. Your third wish means that you have to get into a business school. At the beginning of next year Romanian nationals will be able to work in the UK because of the open border policy. But you don’t have to wait that long because if you’re a student…and especially if you’re married to an Englishman you can live in the UK without any problem. You already speak superb English, so that’s not a problem either. Now tell me…which would be your dream business school in the UK?”

Alina didn’t have to think about it for more than a second. If Zelda really wanted to win her over then she knew exactly where she wanted to study. “The Caldwell Business School…it’s part of Oxford University.”

Zelda tapped the mouse button a few times and entered some text. “Goodness…I assume you have very good grades!”

“I graduated top of my class…so that shouldn’t be a problem. But I need some kind of false record of my business experience to get into an MBA course; and for the past two years I’ve just been working as a waitress.”

She quickly explained how her former lover and university tutor had withdrawn his recommendation for her as revenge for her leaving him.

Zelda listened carefully, and then nodded.

“Look…there are people I know who will be able to provide you with some documents – forged, of course. But more importantly we need to make sure your story stands up to scrutiny if enquiries are made. That should not be an issue – but it will cost you money.”

“H…how much?”

“I would think a thousand dollars would cover it.”

“Jesus! I don’t have that kind of money.”

“I can give you an advance, of course. Think of it as being all part of the service.”

Alina swallowed hard. “OK.”

Zelda smiled with delight. “Excellent…and Oxford is really a very nice place, so they tell me. Now…here we are…there are two of my clients within a ten kilometer radius of the college…so let’s see who would fit best. If neither of them is suitable we can look further afield.” She looked through a few pages before handing the laptop to Alina. On the screen was a head and shoulders picture of a man.

“This charming gentleman is Doctor Charles Waddington,” Zelda said. “He’s thirty five years old…was married for eight years to a woman he met at university. She inherited several million dollars from her family, but Waddington himself turned that money into somewhere over two hundred million.”

“Jesus!” Alina whispered. “How the hell did he do that?”

“Apparently he’s a rather talented inventor – he’s a scientific doctor, not a doctor of medicine. He works with computer security systems and a couple of his gizmos were quite successful, apparently. Combine that with some excellent property investments…and it’s true what they say – the rich get richer. When his wife ran off with her tennis coach the divorce settlement left him half of what he’d earned. But he seems to be building that back up again rather nicely. He now has a net worth of around one hundred and thirty million dollars.”

“Well he’s certainly rich enough!” She looked through a gallery of several photographs. “But he’s not exactly handsome.”

“And why on Earth is that relevant?” Zelda asked. “He’s not repulsive…like some Russian billionaires I could name. He’s tall…one meter ninety, I think. Unfortunately he’s also rather overweight, which I suppose is unfortunate for him…but more importantly for you he has no criminal record, and absolutely no propensity for violence, drugs or alcohol abuse; and he doesn’t even smoke. I’ll admit he’s rather shy at first, but he’s perfectly capable of holding a conversation once he gets warmed up.”

“You’ve met him?”

“Not in person…we all will do so, of course, if he likes the look of you and decides to take it further. But I’ve spoken to him many times on Skype. Outside of the role-play discussions we’ve had together he’s perfectly polite and articulate. More importantly he has taken our top level package, and has the means to provide you with a very substantial settlement and total financial security for you and your family for the rest of your life.”

Alina clicked through the gallery of pictures again. Waddington looked ordinary enough. Overweight, and dressed in an unflattering shirt that was at least a size too small for him. He had his hair slicked back in a style that was quite common in Romania too; but he’d used far too much product and the result looked like a greasy mess. He was squinting slightly at the camera – and Alina noticed the tell-tale marks of glasses on the bridge of his nose in the close-up photos. He’d taken the glasses off for the photographs, of course. His eyes were rather dreamy in the photos where he wasn’t squinting, she thought.

“And I get to live in his house…use his money…eat his food…for just being a b***h to him?”

“You know perfectly well it’s more complicated than that.”

“But that’s the problem!” Alina said in exasperation. “I wouldn’t have the first idea what to do!”

“I’ll teach you…it’s part of the package. We have time…and the training will be useful whether it’s Waddington or one of our other clients that you choose.”

“So how much do you charge him?” Alina asked. “For selling me to him?

Zelda laughed. “Well…you’ll find out sooner or later if you go through with it. Our premium membership package starts at thirty thousand dollars as a retainer.”

Alina knew her jaw had dropped open. It was more money than she would earn in the next ten years!

“So now you have an idea how wealthy some of these men are, Alina. In addition to the thirty grand up front, we receive a further thirty thousand dollars for each full year that the two of you remain married. All you have to do is stay with him for five years…and then, by the terms of the prenup agreement, you’ll have a very comfortable divorce settlement, and you can go off and marry some sexy young stud – if that’s what you want.”

“Let’s say I do this,” Alina said carefully. “How does it work? I mean…you can’t believe I’d just take your word for this, surely?”

Zelda handed her a piece of paper. “This is an outline of the whole procedure. Stefan and I have done this a dozen times already, and we’ve evolved our approach each time. The first thing is that I will take a few photos of you now to send to Waddington to see if he likes the look of you. I can almost guarantee he will…you are quite delightful.”

Alina ignored the compliment. “OK…what next?”

“At that point we can start spending some money on you…Waddington’s money, of course. We have a budget to give you a comprehensive makeover, and to provide you with a basic wardrobe of designer clothes. We’ll need to get you to the dentist for that chipped tooth…and to a beauty parlor as soon as possible. I’d recommend a laser hair removal procedure. It takes a number of sessions, and there’s some mild discomfort involved, but given your hair color and complexion I think the results will be excellent. Imagine never having to shave your legs again!”

“That would be good,” Alina agreed.

“You’re very lovely, of course, but we want you looking your best for your photos. Your hair needs some attention in particular. It’s very dark…is that your natural color?”

“Yes…I tried dying it a lighter shade, but the bleach wrecks my hair. I hope he doesn’t want me to go blonde.”

“No, dear. He seems to like brunettes, and quite frankly the combination of your dark hair and blue eyes is really quite stunning. His ex-wife was a blonde and I don’t think he wants anyone to remind him of her! It looks like your hair is a little dry and brittle, but that should be easy enough to fix with the right treatment.” She glanced down at Alina’s body. “You said you used to be a gymnast – do you still work out regularly?”

“I can’t afford a gym membership, if that’s what you mean. I used to run sometimes, but since I took on an extra job I feel so tired when I get back from work.”

“No problem. We have a corporate membership at a top grade gym here in the city that you can use. You look like you’re in excellent condition generally, but I would advise you to tone up a bit. And obviously you’ll be on a much more healthy diet from now on. So where was I? Oh yes…we need proper photos of you…professional photos. I’m afraid some of them have to be rather detailed naked shots; because we provide our clients with full disclosure, as you might expect. But they won’t be glamour shots – they’re just like medical photos, really. We also need to get you to the hospital and have a full blood test and a series of scans. Don’t worry; Waddington takes care of the costs. And by signing a contract with us you become an employee. We have a company medical insurance that applies to your family too; so your mother can start getting medical treatment right away.”

“Just like that,” Alina said softly.

“Just like that. You’ll find that there are very few problems that can’t be solved with money; and soon you’ll have plenty of it. You seem like a sensible girl…and what you need to remember is that you are gaining options. Today your life can start to change…for you and your family; and in five years’ time you will be able to live whatever life you choose.”

“Th…that’s fantastic!” Alina whispered. “But what happens if he doesn’t like me when we meet?”

“I honestly don’t think we need to worry about that. Let’s plan for success…Waddington will start to pay you a retainer of five hundred dollars per month while you’re still here in Romania – for up to a period of four months while you’re making arrangements for the wedding here, and for your move to the UK. So I’d advise you to quit those jobs and focus on this next step of your life.”

“Wait a second…you mean…we’d get married here?” Alina asked in surprise. “Before I go to England?”

“Of course – that way you’re legally protected before you move to the UK, and there’ll be no residence issues. This really isn’t a scam, Alina. You’re not going to end up chained in some cellar with your passport taken away so you’re trapped as a s*x slave. You’re allowed to be a student in the UK whether you’re married to Waddington or not, and from the start of next year you’ll have complete residency rights as a Romanian citizen even if you’re not married to him. If you want to leave him at that stage then you’re free to do so.”

“And I still get half his money?” Alina asked, unable to suppress a cheeky smile.

“No…because the marriage would be annulled. Besides, you’ll sign a prenup agreement that lays out how much money you’ll be entitled to for each year you stay with him, as well as a monthly living allowance. Other than that and whatever you can get Waddington to give you for shopping and so on, you get nothing before one full year together. Even so, it’ll be plenty of money for you to send back home to your family.”

Alina leaned back in her chair and looked around her. She knew now why Zelda had chosen this location. It was the fanciest hotel in Bucharest…and was supposed to give her a glimpse of what she could be enjoying. But this kind of opulence didn’t matter to her. The image she had in her mind was getting her mother into a program to deal with her alcohol abuse. If she could do that now, before it was too late…

“OK…I’ll do it,” she said coldly.

“Good. I have the paperwork with me…and I would suggest you take it to a lawyer to give you advice. I know you’ll say you can’t afford one…so in the envelope is some cash to help out, including half of your first monthly retainer.” Zelda placed a thick, A4 envelope on the table. “Now…when can you quit those disgusting jobs? We need to get you started on your training and beauty program.”

Alina shrugged. “Is tomorrow too soon?”

Zelda smiled. “Tomorrow is Sunday, my dear; and even us whores are allowed to rest on Sundays!” She reached over and squeezed Alina’s hand. “Alina…we all have to find a way to survive. Sometimes the best we can hope for is to stay in control and meet life on our own terms.”

Alina looked into the woman’s eyes. She had a feeling the words came from bitterly earned experience.