- Belle gets a bad online review from a customer, and feeling down, accepts a midnight encounter which turns awry. Ben advises her to try her luck at a normal relationship, but has to bail her out when the guy overstays his welcome.
- Belle's agent rings her at midnight, telling her a client is on his way. Belle is not keen but her work has recently had a bad review so she accepts, but she quarrels with the man, who leaves, taking his money with him. Buying a wedding present for Ben the next day she picks up Tim, the salesman, who dates her and spends the night with her, assuming from the men's perfumeries in her bathroom that she is a masseuse. As he is not a client she feels out of her depth and rings Ben, who comes round and pretends to be her boyfriend, which gets rid of Tim. Later she finds that an excellent review has been submitted about her (It was by Ben).—don @ minifie-1
- Belle meets with the madam and the whore consortium, who are looking at something on the Internet. Belle explains that working girls are subject to reviews. An online site where johns evaluate them. One calls her frigid. And you thought your last performance review was brutal.
Later, Belle's asleep and her madam calls. It's midnight, she doesn't take clients in the middle of the night. Her madam prods her. Tells her someone in her position shouldn't be choosy. Work's been slow since the bad review. Might face a personal recession, and have to use public transport. The thought creeps her out.
Louis, her appointment, shows up. He's nervous. She holds out her hand, he hands over the money, and she pretends it was only for his coat, but the fiscal matters are out of the way now. She turns to make the "no problem" call to her madam. He asks where she's going. She says to make a call. He tells her not to. He's insistent. Belle gets uncomfortable. She tells him he should leave, tries to give him his money back. He turns very creepy, stares her down, but she holds her own until he finally leaves. Big sigh of relief. She locks all her doors, the downside of hooking.
She goes to Ben's bar. She's there before him. Strain is getting to him. He complains bitterly about all the fuss surrounding the folding of napkins at his upcoming wedding.
She's out of sorts. He asks what she's been up to, says she can tell him, there aren't children around. She tells him a client got weird. He asks if she got hurt. No. Her Belle phone rings. Its her madam, angry about how she treated the client. Turns out he's not new. The madam thought Belle could handle him, since she can't be choosy right now. She tells her some girls are just too sensitive for this work. "I get it, so you're just a pimp these days, well that's good to know," Belle says as she hangs up on her.
What a difference a year makes. Flashback to Belle meeting Stephanie. Stephanie promising to keep Belle safe, like a best friend who takes 40 percent and doesn't tell you her real name.
Back at the bar, Ben shows her his napkin dove. Unimpressive. He is worried about her safety.
He tells her she should take a break. Asks her to, for him. Bets her she won't miss it.
She goes to the park and watches people live mundane lives. She's not sure she likes how the other half lives.
She calls Ben to go to lunch. He can't. Desperate for entertainment, she calls her sister.
Invites her to lunch, gets an earful of Mom talk.
Belle decides: she misses work.
She decides to go wedding present shopping. She flirts with the salesman. Off the clock.
She realizes if she's not working she'll have to find something else to occupy her time. More importantly, she'll have to start giving it away.
She wakes up the next morning, the salesman is still there. She says she doesn't normally do this kind of thing. He asks what she does. Night time legal secretary. He says he could lay there all day. She offers to make breakfast, but has only champagne and olives. Her one night stand checks out her loft, it's full of oils and lotions. She calls Ben, needing a way to get rid of the one night stand who's missing the "one night" part.
He confronts her in the kitchen, thinking he's found her out. Says she's not really a legal secretary, she's a masseuse. She goes with it. He still won't leave. The doorbell rings.
It's Ben. He introduces himself as Hannah's fiancé. A good friend. Who towers over the guy like a hungry dog. The salesman finally leaves. She tells Ben she can't help it, she's not someone who can do a normal job. She misses the work. He pays up the bet. Jokes about something he found out about her, something gross. Her fondness for Marmite. They kid about.
Later, her phone rings. Stephanie tells her she's getting a lot of request now that there's a glowing review about her. Stephanie asks if she's free. Belle tells her if she ever sets her up with someone like the last guy, she's leaving the agency and telling all the other girls what Stephanie did. They reach a truce. Belle says thank you. Stephanie says to thank the guy who wrote her the fantastic review. (You know where this is going, right?)
A voice over, Ben, reads his description, including a suggestion to treat her like a lady, with the respect she deserves. A good friend, indeed.
Belle goes back to work.
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