This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Olivia Rose, a professional dominatrix. It has been edited for length and clarity. I was 18 and working in a sub sandwich shop in Las Vegas when I came across a local classified ad for a hostess job at a club.
I was trying to scrape up enough cash to pay for community college, so I jumped at the chance. When I turned up for the interview, I learned it wasn't just an ordinary club. It was a swinger's club and basically a front for a working brothel, and the so-called 'hostess' position was nothing more than a euphemism for escort. Despite having been raised by hardcore Jehovah's Witnesses, I was an openly rebellious and sexual person, so when they offered me the job, I took it.
Luckily, I always managed to time my schedule right and was never there when the place got raided by the vice squad. It was a 9-to-5 job ,but the reverse of the traditional because we started work at 9 p.
From a young age, I would question everything and call out hypocrisy whenever I saw it. By 15, I told my parents I didn't believe in our religion. By 17, I announced I wanted to go to college, despite having learned full well that higher education was frowned upon by our faith.
Since I was only a week shy of turning 18 when the semester started, I needed my parent's permission to register.
