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    Back at the apartment, Chloe dropped the shopping bags next to the door. The cheap high heels landed with a thud on the stained carpet.

    She took her laptop out of her bag and opened it on the sagging bed. It was old, a hand-me-down from Samantha, but it worked, and that was the main thing.

    She leaned against the bare wall and waited for the old box to boot up. Her browser had lots of tabs open.

    Naughty Net. Dirty Dreams. Erotica Kings. Dark Desires.

    She scrolled through thumbnails with the efficiency of a librarian cataloging an archive. Clicked on one. Waited for it to load.

    As so often in recent months, she got an overview of the latest releases and skimmed through the descriptions and tags of the uploads.

    Not for pleasure. This was field research.

    Her eyes wandered over the Naughty Net homepage, filtering all the videos that had been uploaded in the last two weeks. She clicked through the “Most Popular” section and looked around.

    Black hair. Brown hair. Brunettes everywhere.

    She scrolled down to the comments under a video.

    avatar
    bimbolio

    Where have all the blondes gone??? Porn used to have variety ffs

    Like 142 Dislike 1 Reply
    avatar
    TheWizardOfPuss

    Yeah…I think I haven’t seen a hot redhead since Belinda Bubble quit tbh

    Like 46 Dislike 3 Reply

    There were many complaints like these to read. Interesting.

    She opened a blank text document and started taking notes.

    FILE EDIT VIEW INSERT FORMAT TOOLS HELP

    Dirty Dreams, 5+ new releases this week, completely dominating the high production value market at the moment

    Currently popular aesthetic: girl next door

    Market demand: blondes and redheads wanted

    She leaned back and rubbed her eyes. What time was it? A glance at her phone: 4 p.m. She was incredibly hungry, but wanted to work a little longer. 

    New tab. She searched: “Ben Ziegler talent agent Valley City”

    Samantha’s old agent. The website that popped up looked like it had been designed in 2002 and never touched since. Blue background color, Comic Sans headlines, pixelated photos.

    Ziegler Talent Management – Your Gateway to Stardom

    She snorted. Stardom. Sure.

    She clicked on “Client Roster”. A list of names, some with photos. She recognized a few performers whose work she had seen during her research. Active, successful performers.

    Then she scrolled down to the “New Talent” section.

    Three faces. All blonde. All young, none older than their early twenties. All with the same generic description: “Fresh talent ready to make her mark in the industry !”

    She clicked on the first one. Madison Davis, stage name “Maddy Bliss”. The profile showed her past shoots. The first was Casting Couch Cuties, four months ago. Then, just two weeks later: a video at Sinful and a month after that, Dirty Dreams.

    A rapid rise.

    The second: Ashley Lynn, “Ashley Wild”. Same progression. CCC, then a few more independent channels on Naughty Net, then within six weeks a scene for Dark Desires.

    The third: Brittany Rush, “Britt Starr”. She clicked on the name.

    The profile loaded. She looked younger than the other two, almost as young as Chloe herself. Underneath it said: “First scene: CCC, February 2015.”

    Chloe scrolled down. No further credits. Nothing since February.

    She opened a new tab and searched for “Brittany Rush Britt Starr porn.” The results were sparse. The CCC video from three months ago. Then… nothing. No longer active on Hitter. No posts on Instapic since April.

    Guess she changed her mind about the porn career…

    Chloe closed the tab. Wrote in her notes:

    FILE EDIT VIEW INSERT FORMAT TOOLS HELP

    Pattern: From CCC to larger studios within weeks. Ziegler seems to have a good track record, goes for quick placements, then builds on it.

    She leaned forward, trying to relax her tense shoulders a little. New tab: “Ben Ziegler Valley City Threadit”

    She clicked through the results. The usual discussions about which performer was the hottest, which studio was the best, endless talk about tits and pussies, but also some interesting threads in between: “Ziegler has a new girl.”

    She clicked on it.

    The thread was three months old, about Maddy Bliss. Comments below:

    Upvote 14 Downvote
    Threadit logo

    Ziegler has a new girl New Performer

    Her name is Maddy Bliss, look at those mommy milkers hubba hubba hubba
    Post image
    avatar u/windlebert 4 points
    Thanks for the spoiler dude, that saved my ass rn
    Reply Share Report
    avatar u/Dingleberries -8 points
    Every time I see this guy, I can’t believe someone who looks like him has such a good eye for talent.
    Reply Share Report
    avatar u/MaidenTaker 2 points
    Another blonde, shocker.
    Reply Share Report
    avatar u/giganoodle 8 points
    mean, of course he’s trying to satisfy the needs of the market right now, but it’s no secret he has a thing for blondes
    Reply Share Report
    avatar u/SithLaird 12 points
    Yeah, I don’t think being blonde is enough. I saw this documentary he was in and got the impression he makes his girls work pretty hard.
    Reply Share Report

    Chloe reread the last comment. Makes them work hard.

    She added to her notes:

    FILE EDIT VIEW INSERT FORMAT TOOLS HELP


    Ziegler’s type: blonde, eager, disciplined.

    Reputation: pushes his clients hard.

    Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.

    She typed: “Samantha Sparkles Ben Ziegler”

    Enter.

    The results filled the screen. Old articles, industry news, forum posts. She clicked on the first one.

    “Samantha Sparkles Signs with Ziegler Management”

    Date: Four years ago. A photo showed Samantha, younger, smiling, Ziegler’s hand on her shoulder. He grinned at the camera like a used car salesman who had just closed a deal.

    Chloe scrolled further.

    More articles. Samantha’s career in fast forward: first scenes, bigger studios, award nominations. Ziegler always in the background, sometimes quoted, mostly just mentioned as “her agent”.

    “EVA: Rising Starlet Samantha Sparkles Nominated For Best Newcomer”

    She clicked. The photo loaded.

    Samantha on a red carpet, in a silver dress that looked good on her. Her hair perfectly styled, makeup flawless, smile broad and professional. Some industry party. Next to her: Ben Ziegler in an incredibly ugly suit, his hand on her back again, possessive.

    Chloe stared at the date. Three months before Samantha’s death.

    Her hands lay motionless on the keyboard. The apartment was suddenly very quiet.

    She closed the tab.

    Enough with Ziegler. For now.

    New tab. She searched for behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with new performers. Found a channel that specialized in that. It was called “Real Talk with Porn Beginners”

    She clicked on the latest video. A young woman, a little older than Chloe, maybe 19, with pink-dyed hair, sat on a couch, giggling at the camera.

    “Oh my God, I was so excited! Shooting porn has literally been my dream since forever.”

    Chloe grimaced. The girl was either the best actress in the world or genuinely like that. Hard to say.

    She watched more videos. Studied the mannerisms. The exaggerated touching of the hair. The way they giggled.

    Body language: open, inviting. Shoulders back, chest out. Smile, always smile.

    Some seemed genuine. But with other, Chloe thought she could see the microcracks in the facade. The second when the smile looked frozen. The quick glance to the side before the dirty answer they were expected to give came.

    Some of them are playing it too. Just like I’m going to.

    New tab: Casting Couch Cuties.

    The latest episode loaded. A girl, maybe Chloe’s age, sat on the infamous couch. Nervous, but smiling.

    The voice of a man from off-screen: “Why do you want to do porn?”

    The girl giggled. “Um, well, I’ve always been kinda wild, you know? And I love sex, so like, why not get paid for it?”

    “What’s your favorite position?”

    “Doggy for sure! It just feels so good, you know?”

    “How many guys have you been with?”

    “Um… like, maybe… seven? Eight if you count oral?”

    The interview continued. Stupid questions, stupid answers. Then the transition: “Wanna show us what you can do?”

    Chloe observed the sequence, it was always the same process. First the interview, then undressing, then oral, then sex and then the money shot.

    She took notes on timing, camera angles, reactions. The girl on the screen moaned and gasped, but Chloe looked for the mechanics behind it. Tried to put herself in her position. Where the hands went. How the body was positioned. How the performance worked.

    When the video ended, she closed the tab.

    Enough of that.

    She opened her notes document again and scrolled through what she had already written. She added:

    FILE EDIT VIEW INSERT FORMAT TOOLS HELP

    CCC format: Interview (casual, “spontaneous”), then the scene. Some standard questions about motivation, sexual preferences, experience. Enthusiastic answers expected. Just make up some shit.

    Persona: Bubbly, eager, but professional enough to show that you take it somewhat seriously.

    She looked at the clock. 6 p.m.

    Time to make Chloe Heart real online too.

    She closed her laptop and stood up. Her legs had fallen asleep from sitting for so long. She stamped her feet on the floor until the pins and needles subsided.

    The window only showed her the brick wall of the neighboring building, but at the top she could see a patch of sky.

    She set up the cheap smartphone she had bought and created an email address and an Instapic account for Chloe Heart.

    The profile picture was still missing and the gray placeholder avatar stared back at her.

    She got up and went to the shopping bags next to the door. The red dress was on top. She pulled it out and shook it out. The fabric felt cheap, synthetic, but it looked good, and that was what mattered.

    She slipped off her jeans and pulled the tank top over her head. She stood there for a moment in her underwear, the dress in her hand.

    Then she put it on. The fabric stretched across her hips, clinging to her body. She pulled at the neckline, adjusting it.

    Makeup. She rummaged through her bag. Mascara, lip gloss, blush. Not much, just a little.

    She went into the bathroom. The light bulb above the mirror flickered, then stabilized. Better light than in the room, at least.

    She applied the mascara. One eye, then the other. The brush glided through her lashes, making them longer, darker.

    Lip gloss. She ran it over her lips, pressed them together. A slight sheen, natural.

    Blush. A touch on her cheekbones. Blend with her fingers.

    She took a step back and looked at herself. Her hair fell over her shoulders and the dress emphasized everything that needed to be emphasized. The makeup was subtle but effective.

    Good enough for a profile picture.

    She held up her phone for a mirror selfie, trying different angles.

    Too serious. She looked like she was in a mug shot.

    She tried to smile more.

    No, too wide, too desperate.

    Again. A slight smile this time, eyes a little bigger, head tilted slightly.

    Click.

    She checked the photo. Much better. Friendly, pretty, approachable. Not desperate.

    She took three more, chose the best one.

    Back to Instapic. She uploaded the photo, cropped it. Set it as her profile picture.

    Chloe Heart now looked back at her from the screen.

    Time for the first post.

    She held her phone at arm’s length, smiled, made sure enough cleavage was showing. Not too much, but enough. The angle had to be right.

    Click.

    She looked at the photo.

    Damn.

    The wall behind her looked horrible. Yellowed wallpaper peeling off in shreds and a stain that almost looked a bit like mold.

    She deleted it.

    Different angle. She turned around, trying to find the cleanest wall.

    Click.

    Still shitty. The poverty of the apartment screamed from every pixel.

    Fuck.

    She stared at the phone, thinking. Maybe extreme close-up would work?

    She held the phone closer, framing only her face and shoulders. The background blurred, becoming a nebulous yellow.

    Better.

    She smiled, genuinely this time, or at least genuinely enough. Eyes bright, lips slightly parted.

    Click.

    She checked it. That would work. She looked excited, even a bit hopeful and the background was barely visible.

    She took three more and chose the best one. Now for the caption.

    Just arrived in Valley City and I’m SO ready for this adventure! Dreams really do come true💕 #ValleyCity #ChasingTheDream

    The emoji and hashtags looked ridiculous. The whole caption was stupid.

    But that’s exactly how the others posted too. She posted the picture.

    Chloe Heart now officially existed.

    She typed into the search bar. “Dirty Dreams”. The official account appeared, verified blue check mark, 1.2 million followers.

    Follow.

    “Naughty Net”. Follow.

    “Dark Desires”. Follow.

    She scrolled through recommended accounts. Performers she had seen during her research. Some with hundred thousands of followers, others with only a few thousand.

    Follow, follow, follow.

    Photographers. Makeup artists. Industry news accounts.

    Ziegler Talent Management. The account looked just as cheap as its website. Only 847 followers. She followed it anyway.

    After twenty minutes, she had followed over a hundred accounts. Her timeline filled with images: photoshoots, behind-the-scenes, award shows, selfies, teasers, thirst traps.

    A whole world she now officially belonged to.

    She switched to Hitter. Downloaded the app, created an account. @ChloeHeartXXX.

    The same profile picture for now.

    First hit.

    Hitter Logo
    avatar
    Who should I follow in the industry? #NewPerformer #AdultIndustry
    0 Comments 0 Re-Hits 1 Likes
    Comment Re-Hit Like Share

    The trail was laid. Chloe Heart was real and public.

    She put down her phone. Her stomach was growling now. She hadn’t eaten anything proper all day. And she needed toiletries. Shampoo, soap, toothpaste, and so on, the basics.

    Chloe pulled a tank top over her head and slipped the jeans over her hips. The transformation back to something normal felt almost like dressing up now. Funny how quickly her perspective had shifted.

    She stuffed a few folded bills into her pants pocket and grabbed her cell phone. The door locked behind her.

    Outside, the heat was finally subsiding a bit, but Chloe was still sweating. The sky over Valley City was dark orange slowly turning purple now, like a giant bruise.

    She was hungry, but if she was honest, hunger wasn’t the only reason she was going out. She had to see the Hub. Not on Maps, in real life.

    She followed the directions on her phone, walking northeast. After four blocks, the neighborhood changed. More neon. More noise. A billboard with a half-naked woman in latex, at least three stories tall. Beneath it: “Your Deepest Fantasies Await.”

    Welcome to the neighborhood.

    Music blared from clubs, bass lines vibrated through the air, and groups of people pushed past each other, some colorful and scantily clad on their way to the clubs, others in jeans and T-shirts, obviously just coming from work. A few women in high heels and hot pants leaned against a building wall and smoked.

    A 24/7 convenience store appeared on the left, and she stepped inside, grateful for the air conditioning. She bought lots of instant ramen for ninety-nine cents apiece, some bread, peanut butter, and six bottles of water. She also bought shampoo, toothpaste, and toilet paper.

    Then she stepped back out into the warm evening air.

    She continued walking through the Hub, the bulging bag in one hand, cell phone in the other. She passed a strip club called “Pussy Paradise”, two women in lace lingerie standing in front of the entrance, laughing and talking to people, inviting them to come in.

    The neighborhood was alive in a way Oak Springs never had been. Everything here was open and honest in its shabbiness. The Hub made no apologies for what it was.

    “Hey girl!”

    Chloe turned around. A young woman, maybe in her early twenties, wearing skimpy shorts and a crop top that barely covered her breasts, waved at her. She was standing at the side entrance of Pussy Paradise with a cigarette between her fingers.

    Chloe walked over to her, feeling slightly unsure.

    “Are you seriously walking through the Hub with your weekly shopping?” The woman grinned. “Are you new to Valley City?”

    “Is it that obvious?”

    “A little, yes.” She held out her hand. “I’m Mia.”

    “Chloe.”

    Mia’s handshake was firm, confident. “How long have you been here?”

    “Since yesterday.”

    “Oh wow, that’s what I call fresh meat! Welcome to Valley City.” The tone was ironic, but not unfriendly. “What brings you here?”

    Chloe paused briefly, then opted for the kind of directness Chloe Heart would show. “I want to work in the adult industry.”

    Mia nodded, not the least bit surprised. “I figured. You’ve got the looks for it. Clubs or movies?”

    “Movies. Hopefully.”

    “Brave.” Mia lit another cigarette. “Respect. I work mainly in clubs. Not that I haven’t tried movies, but it’s not that easy to get into. So I work in clubs and do a little side work here and there. You know how it is.”

    Chloe didn’t know, but nodded anyway.

    Mia blew out smoke, watching Chloe with a gaze that was too attentive to be casual.

    “Listen.” Mia paused, as if weighing something. “I talked you up because – full transparency – I get a bonus for bringing new girls to the club where I work. So if you need money while you’re getting settled…” She shrugged.

    Chloe was surprised by the directness. “That’s uhm… really nice of you.”

    “Yeah, well, no point in lying. There’s enough bullshit being told in this town.” Mia took a long drag. “But seriously, if you need work, or just someone to talk to, or whatever, someone who’s not trying to screw you over…”

    She pulled out her phone. “What’s your number?”

    They exchanged numbers. Mia typed “Chloe – new in town” into her phone.

    “Are you going home now?” Mia looked back at the plastic bag.

    “Yeah. It’s been a long day.”

    “Take care!” Mia threw her cigarette on the sidewalk and stamped it out. “And hey, good luck with the porn business. Not everyone makes it, but maybe you will.”

    She turned around and walked back toward the club. Chloe watched her for a moment, admiring the confident way Mia moved in that revealing outfit.

    Then Chloe turned around and made her way back to her apartment.

    My first real human connection in Valley City.

    Back at the apartment, Chloe put the plastic bag on the countertop of the small kitchenette and locked the door.

    She should eat. Her stomach was growling. But she was too excited. Tomorrow she would call Ben Ziegler. Tomorrow Chloe Heart would take her first real step.

    And she had to be ready.

    She stood in front of the bathroom mirror, still wearing jeans and a tank top. The face staring back at her looked tired. Real. Unsure.

    She cleared her throat.

    “Hi Mr. Ziegler, I’m Chloe and I’m so excited to meet you!”

    She had to appear enthusiastic, but not completely crazy.

    She practiced her smile. Wide. Radiant. Eager. Corners of her mouth turned up, teeth showing. She held it. Counted to ten. Her cheeks started to burn.

    Again.

    I can’t believe how hard it is to smile for so long.

    Again.

    Her facial muscles protested, but she kept going.

    “Thank you SO much for this opportunity! I’m totally ready to work hard!”

    Enthusiastic and grateful and eager to please. As if she were auditioning for a role. Which, to be honest, she kind of was.

    She tried different poses. Leaned forward slightly, worked with her cleavage. Tilted her hips to the side. Played with her hair, let it slide through her fingers. The silly giggle she had heard in the interviews.

    It felt ridiculous. Like a bad parody.

    She did it anyway.

    That’s the armor you’re going to wear. That’s what you need.

    After twenty minutes, she paused. Looked at herself.

    Something had shifted. The woman in the mirror no longer looked tired. No longer uncertain. She looked confident. Sexy. Someone who knew what she wanted. Someone who would do anything to get it.

    Chloe held the gaze of her reflection.

    “I’m ready,” she said.

    And she meant it.

    Her stomach growled again, louder this time, no longer asking but demanding. She went back into the room and tore open a packet of instant ramen. The mini fridge hummed and vibrated when she opened it. She took out one of the water bottles, poured the water into the pot, and placed it on the small hotplate.

    When the ramen was ready, she poured off the water, sat down on the bed with the pot in her hand, and wolfed down the noodles while calling up Ben Ziegler’s contact information again. The cheap website stared back at her like a bad joke.

    Ziegler Talent Management – Your Gateway to Stardom.

    She would call him first thing tomorrow morning.

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