On Pride Day Saturday, June 27th at 1:09 p.m., I was waiting at Montgomery station (One Post Plaza to be exact) and I happened upon a scene that is all too common among older men with money and young women too naïve to know better.
The man was in his forties, in a business suit, talking to a young brunette woman in shorts and a tank top who couldn’t have been more than twenty-years-old. Beside the young woman was her friend, also less than twenty, dressed similarly with red hair.
“We can always use a pretty face.” The old man said to the young woman whose back was facing me.
I stood watching the businessman and saw the young woman’s friend, standing and waiting off to the side, watching the entire scene.
He spoke only to this brunette who was shorter than I (I’m 5 feet 9.5 inches).
“You could be a model.” The man said, as if with sincerity. “We have lots of parties and events… so you may have more jobs.”
He didn’t elaborate about who the “we” was supposed to be but I gathered it was some techie company -- the kind that feels no shame in recruiting barely legal young women for their “events”.
Right away he offered her this job, handing her a business card (of which he had many in his hand), before thinking to ask her name.
“J…” she said, oblivious to the fact that a total stranger was soliciting her because of her body and young age.
Finally the man seemed to notice the friend standing next to her and handed a business card to her, casually shaking hands and immediately forgetting her presence.
Eventually, the man finished his act and the two young women left on their way to Pride, gawking at the business card.
I didn’t really notice if the young woman had a “pretty face” or not. Other young women, dressed more scantily, came out of BART on their way to Pride and I watched with grim humor as the businessman named Mike, went out of the plaza.
What would he have said, I wonder, if I had gone up to him and demanded a business card too? I’m also looking for a job, though not in the stripper or x-rated business.
“Don’t I have a pretty face too?” I would have asked snidely.
Or, to make it even more interesting, I could’ve given the shameless old businessman my card and said, “I’m always looking for a good time.”
I’ll keep this idea handy next time I see a shameless old businessman recruiting barely legal young women for his “entertainment” purposes.
I can always use a good story.
