Wiretaps, Rookie Hookers and Client No. 9

"Sounds great to me," the client said.

"What your expectations are might not be fulfilled," Lewis said, "just because this is her first appointment ever."

The client agreed to "take my chances."

The Emperors Club struggled to meet escalating demand. Management sometimes offered to fly women around the world -- to London maybe, or to Chicago for a three-day weekend -- to serve its clients. Some women only wanted to meet with certain clients. One woman, Suwal complained, left an appointment after only 40 minutes to pick up her children. "The girls with children tend to have . . . a little more baggage going on," Suwal said.

Some recruits simply did not work out. On Jan. 24, Suwal received an e-mail from a prospective employee who said a conversation with a friend had dissuaded her.

"I was little bit shock and confuse that she had a sex with him twice in an hour and without her [sic] taking her out for dinner before," the prostitute wrote. "So I am very sorry I don't think this is my kind of thing . . . to provide sex for L500 an hour, I just thing [sic] this is not a price I would ever consider of doing it for."

Clients, the management team complained, could be just as difficult. One said his prostitute was more "sex than sexy." Another wanted four women who "liked to party" flown to Miami, requesting four hours of service from each.

Client 9 refused to leave a key card at the front desk of his Washington hotel for "Kristen," the prostitute identified by the New York Times as Ashley Alexandra Dupre. An aspiring singer with a MySpace page that describes an abusive childhood and drug use, Dupre traveled by train from New York to meet Client 9. She then proceeded directly to Room 871, where Client 9 promised to leave his door slightly ajar.

Every once in a while, though, there were those perfect moments when business ran smoothly, when management's hard work paid off. On Jan. 26, Lewis received a call from Client 4, who was staying at a hotel in Los Angeles. He wanted a prostitute on short notice, for that night. Lewis scrambled during the 90-minute window to contact prostitutes and found out that "Chrissy" was available.

Chrissy was a new worker, with four stars and a rate of $1,200 an hour. Lewis contacted her through text messages and directed her to Room 467 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. She was scheduled for a one-hour appointment, with the possibility of extension.

Client 4 looked up Chrissy on the Club Web site and noticed that she was actually a five-diamond prostitute, so he called Lewis offering to pay a higher rate. A few hours later, after Chrissy's visit, Client 4 called Lewis again.

"Two A-plusses in a row," he said. "I don't know where you get these young ladies."

Still, the high of the appointment hadn't entirely erased Client 4's fear of getting caught. He asked Lewis about taxi records, and he said: "You sometimes hear of these agencies getting busted, you know, that's my really only concern. That's why I don't call more often."

Lewis explained that his money would officially go to QAT Consulting, a company with "real offices" in New York City.

"Just as long as you pay your taxes," she said, "you're fine."

Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.