Emily is based in the Centrum, a few streets from the squares where groups tend to split up at the end of a night. She speaks Romanian and English. Erotic oil and four-hand sessions are what she usually offers, and she decides in the room how the hour runs. At twenty-five she is comfortable with a guest who has left his friends behind for the evening, and she expects only that he has left them before she arrives. A calm room and a clear head are her two requests. On peak dates such as King's Day, Pride or the week of the Amsterdam Dance Event, any booking with her sends half the fee ahead, even a single hour arranged the same evening. If she cannot come to a booking already confirmed, the guest hears as soon as the house knows and may name another woman from the roster or take the deposit back in full. In a four-hand session the two therapists agree between themselves who leads, and the other mirrors each stroke so both sides of the back are worked at the same pace.

Emily decides which bookings she takes and may decline any of them; she sets the limits for what a session includes, says what they are, and may end a visit at any point, as the terms set out.