Meeting the Master

Dan had no way of knowing how long he had been ****. Just one second, he felt discombobulated in his car, and the next, he was standing in the middle of a lavish elevator moving upwards.

“What the… Am I… In an elevator?” The bewildered man questioned as he took in his surroundings. He was alone, with only a glass window displaying a large nighttime cityscape as his clue. “Just… where am I?”

“Twentieth Floor, Penthouse” Before Dan could try to mash the stop button on the elevator controls, the robotic voice announced his arrival at his mysterious destination. As the doors slid open, Dan was welcomed by the sight of a beautiful young woman in a rather tight red dress.

“Howdy Dan! Glad you could join us!” The redhead excitedly called out. She then gestured to the set of couches she was standing by. “Now, no dilly-dallying! Come on over and take a seat, Darlin’. We have much to discuss.”

Still dazed, Dan felt his feet move from under him. He followed the young woman's directions and sat on a rather comfy loveseat. He began formulating his thoughts as the stranger sat down on the loveseat with him, leaving very little room between them.

He looked his companion up and down and settled on staring her in the eyes as he questioned. “I.. Uh... Who are you, and where the hell am I?”

“Well, Darlin’. My name is Vanessa, and you’re on Harem Hotel! The show where several gals get to compete for your affection as our lucky master this season.” Vanessa spoke with a smile.

“Huh?” Dan couldn’t believe his ears. ‘A harem show? What the hell is she talking about? Why am I so relaxed? How the fuck did I get here!?’

Vanessa put a hand on Dan’s lap to grab his attention. “I can see you’re having some trouble, but that’s fine. We’ve got a bit of time before our first contestant arrives, so why don’t you ask little ol' me some questions?”

At Vanessa's sudden touch, Dan felt his mind instantly calm down. Instead of freaking out he focused on what the pretty woman had said.

“So, I’m on a show… where girls are competing… to get my love?” He reaffirmed.

“That’s right, Darlin’!” Vanessa confirmed with a cheer.

Dan warily continued his questioning. “Okay then… Just who are these girls? Do I know them, or are they just complete strangers?”

The host began nodding her head. “You’ll know them! Well, some better than others, that is.”

“Well, I guess if you were picking out of all of my failed dates, you’d have quite the selection to work with. Ha…” Dan said with a snort and relatively self-deprecating.

“Now, now… We know all about your rather unlucky love life. But have no fear! Today that all changes! Our contestants will surely knock your socks off. Now, any more questions?” She looked back at him eagerly to await more.

“I guess the only other question I have is about how the hell I got here. I was definitely in my car, about to pick up some Taco Loco.” Dan eyed her warily. “Did you **** me or something?”

“Goodness, no! Hmmm, just think of it as magic if you’d like. Kinda like this…” As she ended her statement, a white paper bag with the infamous Taco Loco logo appeared on her lap. “Here you go! I feel a little bad that you didn’t get your tacos.”

Dan was flabbergasted. Talking about “magic” and seeing it in person is somewhat world-shattering, after all.

Vanessa then shyly commented, “Hope you don’t mind if I take a couple of these, I haven’t had tacos in a long while. Talkin’ about them gave me some cravin’s.”

“Oh uh… Yeah, totally, you… “magic’d” them here to begin with, so help yourself.” Dan quickly replied.

The host brightened right back up and pulled Dan into a neck hug. “Thanks, Darlin’!”

A blush quickly crept along Dan’s face as it’s been a while since he’s had casual female affection like this. “A-anytime, I guess.”

As the host let go of his neck, she gave him a little peck on the cheek and went back to talking. “Well, I think we’re ready to move on with the show if you’re satisfied with your questions. But first, I have one for you. You seem to be pretty okay with the idea of gettin’ a harem. Several of the folks we’ve had on here before just could not comprehend it at first, which quickly changed, I might add. So, What are you thinkin’ here?”

“Oh… well, the way I see it, either this is a super surreal dream, or I’m about to live the life that many nerds like me could only have fantasized about. Not to mention I might actually find love for once. That alone would make me okay with it.” He spoke casually as he unwrapped a taco.

“Cheers to that, Darlin’!” Vanessa held up her own unwrapped taco, and the two bumped shells before taking a big bite.

‘Well, if all the girls here are like Vanessa, I think this will be pretty fun.’ Dan thought as the two quickly devoured their tacos.

“Well, Darlin’, I don’t think you’ll have to look far for love after all.” Vanessa looked back towards the invisible camera after whipping her mouth with a napkin that she conjured and continued, “Let’s meet our first contestant! They’ve been friends with our lovely Master for well over two decades and are closer than most folks are with their siblings. They’ve had trouble finding a path in life, but they’ve always been a reliable and loyal friend. Something that can be quite valuable in a relationship! Let’s bring them out! Please welcome Victor Chapman!”

Applause began playing as Dan could only sit there confused. “...Huh…?”