The Suite Life

The elevator ride up to the Master's suite was agonizingly slow.

Or at least it felt that way to Robert. It was a stark contrast to the whirlwind of a day he'd been through thus far. He'd been dropped into the middle of a reality show, told he now had a harem, watched six women be subjected to magical transformations, then given a rapid tour of a pocket dimension studio lot. Ever since he'd arrived his head had been spinning, and all he had wanted was a moment to catch his breath. But now that he finally had that moment, the silence was deafening.

It didn't help that he was trapped on the elevator with the...person?...responsible for him being in this mess in the first place. Ava had stood tall, her smile beaming out at the women left behind in the lobby as the elevator doors slid shut. As the doors finally closed with a solid kerchunk, her face fell and her smile evaporated. A scowl took its place, and her eyes looked like they were currently boring their way through the metal elevator doors. Robert swore he could almost feel the heat coming off of her as she glared straight ahead and clenched her hands hard into fists. He did his best to hide, as well as one could, in the corner of the elevator trying to avoid drawing Ava’s attention. Finally, the elevator arrived at its destination with a small ding.

“Come on,” Ava growled as she stepped through the doors. Robert hurried after her.

Instead of the long hotel hallway Robert expected, he found himself stepping into a small antechamber, with a single mahogany door. The dark rich wood had been left unpainted, but the door sported a geometric design of brass inlays that Robert couldn't help but think looked vaguely phallic. Ava walked up to the door, and took its shiny brass handle in hand.

“This door is magically locked and will only open for you, me, and whoever you nightly date is.” she flatly explained. She turned the handle, and pushed the door open.

“Whoa...” it was the only reaction Robert could manage.

The door had swung open to reveal a full length oil portrait of a shirtless Thomas Valenti. He was in a pair of red swim trunks and appeared to be standing on a beach, looking slightly off to the side at something in the distance. His abs glistened with sweat, his hair tastefully mussed, and his eyes were narrowed in a slight squint. Robert couldn’t decide if the apparent bulge in the portrait’s swimsuit was intentional, or a trick of the light.

“Please excuse the décor,” Ava said in a way that was clearly not an apology. “The suite was furnished with someone else in mind.”

She led the way through the door and Robert dutifully followed. As he stepped into the suite, his eyes went wide. The walls were festooned with oil paintings. About a third of them were Thomas Valenti in various dress and alluring poses, while the rest were scantily clad or even naked women. Robert didn't recognize any of the women in the paintings. They certainly weren't any of the six stuck on the show with him, and he wondered if these were other women Thomas knew in his daily life. Despite the rather unconventional subject matter, he couldn't help but admit that the paintings were all masterfully done.

Now that he'd gotten over the shock of the wall art, Robert began to explore the suite proper. The entrance door opened onto a large open room that was a combination kitchen/dining area. Despite the art deco trappings, the appliances in the kitchen all looked quite modern. The kitchen was separated from the dining room by the kitchen counter, which had bar seating on the dining side. A rectangular oak dining table with four chairs anchored the other half of the room. The far wall had a sliding glass door that led to a balcony overlooking the street in front of the Ambassador Hotel.

Robert stepped through a door into the next room, which was a luxurious living area. A large dark leather sofa with an attached chaise lounge dominated one wall. In front of it sat a massive wooden coffee table. On the other side of the table were two easy chairs of similar style to the sofa. A flat screen TV was mounted on the wall opposite the sofa. Robert was a little surprised by how small it was. It wasn’t that small, but compared to the extravagance of the rest of the suite it almost seemed paltry. In line with the door he had just stepped through, was a second door on the opposite wall. Robert moved through it to find the Master's bedroom.

The main feature of the bedroom was the king sized bed with decorative oaken posts rising high from each corner. On either side of bed stood twinned bedside tables. There was a large walk-in closet that Robert was pleasantly surprised to discover contained his entire wardrobe. He finally turned to examine the attached bathroom.

The bathroom contained a large double vanity with a mirror that ran the length of the wall. Opposite the wall, was a shower easily large enough to hold two people, with brass shower heads on both ends. Even more impressive was the large jet bath. It was semi-sunk into the floor and was easily deep enough for him to submerge his entire body beneath the water. It was even bigger then the shower. Robert figured you could probably fit three or four people in it. He shivered slightly as it occurred to him the likely reason why all the bathing facilities were so large.

Having explored the whole suite, Robert returned to the kitchen/dining room to find Ava standing beside the dining room table, arms crossed. She looked impatient, but also expectant, like she was awaiting his verdict.

“The, uhhhh...the art’s a bit much…” he stammered.

Ava’s eye roll could have moved mountains.

“I told you, it wasn’t decorated with you in mind. Give me some time tomorrow and I’ll replace the art.” she fumed.

“Thanks…” Robert turned and looked at a portrait of Thomas with his shirt half-unbuttoned leaning against a red Ferrari. “I always knew Thomas was kinda full of himself, but this is something else.”

“He was going to be perfect.”

“Excuse me?” Robert turned to Ava, surprised. She had said it so quietly he was sure he had misheard her.

“He was going to be a perfect fit for this season,” she repeated, louder. “A man with delusions of grandeur surrounded by women desperately chasing their dreams? Dreams that he himself would be in a position to grant? Oh, it would have been amazing! That man would have thought himself a god! Instead, I’m stuck with you, Robert West. A man with no ambition to climb the company ladder, a man who hasn’t had a serious relationship for going on a decade now…”

Robert blanched. “How did you know-”

“And now, I have to make a harem show revolve around you! Not the domineering scoundrel, but you.”

“I didn’t ask to be here,” Robert weakly protested.

“And I didn’t want you here!” Ava was nearly hysterical now. “But we’re both stuck with one another so now we have to make this work!

“We?! I-”

“Surely you don’t think that I’m the only one that will suffer the consequences if this seasons tanks?” Ava sneered venomously, looking down at him. “You, me, those six girls downstairs, we all sink or swim together. The sooner you understand that, the better for all of us.”

She stormed towards the entryway, and wrenched the door open. She spun back around glaring at Robert.

“I need you to be a Master. Do you understand that?” Before he could answer she stepped out and slammed the door behind her.

Robert stood where Ava had left him, his fists clenched, nearly shaking with rage. His mind raced with all the things he should have said to her. He knew what she wanted him to become, but he would not be that man. He refused to be anything but who he was.