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Michael

“You, uh, come here often?” Michael joked at Sarah, who rolled her eyes hard enough to pull a muscle. She gestured around at the contestant’s floor common room.

“Where else would I rather be than right here, right now?”

The two sat at adjacent stools next to the bar, while Michael desperately scanned for somewhere to look that wouldn’t get him in trouble. To his right was his former lead developer, her impressive bare chest on display. She seemingly was fine with having the girls out at this point, but he wasn’t ready to openly ogle. So that was out. Behind the bar was the scoreboard, and that was just a record of his own conquests and failures, the implications of which he’d rather not address at the moment. To his left was the frosted glass of the shower where Ronnie was getting cleaned up after her unfortunately public jill session. Nothing good could come of staring that way. And behind him was a stripper pole, which kept forcing visions of the various women swinging on it into his head.

So he took the safe route and stared into his beer. Sure it was 10AM, but considering the week he was having, a little day drinking was understandable.

He really did want to head up to his suite, but the button for his floor had simply disappeared from the elevator. The hosts were going to **** him into these situations, and there wasn’t a thing to do about it. Unfortunately all his clothes were still up there, so that left him in 2/3rds of his suit, the blazer having been - tailored - to fit Janet’s body.

“So I haven’t really explored this floor yet.” Michael said, trying to make conversation to distract from the carnival of temptations. “So you have a stripper pole, which would make more sense in my room, right? What else is there to do around here?”

“Yes, I am not sure why they put the pole down here. And before you ask, I’m not giving it a swing.” Sarah said, though the quickness of her denial suggested to Michael that there was more to that. Sarah immediately hustled to a new topic. “There’s a pretty decent pool right below your window. Seeing as how we actually have the sun during daytime again, maybe we should give it a try?”

Michael gestured to his suit. “Not ideal swimming clothes.”

In turn, Sarah gestured to her ropes. “Suck it up, buttercup.” She cupped her chin. “Though I do know a place that might sell something…” Sarah said, swatting away one of the rope heads that was trying to dip itself in her drink.

“Is it the place that mailed you those ropes?” Her guilty face confirmed it. “Yeah, I’ll pass on that. But sure, let’s head down. Get the girls changed and come meet me.” Michael slipped subconsciously back into boss mode with Sarah, not even registering it as odd that he just casually tossed off an order and headed for the elevator. Sarah opened her mouth to tell him so, but bit it back. She looked thoughtful for a second, as if filing that away for later. She’d not easily fallen into employee mode even back in the real world, but her quick sidelong glance at the scoreboard told her it might be the smart play here.

---

Apparently everyone was enjoying the return of the Sun, even if they weren’t there by choice. The pool area was completely packed with the Staff, seemingly enjoying the sun, the pool, and the bar. Many of them looked at him as he entered, and while he was not a shy person, behind their smiles he caught tiny glimpses of fear, jealousy, regret, even rage.

All of it justified. But don’t direct it at me! I’m just as much a prisoner as you people.

This wasn’t going to work. He was hoping for something relaxing and being glared at by a hundred slaves was going to make him nuts. Just the seven I’ve got are seven too many.

An Asian woman walked by in a Harem Hotel lifeguard outfit: A small red bikini with the Harem Hotel logo across the backside. She was gorgeous and toned, and Michael’s eyes roamed her freely before his brain remembered that he shouldn’t be doing that. Control yourself. He did, however, call to her to stop.

“Excuse me, Miss…?”

“Hae-Won.” She said as she flipped her black hair over her shoulder, flashing her brown eyes at him. “Is everything to your liking, Master Michael?” Stop, Michael. Stop.

“Please don’t call me that. Um, is there a private pool area anywhere? Just for myself and … the others.” He stopped himself before calling them ‘my girls.’

“Not at the moment, but it will be provided for you, Master Michael.” He went to correct her, but realized she couldn’t control it. She continued. “You may have these pools to yourselves, all the Master has to do is ask.”

“Really?” He stopped. This is supposed to be my show. If I can’t get out, maybe it's worth making it a little more comfortable. “Please leave the pools to us, thank you.” He commanded, trying to project the confidence he’d once exuded.

“Of course, Master Michael.” Each successive time it was said was making it a little easier to hear. Of course, had he thought about it, he could have realized that was entirely intentional on Ruby and Al’s part. Their attempts at conditioning weren't exactly subtle. Hae-Won collected her lifeguard whistle from its place between her impressive cleavage and blew it three times. Despite not vocalizing anything, the Staff immediately recognized their new command and left the pool area en masse. Many of them simply climbed out of the pool and walked straight into the hotel soaking wet, without collecting their belongings.

“Ohhhh-kay." Michael said to himself as he was left completely alone. Casinos loved their custom pools and this was no exception, a pair of conjoined Hs with a swim-up bar across the center. The stools sat just below the waterline on the customer side. He walked around to the bartender’s entrance and climbed down the stairs into it. I’m not without talents, time to whip up a classic Michael-rita. He had only let that name slip to Danica once, after he’d quaffed one-too-many Michael-ritas, and her raucous laughter had told him to keep it to himself from now on. Never get high on your own supply. Thankfully she hadn’t told Mallory, or he would never have heard the end of it. The back bar appeared to have exactly what he needed, which was increasingly unsurprising. The amount of information they had about him was staggering and terrifying if he stopped to think about it, so he declined to do that. He muddled up a little avocado and jalapeño before adding it to the tequila, lime juice, orange liqueur, and ice in one of the convenient blenders and then he set it running.

Michael began to clean up the Staff’s abandoned drinks until the women emerging from the hotel caught his eye. Apparently, Sarah had only succeeded in convincing Ronnie, Janet, and Luciana to join her, but the four were about all he could handle at the moment.

Luciana had changed into a two piece swimsuit bearing the colors of the Puerto Rican flag. It wasn’t much smaller or more revealing than the outfits she wore to fight, but the effect in-person was striking. She reached the top of the H shaped pool and dove in, casually back-stroking the length towards the underwater bar stools. She’d been at the hotel a few days so her weight-cut muscle definition was receding to normal, but she still looked powerful and sexy as she slid through the water. Her muscles glistened in the sun as she climbed up to the bar and gave Michael a broad smile.

But compared to Janet and Ronnie’s outfits, Luciana’s outfit was positively modest. Ronnie was in a g-string bikini, emblazoned with the Harem Hotel logo across the crotch. Naturally they would only sell something if it was tiny and made for salacious television, and Michael enjoyed how the gold color accentuated her dark skin and curves as she walked with the others around to the stairs closest to the bar. Having to pair heels with it made her look like she was competing in a pageant, and in a way she was, but Michael was silently appreciative.

Now Janet, however, was a whole different story. Michael actually recognized the black swimsuit she was wearing. Or at least he recognized what it used to be: A black one-piece meant for coverage and meant to be worn under a wetsuit in the California surf. Mallory had teased her about it on some of their trips to the beach, telling her she looked like she was going to an Olympic diving competition rather than Santa Monica, but Janet had steadfastly refused to accept Mallory’s offers of a loaner. Well, her transformation had done a number on it, same as it had to his blazer. The neckline now plunged… and plunged… and plunged until it reached below her belly button, giving it a very deep V-shape. It had apparently shrank and tightened in the back as well, as Michael noticed when she tried to surreptitiously pull it from her butt as she walked.

Sarah, of course, barely had an outfit to begin with. Just a writhing mass of perverted rope that ensured that her breasts hung free, at a minimum. When the three of them reached the stairs to enter the water, the ropes shot out and wrapped around the handrail, refusing to let her enter.

“What?” Sarah asked. “Scared of a little water? You didn’t freak out about the shower.”

“Maybe they don’t wanna be submerged?” Janet shrugged as she waded in herself.

Ronnie looked out at the underwater bar stool, down at her heels, and decided to give it a try. She kicked off her shoes and slipped into the water before her legs gave out. As she realized she could still swim without them, euphoria crossed her face. “Oh my god, getting out of those bastards is HEAVENLY!” She yelled with joy as she swim back and forth past the bar, taking her time to enjoy that feeling before joining them.

“Let me go, damnnit, I need one of those drinks!” Sarah tugged and writhed against the rope. “Look, you wait here and I’ll just go sit there. You want me on display? I’ll be completely naked, that enough for you?” The two rope heads ‘looked’ at each other, and apparently decided that yes, naked Sarah was acceptable. They slithered off of her body, leaving her standing there naked as the day she was born.

Appeared Nude Before the Master +3

Appeared Nude Before the Boss +1

As Sarah waded into the pool to join the others, Michael’s initial instinct was to avert his eyes as he had upstairs, but… why? It earned Sarah points if he looked, the same as it did for Danica when she needed it. And, admitting to himself though he’d deny it to anyone else, he’d imagined Sarah naked more than once during an extended meeting. Why not look at the real thing once it was presented? He took a quick glance, found that his eyes weren’t immediately plucked from his skull, and then felt bold enough to turn his head and admire Sarah’s curves.

His attention on Sarah, he did not notice that Ronnie was studying his own face, or the look of concern that she wore. Her unique perspective on Masters might have given him pause if he did. But now it was time for him to serve.

“Step right up, ladies.” Michael said, cutting off the blender and laying out four Margarita glasses. He poured out one for each of them as they each joined him on one of the stools, realizing a little too late that he hadn’t made enough for himself. But what’s the rush? There was always time for more Michael-ritas.

“Woah, that is way stronger than the ones from my job.” Janet said, taking a tentative sip and setting it back on the bar.

“And delicious!” Ronnie responded. “You never made me one of these before?”

“We were broke as a joke, Ronnie. This is top-shelf right here.” He said, tapping the tequila. He checked the label, depicting a man in a cowboy outfit with two women in rather disturbing sexy native costumes, topless with leather skirt and feather tucked into a headband, both clinging to his ankles. At least the contents were tasty even if the label was problematic. “I’m not even sure if this brand exists on Earth, but I like it.”

Luciana waved it over and Michael handed her the bottle. “My dad is big into Tequila, be I’ve never heard of this one. Says it’s distilled by someone named Colt.” Ronnie surreptitiously spat hers back into the glass and did not take another drink, though in the lightly festive mood no one noticed.

“Hidden talents, Michael.” Sarah said, holding up her glass in a toast, and the other three women joined her.

Michael paused for a moment. Was this real? He wondered. As the boss, you could never totally be sure that your subordinates’ praise was genuine. Staving off brown-nosers was the eternal struggle. The realization that all the women in his life were incentivized to do the same was worrisome. Ronnie wouldn’t do that. He thought. She’d always told me the truth. And Sarah? Well, she’d always given me her opinions with both barrels. But now? Could he be sure? No. That way lies madness. He pushed it from his mind, trying hard to ignore the growing list of things he was trying to ignore and smiled back. He quickly popped the cap from a beer to return their toast.

“Congrats to Luciana.” Michael said, trying to deflect from his own concerns. “It was a memorable date, for sure.” Janet and Ronnie politely clapped, but there was clearly some tension there. Concern about the game? About the transformations they’d been given? Or were they getting possessive of him?

“That trip was for me.” She said softly. The sudden quiet from the strong woman was surprising, but short lived as her smile roared back. “I wouldn’t usually take a first date to meet my father.”

“Well tonight is our second date, what have you got for me?” Michael said. “I’ll be honest, the last two days were pretty eventful so I’m down for a relaxing evening.”

“You’ll just have to wait and see, then. My dad’s not around...” Luciana said, shooting him a wink and downing her drink in a single move. She threw her arms up in the air, allowing herself to fall backwards into the water. Then she pushed off the wall of the bar and returned to her backstroke.

“Is it a good idea to drink a frozen Marg and then swim?” Janet asked.

“She’s lucky as fuck right now, it’d probably make her faster.” Sarah shook her head.

“I’m feeling lucky as fuck myself,” Ronnie added, wiggling her toes under the water. “Michael, do you have a pool at your place? The one at our old apartment was so nasty I never used it, but now… You’d have to fish me out.”

“I wonder what would work as bait…” He grinned and Ronnie groaned at the joke. “No pool, but my place isn’t too far from the water.” Sarah, sensing an opportunity to complain, pushed her own empty glass back for a refill and started soapboxing to Ronnie about what a pain in the ass it was to live in L.A. these days. Michael busied himself making another round, humming softly as the women in his life started to bond.

Of course, nothing good lasts here, and Sarah detonated it by asking the tough question straight up. “So… Michael. The audience picked this round. But this whole thing ends when you pick one of us. Who would you have picked to win?”

Sarah got right to it. As she always does. With the blender spinning and his time to stall exhausted, he turned to his women sitting at his bar. Master or not, Michael needed to be diplomatic with this answer and called upon his years of experience.

“How could I choose? You were all so wonderful.”

It did not work.

“Oh please, don’t give me that.” Sarah scoffed. “You wanna boss us around and be the big man, then make a fuckin’ decision.”

“Woman’s got a point, Michael.” Ronnie piled on. Even Janet - Janet! - shook her head and found it unconvincing.

Michael let out a low whistle, his tell when he’d been cornered.

“First of all, I don’t wanna be the big man, that was **** on me too. But you’re right, I will need to make a decision.” Michael said, pouring out the next round as he talked. As much as they needed a decision, deserved a decision, there was no way that making that selection wouldn’t make enemies. So he began taking his first tentative steps through the minefield. “Being blunt, dinner in Wyoming was kind of a fiasco.” Sarah started to protest, but Michael held up his hand and - miracle of miracles! - Sarah let him finish. “I know it wasn’t totally your fault, but it kinda was your fault. Luciana’s trip to Miami was eye-opening, and I’m glad to know more about her. But I also thought a roomful of boxers were gonna beat my brains in, so gonna have to scratch that one from contention. So that leaves Ronnie and Danica.” Michael deliberately left off Vivian and Mallory’s dates from his deliberations, and the girls nodded in understanding at the omission. Except Janet, who blushed furiously. Michael took a drink and planned his words carefully, as Ronnie was clearly hanging on each one. “Both were truly amazing, for different reasons. Ronnie, I love you and I’m truly happy that we got to see your home… even if it didn’t go how you’d hoped. I choose yours.”

These were half-truths. Yes, the dinner in Wyoming had ended with him fleeing in the middle of the entree course, but he couldn’t deny a certain perverse thrill at Sarah’s predicament. He did enjoy his time with Ronnie, he always did. Even with the rather heavy emotional drama. But that day was now inextricably tied up with the crazy sex with Vivian that he couldn’t admit that he enjoyed even if he wasn’t sure how it happened, and honestly Danica’s date was much less complicated all around. And really, he did kind of want to be the big man. But he couldn’t say that, not to anyone’s face, especially Ronnie’s.

But his second attempt at diplomacy didn’t work either. Ronnie nodded softly and he tried to put his hand over hers, but she gently pulled it away. “Let’s not dwell on that today, honey.” Michael said. “Let’s take the days as they come and just relax.”

“Yeah, maybe we should.” Ronnie said, pushing her drink away unfinished and sliding off the stool to join Luciana in swimming around the pool.

“Yeah… that went well…” Michael mumbled. Of course she saw the half part of the half-truth. Just as I can count on Sarah to call me out, I can always count on Ronnie to see right through me.

“She didn’t believe you.” Janet said, glaring aggressively. “That was weak, Michael.” Michael was always prepared to catch an earful from Sarah, that was the price of her genius on the keyboard. But he was not expecting flak from Janet and certainly not of that intensity. Janet also pushed away her drink, having barely touched the refill, and swam off her stool to join the others.

Sarah waited until she was sure Janet had abandoned the drink, then grabbed it and pulled it over to herself.

“You know this bar is damn near bottomless.” Michael said.

“Why waste it?” Sarah said. “Not bad, by the way.”

“Thanks. For the compliment on the drink only. Not the advice. That was shit.” Michael said. “I made a decision and it blew up on me.”

“Look, Michael.” Sarah poured the balance of Janet’s drink into her own glass. “You didn’t actually make a decision, you pretended to. Women see through that immediately.” Michael started to complain, but Sarah shushed him. Actually shushed him into silence. “You have two women here who both think you’re their husband, and neither of them are going to be happy if you choose anyone else. And then you’ve got five others dropped in here who would like to come out of this without being warped into god-knows-what. I know this isn’t your fault but it’s your fucking show. So deal with it.”

“This isn’t my show, this is a damned curse.”

“You don’t know shit about curses.” Sarah shifted and protectively covered the tattoo across her midsection, but he didn’t ask. “But you certainly aren’t acting like a cursed man.”

“How so?”

“You’ve been walking around hard as a rock all day.”

Michael had been keenly aware of this, but having it thrown in his face was no fun. “The entire place is designed to do that to me, Sarah. And you’re not helping matters.”

“The entire place was designed to do this to me too, Michael.”

“Ok, so how do I deal with all … this?” Michael gestured broadly to everything, including the nude woman in front of him and the tent in his trousers.

“Be more decisive and be more honest about it.” Sarah said. “People followed you -I followed you- back in the world because you were a leader. Everyone’s scared, Michael, and they need someone to rally behind. Danica and Ronnie are strong women but they’re also competition.”

“You didn’t follow me, you gave me hell every day.”

“I tried to help you off some of your worst decisions, not that you listened. But I thought you were worth the effort.”

Michael paused for a long time. Vivian said almost the same thing on our date. Maybe hearing it from two of the women least likely to blow smoke up my ass makes it worth consideration.

“Decisive and honest, huh?” Michael said, and Sarah nodded. What the hell. She asked for it. Earlier, Michael had given himself tentative permission to look at Sarah’s lovely form as she entered the pool. He felt free to look now, but with significant effort, Michael pulled his eyes up to meet Sarah’s. “Honest truth, then. Sarah, I find you very attractive.”

“No shit, I’m stark naked.” She was, and Michael was keenly aware of it. But even back home, her weird skater boy aesthetic just worked for him. California never lacked for gorgeous women, some of them having been dragged to this very set, but Sarah steadfastly refused to give an inch to that world. Nothing short (except her hair, which she did not bother to style), curves where the rest sought flat, loose clothes where the rest sought tight, and even nude she was a woman without a fuck to give.

“Hey, you wanted honesty.” Michael shrugged. “But there’s more. I felt this way long before the show. You’re a good-looking woman, but more than that, you’re a damned pistol and that’s always been a thing for me.”

“So every time I was calling you out in meetings, it was turning you on? You kinky fucker…” Sarah howled with laughter.

“Not exactly.” Michael couldn’t help but join her in laughing. “But I’ve never wanted yes-men in my life, and for all your considerable faults...” Sarah simultaneously scoffed and nodded, “You’ve always told me what I needed to hear, even if it wasn’t what I wanted to hear.” He refilled both their glasses and offered her a toast, which she accepted.

“Yes, Michael. I was decisive and honest. It works. So you’ve been nursing a crush on me this whole time, huh?”

“Clearly one of my considerable faults.” Michael joked, “Though I’m sure you guessed that when they brought you here.”

“I had my suspicions even before that, but I thought the many times I brought up my girlfriend would have snuffed out that flame.”

“Hey, I had a wife the whole time too. Nothing was ever gonna happen but, the heart wants what the heart wants.”

“That wasn’t your heart talking to you, Michael.” Sarah leaned in closer, uncaring how that practically draped her breasts onto the bar. “So what the fuck was talking to you last night? I mean, I get it with Vivian. She’s hot and men have blown up their spot over less. But Mallory? What were you thinking, dude?” Michael immediately stepped back off the bar and gave her a wounded look. “Hey Mike, you said you didn’t want a yes-man. Not that you could find one willing to sign off on screwing your own stepdaughter.”

“Ugh. Don’t remind me.” He groaned, rapping his fists on the bar. “She climbed into bed after I passed out, and tried to give me a handjob without waking me up. I don’t know what possessed her to do that in the first place, but I guess she wanted to get extra points for putting her mouth on me.”

“The points are what possessed her to do it, Michael. She doesn’t want to be changed, so she did some things she’ll regret.” Sarah stops for a long time, and when Michael looks up, the expression on her face is more conflicted than he expected. Looking for something from him. “Just, if she comes to you for points… be kind, ok?”

This wasn’t about Mallory at all. Decisive and honest. “I will.” He nods, confirming their shared understanding.

Sarah checked over her shoulder at the rope, which was curled up at the top of the pool steps like a sleeping cat.

“Fuck it, I’m making a run for it.” Sarah said, slipping off the stool and submerging to quietly swim to the opposite edge. With his ‘secret’ out, he no longer bothered to hide his interest as he watched her climb from the water. She grabbed a discarded towel and wrapped it around her body, then tried to sneak towards the hotel, looking back as she went. The rope suddenly shot up from its sleep or whatever it was doing as it noticed she was gone. The heads ‘saw’ Sarah high-tailing it and slithered angrily after her.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” She yelled as they gave chase. Michael and the others stopped to watch with stunned expressions as Sarah took off running into the hotel, losing her towel in the process, with the rope in hot pursuit.