No Business Like Show Business

The door to the studio office banged back against its hinges as Sarah strode in. Robin and Bailey were hot on her heels while Cassandra, Samantha, and Chloe warily trailed in behind them. Robert was dead last, scanning the room like the walls were closing in.

The receptionist's eyes were wide and frantic as Sarah's long legs carried her across the retro waiting room. Sarah didn't even bother to glance in her direction as she kept her eyes on the prize.

“Ava's office down this way?” Sarah asked the petite receptionist, gesturing down the short wood paneled hallway in front of her while never breaking her stride.

“Yes, b-but you need an appointment!” The girl was scrambling out of her chair, trying to divert the wave of people but Sarah was already halfway down the hall. Sarah paused briefly outside the heavy wooden door of Ava's office, somehow managed to draw herself even taller, then with a deep breath pushed the door open.

The office on the other side looked just as dated as the building's antechamber. The furnishings were largely unadorned but their quality spoke of luxury. Two broad leather chairs faced an expansive wooden desk. A desk lamp shaded with green glass took up one corner of the wide surface while three old Bakelite rotary telephones – two black, one a gaudy red - sat in the other. A line of low cabinets ran along the wall behind the desk, but the wall itself was an array of old television screens all packed together in a neat grid. They were all currently playing different things. Sarah didn't recognize any of the moving pictures, but based on the “activities” that were on screen she would bet her bottom dollar that they were other seasons of Harem Hotel.

Ava herself lounged behind the desk, her legs crossed, leaning back in a rich leather office chair. Her posture was relaxed, but her eyes sharp. She was wearing a black pencil skirt, a white button up blouse with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and a black vest. She was currently holding the business end of one of the back Bakelite phones up to her ear. Her eyes widened slightly at the sudden intrusion, but she made no other sign of recognition. Instead she calmly continued her phone call.

“Non-canon my ass. It clearly had a lasting impact on several seasons.”

Sarah came to a sudden stop in front of the desk, arms crossed, her back ramrod straight. One of her knees was slightly cocked and she was all hard angles and edges. Ava's eyes narrowed as she considered her challenger. She held up a single finger, and slowly spun her chair to the side, like it would give her the privacy to finish her call.

“Don't pull that 'chance to establish yourself ' bullshit on me! It would have been a great opportunity for us to get in front of new viewers.”

Sarah never took her eye off the Host, but she could feel the other slowly filing in behind her. Robin and Bailey took up either flank, while Cassandra hovered just behind Sarah's shoulder. Samantha hugged the back wall while Chloe slid in behind Robin, peering around her. The room was filling up and Robert was **** to pick between center-stage or the sidelines. He opted for the far corner, the distance giving the faintest veneer of safety. The receptionist was last, the tiny girl trying to swim through the crowd while stammering apologies that Ava silenced with a glare.

“Fine. Just tell him we better be included the next time they pitch something like that.”

The Host slowly spun back forward and locked eyes with Sarah.

“We'll have to talk later Sledge, looks like I have an Indian uprising on my hands. No, no, don't bother him, it's nothing I can't handle. I'll call you.”

With that Ava slowly and deliberately placed the hand piece of the telephone back on the receiver before turning to the group with her practiced stage smile.

"So wonderful to see all of you out and about together! Especially you, Robert.” Ava waved her receptionist off and the girl swiftly disappeared back to her post. “Everyone making friends?”

“You weren't clear with us about eliminations.” Sarah stated.

“Beg pardon?” Ava said, clearly having heard Sarah just fine.

Sarah slammed her hands down on Ava's desk, causing everyone but the Host to jump.

“You. Weren't clear. About eliminations.” Sarah repeated, her eyes blazing. Ava's smile never wavered even as her eyes narrowed slightly.

“I'm not quite sure what you mean, dear,” Ava replied. Her words dripped with honeyed venom.

“Oh I'm sure you know exactly what I mean, dear,” Sarah shot back. “You didn't tell us how bad they could be. How our bodies, our minds, our very selves were at risk.”

“Didn't I?” Ava's eyebrow arched wickedly. She reached out and plucked a remote off of her desk. Pointing it over her shoulder at the wall of screens, she pressed a button. Instantly all the screens changed to the same frozen image - a close-up of Ava from the season's welcoming ceremony. The Host pressed the remote again and the video began to play.

“First, any contestant that ends a week with negative VP, or who doesn't gain 100 VP by the end of the six week period will be Eliminated. Eliminated contestants will be at the very bottom of the harem hierarchy, and they will receive a harsh exit penalty.”

The image froze, rewound, and repeated:

“First, any contestant...”

Ava let the scene play out twice more in full before she muted it and finally spoke.

“I'm not quite sure what part of that wasn't clear to you Miss Bridges. I made no effort to hide the seriousness of being eliminated.”

“You undersold it.”

“'Harsh exit penalty.' How much more warning do you require?”

“You call those harsh?” Ava turned to where Robin was standing. Her hands were clenched at her sides and she was shaking. “Monstrous is more like it.”

“Oh you should see the seasons run by the actual monsters if you thought those were bad.” Ava replied, her smile slowly returning, absent any warmth.

“You should have told us, Ava. We would have-”

“What, jumped Robert's bones?” Ava sneered. Sarah flinched, like a whip had been cracked in her face.

“-done things differently,” she finally finished.

“Would you?” Ava asked, tenting her fingers. She leaned forward in her chair and peered into Sarah's face. The tall woman held steady this time.

“Well, now the risks are 'clear' to all of you. I trust you'll keep them in mind going forward.”

“This isn't fair Ava. Half of us have already had our night with Robert this week.”

“Yes, and the other two women both managed to score points, one of them quite a few,” Ava shot a quick wink Bailey's direction that left her sputtering. “You're the only one thus far that's emerged from your date night scoreless Miss Bridges. So is this truly about 'fairness,' or is this about your own personal failings?”

“It's not about me.”

“Hmph.” Ava leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms under the curve of her chest. “Well, fortunately all the contestants with negative points have yet to have their evening with the Master. They can now do so with a 'clear' understanding of what's at stake. Anything else I can help you with?”

“You could at least tell us how points are scored,” Robin growled. Ava's lips pulled thin.

“That I made quite clear. Intimate acts with-”

“I meant how many points each 'act' is worth,” the goth interrupted as the Host rolled her eyes.

“Early seasons did that, but it quickly devolved into contestants attempting to game the system. We prefer relationships between the Master and their harem develop naturally so point values for individual acts are no longer disclosed.”

“'Develop naturally?' You kidnapped us! We don't even know the guy!” Robin objected while Robert shuffled awkwardly in the corner of the room and stared at the floor.

“And now you have six weeks dedicated solely to getting to know him. I advise all of you to make good use of your time.”

“Three of us lost points for placing last in the popularity poll,” Sarah immediately jumped in. “Is there other ways to lose points?”

“Yes, placing poorly in the weekly Best Girl poll or the end of week challenge will both result in a loss of points.” Exasperation was beginning to creep into Ava's voice. “Honestly girls, if you spent half this much effort on your Master none of you would have to worry about negative points.”

Bailey laughed, bitter and wild.

“What, by fucking our way to safety?”

“I don't know why you're complaining Miss Winters. After your little performance last night you shouldn't have much to worry about this week.”

“Fuck you!”

“Not what we're here for.” Ava replied with a wry smile.

“It wasn't even supposed to be him! I could at least have been stuck here with Thomas, but you fucked it up!”

The teasing hints of a smile vanished from Ava's face.

Sarah tried to hide her surprise. She hadn't been prepared to play that card but now that Bailey had thrown it down she decided to go all in.

“We all heard the phone call. Whoever you report to wasn't very happy.”

It was like the air had been sucked out of the room. Ava's eyes darted to the garish red phone and Sarah could have sworn the temperature was actually dropping. No going back now. In for a penny...

“Look, obviously no one is excited about how this has shaken out. Maybe we could-”

“You think that matters?” Ava whispered, her gaze turning back to the group. “Do you really think you can lord that over me like it makes a difference?”

“Robert's not supposed to be here. It's supposed to be Thomas. You planned for Thomas.”

“And how much to you honestly think the audience cares? Do you really think they're tuning in for him?”

Out of the corner of her eye Sarah was aware of Robert shrinking further into the corner. She fought to keep her face steady as she could feel the small sliver of control she thought she had slipping through her fingers.

“But what about you? How does that affect how the audience feels about you?”

Ava's lips peeled back in a sneer.

“'There's no such thing as bad publicity.'” Ava snarled through gritted teeth. “I believe someone from your dimension said that. At the end of the day the only thing my producer cares about is viewership and so far that hasn't been a problem.”

“We could make it a problem,” Sarah struggled to keep her growing desperation hidden. “We could-”

“What, refuse to play?” Ava scoffed. “You've already seen how that works out.”

Ava glowered as Sarah fell silent. She'd played all the cards she had.

“Let me make something abundantly clear to all of you.” The Host finally said, enunciating every syllable as a sharp stab. “Whatever you think you know, my producer has the utmost confidence in me because he knows I understand the purpose of all this.”

Sarah held her ground, but she could feel the line collapsing around her under Ava's counterattack.

“Over the millennia, some of my colleagues have developed their own ideas about what this show is about. Redemption, retribution, punishment, some twisted group therapy retreat. Every single one of them are missing the point, the real raison d'être for all of us being here.”

“At the end of the day if the audience isn't entertained, they aren't going to watch. Doesn't matter how sweet or cruel the Host is or how accepting or cliquish the harem members are. Oh sure, each season has its story, its throughline, but it's all window dressing. What the viewers really tune in for is entertainment.”

Ava raised from her seat, placed her hands on her desk and leaned forward. Her fervent eyes burned with an intensity that made Sarah step back.

“The point of the Show is the Show.”

Ava grinned.

“And I'm going to put on a good one.”