Week 1: Monday Mayhem (The Date)

Ann knew that she needed to get to the bottom of the Perfect Date Night 9000. She didn’t put that in her game and wanted to be informed if there were any other surprises in store for her. It would be harder to manage the game and make sure that things ran smoothly if there were things she was unaware of hidden throughout the resort. Ann sat at her desk and called the number for one of her bosses, Jimmy.

It didn’t take long until he answered.

“Ann, you’re calling surprisingly early?”

Ann frowned, “I’m sorry if I’m calling you early in the morning, but I have some concerns that I want addressed.”

Jimmy laughed as if he was hiding some funny secret, “Of course, lay it on me.”

“It's come to my attention that you’ve put something called the Perfect Date Night 9000 on the island during the construction of the resort. Did you hide anything else in the resort that I should be aware of?”

She could’ve sworn she heard him mumble, “Huh, that’s interesting.”

Jimmy more clearly replied, “Yes, there are other surprises in there that I and your other bosses thought would spice things up. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

Ann grimaced, “Are you sure you can’t let me know what they are? Knowing what to expect will make my job easier and help the show run more efficiently. If the show is run more efficiently, then that means the audience will be able to easier to understand, follow, and enjoy what they’re seeing.”

Jimmy chuckled, “My decision is final. I look forward to seeing how everything plays out.”

Jimmy hung up the phone, and Ann was left in her office frustrated at the turn of events. She should’ve expected it though. Her bosses, the producers of the show have never made her life any easier. Why would they start treating her nicely just because she got promoted?

She sighed as she looked at the time and noticed that it was almost time for the date with Max. She sent a message to all the contestants about what to expect for the dates and slumped back in her seat thinking of all the awful ways the producers could've messed with the show. She hoped that it wasn’t too bad, but that was just wishful thinking.

All dates with the master begin at 8 pm sharp. I wouldn’t want to be late unless you feel like you want to lose some points – From your adorable host, Ann

Jessica looked at the notification on her phone before putting it away. She was already on her way to Max’s room before she even received the warning. Jessica thought it was about time for the date to start, so she already made the necessary preparations for the date. She was freshly showered, dressed in her maid outfit, and completely relaxed thanks to the resort’s spa.

Those maids sure did their job effectively, if nothing less. She wondered if she should use her wish to keep some of them. They didn’t complain, or talk back, and were available at any time of the day. Not to mention, they were skilled at the tasks they were given. The full body massage and the manicure she’d gotten were amazing. There weren't many people that she’d allow to touch her body that could compare to their treatment. Jessica let herself smile a bit seeing how things were moving to benefit her.

She’d made her way to the elevator, and Max let her up to his apartment. The doors opened to reveal his room. Jessica scanned the fancy room, and it was clear that his place was leagues above their rooms that they had to share with someone else. Max came out of his bedroom with a smile on his face. He was wearing a similar tux to the first time she saw him in the resort, except this one was a silver tux compared to the black tux he’d worn before.

“Good evening, you’re here a bit earlier than I thought.”

“I never show up to an event late. I’m not stopping that now despite the circumstances we find ourselves in.”

“Fair enough, I figured that we should have dinner and talk with each other. We don’t know much about it each other, so why don’t we use this opportunity to bridge the gap.”

Jessica smiled, “I’m not opposed. A good meal is always welcome. Are you going to be cooking yourself?”

“I was planning on it. Would you rather have one of the maids prepare our meal?”

Jessica shook her head, “No, I’m curious to see how well you do in the kitchen. I’ve already tasted the results of their cooking multiple times so far.”

Max went over to the kitchen as she sat at the dining room table.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a master chef or anything, but I have a decent handle on cooking things.”

“Any particular reason why you learned to cook.”

Max laughed, “Yeah, my dad sucked at cooking. He could make simple things like eggs just fine, but anything more complicated was ruined in some way or another. He’d put salt instead of sugar and vice versa half the time and ruined the meal. Other times he overcooked the food too much or over-seasoned the food so much that it became inedible. I learned how to make things myself so I wouldn’t starve or live off of toast for my whole life. What about you? Did you ever learn how to cook?”

“No, the butlers and maids have cooked my meals for as long as I can remember. The only exceptions are when we eat out somewhere. Thankfully, someone is always around to do it for me. Even now, when we are on this island, there are still people/things who can do it for me. It makes sense though. Things always end up working to my benefit.”

There was a pause from Max as he grabbed things from the fridge and cabinets before he spoke again.

“What were you doing before being dragged here?”

Jessica frowned, “There was a Deluxe Strawberry Delight cake that I was going to try before I ended up here.”

“Oh, do you eat sweets often?”

“When I’m in the mood, it's not good for my figure or my health to constantly eat sweets. However, when I get enough points maybe I should invest in something to help that so I won’t have to worry about it.”

“That’s surprisingly realistic of you. I thought you were going to say that you don’t worry at all about your figure since everything seems to work out for you,” replied Max as he had already set up the cutting board and was starting to chop some tomatoes.

Jessica crossed her arms, “I don’t take any risks with my health. What about you? How’s your diet?”

“It's okay. I cook all my meals, so I don’t worry much about processed food, but I don’t cook the healthiest meal most of the time. Don't worry though, I won’t make any fried today for our dinner if you were worried,” replied Max as he started cutting up some onions.

“I wasn’t. However, what are you making?”

“Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas with some vegetables thrown in too. Do you want some sour cream with it?”

“Yes.”

“All right, I’ll put some on the side when the meal is done.”

Jessica watched in silence for a bit as Max cooked and prepared their meal. This was the man that she’d be connected to for life after she won this game. All things considered; he wasn’t bad. He was polite, respectful, and handsome. However, he lacked the status and luck needed to stand by her side and be her husband.

Eventually, he brought the meal over to her and asked what she would like to drink with her meal. She settled on a glass of red wine, and the two of them started eating dinner. Jessica cut the quesadilla with a knife and fork before placing it into her mouth. It was good. Maybe he should consider being her cook rather than her husband.

“How’s the food?” asked Max before he took a bite out of his food.

“Good, you’ve got some talent in the culinary arts. Are you planning to improve your skills in the future?”

“No, I plan to create a video game that is popular and recognized all over the world. I’m actually taking college courses to improve my knowledge and skills in that field.”

Creating video games is a waste of time. There were more important things to do with your life than doing something like that.

Jessica didn’t say that though partly because it doesn’t matter to her what he did and partly because she didn’t want to get into an argument with him about his wasted potential.

“Do you have a goal or career that you’re pursuing?”

Jessica took another bite of her meal and pondered the question before answering, “I don’t have any goals or careers worth pursuing. Everything that I could ever need, I have. If I don’t then I could buy it.”

Max looked concerned, “If that’s the case, then what do you do on a daily basis.”

“It depends on how I feel, but most of the time is spent traveling to various places around the globe.”

Max took a sip of his wine before replying, “That’s good, but don’t you feel a lack of purpose in your life.”

“No.”

Max raised an eyebrow, “So you never feel aimless, bored, depressed, or a sense of apathy and stagnation as you go through life.”

Jessica angrily replied, “Of course not. Everything about my life was perfect before I came here.”

Max sighed, “I don't mean to offend you, but that doesn’t sound good or healthy.”

Jessica finished her meal and said diplomatically, “Let’s agree to disagree.”

Max shrugged, “All right.”

Max finished up the rest of his meal, and Jessica spoke up.

“I’ve had enough talking for one night. How about we call the date here?”

“Sure.”

Jessica went over to the elevator and tried to leave only to quickly figure out that the elevator wasn’t working and she was stuck here until morning.

Ann must’ve set this up to prevent people from leaving. She continues to add more rules to this game to inconvenience me. It doesn’t matter. I’ll win anyway. That’s how it's meant to be.

Max looked over at her sadly, “Can’t leave, huh.”

“No, it would appear that I can’t,” responded Jessica as she looked around Max’s room to find a comfortable place to sleep for the night.

Max replies as if reading her thoughts, “There’s no comfortable place to sleep here except for my bed. Unfortunately, we’ll have to share unless you plan on sleeping on the floor.”

There’s no way that I’m sleeping on the floor, and I know that kicking him out of his bed will only result in the loss of points. She also doubted anyone would take it kindly to being kicked out of their bed regardless.

“I’ll take you up on your offer,” said Jessica reluctantly since she had no other choice.

Max gave a sympathetic smile, “I promise to stay on my side.”

Jessica followed Max to the bedroom and took a look around. It was a nice high-quality bedroom. The design had a simple but refined taste to it. It used mostly darker colors to bring the room together, but she supposed it contrasted with the brighter colors of the other room and the view of the resort below him. There was a dark oakwood bookshelf in the corner of the room and the bed itself. The only other thing of note was the TV and a weird keypad attached to the wall, but it didn’t look particularly important.

She hopped into bed and closed her eyes. She tried to ignore the movement in the background as Max did whatever he was doing. She tuned him out until she felt him come into the bed with her. Jessica didn’t make any movement to indicate that she was aware of his presence or awake as she waited to see what he would do. Nothing happened for a long time and all she could hear after a while was his soft, steady breathing. It didn’t take long for her to follow suit and fall asleep too.

Jessica (Alternate Outfit)