The Spa
Chapter 9
As the guests continued to mill about the displays, Mr. Devereaux spied Ms. Hutchinson standing off to the side, observing it all, and strode over to stand next to her.
“It’s become quite the event, hasn’t it?” he asked her. “A far cry from where we started a year ago.”
“Yes,” she nodded in agreement. “It would certainly have never come to this without your financial backing, and your belief that we could actually do this, legally and without much fuss.”
“Well, we tapped into something pretty powerful in this modern world—the need for stress relief, relaxation, even if it’s only for a couple of days. The way I see it, everybody wins. The drones get a break from their crazy lives; the bidders get to live out their fantasies; hell, even the staff get to unwind as they walk around the room here mindlessly serving everyone,” he added with a wave of his hand. “And of course, we make money.”
“Exactly. There are no victims here—these women are experiencing something they never would otherwise—pure relaxation, bliss, happiness, and the attention they deserve. Every woman is beautiful and we celebrate that...at least that’s how I see it.”
“So true! And here, they are all treated the same no matter their class or their social standing. Even my beautiful wife,” he remarked, glancing back at the maid displays.
“I think your housekeeper has taken quite an interest in L34, hasn’t she?” Ms. Hutchinson smirked.
Mr. Devereaux chuckled. “Yes, and I’m looking forward to sitting back watching the role reversal as it unfolds, savoring the irony that neither of them will have a clue what is really going on.”
“You devil, you!” Ms. Hutchinson declared with a playful slap on the man’s arm. “I have a feeling you’ll be enjoying one of the pleasure units as you watch your maid and your wife interact. Have you got your eyes on one in particular?”
“As a matter of fact, I have. It’s generated a lot of interest though, so I might just decide to hang in the bidding long enough to drive the price up—then settle for one of the others and essentially pocket the difference. It’s good to be the king,” Mr. Devereaux added with a wink.
“Who am I to argue with your methods?” she laughed. “At the rate we’re growing this thing, I’m going to have to open a second location soon.” Turning, she looked back at the displays and the guests who were still perusing them. “We get a few new buyers every weekend it seems—I don’t think I’ve seen that black couple or the lesbians here before. And they both seem very interested in D36—I’m guessing that’s the one you had your eye on too?”
“It is.”
“Well, I’d love to keep chatting but I need to get the show on the road, it’s time.”
“And I need to go retrieve my housekeeper and find our seats,” he smiled as they walked apart; joining Sofia just as she was turning to look for him, they headed towards the stage steps. As they walked past D36 they slowed down enough to hear some of the conversations going on around it: ‘It’s amazing how real it looks and feels—but why didn’t they give it a face?’ ‘I really love the blonde hair with the tan skin—I hope they make more like this one in case we don’t win.’ ‘They really outdid themselves on the body when they made this one.’ Then they headed off the stage and to their table.
Taking up position behind the microphone stand, Ms. Hutchinson tapped on it a couple of times; the crowd got the hint and also began exiting the stage. She gave them a few minutes to get settled and allow the servers to make one more round with appetizers and beverages before she motioned for the curtain to close and then began to speak:
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to our weekly Drone Auction. In a few minutes, we’ll begin the bidding on our maid units first, and then our pleasure units, but I want to go over the rules first. You all should have received a copy when you registered, but I want to make sure there is no confusion as to how things are going to happen.”
Before continuing, she paused for a moment to make sure she had everyone’s attention on her. “Bidding will be conducted in the same manner as any other auction. Once you’ve been declared the winner, your drone will be removed from the stage and taken to the shipping room. One of our servers will direct you where to go so that you may wait until your drone is properly packaged; you will then confirm where it is to be shipped and we’ll have it delivered to your home or other location you designate. Each drone will come with an instruction manual and the number to call if you have any issues during your rental period.”
Everyone was paying rapt attention as she spoke, slowly and clearly. “The delivery van will return to that same address on Sunday at noon. When they arrive, your drone should be in EXACTLY the same state it was when you received it. You will be charged an additional fee for any cleaning, or for any damage to the unit, and we may also revoke your ability to participate in future auctions.”
A hand went up; she recognized it and responded. “Yes, a question?”
“What if I want it for more than two days?” Jasmine asked.
“That’s not an option currently. The rental period begins when you make the winning bid and ends when our driver picks up the unit on Sunday. No exceptions.” She paused for a few moments, then continued. “Okay if there’s no more questions, we will set the stage and start the bidding on the first item, which will be L34.”
The lights went down, and the curtain opened; a single spotlight shone down on the display case housing the maid drone L34. The other displays were lined up behind it, barely visible in the gloom that pervaded the rest of the stage.
“We will begin the bidding at five hundred dollars...”