Page 17 of Mine To Break
Chapter Eight
The first brainstorming sessions leading up to a new season were Mal’s favorite meetings all year. Landing a job at VCONN ten years ago had been a dream come true, and her job had only gotten better over the years. She really felt like they were making a difference, at least in Dallas. The local BDSM club, Silken, had doubled its membership sinceAmerica’s Next Top subhad aired, and she’d even been recognized as the Mistress of Dallas while in Houston with Mama. Mal had just about fallen out of her chair when Mama had actually been pretty chuffed at her daughter’s recognition. Even as a Domme on a very sexy show.
Their ratings were great. They’d blown KDSX out of the water. Ad prices were through the roof. All of which made their CEO and her partner, Victor Connagher, beam with pride, even while he moved that bar another notch higher for their upcoming fall season.
“So.” He looked around the table, meeting each person’s gaze for a moment before moving on. Shiloh Holmes, his fiancée and the original creator ofAmerica’s Next Top sub, gave him one of the secretive, dirty smiles that subs were so very good at, promising all sorts of sweaty fun later. Then Georgia, the beautiful host who’d been all too eager to sign a nice contract ensuring her services for the next two seasons. Patrick wasn’t an employee of VCONN, but he’d played one of the dominant contestants, along with Mal and Victor. Ryan and Kimberly, the owners of Silken, were crucial in offering up their club’s play rooms and clientele for potential candidates. “Thank you for coming today to begin brainstorming ideas for continuingTop subthis fall.”
“I’m surprised you called me, actually.” Despite the business suit, Patrick sat in the chair like a negligent, bored lord of the manor. “I’m sure I was the least favorite dominant in the last show, though I’m certainly interested in continuing, or at least providing input.”
Shiloh glanced at her fiancé out of the corner of her eyes. “He didn’t tell you?”
Patrick’s eyes narrowed on the man at the head of the table. They were friendly acquaintances, but not above a dominant pissing match if they weren’t careful. “Tell me what?”
“I admit that it shocked the hell out of me too.” Victor’s mouth quirked and the tension eased from Patrick’s shoulders. “Your pony girls were a hit.”
“In fact…” Shiloh waited until he nodded and then stood with a stack of storyboards. The first board displayed a pony girl in all her glory, from bit and head piece to hoof boots and tail. “We’d like to talk to you about a spinoff.”
Patrick sat back in his chair, his mouth opening and shutting several times before he managed to find his words. “My own show. You’re kidding, right?”
“We’re thinking it could be set up very much likeTop sub, but with all pony themes and challenges. If you’re interested, of course.”
“Interested? You’d have to horsewhip me to make me leave now. What are you thinking it’ll be called?”
She moved the next board up. A woman in a Victorian riding habit stood by a man easily recognized as Patrick, dressed in jodhpurs, with his famous whip whirling around the pair like a frame. “Pony Games.”
“Thank you.” Patrick cleared his throat and nodded vigorously. “It’s perfect. Yes. Let me know what you need.”
The man actually looked like he was near tears, and Mal suddenly found herself a little watery too. She knew what it felt like to be accepted, after a lifetime of never feeling like you fit in, that you were different, odd, strange. A twinge of guilt made her wince. She’d teased Patrick about his pony gear on the last show, all in good humor, but she hadn’t realized how important it was to him.
“You showed us that there’s a strong interest in our viewers for more pony play.” Victor even stood and leaned across the table to offer his hand. “So thank you, Patrick. I’m looking forward to seeing what else you can teach us.”
Patrick shook his hand sheepishly. “I’m sure that most of those interested viewers are probably more shocked and titillated than truly interested in my stable, but I appreciate the sentiment.”
Mal leaned closer to him and squeezed his arm lightly. “So what if they are? Most of our viewers start out that way, watching for the shock value. But our shows speak to the silent truths in all humans, and eventually, we start to unbury something they never understood about themselves.”
Victor sat back down. “You’ve always claimed that everybody is on the kink scale, whether they know it or not.”
“Like that cop,” Shiloh added. “Nobody would look at him and think submissive.”
But they hadn’t seen Colby last night. So needy and hungry. He might not think he was a submissive, but he’d sure been starved for a woman with her kind of power. Not ready to talk about him yet with anyone, she shrugged and gave them a hopefully mysterious smile. “What’s our ideas for a new season ofTop sub?”
Victor’s eyes narrowed a moment, not fooled in the least by her changing the subject, but he wouldn’t force a conversation. Especially in front of people outside of their immediate circle. He gave a nod to Shiloh and she set thePony Gamesstoryboard aside.
“I promised Brandon that we’d do something for the queer folks in the scene,” he said. “I’d like to invite at least one homosexual dominant for the next season. Anyone have a recommendation?”
Ryan nodded. “I’ve got several people in mind, though I haven’t approached them yet. I’m assuming you’ll do the same sort of set up with masks and secret identities? This is Texas after all, and you’re going to have a lot of die-hard pissed-off conservatives up in arms if you’re not careful.”
“Of course,” Shiloh said. “I know all too well how much media attention we drew last season, though V played it up and welcomed it.”
“We’ll take extra care to protect everybody’s identities,” Victor said. “The point of the show isn’t how gays do BDSM differently. It’s to be inclusive, but not make a big deal about it. We’ll have dominants and submissives who just happen to be attracted to the opposite sex. Everything else on the playing field is the same.”
“He’s right, though,” Mal added. “How many hate letters did we get last year because I was playing with a white submissive?”
Just thinking about those nasty letters made her stomach hurt. So much hate in the world. So much misery. What did it matter to anyone who anyone else dated or loved? She’d never understand it.
“Let them write us.” Victor smiled his grim reaper smile—fully dominant, confident, and welcoming any battle. The kind of look a general would give his hopelessly outnumbered troops as he led them to glorious victory. Everyone at VCONN would charge into the fray with confidence they’d win, just because of his leadership. “Let them call. Or even protest out front. I welcome it. The more attention we bring to issues like this, the better. It’s the fucking twenty first century and people need to get over this petty shit. I want interracial and same-sex couples and we’re going to be in their face doing what we do best. We won’t play to any racial stereotypes or flinch from the truth. This is what we are. Get over it.”
“Amen,” Patrick said.
