"Jared. We aren't going to make our dinner reservations." Penny didn't seem surprised, just a little frustrated.

"Yeah, I know. We'll leave in an hour even if Sophia fires me. Can you ask Alicia if she would put together a little snack for us? It'll probably be better than anything we would have gotten. Not quite the romantic getaway we planned though, is it?"

Jared turned his good eye away from Penny and towards the private beach where Sophia was still actively slowing down and screwing up the photo shoot. One fashion photographer, three assistants, four hunky male models, six security personnel, one PR rep and six makeup, hair and clothing people, all of these people were waiting on Sophia. The shoot had started over an hour late, and was now over two hours late in finishing. The neighbors that shared the beach had agreed to not intrude, but now they were getting irritated at the time over run as well. "I guess it's time to get yelled at." Jared walked to the shoot where Sophia was asking for yet another change.

"Sophia, it's over. Let these people go home now or I'm walking. You agreed to be done by three. It's running late because of you and only because of you. I have no idea why that agent put in that control clause."

"I told him to. HE listens to my requests. Unlike my Personal Assistant." Sophia looked much like the star of an earlier generation, Sophia Loren. Shorter, with a voluptuous figure, light olive skin, long dark hair, although hers was the darkest shade of red imaginable, a somewhat exotic face and just a trace of an east European accent. Her backstory was still publicly up for speculation, but Jared knew that she was American born of Romanian parents. The rumor that she was actually of Gypsy blood was just that. Rumor. She had hit the tabloids and the Internet four years ago and was now in the top portion of the A list. She had only made three movies so far, and only one had made it to the big screen, but currently she was almost as big a draw for the paparazzi as Britney.

"Well, it's still too late. Even the light is goin ... Oh, Damn! Why here?" Jared turned away from Sophia, looking around at the gray wall going up.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the Confederacy. We are here for a pickup."

"Jared Baker, Monica Grant, Dwayne King. Please come over here."

Jared joined the other two sponsors. He noticed as he did that the Marines had laid their fields down to collect people from all of the houses on this secluded beach. There were ten houses, most with only two residents and one or two staff. Maybe a dozen family or friends for guests, as it was still early even if it was a Friday. Even with the mess of people here, he doubted that there were fifty people in range, unless the Marines knew something that he didn't. Another look and he knew that was the case. There were an even dozen coming from one of the other houses. Most were men, not too fit, youngish, and geeky looking. The few women were the same, except for the trophy wife of the house owner, CEO of a big electronics firm, if Jared remembered correctly.

"OK, listen up. Here are your card readers. There are fourteen more sponsors joining us here. We also sealed off a ladies' bowling league in New Jersey and we are transporting the volunteers and those willing to try for concubine status here, to California. Jared Baker, Ex-army, NCO, Purple Heart. CAP is 8.0. You get six concubines. Monica Grant. You have a 6.7 so you get two. Dwayne King. You also have a 6.7 and you get two. I suggest that you start working on any of these that you want right away. Those nerdy types all get either four or six."

"Penny love, are you still willing to go with me? You know the rules."

Penny just nodded. She was smiling and her eyes were watering at the same time. At thirty she looked like a brunette version of the girl next door. Jared had complained recently when she lost ten pounds that she had planned as the first of twenty. A week later, at his request, she was gaining it back, but she was also exercising more to reapportion the pounds.

"And you still agree with our other plans?" Jared glanced at the house, where, at the window, Alicia was looking out in wonder at the people taking their clothes off on the beach.

"Yeah. I can't wait. I'll go tell Alicia and Tiffany." She practically bounced into the house.

"I'll be right with you." Jared called. Then he turned and walked to Sophia who was watching the growing crowd of men and a few women staring at her with growing lust and near hunger in their eyes. She had taken off her wrap when the others started stripping but then stopped, as the crowd grew thick around her. Two of the Security people were trying to keep them back. Two more were part of the crowd. They weren't volunteers, but most of the crowd wasn't either. Everyone knew there was going to be an orgy, and they all wanted to bang the Superstar, or at least get a hand on her.

"Sophia! Inside. NOW! Unless you want to do thirty men, that is." Jared looked at the Marine and received a nod. The crowd would not get in the house. Sophia fled on Jared's arm.

Inside, Penny, Alicia and Tiffany were waiting. Penny was in her bra and panties. They were a white lacy set that she had meant to unveil tonight. She had expected Jared to propose tonight and she was planning on making the weekend a mini honeymoon. Tiffany was already nude except for her sandals. As Sophia's personal trainer, masseuse, and oftime sexual release partner, she had little body modesty. At twenty-eight, she looked like the stereotypical blonde beach bunny. Her four-year-old boy had made almost no lasting impression on her body, and even less on her ex-boyfriend. Alicia was the most conservative and was still dressed in a blouse and slacks. At forty, she was cute, petite, half Filipino, and half Mexican. She was the most pleasant person that Jared knew. If she got riled though, as Sophia managed about six times a year, she turned into a spitfire that even Sophia backed down from. Her husband had tried to overrule her one too many times and she had dumped him.

"Penny, Alicia, Tiffany, I would like to ask you to be in my Harem. Penny and I have already settled on how things will work out. I intend to treat you as wives, not slaves. Tiffany, Alicia, I'll take your kids as well. Tomas will be fourteen in a few months. Is that correct?"

"Si, Senor' Jared. In three months." Alicia was studying Jared as if she was choosing a nice piece of meat for a roast.

"Well, the other ladies might need some relief when I'm not around, so if he can stay with us, it will be nice to have another man around the house. Tiffany, I don't think there will be a problem for you with this, but Penny would like to have girls in her bed as well as me." He looked at Tiffany who just smiled and pulled Penny into a hug and kiss. "Alicia? How about you?" Jared had been getting closer and closer to Alicia and when he asked that, he had an arm half around her waist. He leaned in and whispered into her ear, "I have seen you, you know. When Tiffany is giving Sophia those private massages that end up in Sophia screaming in joy, you are rubbing up against corners of the table, or running off to the bathroom. You are a highly sexed woman." He was caressing one hand against her hip, and the other had slipped up to her small breast. Through the thin bra, he could feel her hard nipple.

"I have never ... with a woman, but ... Oh, Sophia, may I please touch you?"

"Let's all slip into the den. Away from eyes and cameras." Jared motioned the women into another room furnished with couches and a soft, thick rug and with thick draperies covering the windows.

Sophia had been startled, first by the crowd, and then a bit by Alicia, but she was recovering. "Jared, you didn't invite me."

"No, I didn't. I will, but I want you to think about it. If you say yes, you are mine, forever. I want you to wait until we finish our little test drives."

Sophia moved easily into Alicia's arms and gave her a warm kiss. Jared was still behind her and Alicia's clothes started to melt away, button by button, piece by piece. Tiffany and Penny were already locked in a sixty-nine on the couch when Jared pulled Alicia's panties down to her ankles. Sophia had slipped her mouth onto Alicia's breast and was teasing it with her tongue. Sophia had untied her own suit top and was only in the bottoms. Alicia had her eyes closed, but each of her hands was on one of Sophia's breasts, slowly caressing them. Jared slowly, gently pulled Alicia down onto the carpet and Sophia followed. Sophia was much more aggressive in this type of thing, so Alicia found herself reacting to hands on her, breasts touching her, lips and a tongue against her skin. The fingers between her legs were pleasant, invasive, but gentle. She barely noticed the feel of a naked Jared against her back. She moaned in protest when Sophia moved away from her face and breasts, then she gasped in shock when the fingers were replaced with lips and a tongue. Jared moved away and Sophia rolled Alicia onto her back. She opened her eyes at one point to see Sophia with her rump in the air, with Jared pumping away from behind. Alicia had one small orgasm, another, then one big one, and for a while, she was not really aware of what was going on.

Jared pulled Sophia into a spooned cuddle. They were lying next to the nearly comatose Alicia. "Sophia, I want you to think of a couple of things. Penny and I both like you and we would love to have you with us, but would you really want to be my slave?"

"I thought you were going to treat us like wives?"

"Yeah, I said that. I mean that, but you know that you will really be my Harem, with no real rights. Think of that mob out on the beach. What if from now on, all of the other sponsors around you act like that. 'Hey, buddy, is that really Sophia? Think I could borrow her for a night? You can have my two.' Or let's say my sergeant says 'Baker! We're having a squad party tonight, bring that superslut of yours for entertainment!' I don't plan on letting those kinds of thing happen, but I don't actually know what the rules are.

"There is another issue. Hang on." Jared reached over to his card reader, then got up and collected Sophia's purse from his briefcase. One of his jobs was keeping track of her ID as she left it wherever she felt like it. He pulled her CAP Card out and put it in the reader as he lay back down beside her. "Yeah, this is just about as I expected. You've got a 6.3. You're smart, creative, sexy, strong-willed, lots of things that give decent scores. You have a great memory, which is why you never flub your lines. You have some aptitudes that you've never worked on, so those don't help much overall, but they could if you trained them a bit. You have a few things that drag you down though. Not much of a parent, not very mindful of others, and not submissive at all. If you can bring the other things up a bit, that should be an advantage to you, but as a concubine, it means you won't bend before you break. Sophia, can you really be the low person on a totem pole?"

"No. Probably not." Sophia shuddered a bit. "What am I going to do Jared? You're leaving and you're taking the others."

Jared noticed Alicia recovering. "First, you are going to help me finish with Alicia, and then I have something for you."

By the time Alicia was fully conscious, Sophia had reversed herself, placing her breasts in front of Alicia's face and Alicia's breasts in her mouth. Alicia instinctively sucked in one of the lovely globes as Jared started rubbing against her backside. A few minutes later, Alicia was on her hands and knees with Jared's dick in her pussy. She did not even realize that Sophia was sliding further under her until her tongue was on Alicia's clit again. Shortly after that, she was returning the favor.

Tiffany and Penny were torturing Alicia by sucking on one nipple apiece while Jared sat down with Sophia at the laptop. "Ok, this flash drive has all of the up-to-date info on what you need to do, where you need to be, who you need to pay, etc. This CD has more detailed info on all of that. Also, this other CD has replacement people, personal assistants, cook/housekeepers, and trainers. They are divided into several categories. The folder labeled couples contains two couples that each can cover the two inside positions. The Winters are a husband and wife. He is a personal assistant, while she is a cook and housekeeper. With the Fredericks, SHE is the PA, and he is the cook. None of them is highly dominant, the women are both bi, and all four are good looking. You can hire them and test-drive them for a year. I have checked them out extensively. Last CD. I have a course of study for you. First, we have a special sensitivity and anger management class. It's discrete, one on one, and it will help you fix those low spots on your CAP score. Next, you have three separate aptitudes that these other classes should help with. They are in Math, Languages, and Mechanics. There is a cover story for each one about possible screenplays you are reading. Here are the screenplays. Read them and forget them. They're really, really bad hack jobs. Your agent sent them months ago. Also, we have some martial arts training, which should raise your physical aggressiveness a mite. Sophia, if you can hang in there, I think your score will be over 6.6 in just over a year. Get tested next month. Don't worry if it drops a bit, then retest when you finish these courses. Sophia, I've been plotting this out for you for the past year. It's the best I can do for you, but I think you have a great shot at it.

"It's time to decide, do you want to go with us, or stay here? I'll just tell people that you turned me down. I actually wrote a speech for you. It's labeled 'pickup speech' on the flash drive. Just change the info to match what happened here."

"I'll stay. You're right. You usually are. Go on. Get the rest of your Harem picked."

Sophia stayed inside the house when Jared and his women came out. He had mentioned to her to be sure to tip the two loyal security guards and pass compliments along to the company, as well as to pass on complaints about the grabbers.

"Ok girls, remember, don't worry about looks, we want nice people, decent dispositions and parenting skills. Bisexual is a plus. We may have problems keeping up with Alicia." Alicia turned red under her darker complexion, but she was smiling and did not protest.

Jared saw at once that Monica, the photographer's assistant, had grabbed one of the male models and had apparently chosen for size in all respects. She had two of the bowlers and one makeup girl doing oral auditions on her and her beefcake. All four of the male models were on the extra-large size for muscles, as Sophia thought she looked a bit fat next to skinny men, especially in swimsuits. These four could all be large sized Chippendale's dancers.

A second model had a heavyset female nerd type happily bouncing on his pole. The female hairdresser and the next-door neighbor were sitting quietly, watching while the neighbor lady from the OTHER side of Sophia's house was between his legs trying to use her tongue to assist the nerd in getting off. The third model was on his back under most of the bowlers. One of the women looked like she was in charge and after a bit, Jared realized that she was loaning her new stud out to all of her friends who she could not take along.

The fourth model was one that Jared knew was mostly gay. However, it seemed he had no objection to several of the nude bowling and neighbor women sitting in his lap with their hands around his truly huge organ. One at a time the women were using their cells to snap pictures for their scrapbooks. The poses were getting more and more outrageous.

One of the nerdy males had the nude trophy wife hugging him by the arm and sporting a look like Sylvester holding a Tweety Bird sandwich on her lovely face. Trophy wife had his thin arm surrounded by mammary flesh and silicone while one hand held his hand adjacent to her mons. Two non-descript bowler ladies were following, while Trophy Wife directed the lust-blinded nerd through the crowd, looking for a fourth person that she could dominate.

"Jared, over here!" Penny summoned him to where several east coast women who seemed to meet her expectations were grouped together. It didn't take long with the card reader to sort it down to two who knew each other and were actually distantly related by marriage. Bethany had a four-year-old waiting with her grandmother. Her husband was a loser who had left two years ago. At thirty-one, Janice was four years older than Bethany. She had never been married to the father of her twin thirteen-year-olds and was not positive about who the father actually was. The state had pursued the issue, but she didn't know the names of all of the boys at a couple of parties. The women were talked to about the main issues, and Janice was notified that her son, Paul, might shortly be pulling stud duty for the other ladies. The fact that her daughter, Pamela, might also be in Jared's bed shortly didn't seem to bother her, and Pamela's being eventually asked to have sex with all of the other ladies was fine, even with her cousin, but the fact that Janice might end up in bi-sexual activity did bother her a bit at first. Nonetheless, the women seemed to get along, as a four-way group hug/group grope/group orgy soon showed.

Alicia had stepped aside at the last moment and brought a friend to Jared. Judy Kim was a Korean-American lady of thirty-three who worked three doors down. She would look petite except near Alicia. A quick discussion determined that she would join them. Her two young daughters, one from her marriage and one from her boss on the occasion of celebrating her divorce, were both coming along as well. Jared managed a quick spend in her while Alicia happily sat on her face.

Jared collected his group and approached the transport disk. He looked up and saw Sophia in a bathrobe in the upstairs window. Then he followed his harem to the ship.

Sophia was actually quite a decent actress. No one saw a single tear.