34

Sorry for the slow build-up, but I'm getting to Tim's fate as quickly as I can!

Part 33

As Danielle and Shawna were giving Tim his check, Debbie had taken Mia, Julie, Anna and Kaitlyn down the hallway and out into a corner of the main studio. The primary focus of the large space was the news set, where Marcy and her co-host sat behind desks, finishing up the last segment of the noon news under bright lights. Two large cameras on wheeled dollies were filming them.

A set of tiered bleacher seats faced the news set, around 10 yards away from the front edge of the set. A number of people were being quietly let into the space and ushered up into the seats.

To the right of the main set, from the audience's position, was the secondary set. Tim's four employees recognized it from watching the weather reports on the noon and six o'clock news. A large green screen stretched across the back of that smaller set.

Debbie gathered the four young women into a semi-circle around her. "As soon as this segment is over, they'll go into a long commercial break, followed by the end credits for the news. When the commercial starts, the tech people will clear the main set and rearrange the furniture for Marcy's show."

Mia said, "We all watch her show. Marcy will sit behind one desk in the middle, with a couch to her right, and then chairs on her left. Is that right?"

"Exactly," Debbie said. "For the first segment of her show, we have Shawna, Danielle, Mr. Johnson and a psychologist on set. After the first break, we'll bring you four on, and you'll probably be in chairs to Marcy's left."

"How many people will be in the bleachers?" Julie asked.

"We've got 60 seats there," Debbie said. "We usually have a handful of empty seats, but not today! In fact, we'll probably have standing room only, including as many as 20 more people in folding chairs or standing behind them, on both sides of the bleachers."

"Why is that?" Kaitlyn asked, thinking that she might know the answer.

Debbie looked around conspiratorially, then leaned into the circle a little more and lowered her voice. "Well, when some of us at the studio -- including Marcy -- heard about today's show, we put the word out." She looked around the circle, with the hint of a smile on her lips. "Your commercial has been very popular with the women at the station."

Mia grinned and said, "Let me guess: the internet version has been especially popular?"

Debbie giggled. "It has." She leaned away and looked across the space, toward the bleachers, then turned back toward the girls. "Look at the crowd getting settled in. Do you notice anything about them?"

All four young women scanned the crowd. Anna smiled and said, "They all seem to be female." Debbie just grinned. "But your audience is usually female, isn't it?" Anna asked.

Debbie nodded. "Anywhere from 75-90%, most of the time."

Julie said, "It looks like 100% so far."

Debbie nodded again. "When we started telling our friends about your ad and Mr. Johnson being today's focus, the numbers started... shifting. I know of a bunch of wives who were going to be dragging their husbands to the show, but when they found out that the guy from the Naked Attraction ad was coming, they told their husbands that they could skip it, and they invited some of their girlfriends in their place! In fact, one of the stage hands has a girl in college, and she brought half a dozen of her sorority sisters, too."

Mia pointed toward the main stage and said, "It looks like all of your staff is female, too."

As the others looked, Debbie smiled and said, "Strange, isn't it? I think you met Diana, the camerawoman, earlier. But the other camera was supposed to be run by Dave today, and six of the ten people who rotate on our tech crew for Marcy's show are guys. But this time the women offered to take today's shift, and the guys were happy to oblige."

Kaitlyn said, "That IS strange," and laughed.

Debbie pointed several people out. "Our second camera operator today is Carol, and as you can see, all four tech people for this show are women." Marcy and her co-anchor had just signed off, and the minute the show went to commercial, the stage was buzzing with activity.

And sure enough, all four of the workers moving one desk off the set and rearranging the furniture were women, who looked to be between their mid-20s and mid-40s. They were all chatting animatedly as they went about their work.

"How often do you set up extra chairs on either side of the bleachers for a program?" Anna asked.

"Very rarely," Debbie said. "And we never allow groups of people to watch the show while standing up around the chairs. I'm sure that violates some fire laws."

Julie said, "Aren't you afraid that you'll get in trouble with the fire marshal?"

Debbie looked at her and grinned. "We told her about the show, and invited her to be on set, to be sure that everything is safe."

The four young women giggled. "It sounds like today's show is going to have a big and enthusiastic audience," Anna said.

"Well, your boss is becoming something of a celebrity," Debbie said.

Just then a tall blonde walked up to the group. Debbie introduced her. "Ladies, this is Lauren, our video director for the day. She is going to be working from the booth up there," Debbie pointed to a glass-fronted booth above and behind the bleachers, and the girls all looked at it.

"Another woman," Anna said, smiling.

Debbie said, "She directs the two cameras, and monitors the feed from both of them, switching back and forth, depending on which shot we want going out live. Lauren, these are the ladies from the Naked Attraction campaign."

The pretty blonde smiled at them. "I recognize you all from the ad. We're all excited to have you here today."

Mia said, "I'll bet you're a lot more excited to have our boss here today," and she winked at Lauren.

Lauren laughed. "Guilty. A lot of the girls have changed their schedules to make sure they are here today!"

"That's what Debbie told us," Kaitlyn said, laughing along with her.

Lauren stepped a little closer. "Is that guy really your boss? I mean, you work for him, in a real business?"

"He sure is, and we sure do," Anna said, smiling from ear to ear. "And the job has improved greatly since this ad campaign started!"

"I can only imagine!" Lauren said, before turning to Debbie. "Could I talk with you for just a minute?"

Debbie told the girls, "Excuse me. You aren't on in the first segment, so you can just hang around. But don't go far."

Julie shook her head. "Don't worry, we don't want to miss this!"

The girls walked away, snickering amongst themselves.

Lauren said, "I can't believe Marcy is doing this!"

"I know," Debbie said. "I mean, she's always flirting with the male guests who are good looking, and she's not above a little sexual harassment, especially if they're young and she thinks she can get away with it. But this is a new one, even for her."

"I know! I'm a little nervous about the last segment."

"You should be," Debbie said, "because we can't afford a mistake. But we've gone over this, and you know what you have to do, right?"

Lauren nodded. "I keep both cameras recording, but during the last segment, I have to make sure that Camera 1 is the only one going out live."

Debbie nods too. "Camera 2's shot only goes out for the couple of very short sequences that Marcy talked about. If things are moving too fast or there's any doubt, err on the side of caution and stick with Camera 1."

The two women looked at each other, smiling. Then Lauren clapped her hands like an excited school girl. "This is going to be so great!" She turned and started toward her booth, and after a few steps she started skipping, which made Debbie laugh out loud.

Part 34

Debbie walked over to the set, where the four female stagehands were still arranging furniture. Marcy was there, talking to an attractive but rather severely dressed woman who looked to be in her late 30s. She wore her hair up, and though her snug, light-gray skirt, matching gray blazer and white blouse were modest, they couldn't hide her curvy hips and full breasts. She wore what Debbie thought of as "smart-girl glasses," and she had a little bit of a hot librarian vibe.

When Marcy saw Debbie, she said, "Debbie, you remember Professor Carly Sands?" The woman had been a guest on the show once before.

Debbie shook her hand. "Yes, the psychologist." Carly returned the handshake, just as Danielle, Tim and Shawna approached the set.

"And here are our other guests," Marcy said with a wide smile. As she made the introductions, Debbie noticed that all four of the female workers on stage were watching Tim, and she heard a low, excited buzz coming from the bleachers that started when Tim appeared.

When Carly shook Tim's hand, Debbie saw her shyly smiling, an expression which she didn't remember from the professor's earlier appearance.

"Now," Marcy said, "let's get ourselves arranged." She stepped back behind her desk, and gestured Tim and Carly toward the couch. "Tim, I'd like you closest to me." She winked at Carly. "I'm no fool!" Carly laughed, and Marcy pointed her to a spot beside Tim on the couch.

Marcy indicated the two chairs on the other side of her desk, and Danielle took the closest one and Shawna the farthest.

With everyone settled, Debbie stepped down off the set and faced the bleachers, which were now full. "Okay, ladies and gentlemen. Um... I mean just ladies, I guess?" The crowd laughed, and Debbie smiled, and looked back to the stage. "That's strange! We seem to have an all-female crowd today, Marcy."

Tim squinted into the lights to look over the bleachers, noticing the gender imbalance in the room for the first time. Marcy just laughed. "Yes, I can't imagine why that is." More laughter, and scattered applause.

Debbie faced the audience again. "We're just about ready to start the show. When we do, I'll count us down from 3, and when I reach 1, please let Marcy and our guests know how happy you are to be here, okay?"

As Debbie coached up the audience, up in the booth Lauren put her headset mike on. "Sound check. Carol, you're Camera 1 and Diana, you're Camera 2. Have you got me?"

"Loud and clear," Carol said, looking up toward the booth and giving a thumbs up. "But I'd be happy to take Camera 2 if you'd like."

Diana said, "Not on your life," and flashed a thumbs up to Lauren, who laughed and said, "Just be glad you're both working today!"

Debbie counted the crowd down, and the show's theme song played as the crowd applauded. On stage, Marcy gave the camera a thousand-watt smile. "Welcome to the show, everybody! I'm Marcy Byers, and this is Lunch with Marcy. Today we've got some very special guests, and I know that our studio audience is very glad to be here, as I hope all of you at home are too!"

The crowd applauded, and Marcy said, "Joining us today is the team behind a sexy and funny new ad campaign that has gone viral, including the cast of that campaign."

She smiled at Danielle and Shawna, then turned toward Tim and Carly. "The other members of the cast will be out here shortly, but we're going to start with the handsome young 'star' of the ad, Tim Johnson." Here she raised an open hand toward Tim, and the cheer from the bleachers was immediate, and very loud.

In the booth, Lauren said, "Yikes! That one pegged the sound meter!"

Carol closed in to a medium shot of Tim, who looked startled at the reaction, as she softly spoke to Lauren and Diana, "It sounds like these women are glad to see him!"

Marcy laughed. "Calm down, ladies! I'm not done with the introductions. We are also joined by psychologist Professor Carly Sands, who's going to tell us what it all means."

Carly nodded primly toward the audience, who gave her a good-natured bit of applause too.

Marcy quickly introduced Danielle and Shawna, and then asked Danielle the first question. "You make a body spray for men called 'Naked Attraction.' What led you to seek out Mr. Johnson's ad team to advertise your product?"

Danielle said, "Well, we'd heard good things about Mr. Johnson, and he made an excellent pitch for a campaign with an unusual combination of humor and sex appeal." A few women in the audience hooted, and both Marcy and Danielle smiled.

Marcy looked at Shawna. "I understand that you are Mr. Johnson's boss. But this pitch wasn't your idea, but his?"

Shawna smiled. "I guess you could say that I'm his boss, but Mr. Johnson runs his own branch office of our firm. He's his own man."

Marcy said, "That's a little surprising to me." She turned toward Tim, and continued, "Because in the ad, you come across as..." here she gave a knowing look to the audience, "a different kind of male boss than we're used to seeing." Some laughter came from the audience, and Tim felt himself beginning to blush.

Before he could respond, though, Marcy looked at the camera and said, "But rather than try to describe the ad, why don't I just show it to you first?" The audience applauded, and Danielle and Shawna joined in, smiling at Tim.

"I need to mention one thing first, though," Marcy said, moving her smiling eyes to Tim. "In a creative decision that I haven't seen before, you decided to shoot both a tv version and an internet version of the ad. Can you tell us the difference between the two, before we have a look?"

Tim's breath caught in his throat. She wasn't about to show the internet version, was she?! No! She couldn't do that on daytime tv. He cleared his throat, vaguely aware of an excited buzz coming from the bleachers. "Well... the tv version can be aired on any tv station, like a conventional ad. But the internet version... um... it is R-rated, I guess you could say."

As Tim blushed and stumbled over his words, Marcy's smile grew warmer. "That's a good way to put it." She looked at her excited audience. "We've decided to show the internet version today--"

Tim's eyes widened, and Marcy's words were drowned out by a burst of applause from the audience. Marcy continued smiling, but raised her hand to quiet the crowd. "But of course we are on tv in the middle of the day, so we're going to have to provide some censorship as we play the ad."

The audience groaned, and a few female voices could be heard booing good naturedly. Marcy looked up at the booth. "Lauren, if you would, here is the initial ad in the Naked Attraction campaign."

The audience applauded, and in a moment the screens in the studio -- two large ones behind and above the main stage on each side, and one off to the right side of the stage that both the audience and those on the stage could see -- the ad began to run.

Tim felt like he was having an out-of-body experience, as he watched himself and his employees up on the screen. He dreaded the first moment of his exposure, which arrived almost immediately.

Tim watched himself step onto the ladder, and then a sneaky Mia yanking his pants and boxers down. This was indeed the internet version, because you could tell that Tim was really bare-ass naked, but thankfully, the video featured a big black circle that covered his butt.

Still, the audience went crazy as Mia pantsed her boss, regardless of the censorship circle that preserved his dignity, sort of. They applauded and laughed, and a few moaned at seeing the circle that covered him up.

Tim couldn't stand to watch himself stripped and embarrassed by his female employees yet again, and he didn't want to look at the hyped-up audience in the bleachers, so he looked around him.

His eyes immediately fell on Carly Sands, who had raised her right hand to partially cover her mouth. Her eyes were wide and sparkling, and her skin seemed flush as she watched him get humiliated on screen.

Tim saw that her full breasts were rising and falling noticeably, and his eyes dropped to appreciate the rounded curve of her hip and plumpness of her ass, half-turned away from him on the couch.

When he was able to tear his eyes away from Carly, he saw that Marcy was watching him, her pretty mouth curved into a smile. She had caught him ogling Carly! Tim forced himself to look back at the ad being played, but he could feel himself blushing as Marcy's eyes stayed on him.

When the ad ended, the audience erupted in more applause, and Carly turned back toward Marcy and Tim, her face still a little flushed, but an unselfconscious smile on her face.

"Well," Marcy said, "it looks like your ad is a hit, at least judging from our audience's reaction." More hooting, laughter and whistles came from the crowd. Marcy turned toward Danielle. "I understand that the ad has done well?"

Danielle said, "Better than we'd expected, even. It's already had several hundred thousand views online, and Naked Attraction sold out in our local markets."

Shawna interrupted with a smile, "But we've ordered a lot more, and we should have the local shelves re-stocked by tomorrow morning."

Danielle chimed in again. "And we're announcing today that we have a second Naked Attraction ad, and it's going to debut tonight!"

This time the audience's reaction was even more enthusiastic. Marcy said, "We'll talk about the details in just a few minutes. But first, I'd like to bring in our guest expert on this." She turned toward Tim, giving him a quick wink, before her eyes settled on Carly.

"Professor Carly Sands, I'd like to get your opinion. Do you have any thoughts as to why this ad seems to be so popular?"

Carly said, "Indeed I have. I think the ad succeeds partly because of humor, but mostly because it inverts the patriarchal power structure. Women are used to being subject to the whims of men; they're routinely ogled and groped and made the objects of male lust. But in this commercial, all of the power roles are inverted."

"I noticed that," Marcy said, with a comic, raised-eyebrow expression that brought more laughter from the audience. "We're used to seeing a powerful man chasing his secretary around the desk, but in this ad, the roles are reversed."

"Exactly," Carly said. "Bosses usually have power over their employees, and men usually have power over women. But when it's a male boss and female subordinates, the effect is even stronger."

A female cry of, "Yes!" from the crowd startled her, and she looked into the crowd and laughed nervously. Then she looked back at Tim, and then Marcy. "But in this ad, the female employees turn the tables on their male boss, and suddenly they are in the power position. He is the one being ogled, and even groped."

"Yes!!" several women called out from the crowd, and the other women on stage laughed, as Tim gave a weak smile, and noticeably blushed. Carly wasn't as surprised this time, and she laughed with the others, clearly gaining confidence.

"As the ad goes on," she said, "the females take advantage of their newfound power. They use clever tricks -- as when they 'accidentally' spill coffee on their attractive boss, resulting in him losing his shirt. Another young woman surreptitiously traps the seat of his pants in the door."

Marcy asks, "So the women use their intelligence and even deviousness to gradually take the male's power from him?"

"Yes, in that sense, as the male authority figure loses more and more of his clothing, the power imbalance switches. By removing more of what he's wearing, they remove more of his power."

"Makes sense to me," Marcy said. "We mentioned before that there is a tv version, and the internet version. I assume that you've watched both versions of the commercial?"

The pretty professor visibly blushed as she answered. "Yes, I watched both versions."

Marcy smiled and said, "I'm not going to ask you which was your favorite." Laughter and a loud whistle came from the audience. "But I think most of us here can confirm that in the tv version, Mr. Johnson retains his boxer shorts throughout the ad. And since the uncensored version of the ad we've shown here today ends up with Mr. Johnson losing his boxers too" -- here she was interrupted with some raucous hooting from the audience -- "would you say that the power shift is even more dramatic in the internet version?