Brewster's Brood - Pt. 40 (Patreon)

(Author's note: Includes the expanded cast list at the end, and there are two possible download file options attached. One of just this chapter and the cast, and one of 1-40 and the cast. The epub version has NOW been added. Sorry about the delay. Enjoy!)

Part Forty

Mrs. Churchill – 3/13/2017 – Tuesday –7:15 am

            “Okay, people, let’s look alive,” Mrs. Churchill said, clapping her hands to stir the room back to consciousness. They’d had a day basically off, on doctor’s orders, and now it was time to get back to the task at hand, namely to get Max Brand to impregnate as many of these crazy women as possible, not that Mrs. Churchill could blame any one of them for wanting to have a child and to have basically all the financial needs of that child handled until they were basically of age. “Max has had his day of rest, but part of the terms that Kelly and Jenny set for him with that was that he’d need to go Ironwood and spend some time with the ladies there, and he agreed to that. Now, the problem is that we’ve got basically twenty ultra-thirsty new bitches, each of whom is probably less scrupulous than the one before her. Now, we’ve gotten them all to call a bit of a truce for today, as much as it pains all of them. Nobody’s going to make a move on Max while he’s at the estates, but everyone is going to be putting on the best ‘show,’ in order to lure him into picking them, into fucking them. Jenny seems to think he’s going to be pretty selective when he gets there, but we all know better, don’t we, ladies? These women aren’t just itching for him, they’re desperate to be next in line at a shot at carrying the royal bloodline, for lack of a better term, so they are going to pull every trick in the book they have ever seen or even heard about, and probably invent a shitload of new ones as well. They are going to do everything possible under the sun to try and get him to focus on them. Preening, posturing, wriggling and writhing… he’s going to be getting more attention than a new millionaire in Amsterdam, and that’s probably going to be a touch overwhelming for him.”

            “Maybe not,” Jacinda chuckled. “At this point, he’s got to be starting to get a little numb to having the attentions of beautiful women pointed his way. They’re really going to have to up their game to get his eyes on them. At this point, he’s been surrounded by more beautiful naked women than a dressing assistant for a runway show in Paris during Fashion Week.”

            “Yeah, well, he’s only human, Jac,” Lynne said. “And I don’t care how immune we think he might be getting to this much feminine attention – he can’t resist forever. Every stone gives way to the ocean sooner or later, whether they like it or not.”

            “That’s what we need to keep our eyes on,” Mrs. Churchill said. “We need to make sure he’s not getting too suspicious or paranoid, or that he’s not getting too worked up one way or another. As long as nobody’s pushing on him too hard, or talking too much about themselves, we should be able to keep this going a bit longer. We’ve only got a couple more batches and then everyone’s in the pool, and that’ll at least keep things semi-contained.”

            “You think adding Isabelle’s going to contain anything, boss?” Jacinda asked.

            “Well, barring Troublemaker Numero Uno, having everyone in front of him will mean at least he’s familiar with all the players, and it won’t constantly feel like an overwhelming number of new people all the time.”

            “A hundred women is still a hundred women,” Lynne said. “I don’t know that I can keep the names of a hundred women straight in my head, and I’m not being asked to fuck all of them.”

            “Well, he doesn’t have to fuck all of them,” Jacinda said. “We’d like him to, but there’s got to be a couple he’s just going to flat out reject.”

            “More than a couple, I think, but it’s hard to tell with this guy,” Mrs. Churchill sighed, looking at the picture of Max they kept on the wall. “There’s a lot of different personality types and looks and whatnot, and while Max doesn’t seem to have a type, there’s got to be some of these ladies that just going to bounce off of him at some point.”

            “Except Max is such a people pleaser, he might damn well try and accommodate each and every one of them,” Jacinda said. “Honestly, I genuinely feel bad for the guy, the amount of hell he’s going to be put through for the next few months.”

            “The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow’s certainly worth it,” Lynne said.

            “Yeah, but he doesn’t know that’s coming, does he?”

            “Does he have to know it’s coming to enjoy it when it hits?”

            “Of course not.”

            “It just makes it that much sweeter for him when it finally arrives,” Mrs. Churchill said. “Besides, none of us came up with the plan. We’re just following Mr. Brand’s schematic and doing our best to keep it from flying too far off the rails. Although we’re deep enough into it now that I think unless it gets truly and massively fucked up, they’re just going to let us run with it.”

            “Like I said, Isabella’s not in it yet.”

            “We’ll handle her, if she starts to get out of hand.”

            “With what? Elephant tranquilizers?” Lynne snorted. “That girl’s a force of nature. Under ‘Does Not Play Well With Others,’ her name’s at the fucking top of the list.”

            “And yet,” Mrs. Churchill said, “she’s in the game like the rest of the girls, and we’re going to treat her as such. Yes, I know she scared the shit out of you all during the interview process, but we need at least one girl with that kind of relentless, carnal drive to her.”

            “She’s mostly pissed that Mr. Brand didn’t leave her anything in the will, even though she’d been one of his caretakers for the last two years,” Lynne said.

            “Bitch thinks just because she was camping over the old fart’s dying body that she was entitled to a chunk of the pie,” Mrs. Churchill grumbled. “It wasn’t like she was his only caretaker. He had a team of seven of them, and he paid them all quite well.”

            “Yeah, well, I think all of them were hoping that particular gravy train wasn’t going to run out, as stupid as that sounds,” Jacinda said. “The guy was like a billion, but they hoped that money was just going to keep on pouring in. And they were all hoping they’d been nice enough to him that when he died, that he’d leave them a little something something.”

            “Instead, he left it all to an heir he only met the once, under the conditions that he knock up at least five different women without knowing he’s supposed to be doing it,” Mrs. Churchill cackled. “I mean, say what you want about the late Mr. Brand, but the man had a devilish sense of humor.”

            “And a fanatical devotion to making sure his bloodline doesn’t disappear from the Earth.”

            “When you’ve got that much money, you’ve got to do something with it, I suppose.” She glanced at the monitors, the wall of screens that was their lifeline to how Max was doing, an insane amount of information, a dozen of them cameras focused on Max, but at least a dozen more focusing on any of the girls who were involved in interesting things.

Part of the thing with having constant watchers meant that there always needed to be something the people could turn into, even if it wasn’t very interesting. But there were girls showering or changing, all things they could put on the screens of those watching, all of which the girls had agreed to in their contracts. Despite the fact that all of this information had been gone over with the girls when they were reviewing the contracts, none of them seemed all that bothered by it, once they’d been assured none of it was being recorded.

But someone was always watching.

In his bed, Max was starting to wake up, Jenny on one side of him, Kelly on the other. He looked as though the day off had done him good. His cheeks had gained some color back, his eyes didn’t have bags underneath them anymore and he looked like he enjoyed climbing out of bed, rather than dreading it as he seemed to have the previous several days. He’d even managed to get up and out of bed without disturbing either of the two women and was doing what looked like pushups on the floor of his bedroom, trying to get himself fully awake as quietly as possible.

“There’s our boy,” Mrs. Churchill said quietly. “Back in action, and back at it. Ready for whatever sort of chaos we throw at him today. I’d hate to admit it, Max, but if anyone’s built to go through this kind of chaos, it’s probably you. What with your shitty love life, you’ve probably earned this. Now get back out there and you have fun, okay?”

“Are you trying to get a pep talk to a guy you know can’t hear you, boss?” Jacinda asked her, cocking her head to one side curiously.

“Trying to will a little positive change into the world, Jac, that’s all.”

“Him banging more women is positive change?”

“He’s a good guy, and he’s going to probably do a lot of great things with that money, so I’m hoping he enjoys the process of getting it,” Mrs. Churchill said. “And besides, the more fun he’s having the better show we’re putting on.”

            “Now there’s the Mrs. Churchill I know,” Jacinda laughed.

Max Brewster – 3/13/2017 – Tuesday –8:35 am

            He’d managed to get himself out of bed without disturbing anyone, but he knew that moment wasn’t going to last. It was a calm beautiful tranquility, so he needed to enjoy that for as long as he could, but he knew that any moment now, it would all just poof and disappear. That had been the M.O. for over a week now. Just when he thought he was getting his footing down, some new wrinkle would complicate things, make his attention shift.

            Whatever it was, it was a shell game, a magician’s trick.

            He needed to stop looking at where they were directing him to and start looking to where they were trying to get him to look away from.

            To wit, when he’d been doing pushups and sit ups, he’d been able to take note of where the cameras were around his apartment without anyone noticing. And his old friend was right – there were cameras all over the place. But he didn’t really understand why.

            In trying to look at all the odd things that had been going on over the last week or so, it felt like the things he knew weren’t a lot, but it felt like maybe he was on some kind of surreal reality show? Had someone invented a sort of pornographic ‘The Truman Show’ and looped him into it? Was the goal to simply see how many different people they could get him to have sex with? Was there a prize at the end? It seemed wildly implausible, but not entirely impossible.

The biggest question would be when Max might’ve signed something giving people permission for this and not noticed, and the only time he could think of when he’d been barraged with paperwork had been when the restaurant had burned down, and he’d had so many papers shoved in front of him that he supposed it was possible, but that would’ve been such a long time to set up something like this.

Then again, it would’ve taken a long time to line up this many women.

Wait, exactly how many women were they going to actually throw at him?

There was an expectation that they were going to head back to Ironwood Estates at some point today, and at this point, he expected there to be loads of new women and he was going to need to figure out what to do about that. But the key for the time being was to just go along with whatever they were pushing at him and not kick up too much of a fuss. He’d hit his breaking point yesterday and whatever else they’d got planned for him, they were willing to make accommodations for his physical and mental health, meaning whatever it was they were doing to him, they needed him alive and well for it, and they were willing to compromise a bit to make sure he didn’t get pushed past his breaking point.

He could use that.

Like anything, he would need to make sure not to abuse it, and not to draw attention that he’d recognized one of the tripwires for his own safety, otherwise they might find some kind of different workaround for him, one less in his favor, whatever the hell that might be.

He also used the sleeping bodies of Jenny and Kelly as a chance to take a quick glance inside of their purses. He felt bad for doing so, but it was clear they were lying to him.

Or were they?

 He expected to find their driver’s licenses were from out of town or have totally names, but they were, in fact, exactly as they’d told him they were. Kelly had her student ID with her. Both had California driver’s licenses with local addresses. Gym membership cards. Shit, Jenny even had a mostly filled loyalty punchcard from The Cheesesteak Shop. Both girls had a Clipper card, meaning both of them regularly used BART (or Bay Area Rapid Transit) to get around. This wasn’t the kind of stuff people would put into a bag to sell a story – it was the sort of random local crap that accumulated in an actual local’s bag or pocket.

Max was a little surprised to find Jenny had a CCW license. The CCW stood for Carry Concealed Weapon. That meant she could have a concealed firearm on her at any time, but he was pleased not to see one in her bag. Still, he wondered what a pharmaceutical rep would need to carry a concealed gun around for. He supposed it could be for self-defense, but if so, why wasn’t it with her now?

The questions kept piling up and answers seemed to be scant on the ground.

But the student ID was current, and last year’s ID was tucked behind it, and the driver’s licenses in both cases were over a year old. Hell, Jenny’s was due for renewal in six months’ time.

It was all too detailed and elaborate to be fake.

And yet, Max was looking for the things that weren’t there that he expected to be. Like business cards. Jenny was supposedly a pharmaceutical rep attending a conference, but even if she was a local girl, there should have been business cards in her purse, a collection of ones she’d gathered from others and a handful of her own to give out to the people she met at the conference, but there weren’t any, and that seemed a little odd. Even Max’s own wallet had a few of his business cards for the truck, even if he rarely gave them out anymore. Their absence spoke volumes.

Still, both Jenny and Kelly had local knowledge, so they were likely actually from the area, if not entirely who they were presenting themselves as.

Before either of them woke up and caught him looking through their things, he put everything back exactly as he found it and headed into his bathroom, turning on the water so he could take a shower. He knew sound of his creaky ass shower system would wake both of them up – hell, if the weather outside was cold enough it would wake up the neighbors – but he had to start his day sooner or later. And today, he was going to change the way things were going.

About two minutes into the shower, Jenny moved into the bathroom with a smile, Kelly just a step behind her. “There room for us in there?”

“There is, but I don’t know if there’ll be enough hot water for all of us.”

“We’ll make it work,” Kelly said, as they joined him.

A half an hour later, they all stepped out and started getting dry, realizing that Max only had two real towels, which means Kelly and Jenny had to take turns drying off, and thankfully neither had decided to wash her hair. And once they were ready to go, Max wondered how long it would be before one of them suggested they swing over to Ironwood Estates.

The answer was not even half an hour.

“Hey Max, what are the chances we could get you to swing by Ironwood today?” Kelly asked as they were taking an Uber down to go grab lunch from the nearby Ike’s Sandwiches. “Jenny and I both have to leave you without us for the rest of the day, and the girls there keep asking us to bring you back around. New blood and all that.”

“Well,” Max said, “I suppose I don’t mind, although you girls are taking me there often enough, I’m starting to think I should set weird and random challenges for who I’d sleep with.”

Jenny grinned over at him. “That sounds like fun. Like what?”

Max rubbed his chin through his beard and considered for a moment. “Like… I dunno, today, nobody who lives in the U.S. That should be tricky, right?”

Kelly actually snorted in her giggling response. “Not tricky at all, but it’ll certainly make all the tourists who are just passing through town happy.”

“There a lot of them?”

“Accordingly to the website for check in and out, looks like you might even want to narrow that search down, otherwise you’ve got like twenty or thirty options, at least…” she said, glancing at her phone. “Anything more specific than that?”

“Let’s say western Europe?”

“Lemme see… Paris, Dublin, Edenborough, London, Madrid… Rome, but she’s not around the club today…  Faye’s from somewhere in northern Italy, so I suppose that probably counts if I’m arguing that Rome does,” Kelly said, looking at the list. “So, six options? I think you’ve met a few of them. I’m pretty sure you shared a bed with Rose at some point, and she’s from London.”

“The ultra posh one,” Max said with a nod. “She was definitely easy on the eyes. Certainly younger than I would normally go for, but she seemed pretty into me.”

“Max, I think every woman in Ironwood Estates would probably twist their own arm just to shake your hand, much less take you to bed,” Jenny said with a smirk. “Rose said you looked sexy, like her older brother’s friends that she used to, um, entertain herself while thinking about.”

“Yeah, I did let her sleep in the same bed as me and then didn’t really deliver anything in the morning after we woke up,” Max said. “I guess I should feel a little bad about that and give her a rain check.”

“Rose likes playing with groups, so if you wanted a few more to join in, she’d be all for it,” Kelly said. “I’ve had a couple of play sessions with her before, and she likes people to bounce off of.”

“You said Dublin and Edenborough, right? Why don’t I just make it a UK sampler platter, and that’ll be a good way to pass an afternoon, since it seems like you two are trying to get rid of me,” he teased, and almost immediately regretted it.

“We’re not, Max!” Kelly said, clinging to his hand. “We just… well, I gotta go to some of my classes, y’know, as much as I would love to spend all day hanging around fucking you.”

“And I need to put in at least a few appearances at the conference,” Jenny sighed. “Otherwise my boss will be all ‘you were hardly working, not working hard!’ I swear. Man’s a troglodyte.”

“I think that’s the prerequisite for being a boss,” Kelly giggled. “But I can set that trio up for you while we’re at lunch.”

“What’re all three of them doing here in San Francisco?” Max asked.

“Well, Rose is her Dad’s travel buddy and coordinator, so wherever he goes, she goes with him, normally, but she’s in town by herself for a dressage class and competition that’s supposed to run for a month or two, so she’ll be around for a bit,” Kelly said. “And Danielle’s here from Dublin for InstaCon, the Instagram convention that’s next month. Instagram flew her out her as a ‘super super influencer’ and she’s teaching some courses and helping the engineers a ton while posting previously filmed content so it looks like she’s still in Dublin.”

“That’s why Gemma’s in from outside of Edenborough as well,” Jenny said. “She’s mostly known for her YouTube cooking videos, but her Instagram feed making fun of her red hair and how remote Scottish redheads can’t seem to get a date, GemmaIsGinger, has been slowly climbing up the charts, and so she’s here taking those courses, including the ones Dani’s teaching. She’ll be out here about as long as Dani is.”

“Hey, I’m subscribed to that channel,” Max said with a soft laugh. “GemmaIsGinger. She’s here? Fucking hell, she’s probably out of my league, even if she is single. With her little neon ‘On Air’ sign, and those outfits where she’s always showing off how fit her tummy is… I gotta admit, her bit about encouraging people to eat pumpkins, aka gingers, last Halloween was pretty funny…”

“Oh, Gemma’s a gas, Max,” Jenny said. “And if you already subscribe to her channel, that’ll put her at ease, because she’s got a big ol’ case of Imposter Syndrome, where she thinks everyone subscribed to her channel is a bot, and that nobody’s really watching her, or if anyone is watching her, they’re a big ol’ creeper perv.”

 “And me hooking up with her wouldn’t make me that?” Max laughed as the Uber pulled up in front of the Ike’s Sandwiches, which had a line halfway out the door and the three of them got out of the car.

“Nah, because you’ve been vetted by the club, and by other girls, so she can enjoy a simple shag’n’wave and Bob’s your uncle.”

“I have no idea what that expression means.”

Jenny frowned for half a second. “You know, I don’t either. But I’ve heard both Gemma and Rose say it, so it must be a UK thing.”

“Not Dani?”

“I haven’t talked to Dani as much,” Jenny said with a little smirk. “She’s almost too pretty to talk to, and I don’t know how much I enjoy spending time with a girl who can easily drink me under the table.”

“She can what now?”

“Oh,” Kelly said, “she’s a total native Dubliner. She started drinking when she was, like, negative three, and so she’s got resistance to alcohol like nobody I’ve ever met before. I watched her down seven shots in a row and she seemed like she wasn’t even buzzed. And she seems to be the master of winning just about any bar bet you’ve ever seen. But she’s a genuine delight. You’ll have a grand time with her.”

“How is it none of these women are in relationships?” Max asked out loud as they moved to stand in line.

“Oh, some of them are,” Jenny said. “Dani is. But they’re ‘open’ relationships,” she said, making quotation marks with her hand. “So as long as neither of them’s bringing something bad back with them, neither of them minds the other having a bit of strange on the side. It’s a modern world out there, Max.”

“I didn’t know it was that modern.”

“Men, women… everybody loves sex,” Kelly said. “So, people are just getting more comfortable sleeping with lots of people these days, as long as they’re safe and smart about it. Sooner or later, most people will find the perfect match of mind, body and spirit, and then they settle down and leave the club, but not everybody.”

“I think some people get addicted to the new experiences,” Jenny said. “I heard one lady saying at the Ironwood out north of Vegas that new cock is always better than old cock.” She giggled a little bit. “That woman was in her fifties, and she was still rockin’ it pretty hard out there.”

“That’s crazy,” Max said. “I’m having trouble keeping this pace now, so I can’t even imagine how exhausted I’d be in a decade’s time…”

“You’re in your thirties, aren’t you, Max?” Kelly teased, or at least, Max thought she was teasing. It was hard to be certain.

“Forty-two,” he said. “But thanks for saying I look young.”

“Age is just a number,” Kelly sighed. “As long as you’re past the age of consent. Anyone who says otherwise is just a hater.”

“That’s usually the excuse old men make when they’re banging twenty-something girls they’ve got no business banging,” Max said with a smirk.

“Well, I decide who’s banging me and who isn’t, and I happen to like how you bang me,” Kelly giggled. “So that’s that.” She looked up from her cell phone where she’d been typing furiously. “Dani, Gemma and Rose’ll all meet you at the club this afternoon, and Rose said they’ll make sure you’re tired enough to stay the night.”

“Will they now?”

“Trust me, Max,” Jenny said. “Rose wanted to nail you hard from the moment she saw you. She’s always wanted to sleep with a tatted-up guy, but her dad would go nuts, so she’s got it bad for you. She’ll be sure and rock your world good.”

“I guess I’ll see this afternoon,” Max said, as he thought to himself that he was going to have to apply the scrutiny he had to his house this morning to Ironwood from the moment he got there, but not having Jenny and Kelly chaperoning him from here to there might help a bit.

A couple of weeks ago, he’d only dreamed of having a threesome.

Now, he was going to have a foursome in the afternoon after his morning threesome in the shower.

If this sort of thing was going to become his standard Monday, he was going to seriously have to reevaluate how his work weeks were put together.

MRS. CHURCHILL'S NOTES (Cast of Characters):

The Mark (& Company)

•        Max Brewster – The Mark – 42, Caucasian, doughy, with mostly black (although with some gray) hair pulled back into a ponytail, sleeved with tats, tanned skin, brown eyes (near sighted), owner of the Constant Rotation food truck, and long lost grandson and only living relative of the late billionaire Max Brand. Seems like a nice enough guy, but a bit shy and a touch socially awkward. The more women I can get him to knock up, the more me and my team get paid. He had a restaurant go up in a fire and through a loophole, didn't get any recompense from either the building owner or the insurance company, and started the food truck as a way to get a fresh start.

•        Monty Brand (deceased) – The Bank – Died at 102 about three months ago. Established the Brand game before his death, whereas his only living relative (Max), gets his inheritance after he's spread their genetic lineage to at least 10 women, although he can't know about the game until after it's over. I feel a little sorry for Max, but he's going to be having so much casual sex that I can't muster up too much sympathy for him. Monty wanted to make sure that both Max sowed his wild oats and also punished him for waiting so long to do so. Monty was a tough old bastard, but he's leaving Max over a hundred billion dollars, so I guess he's entitled to be.

•        Frankie Yen – The Inside Man – 38, Asian American, Max's best friend, and his coworker at the Constant Rotation truck. Frankie also owns the house where Max lives in an apartment above the garage. Frankie's been a wonderful resource for us to use, and is in on the game, although he's also a little bit flaky, and doesn't always have the information we want. Doing our homework on the people Max had dated was exceptionally difficult, and I still feel like we're missing some key details that will make the whole puzzle make sense.

•        Carlos & Joey Hernandez – The B-Team – The two Hispanic brothers who man the Constant Rotation food truck on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so that Max and Frankie get two days off but the truck is still earning. We're going to have to find some way to convince Max to let these two take more shifts on the truck so that we get more time with him, but Jacinda's got a few thoughts on that, and some of the girls in the game have already coopted one day of the truck's schedule, so maybe it won't be as big a problem as anticipated.

Mrs. Churchill's Team

•        Mrs. Helen Churchill – The HBIC (Head Bitch In Charge) – Me. 59, short cut white hair, no nonsense business-like attitude. I've been told I resemble Dame Judi Dench, which I take as a compliment. I'm the woman in charge of the Max Brewster Project, contracted by Monty Brand.

•        Jacinda Acosta – The Heir To My Throne – My right hand woman. 29, from Madrid. Black hair, brown eyes, brown skin, could stand to eat a sandwich. Only has about seven months with the team. Stresses out easily. 

•        Maia Brown – PR – 44, former Kentucky television station manager, in charge of social smokescreens and making sure we don't draw any attention to our operations.

•        Lynne Jefferson – Tech – 28, heavy set, African American. Our technical manager, who handles all our cameras and internet connectivity. The newest member to the team, brought on about six months before the start of this project.

•        Carmen Vasquez – Graveyard Shift – 37, our late night set of eyes, the one I trust to watch the camera feed when the rest of us are getting our good night's worth of sleep in.

•        Doctor (Rachel) Williamson – 44, our staff doctor whose entire job it is to keep an eye on Max's health, to make sure he's not being overtaxed or exhausted beyond his capabilities.

•        Danny Garney – The Muscle – 34, ex-Delta Force, chiseled and ridiculously good looking, head of security and Max's personal bodyguard, even if Max doesn't know about it. If there's anyone I'm going to lean on if shit gets out of hand, it's Danny, who's been part of my operations for about three years now, after an injury cut his military career short.

•        Liane Jing – Muscle Adjacent – Danny's girlfriend, 26, 6'6” Asian American, gorgeous and playful, knows what Danny's up to, but doesn't mind being used as cover considering it gives her a front row seat to the madness. Liane's been with Danny long enough that I have her under NDA, and if he does the right thing and puts a ring on it, I may even consider bringing her into the team, since she seems to have good instincts at crisis management.

•        Heather Bickers – Midnight Muscle – 31, ex-Army Ranger. Danny can't be awake all the time, so Heather's doing nightwatch duty for him, as she has on and off for gags we've been running. Heather's smart, capable and an excellent person to serve as Danny's second.

•        Abigal ‘Abby’ Tench – Foe Turned Friend – 27, ex-military, ex-Yancy’s Nancies. Abby used to work for the other side, but Yancy’s a pain in the ass, the money’s better and we’re nicer people, so she ditched working for him to come work for me.

Alfa Group

•        Zoe Hitchens – The Planner – 36, business analyst, light blonde, Nordic, 5'7”, glasses, blue eyes, expensive tastes, the smartest in A group, wants to organize for success, from DC. So far, Zoe's been instrumental in making the group time spent with Max feel natural and organic. I don't think she's after Max for the long haul, but she's definitely invested in making sure the game is a huge success. Might even be a candidate for my team at a later date, post kid or if she doesn't get knocked up. Attempts: 1, Success: Unknown.

•        Dana Weismann – The Socialite – 32, heiress/investor, brunette, 5'9”, had nose job/boob job, brown eyes, doesn't care about the money only wants good DNA for her kid. Is presenting herself as the owner of the Berkeley chapter of the Ironwood Estates sex club, something the girls made up to try and sell Max on the story. She's whip smart and seems to enjoy the challenge the game presents. Definitely not wifey candidate. Attempts: 0.

•        Michelle Stenson – The Joker – 24, pharmaceutical rep, 5'4”, dark blonde, ex college cheerleader, the ultra flirt, mostly just here to get in, have a good time, get knocked up and get out, from Texas. Seems to enjoying the girls' company more than Max's, but definitely wants to get her cut. No chance of going for wifey. Attempts:1, Success: Unknown.

•        Rachel Munroe – The Intellectual – 27, redhead, psychiatrist, 5'2”, wants to keep everyone on the rails, protective of the girls' feelings. Haven't decided if she's going to try and go wifey or not, but is another smart put early in the game, as she's helping sell the story well. Attempts: 0.

•        Kelly Coleman – The Damaged Student Athlete – 21, brunette, native Californian, 5'7”, 120, in phenomenal shape except walks with a slight limp, was a rising up and coming tennis star until an accident injured her too much to ever play again, has a chip on her shoulder and something to prove. Definitely not wifey material, but will be a good touchstone for the younger girls in the game. Took one in the mouth and one in the ass to sell the story, so definitely willing to play the game as needed. Has potential to run long in the game. Possesses a photographic memory. Attempts: 2, Success: Unknown.

•        Mai Liang – The Banker – 30, investment banker, 5'6”, slender, 2nd gen Chinese American, tired of feeling like a walk on in someone else's story, does NOT intend to keep Max around. She's got a bit of a chip on her shoulder, but I think she's going to be another get in, get knocked up, get out candidate, and won't care about upping the pool after she's gone. Attempts: 1, Success: Unknown.

•        Jenny Westinghouse – The Undercover Cop – 33, strawberry blonde, 5'10”, Oakland detective, keeps strange hours which makes it hard to have a relationship, on 3 months administrative leave following difficult UC assignment, dependable & accomplished liar. I knew Jenny was going to be a key player in our game, but she's taken to it like a fish to water. Might be wifey candidate. Certainly seems like she wants to go for the long game. One to watch closely. Her and Zoe are my current odds on favorites, although it's early. Attempts: 3, Success: Unknown.

•        Cara Bianchi – The Tourist – 25, brunette, 5'11”, business owner, visiting from Rome, wants a non-Italian father, in need of money, doesn't want to ever talk to Max. I was pretty impressed with how Dana and Esme handled Cara's incredibly specific demands, and I'm hoping it took so we can just get her out of here, as she's a massive pain the ass. Attempts: 1, Success: Unknown.

•        Blake Brown – The Party Girl – 19, 6'2”, blonde, Berkeley student, sees this as an opportunity to have a kid early in life, have the day care and her tuition paid for, studying to get into IP law. She's nowhere near mature enough to stick with Max long term, but she'll be a fun dalliance for him to dip his dick into, assuming she doesn't put him off with her flippant attitude or her incessant textspeak. Attempts: 1, Success: Unknown.

•        Esme Santiago – The Team Player – 24, 5'4”, Latina, up from Texas, wants to have a child but dislikes everyone in her small town, intends to go back home after the competition and help her parents run the family business. Doesn't seem like wifey potential, but is working well with Dana to sell the Ironwood Estates story, acting as “manager” of the club. Attempts: 1, Success: Unknown.

Bravo Group

•        Zelda Fujikawa – Doctor Wifey – 34, 2nd gen Japanese immigrant, oncologist on sabbatical from a Miami hospital, wants to stay with Max past the game. Extremely pragmatic and determined. Could be a contender. Attempts: 0.

•        Anya Petrov – The Eye Candy – 25, Russian model, blonde, fit, definitely in it just for the money, literal zero chance of being wifey material. Am a little worried about her being too passive for the game, but I suspect we'll see the competitor come out in her after a few weeks of Max's head not being turned. Attempts: 1, Success: Unknown.

•        LaTonya Jefferson – The Investor – 27, African American, restaurateur from Chicago, not looking to stick around but wants to amp the game to get as many girls pregnant as possible. I like how this girl thinks, in that she's in it to make sure the prize pool gets as big as possible, and doesn't give a fuck about anyone's feelings along the way. Attempts: 0.

•        Diane Wilson – The Deadender – 26, brunette, diner owner from small Kentucky town, needs the money, wants the kid. She seems nice enough, too passive to be wifey material, but is definitely going to make sure she gets her oven filled with a bun, as she's up to her eyeballs in debt, and the money to take care of the kid stretches a whole lot further in the Rust Belt than it does in the Bay. Could get cutthroat if the rest of the girls don't give her her shot. Attempts: 0.

•        Janet Flowers – The Unrealistic Clockwatcher – 33, nurse from Oklahoma, convinced her clock is ticking despite the fact that she's still got the better part of a decade. Strikes me as overly excitable, and not wifey material, but is definitely not going to throw away her shot. Attempts: 0.

•        Olivia Castle – The Realistic Clockwatcher – 41, TV exec from LA, knows her time is running out and that a viable pregnancy is going to be difficult for her if she waits too much longer. Can't tell if she wants to be wifey contender or not, but she's in TV, and that means she will cut a bitch for getting in her way. Attempts: 0.

•        Song Min-a – The Foreign Starlet – 25, actress from South Korea, wants a baby completely removed from the press of her home country. Nobody knows who she is here, but she's a massive star in her home country. She had to duck the press leaving, but the longer she's in the game, the more attention her presence might bring. We're hoping to keep her presence in the Bay quiet, but it's not something that we can completely control. Doesn't want to be wifey, so won't be, but wants the father of her child to be a non-issue. Attempts: 1, Success: Unknown.

•        Lisseth Rodriguez – The Fugitive – 23, Latina from Arizona, wants a father for her child that her bad ex can't track down. I feel for Lisseth, I really do, and I decided if she gets pregnant, we're going to give her a “signing bonus” to help her relocate after the game, to get away from a  particularly vindictive ex-husband. We'll get her settled somewhere in the Northeast with a new name and a new life, away from that asshole. Attempts: 1, Success: Unknown.

•        Yael Getschmann – The Bohemian – 31, Jewish, artist/sculptor, split between just wanting the kid and wanting to go for the brass ring. Could be wifey material, but also may not be motivated enough for our boy, who seems a bit of a hustler when it comes to work life, whereas Yael's pretty much had everything handed to her on a silver platter. One to watch. Attempts: 0.

•        Charity Morrison – The Kind Soul – 38, blonde, professional caregiver, just doesn't have time to date but wants a kid. I don't know that I've ever met a more aptly named woman. Charity wants a kid, but hasn't got a great social support system for dating, and her work makes meeting new people a giant challenge. No chance at wifey status, but one of the ones I'm personally rooting for to get her fill. Attempts: 0.

Charlie Group

•        Marta Youngquist – The Nutritionist – 33, personal trainer, yogi, cook and dietitian. Blonde, slender, pretty in a kind of naturist way. She's been offering advice on what kinds of food to give to Max to keep his sexual appetite and energy up, as well as to increase his virility, although I don't know how much of that is actual science and how much of it is pseudo mumbo jumbo. No way in hell she makes wifey. Attempts: 0.

•        Brooklynn Travers – The Fallen Older Sister – 36, actress, heiress to nothing, from a somewhat shattered family. Redhead, sporty, talented, a little conniving maybe. She and her sister were the heirs to the Travers fortune. You know, the one that disappeared just a few years ago, when the patriarch died and it was revealed that the family “fortune” was purely paper fiction. She and her sister are earning decent money acting, but they're used to living large, and I suspect the game is just as much about the money as it is the kid. Attempts: 1, Success: Unknown.

•        Guinevere “Gwen” Travers – The Fallen Younger Sister – 33, actress, also an heiress to nothing. Brunette, thin, very pale. If Brooklynn is the populist actress, Gwen's the arthouse rebel. She's also had a long list of disastrous relationships. The two sisters are both interested in having kids out of the spotlight, and so they're doing this for themselves, although I think both have aspirations of turning wifey. Their chances? Not entirely sure. Attempts: 1, Success: Unknown.

•        Keisha Jefferson – The Attorney – 37, lawyer from NYC. African-American, highly accomplished. If there's anyone who read every single line of our NDA, it was Keisha, who's here just to get herself a child without the hassle of having a father who wants to be involved in the child's life. She's going to get in, then get out, but she's also going to make sure the game does well and her paycheck is solid. Attempts: 0.

•        Erika Lu – The Songwriter – 31, professional songwriter from LA. Asian-American, ex-choir girl, ex-cheerleader, cheery and positive as all hell. Erika's been working with lots of very well known performers, and has probably co-written a number of songs you know and love. She's hard to get a read on, so maybe she's going for wifey, maybe not. Attempts: 1. Success: Unknown.

•        Felicita Rodriguez – The Architect – 35, one of the architects from Rodriguez & Sons construction company from Mexico City. Latina, should've been a model. She's got a bit of a chip on her shoulder that her father didn't rename the company to include her when she joined the company. Just wants the anonymity and the money. Not going for the brass ring, I think. Attempts: 0.

•        Nina Hanson – The Stylist – 24, a beautician and hair stylist from Cleveland. Blonde, BBW, charming and personable. Needs the money, wants the kid. Feels mostly like a seatfiller, but might surprise us, considering she's remarkably easy to talk to. Attempts: 0.

•        Angel MacDonald – The Hard Sell – 27, looks much younger. Blonde, slender, dresses to play into her extremely youthful appearance. I think Angel's going to have the hardest time with Max because she just doesn't appear old enough, so she's going to have to very much play into the “no one takes me seriously” angle, rather than the “I'm a cute little Lolita” shtick she's been using with boys her entire life. Attempts: 0.

•        Danielle Fox – The InstaPersonality – 24, brunette from Dublin. She's a fashion Instagrammer TikTok model, and we had a personal talk with her about how much shit she'd be in for blogging or getting any of this on social media. She's gorgeous and savvy, and is used to looking pretty, but her boyfriend is impotent, and they want a child, so he's given her permission to do this crazy thing while he's uploading prerecorded stuff for the three months while she's away. Attempts: 0.

•        Hana Tanaka – The Shut-In – 28, from Nikko, Japan, two hours north of Tokyo up the mountains. Hana is painfully shy, so I'm hoping she's going to pair up with someone else who can get her into Max's bed. She wants a child, but doesn't want to have to find a husband to do it. Attempts: 0.

Delta Group

•        Sunshine White – The Hippie – 29, “maker” and metalsmith. You know, I've heard about people like Sunshine for years, how they would spend time at Burning Man in tutus and fairy costumes while welding steel onto the side of an old schoolbus, but I always believed that was sort of a myth, until I met Sunshine, who is so that person. Is local, but way too out there to be wifey material. Attempts: 1, Success: Unknown.

•        Aisha Janson – The Comedian – 34, professional stand up comedian from Oakland. She's been a writer and a stand up for the better part of twenty years, and while she's made a great career out of it, she's had some bad run ins with male comics that soured her on long term relationships. She knows not to make material out of this. Attempts: 0.

•        Kayla Denver – The World Traveler – 28, a travel writer/blogger who graduated from college and went on a world tour that she's never really come down from. Is best known for her article on how to travel nonstop on frequent flyer miles for basically nothing. Seems like she's mostly in it for the experience. Attempts: 1.

•        Tisha Brady – The War Photographer – 33, a photojournalist from Jordan who has spent the last decade in every war zone she can find, which has already won her a Pulitzer. She's a little embittered by life, so she's hoping bringing a life into the world will shock her out of her ennui. Will be a little heavy for Max, but will be a good contrast. Attempts: 0.

•        Aiko Cabrera – The Small Town Peruvian – 26, works at a roadside motel in Huaraz, Peru as both desk clerk and maid. She's never been out of Peru before now, although her English is excellent. She's mostly here to see the world, and get outside of her little comfort zone. She's not in it for the long haul, but definitely wants a kid. Attempts: 0.

•        Delphine Trudeau – The Fashionista – 25, an up and coming fashion designer from Paris, she's so heavily immersed in the fashion world that she doesn't see many other ways to meet a man outside of that world. I'm mostly intrigued to see how high fashion runs into... Max. But she's French, so I'm sure she'll make it work. Attempts: 0.

•        Daisy May Price – The Deep Fried Southerner – 22, works on her parents' farm in rural Georgia, and wants to have a child but knows her parents would never approve without meeting the man, and they have hated all her boyfriends. Daisy May is loud and boisterous and is going to bring volume to the competition. Let's see if Max knows what hit him. Attempts: 1.

•        Eliza Sims – The War Widow – 25, still trying to recover from the loss of her husband, Nick, who was KIA in Afghanistan last year. Her whole world fell apart, and she's still sort of grasping at straws, but feels like being a mother will be the first step on her road to recovery. Attempts: 0.

•        Rose Whitcombe – The Athlete's Daughter – 20, from England, daughter of professional soccer legend Max Whitcombe. Rose has been trying to find a place for herself, competing in international dressage competitions, but right now, she's mostly just eager to do something to rile her father up. Something of a firecracker. Attempts: 0.

•        Ali O'Halloran – The Mountie – 29, from far northern Canada, Ali's been working for Canadian law enforcement since she was old enough to be admitted, but the job hasn't left her room for starting a family. Very friendly and approachable, and hopefully won't get shoved out of space for Max's attention. Attempts: 1.

Echo Group

·       Annabeth Winslow – The Nuclear Physicist/Comedian – 33, Annabeth got her doctorate in nuclear physics, but after a couple of years in research, she gave it up to become a stand-up comedian. She’s witty and observant, but at this point, her money’s running tight. Attempts: 0.

·       Svetlana Miersk – The Gangster – 28, the daughter of now-dead Russian crime boss Oli Miersk, Svetlana has taken over the family business. Despite being told repeatedly that if she’s arrested the payments would stop and that having a child would be a liability in her line of work, she’s adamant that she wants to take part in the game. So I figure, either way, Max makes out for the best. Attempts: 1.

·       Deepika Bashir – The Researcher – 36, Deepika immigrated from India at the age of 16 and has been struggling to find her place to fit in since she arrived in the States. She’s a researcher focusing on human behavior, and specializes in both the flaws and working aspects of neurolinguistic programming, namely how words can get the brain to take certain pathways on its own. She’s whipsmart, although she can be a bit shy at first, so we’ll see how she mingles with the crowd of players. Attempts: 0.

·       Bianca Browne – The Mogul’s Daughter – 22, Bianca’s father is Blake Browne, who owns the Browne Bread Brewery, one of the most popular upstart beer companies of the last fifty years. She’s been living in a very insulated world, and is using all of this to get herself a degree of freedom from dear old dad. She’s drop-dead stunning, but isn’t used to having to work for anything, so I expect her to have some learning to do before she gets her head deep into the running for the game. Attempts: 0.

·       Tanya Blue – The Retired Porn Star – 38. You would think a former porn star would have no trouble finding somebody to knock her up, but if you believe Tanya, most of the men in the industry are either complete assholes or had vasectomies before they even shot their first scene. Tanya retired about four years ago, and has since gone on to become a writer and a C-list actress, but she wants a kid and she wants it with somebody nobody knows. Attempts: 0.

·       Madison Belledin – The Touring Musician – 31, I think Madison has spent most of her life in motion and without a home. Her parents were musicians who drifted from band to band, from tour to tour, and so Madison’s never really stayed in one place for long, or had much of a home. When she was old enough, she followed in their footsteps and began playing whatever was needed for whatever band was hiring. Doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for love. Attempts: 2.

·       Evelyn Staples – The Mortician – 25, Evelyn doesn’t spend a lot of time around the living, so she’s not exactly the best at conversation, but she wants a baby and likes the idea of the kid being funded by someone who’s just going to keep his nose out of her business. Attempts: 0.

·       Jaybird Nielsen – The Flight Attendant – 38, Jay travels about a million and a half miles every year and has done so for the last couple of decades as a flight attendant traveling internationally constantly. The pay is good and she enjoys being loads of places, but wants to take a couple of years off to have a child. That’s why she’s here. Unlikely to stick around, but her interpersonal skills make her an easy check in the win column. Attempts: 0.

·       Gail Hopeless – The Farmer – 24, Gail’s from the middle of nowhere, somewhere in central Australia, and is completely away from her home and comfort zone, but wants to have an adventure while she’s still young, and all this is meant to be that. Attempts: 0.

·       Jordan Tanbar – The ‘Influencer’ – 19, It’s funny how utterly confident this girl is despite not having any real basis for her confidence. She claims to be an ‘influencer,’ but she hasn’t got a lot of followers and doesn’t really influence anything. But I think she’s hoping that having a child will help her break into finding an audience. I have my doubts she’s going to be able to lure Max in, but she’s got such faith in herself that it’s going to be fun to watch if nothing else. Attempts: 0.   

Foxtrot Group

·       Nina Legetti – The Repeat Widow – 29, What a rough beat this lady’s had. She married her childhood sweetheart at 19 and lost him to cancer at 22. She thought she was done for but at 25 she started her second act only for him to be taken from her by a drunk driver. Both times, they’d been just starting to think about trying for a child, and she was heartbroken. Now, she’s approaching 30 and she doesn’t want to have a third husband, but she wants a child to fill that void in her life. She’s a veterinarian from Kentucky, and I’m certain she doesn’t want our boy for the long run. Attempts: 0.

·       Harper Ryan – The Former Soldier – 26, From one extreme to the other. Harper is an ex-Marine who lost one of her legs in the Afghan conflict and although she recovered and learned to walk on her artificial leg very easily, I don’t know that she’s ever really regained her footing. Since she’s gotten back, she’s been bouncing around a lot, trying to find her way. But I like the idea of a woman who specialized in demolitions and demolitions disposal showing our boy a bit of attention that he won’t see coming. Attempts: 0.

·       Amber Nguyen – The Retired Movie Star – 38, After leaving the spotlight a few years ago, Amber decided she was retiring from acting to move into directing. She complained about how the casting directors had stopped looking at her now that she wasn’t as young and pretty as she was during her glory days, but having a child has always been on her agenda, and having the money to soften that made it even more appealing. The woman still oozes sex appeal, though, and that should carry her far. Attempts: 0.

·       Dani McFadden – The Precious Stones Magnate – 26, She doesn’t want a man, just an heir. She’s the last in a line herself, her father having died in a mining accident about a year and a half ago. The man’s trophy wife was left a stipend, but Dani, his only child, inherited basically everything, so she doesn’t care about the money in any sense other than she doesn’t want her money to figure into it. Max doesn’t know she’s made of money, and even if he did, he wouldn’t care. So I think they’ll both walk away happy from this one. Attempts: 1.

·       Stephanie Walker – The Bounty Hunter – 31, I love this for the game. Stephanie Walker comes from a long family line of bounty hunters and bail skip tracers. She’s used to getting what she wants when she wants it, and she does not take no for an answer. She’s ripped, she’s forceful and she’s used to putting the moves on her target. She’s not just a ripple in the pond, she’s a giant boulder. Attempts: 1.

·       Megan Hitch – The Haughty Heiress – 24, This is a woman who knows what she wants and what she doesn’t want. She and the magnate will get along like houses on fire, but everyone else? Talk about culture clash. She’s used to having to navigate the cutthroat world of upper society, and she’s used to getting deferential treatment from everyone, so this is going to be rough. She’s going to have to find a way to take what she wants from someone unlikely to be interested in giving it to her. Her attitude’s going to be a challenge. Attempts: 0.

·       Ashley Mansell – The Underwear Model – 21, It’s amazing how poor social skills a woman this beautiful has. She’s been part of pageants and beauty contests since she was a child, so she’s great at putting on a false front and convincing people that she’s capable of anything. But, shockingly, she’s basically a virgin, having had sex twice in her whole life. She wants to have a child as a sort of chance to do something for herself, to fulfill a personal goal. But she may have trouble talking her way into Max’s bed, if her looks can’t carry her all the way there. Attempts: 0.

·       Abi Winters – The Dental Assistant – 29, This girl is absolutely tired of the social situation in her small town, but she doesn’t want to leave and she does want a child. I think it’s something about staring down 30 that makes us women all go a little stir crazy, and while she loves her home, she still wants to be a mother. Attempts: 0.

·       Kristen Cruz – The Sex Ed Teacher – 26, I can’t deny the irony and hilarity of this. She’s a Midwestern sex ed teacher (although she also teaches French and history – small town high schools, it’s the sort of thing where a person wears a lot of hats), lovely girl, but like so many people in our little game, she’s sampled most of the people in her local pool, and none of them are up to snuff. Attempts: 1.

·       Fang Miralles – The Spy – 28, She likes to tell people she’s an administrative assistant, but the woman is clearly an intelligence officer. But her cover is solid and she very much wants a child. We’ve pointed out that he isn’t going to be someone they can get any real advantage from, and she’s stuck to her guns – she just wants a child, but the money’s certainly a nice thing to get as well. She’s from China, but was educated in London, and she’s going to be a force to be reckoned with in this game. And how could I turn down a genuine spy? Attempts: 0.

Golf Group

•        Shu Yeoh – The Legacy – 32, Daughter of Gemma Yeoh, one of the Oversight Trio. She’s a smart, talented businesswoman here in the Bay Area, working for one of the better known investment companies, eager to be part of the Game because she wants to be able to brag that she was part of it, considering it the ultimate FOMO. Attempts: 0.

•        Emma Wagner – The Rancher – 27, a young woman from Montana who’s inherited her family’s ranch, but doesn’t have much in the way of romantic prospects, but wants the ability to have a legacy that outlives her, and having a child will go a long way towards that. Attempts: 0.

•        Steph McMayer – The Van Girl – 29, the girl has been a musician playing coffee houses up and down the West Coast, trying to get ‘discovered,’ but so far, can’t even earn enough to make first/last month’s rent to cover renting out a place. But she sees this as an opportunity to get her life back on track. Attempts: 0.

•        Sally Golden – The Ex-Escort – 33, from the Las Vegas area, Sally was a legal sex worker in the state of Nevada from the age of 18 until she turned 30. From then on, she’s tried to have relationships, but her past keeps catching up with her. She’ll fit in fine with this crowd. Attempts: 1.

•        Bea Flavio – The Smuggler – 39, I’ve actually worked with Bea before. She’s good at what she does, but she’s also lived a very lonely life, and so when all is said and done, she’s just after the same thing as every other girl, the baby and the money. Currently residing in Madrid. Attempts: 0.

•        Joan Serge – The Art Appraiser – 34, It’s surprising how bad the rich and powerful are about getting knocked up. Several years being one of the most well-known art dealers in Manhattan and she can’t find some pretentious artist to plug her good. Oh well, her loss is our gain. Attempts: 0.

•        Gina Beltzer – The Chef – 26, It’s obvious that she and Max will get along in terms of discussing food, but once you get past that, the two couldn’t be more different. Gina’s classically trained; Max isn’t. Gina grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth; Max didn’t. It’ll be fun watching her trying to push against her own nature with him. Attempts: 0.

•        Noa Rafelli – The F1 Racer – 24, The Israeli born superstar of the racing scene doesn’t want anyone to know her husband is incapable of giving her children, so he’s given her permission to use Max as a surrogate, and possibly win them enough money to ensure the child’s permanently taken care of. She’s a stunner. She’ll get what she wants. Attempts: 0.

•        Kaila Spender – The DJ – 22, From Ibiza to the hottest dance clubs in London, Kaila’s been getting around and making a name for herself, but it’s lonely constantly travelling, and she hasn’t been able to hold down much of a relationship because of that. Attempts: 0.

•        Reiko Mitsosuke – The Salarywoman – 26, She’s had a mostly fulfilling life in Tokyo, but now she wants a child, and she doesn’t want the hassle of having to date and find someone suitable, so she’s looking at us, and Max, to fill that need. Attempts: 0.

Hotel Group

·       Renee Peters – The True Crime Podcaster – 37, Renee is an ex-NPR radio host who released her first true crime podcast about three years ago and has since turned it into a full-time business, leaving her very little time to date. Attempts: 0.

·       Sophie MacDougal – The Botanist – 31, Sophie is a classic bookworm, having spent her entire college career heads down studying. She feels like her time to be a mother is running out and so she’s doing everything she can to have that baby now. Attempts: 0.

·       Diana Mercer – The Stuntwoman – 37, Diana’s one of the best stuntwomen in the business, but she’s also getting too old to keep it going too much longer, and so she wants to have a child to help focus her mind away from the job she’s going to have to give up. Attempts: 0.

·       Gemma Ashton-Scythe – The Cottage Queen – 24, Gemma lives in a small village in upper Scotland, and wants to have a child, specifically because it will ‘give her content.’ Not exactly swinging for the stars, but she has a large YouTube following for her cooking videos. Attempts: 0.

·       Faye Anavelli – The Vineyard Keeper – 36, Faye lives in northern Italy, and keeps mostly to herself. Another one of the rurals come out to play, in search of a child without consequences. Attempts: 0.

·       Cecelia Alvarado – The Programmer – 27, Cecelia is one of the best upcoming programmers in Mexico, but unfortunately, that’s drawn the attention of the cartels. She’ll use the money and the relocation to somewhere safe to start a new life with her new child. Attempts: 0.

·       Natalie Bartlett – The State Senator – 28, Natalie’s a state senator from Kentucky, and wants to get pregnant outside of a relationship in order to push that towards normalization in the southern state. Attempts: 0.

·       Raji Anapoole – The Aeronautics Engineer – 36, Raji’s another workaholic who just got lost in her job and when she looked up, her youth had disappeared. She never found a husband or even a community to become a part of. Attempts: 0.

·       Louisa Maresca – The ‘Tracer’ – 36, Louisa is a woman working in a predominantly men’s oriented field – comic books. She’s an inker, commonly jokingly referred to as a tracer, and just wants to have something of her own. Attempts: 0.

·       Natalia Zeferelli – The Filmmaker – 41, Natalia’s been making successful arthouse films for twenty years now, never costing a lot, always making more than she spends, but her dating life is one long tragedy. She sees this as as her last chance to be a mom. Attempts: 0.

India Group

•        Grace Grimaldi – Sixth in line to the monarchy of Monaco.

Juliett Group

•        Isabella – The Apocalypse – God help us when she arrives... Perhaps the most unpredictable and dangerous player in the game. Worked as a caretaker for the late Mr. Brand for his final two years, and has a chip on her shoulder that he didn’t leave her anything.

•        Adette Schwartz – The Late Addition – Deiter's granddaughter, an entry to the game after it's already started, something I wouldn't normally do, but saying no to Dieter would make things a whole hell of a lot more complicated. Dieter's not to be trusted so who the hell knows what this girl's real agenda is. 

Other figures of note

•        Christine DeSilva – The Reporter – Hopefully tamed. For now.

Aldus Finley – The Opportunist – One of the people looking to make a little side money from