In the bathroom, Rachel Weisz dried Dunn off, then hesitated, a little embarrassed. "Uh… I don't have any men's pajamas at my place."
Dunn shrugged. "No biggie. Grab a towel—I'll make do."
Rachel flashed a sweet smile, stepped over to the cabinet, and pulled out a clean towel. She carefully wrapped it around his waist. "Could you head to the bedroom first? I need to… tidy up a bit."
Women, right? After a bath, they always need a minute to touch up their makeup.
Dunn waved it off. "No rush. I'll hit the living room."
She tossed him a flirty wink. "Living room works. My couch is plenty big."
Dunn caught her drift and chuckled. "Not what I meant. I'm going to watch TV."
"Huh? Watch TV?" Rachel's eyes widened, suspicion all over her face.
That didn't add up.
Sure, she'd taken care of him in the tub earlier, but he was still young—barely in his prime! Fit, strong, and full of energy. Three or four rounds in a night should be no problem, right?
Was her charm really that weak? One go, and he was done?
Dunn saw the doubt in her eyes and laughed. "You're gorgeous, and your body's amazing. Tonight's gonna be a blast."
"Then why… TV?" She teared up, nibbling on a delicate finger. "Am I less interesting than a show?"
Great acting!
Dunn cracked up, shaking his head. "It's work stuff."
"Hm?"
"Spider-Man's airing on Starz tonight. I'm waiting for some numbers."
Rachel let out a relieved breath, patting her chest with a playful glare. "Oh, I thought I didn't do a good enough job!"
Cable TV in the U.S. works like this: Comcast sets up the lines and channels, then you pay to unlock them. But if it's late or a weekend, you're out of luck—no activations outside business hours. Like topping up a phone plan—if it's off-hours, you're stuck with a prepaid card. No 24/7 service here.
Basically, it sucks!
Rachel's place didn't have Starz subscribed, but when Dunn handed Starz's operations to Comcast, he'd cut a deal. They'd bundle Starz into some channel packages, pre-installing it in homes. Right now, Starz's reach across the U.S. was over 12 million households—potential subscribers just waiting to bite!
The trick was using killer content like Spider-Man to grow that reach and turn pre-installed users into paying members. Starz's current deal? First month free. So even without a subscription, Rachel's TV could tune in for a trial month.
Half an hour later, Dunn had it all set up. He plopped on the couch, watching Spider-Man mid-broadcast, the "Starz" logo in the corner. He let out a satisfied sigh.
"The movie biz bounced back with Spider-Man. Now TV's gotta lean on it to break through too!"
Buying Marvel was hands-down Dunn's slickest, most envied move yet.
Just then, Rachel sauntered down from the upstairs bathroom. She wore a wine-red V-neck robe, collarbone peeking out, her wavy red hair loose and damp, giving off a lazy, sultry vibe. With a flutter of her lashes, a perky nose, and pursed lips, she padded barefoot down the red-carpeted stairs.
Dunn grinned and waved her over. "Alright, enough with the charm. Come here!"
She pouted. "I spent forever on my makeup."
"Yeah, it's stunning—especially those fiery red lips," he said with a nod.
Rachel giggled, skipping over like a giddy kid and throwing herself into Dunn's lap on the couch. Soft, warm, and sweet-smelling—nothing about her screamed "thirty-something."
It was almost funny. She was way older than him but played the flirty little sister act to a T.
Maybe that's just the taste of power?
Dunn was loving it. He wrapped an arm around her, glancing at the fruit tray on the table. "Grab me that strawberry."
"Strawberry?" She shot him a teasing look. "You mean my strawberry?"
He laughed, half-annoyed. "Cut it out! I've got serious stuff here. Once the movie's done, you're in for it!"
Her lips curved into a sly smile. She picked up the tray, grabbed a fruit knife, and expertly sliced the fruit into bite-sized pieces, feeding them to him one by one.
Dunn leaned back like a king, eyes half-closed as he watched Spider-Man, savoring her service. Every now and then, he'd playfully nip her fingers, sparking a string of giggles.
After a long pause, she finally blurted, "Dunn… if there's a chance—I mean, any chance—could you help me out?"
He glanced at her, smirking. "Relax. I don't take without giving back. You scratch my back, I scratch yours—that's my rule."
Her face lit up like a flower in bloom. "What else do you want? I'll get it ready!"
He pointed at the tray. "Fruit for now—gotta keep my strength up. As for later… haven't you already got that covered?"
She burst out laughing, collapsing into his arms. "You're so bad!"
Right then, an hour into Spider-Man, his phone rang.
"Boss, the numbers are in!" Tony Granmo's voice crackled with excitement.
Dunn kept it cool. "How's it look?"
"Starz's two channels hit 1.7 million viewers! And in the last half hour, it's still climbing—could top 20 million!"
"How many?" Dunn sat up straight, his expression shifting.
That was insane!
Just days ago, Starz's reach was at 12 million households. Tonight's viewership hitting 20 million? Unreal.
Tony was buzzing. "Boss, it's legit! Spider-Man's pull is nuts! I got Comcast's latest numbers this afternoon—since May started, Starz's reach jumped by 10 million!"
Dunn sucked in a breath, unable to hide his thrill. "Good! Good! Good!"
HBO led the pack with over 30 million households. Showtime, under Viacom—a Comcast buddy with shared stakes—trailed by just 500,000 thanks to forced bundles, though its real subscribers were way lower. Now, Spider-Man alone had rocketed Starz to 22 million households. A total shock!
"What about subscribers? How many new members?"
"Uh…" Tony's tone dropped. "Not great. Of the 1.7 million watching, 2.55 million are paid. So… Spider-Man only netted us 410,000 new subscribers."
Dunn's lip twitched. 1.7 million viewers, 2.55 million paid… over 15 million watching for free?
Americans sure knew how to game the system!
It also showed how weak Starz's penetration had been. The first-month-free deal only applied once per account. Out of those 15 million-plus freebies, just 410,000 had used their trial before and gone paid. The rest? They'd never even tuned into Starz until now.
In short, this huge Spider-Man spike was all about the free ride. People everywhere—rich or poor—love a deal.
Business is about turning that cheapskate impulse into a habit.
Dunn wasn't fazed. He smiled. "Still a solid start, right? They've tried our product. We've made a name."
Tony exhaled, jumping on board. "Exactly, boss! Your movie's a game-changer. Spider-Man's already got Starz buzzing. Now we just keep the momentum."
Dunn had been quietly plotting to ditch Tony—too much ass-kissing, no backbone—but for now, he'd play nice. "I won't micromanage operations—that's your gig. Just know The Prestige and Memento are off the big screen soon. I'll push Universal to let us air them on Starz."
Tony lit up. "That's huge! Nothing hooks users like anticipation. Keep delivering stuff they want, and we've got 'em!"
"Looking forward to good news," Dunn said smoothly, though his smirk turned cold.
Tony's days were numbered.
He hung up, and Rachel peered at him, her pale face curious. "All done?"
"Yep. Now it's your turn."
"Ugh, you jerk!" She grinned, shooting him a shy, teasing glance.
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