Unscripted Desires

by Lawson, Cassandra

  James, who it seemed always had a cup of coffee in his hand, appeared taken aback by my suggestion. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that. They make sure the coffee is good since I can’t work without it. I suggest you have a cup. We still have a lot to get done today.”

  “Since I still have a busy evening ahead of me, I may as well grab a cup.” I sighed and followed him. “What is up with the food here?”

  Other than some bran muffins, a sad excuse for a vegetable tray, and a few tiny sandwiches, they hadn’t brought in anything to eat that day.

  He shrugged as he poured coffee for us both. “It’s one of the few things Rich controls. Never put a manorexic moron in charge of food. I’ve never seen him eat anything other than the vegetables they put out. Those are usually okay. From here on out, you should get at least one good meal a day while we film your dates with Stone.”

  “That’s good to know,” I told him.

  “For you, it is,” he replied. “I still have to put up with the crap Rich orders. I don’t know where he finds this stuff.”

  “Will you promise to make sure the cameraman only shoots me from a good angle if I offer to sneak you some good food?” I asked with a grin.

  He laughed. “I can see why Stone was so determined to have you on the show. You don’t act fake like so many of the women who try out for these things.”

  “They can’t all act fake.”

  “That’s true,” he agreed. “Sadly, our grooms usually choose plastic dolls with no substance. Maybe they all realize it’s going to end badly, and no one wants to get hurt.”

  “That makes sense,” I replied. “So, where is this proposal supposed to happen?”

  “Outside Treasure Island.” He didn’t sound impressed with the idea.

  “Because of his band’s name?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I think it’s a bad place to shoot, but I don’t have that much pull.”

  “As long as he doesn’t have to dress like a pirate. I’m not sure I could stop myself from giggling if I had a pirate propose to me.”

  James chuckled. “Stone refused to go along with that nonsense. Go ahead and drink your coffee and take a walk before Rich has wardrobe and makeup people kidnap you.”

  “I might need two cups of coffee, or a stiff drink.”

  Chapter 15

  Ben

  I’d never in a million years have considered proposing in front of pirate ships in Vegas. It could have been worse, as I kept reminding myself; they’d wanted me to dress up as a pirate for the proposal. I still didn’t understand why I was supposed to propose to her before our three-day courtship, but it wasn’t my decision. As I stood outside Treasure Island, waiting for Gemma to arrive, I felt my anxiety growing by the second.

  “What the hell have I gotten myself into?” I asked no one in particular.

  There was a crowd of onlookers as everything was set up for the proposal. Clips would be aired on television the next day. If all went according to plan, the world would see the proposal on viral social media videos before the official video aired. The executives hoped to capitalize on free social media advertising.

  I started pacing as I waited for Gemma to arrive. I was used to being in front of a large crowd, but this felt much different. When I saw her approaching with two burly security guards by her side, I finally smiled. Dressed in a deep purple dress that fell to her ankles and sandals that added a couple of inches to her height, she looked beautiful. Her long black hair was still down. I wanted to slide my fingers through her hair as I held her in place for my kiss.

  I had to shake my head to bring myself back to reality so I could focus on what I was supposed to be doing. When she stood mere inches away from me, she flashed me a nervous smile, and I said fuck it to doing what I was supposed to. Pulling her into my arms, I tangled my fingers in her hair to tilt her head back, and then I kissed her.

  There was no hesitation on Gemma’s part; her lips parted on a quiet moan, giving me access to her sweet mouth. My tongue stroked hers as I felt myself getting lost in her.

  Later, we’d likely get an earful about deviating from the script. I couldn’t care less about the script as Gemma molded against me. She felt perfect in my arms. I reluctantly broke the kiss and moved my hand from her hair to cup her chin before reaching out to stroke her swollen lower lip with my thumb.

  “I messed up your lipstick,” I murmured.

  Her lips lifted in a sexy smile, and her voice was breathy when she replied. “I don’t mind.”

  “Will you marry me?” I asked before leaning in to brush my lips against hers again. “I’m already dying to get to the part about kissing the bride.”

  “Yes,” she replied with a laugh. “I’ll marry you.”

  Cheers erupted around us as I pulled her into my arms and kissed her again.

  Gemma pulled back slightly and looked around. “Were there this many people when I got here?”

  I nodded, sliding my arms down around her lower back. “Yeah, we had quite a crowd as soon as they started setting up cameras. Are you okay?”

  “Of course,” she replied. “I’m getting hungry again, but other than that, I’m doing a lot better than I would have expected.”

  “How about if we go out for dinner?” I suggested. “We can celebrate our engagement.”

  That’s when I remembered the part of the proposal I’d completely forgotten. I stepped back and reached into my pocket to grab the ring box. “I forgot about this and the part about getting down on one knee. This proposal didn’t go according to plan.”

  “True, but I liked this better than any planned proposal,” she replied.

  I laughed at the way her nose wrinkled when she saw the enormous ring. I didn’t blame her. The studio didn’t seem to mind spending an arm and a leg on the diamond since they planned to use it again. Even if I stayed married to Gemma, we had to return the engagement ring.

  “You don’t like the ring?” I asked, my lips still twitching. “I picked it out myself.”

  “It’s a nice ring,” she assured me, trying to find something complimentary to say. “The stone is very big.”

  I laughed as I slipped an arm around her waist and led her toward Rich, who was glaring at us. James was busy talking to one of the cameramen, so I couldn’t see how he felt about the change of plans.

  “You didn’t pick out the ring, did you?” she asked.

  “No,” I assured her. “I’m sure a lot of people would love this ring, but it’s too much for my tastes.”

  “The stone is too big for this setting. Do you think it’s even a real diamond? It looks like one of those cubic zirconias to me.”

  I paused to consider what she’d said. “That could be why they don’t care about you walking around with it. Do you want to shop for a different ring?”

  She shook her head. “I can wear this for a few days. I’ll make sure they don’t pick something this big for the ceremony. They should be able to spring for a simple band.”

  “Or we can get tattoos,” I said with a straight face.

  She smacked my arm. “Don’t even joke about it, or they’ll add it to my contract.”

  I’d have argued that she was paranoid if I didn’t know they’d do that to make it look more real.

  Rich stalked toward us when we stopped short of him. He looked around at the crowd before pasting a smile on his face and reaching out a hand to shake mine. “Congratulations to the happy couple!” His voice lowered for the next part so he wouldn’t be overheard. “We need to talk alone.”

  “Fine,” I relented. “We can meet up after we grab dinner.”

  “I had food delivered for our meeting, so you can eat there,” he told me in a dismissive tone.

  “Hell no,” Gemma replied.

  “I promised her good food from here on out,” I told Rich.

  His face flushed, something I’d noticed happened any time someone disagreed with him. “The food I ordered is good, and it’s healthy. My assistant got us a go
od catering contract.”

  “The food is shit,” James said as he approached. He didn’t give Rich a chance to respond. “That was an incredible shoot. The viewers are going to be salivating for this next season once they see that kiss. I couldn’t have scripted this any better.”

  Rich looked pissed. “We’re going to talk about this. I need to see all of you back at our offices now.” He turned and stomped off like a pouty child.

  “What a prick,” I said under my breath.

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Gemma agreed.

  “Everyone feels that way,” James assured us. “I’ll see you after you grab dinner. If you want to avoid having Rich’s head explode, you should pick up something to go. There’s a great pizza place close by.”

  “Pizza sounds good,” Gemma agreed.

  “Can you send me the details?” I asked. “I’ll bring enough for everyone.”

  James grinned. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  Chapter 16

  Gemma

  Picking up pizza took longer than expected, mainly because Ben wasn’t doing anything to hide his identity. Word of the proposal had spread, and people were already posting videos on social media. Several fans stopped Ben as soon as we stepped out of the car. The pizza place was also busy, so we had a long wait. In that time, Ben signed several autographs, and we answered some basic questions about our on-screen relationship while still keeping to our agreement with the show.

  I was surprised James hadn’t insisted on following us to the pizza place since they were supposed to be filming every aspect of our lives. Technically, all day filming didn’t start until the next morning, but I still hadn’t expected to get another public outing without cameras, even if it was just to pick up food.

  “Do you think this is weird?” I asked Ben when we were back in the car with several pizzas.

  “You need to be more specific since nearly every aspect of our lives is currently a little strange,” he replied.

  “I meant the part about us going out to get the pizzas alone,” I clarified.

  “We’re not exactly alone.” Ben gestured to the two security guards in the front of the car. “I assume it’s the lack of cameras following us that seems weird to you.”

  “Yes,” I replied. “I’ve watched this show enough to know that they like to get everything on film.”

  “If Rich knew what we were doing, he’d have insisted James send a camera crew with us to record all our interactions. I heard some arguments among the executives on this. Not everyone is in favor of having us filmed at all times. A lot of them think these times without the cameras are important. They also think that viral social media posts will be great free advertising.”

  “That makes sense,” I agreed. “It’s less stressful without the cameras, but I suppose that’s only because I hadn’t thought about the people around us live-streaming our pizza order.”

  Ben adjusted the pizza boxes so he could reach over and take my hand. “I promise to try to keep the stress from this show to a minimum. It’s a lot to deal with. I’m more used to having all eyes on me, and this still stresses me out. It has to be much harder on you.”

  “Having you with me makes it easier,” she replied with a smile. “Especially when you get me pizza.”

  “You two are a great couple,” the driver told us.

  “Are you a fan of the show?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “I’ve never even seen an episode.”

  “Even though you work for them?” Ben asked.

  “I just started this season,” he explained.

  “We were only hired because they don’t want you getting hurt, Mr. Morrison,” the guy in the passenger’s seat added. “My sister watches and messaged me right after she saw the video of your proposal online. She thinks you guys have what it takes.”

  We pulled up to the hotel, and the guy in the passenger’s seat walked us up to a large conference room where we found Rich pacing by the table.

  He stopped and glared at us as soon as we entered the room. “I told you we had dinner.” He gestured to the pitiful looking sandwiches and wilted salad.

  “I told them they should grab pizza to bring back here,” James announced. “They were hungry, so this seemed like a good idea.”

  “A better idea would have been to eat what I had here,” Rich snapped.

  “Calm down, Rich,” Charity, another executive told him as she approached us. I’d met her briefly earlier that day. “Why don’t you set the pizza down and grab a couple of slices before we start this meeting?”

  “All right,” I agreed. “We brought enough to share.”

  There were many happy murmurs around the room as Ben set the boxes on the table, pushing the sandwiches to the side. I grabbed two slices and practically moaned as I took my first bite.

  “Right there with you,” Ben told me. “This is some damn good pizza. It’s almost enough to make me move to Vegas.”

  The rock-and-roll themed pizza place was fun, and I already knew they had good pizza. “They have one of these restaurants in Sacramento.”

  “We’ll go there when we get to the Bay Area,” he stated. “It’s worth the drive.”

  “Has everyone eaten enough so we can talk business now?” Rich asked impatiently.

  I let out a sigh and nodded, but not because I was ready to stop eating. I just figured I could listen to Rich complain while I ate.

  “That little stunt out there was completely unacceptable,” Rich scolded. “We plan out the important scenes so they’ll look polished, and we can get the best possible angles.”

  “The angle was fine,” James argued.

  “But it could have easily been a total wash,” Rich snapped. “What if we’d missed the proposal? This is what we’re using to advertise the show.”

  “Do you know what always bothered me about your show?” I asked.

  “No, and I’m sure it doesn’t matter for this discussion,” Rich said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

  “Stop being a dick,” Ben snarled. “She’s not a fucking prop. Treat her with some damn respect.”

  I reached over to squeeze his arm in thanks for his defense of me.

  “I’m curious to know what you think,” Charity told me. “You’ve watched the show, right?”

  I nodded. “I haven’t watched every episode. When I do watch, it’s just to make fun of how fake it looks. This is reality television, not some scripted sitcom.”

  “We have a lot of unexpected drama on the show,” Rich argued. “People love our show.”

  “Give her a chance to talk, Rich,” Charity told him before gesturing for me to continue.

  “Isn’t the whole point of letting part of the show be caught on cell phones and then posted on social media to try to make it look more real?” I asked. “That’s new and different from your other seasons. I think it’s a great idea, but you should let us do things our way part of the time. Maybe one of the reasons other couples never last is that you don’t give them a chance to be a couple. They’re actors.”

  “I think our couples aren’t so much interested in working on a potential relationship as they are in being on television,” James remarked.

  That sounded depressingly cynical, but it was probably true. Even I’d decided to be on the show for reasons other than finding true love.

  “That’s why we agreed to give Stone extra time to convince you to be on the show,” Charity explained. “He picked you because he genuinely likes you. We figure this could make the show more interesting and believable.”

  “We don’t need to risk bad angles for realism,” Rich insisted.

  “The show isn’t broadcast live, and there are hours of footage we won’t use,” James reminded him. “I think we can risk a few scenes turning out badly.”

  Rich looked seriously pissed as he glared at James. “Not scenes like this one. They could have ruined everything.”

  That seemed far too dramatic.

  “It�
��s already gone viral,” Charity argued. “They looked great, and I think Gemma’s right about adding a little more realism to our reality show.”

  “Don’t come crying to me when we miss an important moment,” Rich snapped before storming out of the room.

  “That went a lot smoother than I’d expected,” James said with a laugh.

  “Did we come in here just to have Rich yell at us for doing the proposal our way?” Ben asked.

  “No, we need to go over your schedule for the next few days. James is also going to get some solo footage of the two of you reacting to the proposal and talking about how you expect this to go,” Charity explained. “Eat up. You’ll be here for at least another hour.”

  We both groaned.

  “On the bright side, this is great pizza,” Ben announced.

  “There is that,” I agreed.

  Chapter 17

  Ben

  “What were you thinking when you saw your future bride approaching?”

  I was currently seated in a room away from Gemma as they interviewed me about everything from our initial meeting to when we picked up pizza. They’d promised fifteen minutes of questions, but I was sure I’d been there for an hour. That could be an exaggeration. The woman interviewing me was one of three people who did interviews for the show. Normally, they’d tell us to talk about our feelings while they filmed us, but they wanted specific questions answered this time.

  “All I could think about was kissing Gemma. I couldn’t wait another minute to have her in my arms,” I admitted.

  “Was that your first kiss?”

  “No, I bumped into her a couple of nights ago, and I kissed her when I walked her back to her room.”

  “Did you spend the night in her room?”

  I glared at her. “No. I just kissed her and left.”

  “You can’t blame me for asking,” she told me. “You have a certain reputation.”

  “And I’m ready to put all that behind me,” I stated. “That’s why I’m here.”

  That last part was total bullshit, but it’s what everyone wanted to hear. I was, at least, being honest about wanting to spend time with Gemma. She was the kind of girl I could see myself dating.