Page 104 of Witch You Would
“You and your little spice rack are really selling the vibe,” Isaac added. “The high-five dance you came up with is great.”
Did he just call Penelope a spice rack? Who does that? “That was both of us, actually,” I said.
“No need to be modest. The girl isn’t here.” Rick brought his glass to his lips and took a swallow.
I swallowed, too, even though my mouth was dry.
“The point is,” Isaac said, “you can upgrade from himbo to the smooth-Latin-lover thing.”
Memories of his butt dance immediately came back to haunt me.
“It will be good for ratings to have you work your street magic on sexy women, is what Isaac is saying,” Rick clarified. Hegave me an appraising look. “We’d want to elevate your style. Nicer glasses, more expensive clothing. Less bumbling, morepanache. Selling the illusion that if you approach someone on the street, after the cameras stop rolling, there is a potentialfor intimacy to follow.”
“Magic in the streets,” Isaac said, “magic in the sheets, know what I mean, eh?”
Wow. So the fake flirting with Penelope was getting upgraded to me going full fake man slut. Awesome. Toss rule number fiveout the window. Thankfully my drink came, and the waiter wanted to take my order, so I had time to plan my answer as I sippedexpensive peat juice.
“I don’t normally interact with fans that way,” I said. “I try to be... respectful.”
“We certainly don’t want you to do anything objectionable,” Rick said, his icy eyes narrowing. “That’s how you get lawsuits.You’d simply be playing the same game you are right now, with a larger scope and for a substantially higher pay scale.”
Except I wasn’t playing, but they didn’t know that, and I wasn’t going to correct them. I didn’t want either of these guysto connect me to Penelope in a personal way.
I froze with the whiskey partway to my mouth, then made myself finish the motion. A terrible thought was digging its way intomy brain, a thought I’d managed to avoid since my last conversation with Isaac.
If I took this job, this show, I couldn’t be with Penelope.
It was one thing to keep my life and Leandro Presto’s stage presence separate when it was just online stuff, occasionallyfilmed live with fans. Rick wanted me to deliberately blur lines I’d drawn for my own safety and sanity, and do it publicly.And Isaac? He’d straight-up told me to hook up with different famous women to get press attention.
None of that would be fair to Penelope. Even if we were totally honest about it with each other, even if we both knew I waspretending the whole time, it would be a level of gross and fake that neither of us deserved.
The thought of letting her go now made my stomach hurt, along with the whiskey. But this was potentially a huge career opportunity.Was I really considering giving up fame and, more importantly, money, for love?
Was I in love with Penelope?
“I’m sure you have questions for us,” Rick said, gesturing with his glass. “Don’t be shy. What are you thinking?”
Questions. I’d better ask some normal ones. “Would we be filming here?”
Rick shrugged one shoulder. “We’d likely start in LA, since we have the crew on hand for it. Location shoots in tourist destinationsseem reasonable, depending on tax incentives and other considerations. Miami, sure, Vegas, New York, maybe Atlanta or Chicagoor Boston.”
“Would I still be coming up with my own spells?”
“We have people for that, but you can be involved if you want.”
I did want. That was most of what I enjoyed aboutMage You Look. It definitely sounded like they wouldn’t be hiring me for my brains. And speaking of my existing work...
“What would the time commitment be?” I asked. “I do still have my channel.”
Isaac snorted, and the smile Rick gave me seemed... amused? Indulgent?
“You’ll make more in a few weeks than you do now in a year,” Rick said. “If you want to keep that as your little hobby, that’sup to you. You’d have to be sure it doesn’t interfere with network commitments, of course, which would include filming aswell as publicity work.”
“So this would mean a lot of travel, potentially,” I said.
“Potentially. You’d want to relocate to LA, for convenience, which would also give you more opportunities for additional workin the area in the future.”
If I took this job, Sam and Ed would have to work around my new schedule, whatever that looked like. Which would be especiallytough if I wasn’t even in Miami anymore. Would they want to move with me? WouldMage You Lookbe over? Probably. It would be too hard to keep it up.
