Page 29 of Bargain with the Bachelor
He lifted a finger. “I already said you wouldn’t have to pay anything.”
“Right. So, what’s the benefit to you of having me move in? I don’t get it. How would I be helping you?”
Hunter held my gaze, and a few beats passed before he answered. “Well… here’s the thing… one of my housemates—Hap Bailey, remember him? He was the president of the drama club.”
I nodded, and he went on. “He’s not part of Chipp. He’s living there while he gets his own company off the ground. He’s a director and producer now—he’s actually had a couple projects, a documentary and a short film, do very well.”
“That’s cool. I remember he acted as a kid—his sister Jessica too, right?”
“Right,” Hunter said. “But he hasn’t acted in years. He prefers being behind the camera these days. His latest project is a reality show, a competition, and he’s planning to film the pilot at the mansion—kind of a demo to shop around to the networks. We’re all happy to help him, but we need a woman.”
Oh no.I was getting a bad feeling about this.
“If it’s anything like The Bachelor or Big Brother, I don’t want to go anywhere near it.”
“This one’s different. Hear me out.”
“Okay fine, but I can’t see being inanykind of reality show.”
“Like I said, this one’s totally different,” he continued, undeterred. “That’s why I think it’ll be a big hit. It’s called Tech House. Groups live together and work on inventing new tech—kind of like what we’ve done with the Chipp software. Then they put the finished products up against each other in front of judges—like a Shark Tank situation. Viewers watch week after week as the work is done and the teams live and work together in the competing houses. Hap’s really talented. I know he can pull this off and make it great. I’m his major backer, so of course I want it to succeed. That means appealing to a wide demographic—which means having mixed-gender teams. You’d only be pretending to work on the software, of course. Really, you’d just need to be there.”
I narrowed my eyes, studying him for signs of duplicity.
“It’s a little hard to believe you couldn’t findanyother woman willing to move into amansionwith seven millionaires…”
“Six millionaires and one billionaire,” he corrected with a cocky smile. Why did I find that look a teensy bit appealing on him?
“Right,” I said. “Not exactly a hard sell. So why me? Surely one of you has a girlfriend who’d be willing.”
He gave a casual shrug and lifted his hands to the sides, palms up. “We’re all single at the moment. Filming is supposed to start next week, so we’re running tight on time.”
Hunter offered the same charming grin that had stolen my breath at the party a few months ago.
“Plus… we know you. You wouldn’t steal our code and run off with proprietary information or anything. Wait—would you?”
I laughed at his tease. “No.”
“And you need a place to stay,” he continued reasonably. “While you’re there, maybe you could shoot a few photos for Chipp and maybe for Hap too. I don’t know that much about show production, but they probably need stills from time to time.”
Ididneed a cheap place to live. Free was even better.
No doubt there really was plenty of room to spare.I was familiar with the subdivided mansion they lived in, and it was massive. And if I was truly helping him and his friends, it wasn’t charity.
And I could stay in Eastport Bay.
Everything he said made so much sense—if you put aside the small detail that I’d beliving with seven guys.
“It’s just temporary,” Hunter added, “until the pilot is done, and you’ve saved enough money for your own place.”
That was what sealed the deal for me. Itwasn’tforever. I could live there for a few weeks while I got back on my feet. I could still take my winter photographs around Eastport Bay.
You could get to know Hunter better.
No. No, that wasn’t a consideration. Hunter was being kind, offering me a mutually beneficial deal. This had nothing to do with what had accidentally happened between us at the charity ball, and I wouldn’t—wouldnot—let my mind go there.
Where it’s gone over and over again since that night.
More than once I’d drifted off to sleep satiated and buzzing after fantasizing about those moments with him in the dark. Though it hadn’t lasted long or gone all that far, really, that accidental interlude had been the most sensual, electrifying experience of my life.
