Page 21 of Ten Rules for Faking It
Stacey rolled her eyes, leaned against Chris’s desk. “NoFriendsreferences right now. We’ll get distracted.”
Everly looked down at her Converse. “You think I’ve been a passenger in my own life?”
She saw Stacey’s sexy-heel-clad feet step forward before her friend gripped her shoulders.
“I think you don’t give yourself enough credit or opportunity to show how badass you are. We’re about to kick our littleshow into the stratosphere. People love an underdog story, Ev. I know you don’t like the spotlight, but you deserve to shine. We can play this to our advantage and take what we want, whatyou want,out of it.”
Everly pulled away, pressed her hand to the center of her chest where it ached.
Stacey didn’t give up. “It’s like the universe looked at your list of rules and said, ‘I got this. Here you go.’”
Everly turned and stared at her. She was serious. Serious and really, freaking excited. “I can’t go out with a bunch of strangers.”
“Everyone is a stranger before you meet them.”
She rolled her eyes. “What if these guys are crazy? Murderers? Men with strange fetishes? Tax evaders?”
Stacey bit her bottom lip, and Everly knew she was trying not to laugh. “We will write it directly in the contract that all candidates must be screened and their tax histories must be available for review.”
Pulling in a shuddery breath, Everly sank back into the chair. “Next year, I am so staying home on my birthday.”
Hours later, Everly and Chris sat across from each other in his office. She read through the paperwork he’d had the legal department draw up outlining the expectations, parameters, and terms.
She glanced up through lowered lashes. He was typing something into his phone, a look of intense concentration making his brows push together and his forehead wrinkle. What kind of women did he date?Probably someone like Stacey—outgoing, voluptuous, confident.Not that it mattered. Despite the fact that they’d talked more today than… ever, it was still hard to completely relax in his presence. He’d be another man she could hold back from. Hide from. If she was going to do this, she wanted someone she could connect with on everylevel.Which means you have to unlock the doors to all your levels.
She cleared her throat. “Two dates a week instead of three.”
Chris looked up from his phone. “Okay. Can I ask why?”
She leaned back in the chair, rolled the pen she held between her thumb and index finger.
“Three is too much. I’m not an overly social person at the best of times, and this is going to be taxing on my…” Her what? How did she tell him that too much time around people, even though she could hold her own, was exhausting? That even though the idea of going out and having fun sounded good intheory,when it came down to actuallydoingit, she was less likely to back out if there wasn’t such a demand? It was one thing to have a busy week, but he was asking her to be busy for up tosixweeks.
He set his phone down, not waiting for her to find an appropriate word. “No problem. I’ll have them change it. Anything else?”
“Three weeks instead of four. A total of six men. Going into week four, there will be three bachelors left. Listeners can vote for their favorite of the three, I’ll choose the second and that way, I’ll have two second dates in week four. Week five will be the announcement of which one I choose. Less stressful.”Sort of.
He considered this a moment but she didn’t back down. She absolutely could not go on four second dates in one week and six weeks was a really long time. Longer than her relationship with Simon she had scheduled dates.
“Sure.” He gestured with his hand to keep going.
“I pick the places.”
“Done.”
“I have final say on the candidates.”
“Of course.”
“I only meet people at the chosen places. No one picks me up at my home.”
Chris folded his hands on the desktop. “Your safety will bethe number-one priority. I want you to be as comfortable as possible, and I know the situation kind of pushes against that, but we’ll do whatever you need to make it work best for you. You’re the priority.”
There was something about the way he said it, his gaze on hers like there was an invisible string locking them together. She wanted to make a flippant comment about the ratings being the top priority, just to smooth out the jitters setting in. She didn’t, though, because the way he spoke, the way he looked, she knew that he meant what he said. Why the idea of him caring so much, so genuinely, made her feel light-headed, she did not know.
“I’m sorry that the other day complicated things, but I really believe this is going to be a win for all of us.”
“Especially if I don’t get fired,” she said, lifting her lips in a small smile.
