Rumor Has It (Limelight) (30 page)

“That’s great news. Why was I getting the feeling I wouldn’t like what you had to say?”

“They’re going to start filming on Sunday.”

“Oh.” That meant they’d be around the week I was spending with Mason.

“I need this show to bring me into the mainstream, Ellie. I know the timing couldn’t be worse but I tried and it can’t be changed.”

“I’ll get out of your hair Sunday morning then.”

His arms cinched me tighter. “I don’t want you to go anywhere. Will you stay?”

I didn’t know what to say. Part of me was relieved he didn’t care if I appeared on camera with him, and another part of me had no interest in displaying any of our personal relationship to the public. Then there was a whole other part of me that was a little ticked he’d even ask me to take time off when he knew there was a possibility of this happening. I called him on that.

“Why did you ask me to come if you knew there was a chance you’d have to be filming?” I tried to keep the irritation from my voice but failed—it was evident I wasn’t pleased.

“I wasn’t exactly sure when they’d be filming.”

“Well, I wish you’d thought to maybe ask. Now I’ve taken the week off to spend time with you and you’ll be working the entire time.”

“I was always working this week, Ellie. That hasn’t changed.”

I moved away from his chest and turned to my side so that I could see his face. “Yes, but that doesn’t usually involve having cameras filming us. It doesn’t mean we have to watch everything that comes out of our mouths, and that we can’t be…intimate with each other when we want to.” I sounded spoiled but I couldn’t help it. I’d played out what our week together would be in my head, and this wasn’t it.

“It’s a reality show. We can do whatever we’d normally do. That’s the point.”

“I’m not an idiot, Mason. I know it’s a reality show.”

“I never said you were an idiot…we’re getting way off topic here.”

He was right. I knew what this meant to him. “I’m sorry. I’m disappointed is all.”

He brought his hands up to either shoulder and rubbed up and down my arms with his strong hands. “No, I’m sorry we’re going to be followed around by camera crews while you’re here.”

What did I think it was going to be like if he got the show? They’d be around—a lot. If I was going to continue seeing Mason it was something I’d have to get used to. I’d just make myself scarce. They couldn’t possibly be filming twenty-four/seven, could they?

“Will you…stay?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said softly. I had to keep the mindset that it didn’t matter what anyone else out there thought. I knew who I was.

“Thank you.” He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. The bloody man knew how to use those things on me and they were lethal. “So, excited for your interview this week?”

“You have no idea. Excited but nervous.”

“No worries. You’ll ace it.”

“It’s a great opportunity.”

“Absolutely. My dealings with them have all been good. Their staff always seem professional.”

“I’m really hoping it works out but let’s not mention it on camera in case it doesn’t, okay?”

“How about we make good use of the time we do have together before the cameras arrive then.”

“I like how you think,” he said, looking at me with heated eyes.

We certainly made good use of the bathtub that night and I sure as hell wouldn’t have wanted any camera crew around to witness it.

We hadn’t had as much time together the next day as I would have liked. Since this was Mason’s tour alone it was different than the music festival. This involved sound checks every day, all kinds of interviews with the press, meeting fans who’d won contests before the shows. I’d had visions of us sneaking around the city incognito seeing some of the sights during the day. As it turned out the only sights I saw were our hotel room and the inside of Madison Square Gardens.

My vacation wasn’t turning out exactly as planned.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

The producer and cameramen arrived at the hotel suite bright and early on Sunday morning. I was glad Ellie had decided to stick around but I knew she wouldn’t be comfortable in front of the cameras. I was used to having them shoved in my face by now but I could remember what a pain in the ass and invasion it’d felt like when I’d first gotten in the business.

The producer had introduced himself as Vincent and the cameramen as Trace and Dom. They miked us up and told us to do whatever it was we’d normally be doing.

“I don’t think we can do that. This is a PG show right?” I joked.

Ellie smacked my arm as color crept into her face. She was so damn cute when she was embarrassed it was worth doing just to see her reaction.

“I’m going to get ready,” she said and walked toward the bathroom. Dom followed her with his camera. Ellie stopped in her tracks. “What are you doing?”

“I’m coming to shoot you getting ready,” Dom said with the tone of voice that implied she was an idiot for even asking the question.

Ellie looked over to me with a beseeching look on her face.

“Is that really necessary?” I asked and turned to the producer, Vincent. “The show isn’t about her. I’m sure America doesn’t care if they see her put her mascara on or not.”

“I’m not changing in front of a camera.”

“It’s all right, Dom. Let her get ready on her own,” Vincent said.

“Thank you,” she said and stalked off.

“We’ll need to sit down with both of you later on to do some Q and A in front of the cameras,” Vincent said.

“Sure, no problem.”

That afternoon we were still at the arena after sound checks. I was scheduled to meet some fans who’d won a radio contest. Those were usually pretty quick…say hello, sign something, get a few pictures, and say goodbye.

Ellie was hanging out with Jasmine somewhere so it was just Troy and me in the makeshift green room. Security came in with a teenage girl around sixteen or so. She had a huge smile on her face and was holding some t-shirts and CD’s in her hands.

“Oh my God, it’s really you!” she practically shouted.

I chuckled. You could never be sure what a fan’s reaction would be. Some, like this girl, were excitable, others stood like statues barely able to utter a word, and some acted like it was no big deal. “What’s your name?” I asked her.

“Jessie,” she said with a bit of a squeal on the end.

“Well, Jessie, it looks like you’ve brought a few things for me to sign. Should I make them all out to you?”

“Yes, that would be awesome!”

“All right, don’t be shy then. Come take a seat beside me and let’s see what you’ve got there.”

She practically skipped over to where I was and took a seat on the couch beside me. We went through her stuff and I signed it all. After chatting for a couple minutes, we took some pictures and it was time for her to leave.

We were saying our good-byes when Vincent spoke up. “All right, that was great but can we do it one more time? We want to try it shooting it from another angle. Jessie, maybe you could add something about how this is the best moment of your life.”

“Okay, sure!” she said.

She had no problem being asked to replay the moment but I did. Wasn’t this supposed to be a reality show? Why were we re-enacting scenes and feeding lines to people? I felt like I was on a damn video shoot.

We said our goodbyes again re-enacting as best we could what had happened before. It seemed wrong to me. Like we took an honest moment between two people and turned it into something it wasn’t. I brushed it off and continued with the rest of my day—cameras following me the entire time.

A couple of days later Ellie and I lay in bed enjoying breakfast before the camera crew arrived. We’d had to steal moments together like this all week. It was nothing specific but we were different with one another when the cameras were rolling. I didn’t like it. I wanted to be the us I was used to.

“Everything okay?” Ellie asked interrupting my thoughts.

“Just thinking about this reality show. Yesterday the producer asked me if we could re-enact our original meeting.”

“I hope you told them no. There’s not a chance I’m letting someone tape me lying sprawled on the floor with only my underwear on.”

“Yeah, not happening. That’s for my eyes alone. That’s not the first time they’ve wanted to re-shoot something either. A few times they’ve even fed lines to people and told them what to say.”

“I take it you weren’t expecting that kind of thing?”

“Maybe I did…I don’t know. It feels like I’m being dishonest and misrepresenting myself when I do it.”

“Could you tell them you don’t want to do it?”

“I’m not in a position to ask. I haven’t landed the job yet.”

“Do you think you could if you got the show?”

“Maybe, but it makes me wonder what else they’re gonna want me to do. I mean, if the show is a success are they gonna want to create storylines about shit that doesn’t even exist?”

“No sense worrying about it yet. Why don’t you wait to see if you get the show and then maybe you can negotiate something with them then?”

“You’re right. I’m not going to borrow trouble.” I picked her hand up and kissed her palm.

I had no way of knowing the cost to do the show would be even higher.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

I walked into the
Session Magazine
offices. The building was approximately twenty stories of dark glass and chrome and reeked of success—I wanted to be a part of it. I approached the large desk set in the middle of the sparse lobby but the chair behind the desk was empty.

It was a few minutes before I started to get nervous that the receptionist’s absence might make me late for my interview. I had no choice but to wait since I didn’t know where to go. Another minute passed and I was beginning to get really antsy when a pair of heels clicked across the floor behind me. I turned to see a girl about my age with shoulder length strawberry-blond hair wearing a black A-line dress approaching.

“I’m so sorry, have you been waiting long?” she asked.

“Not too long.”

She sat down. “I spilled my coffee all over myself and had to run to the bathroom to try and get it out. Then I had to dry my dress underneath the dryer. How embarrassing.”

I wasn’t someone to whom embarrassing situations were a foreign concept so I decided I’d forgive her for almost making me late for my dream job. “I hope you got it all out.”

“I did a good enough job. Now, what can I help you with?”

“I have a job interview with Steve Parsins. My name is Ellie Wagner.”

She clicked away on her keyboard and satisfied with what she saw said, “You’re all set. You need to take the elevator up to the seventeenth floor, turn left when you get off and go all the way down the hall. His receptionist is seated at the end.”

“Thanks for your help,” I said and walked away.

“Good luck with your interview,” she called after me.

When the elevator doors opened up on the seventeenth floor I followed receptionist number one’s instructions to arrive at receptionist number two’s desk. This woman was middle-aged with short greying hair and an ample bosom.

“Hi, dear, can I help you?”

“I’m here to see Steve Parsins. I have an interview.”

“Oh please, go on in. He’s expecting you.”

“Thank you.”

I followed the direction of her hand to a set of wood double doors. They’d been left slightly ajar so I knocked lightly and poked my head in.

“Mr. Parsins?”

“Ellie, come on in. I recognize you from your video.”

He was a slick-looking man of about forty or so and wore dark grey suit pants with a lavender button-down shirt. I stuck my hand out to shake his. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise. Have a seat.” He directed me to a couch and chair set away from his desk. I took a seat in the middle of the couch while he sat on the chair. “So, I know a bit about you from your résumé and your video but why don’t you tell me what type of hands-on experience you got at school.”

The interview proceeded well from there. We had easy conversation and he seemed to like my answers and was interested to know more. He explained that the job entailed handling a new division they were launching online. If it did well it would extend into the print version of the magazine. It involved discovering new talent online via YouTube, doing features on them, and running competitions for indie artists. Listening to him talk about the position got me even more enthusiastic about it. I could picture myself doing the job, and my mind immediately started drifting into ways I could expand on the concept.

As I sat there I knew in my gut that all the other dead ends and crappy interviews were leading me here. This was the job I was supposed to get. So I couldn’t have been happier when he said at the end of our meeting, “I think that’s all the questions I have for you, Ellie. I’m really pleased with everything you had to say. When do you think you could start?”