Page 3 of Hot Summer

“The dating show? Is the idea that people watch Hot Summer, get depressed with their own tragic lives, and then download our app?” She chuckled—it was absurd, surely not their plan, but—

Robert laughed, the sound needles on Cas’s skin. “In essence. But we thought, for this first year, we could get a little more... creative. See what we could do with these new broadcast partnerships.”

Ominous.

“Meaning?”

“We want to send one of the Friday staff onto the show this year,” Robert said. “Test out a more organic marketing opportunity. And we think you’re the perfect candidate.”

Cas heard Robert perfectly clearly. Technically understood the words as soon as he said them. But still, something wasn’t clicking. Surely he wasn’t saying what she thought he was saying.

“What?”

“For starters, I know you’re a fan of the program. That sort of familiarity will serve you well. But more important, you’ve spent the last five years running a majority of our late-night dating events. You’ve been in more social scenes than I think most people will be in their entire lives. And I get glowing review after glowing review from clients who tell me you made their night memorable, and they’re excited about their future romantic prospects.”

Cas might’ve been happy to hear the compliment if it wasn’t so easy to impress people on these nights out. They were drunk for one thing, giddy from spending time with people who might be interested in having sex with them for another, and even if all that failed, Cas knew she could be incredibly charming. She’d spent years cultivating the perfect persona—not-so-affectionately labeled Friday Cas among her friends—to ensure that everyone had a good time at these events. Friday Cas was bubbly, fun, always ordering drinks for the table, and the first to propose a scheme that was equal parts sexy and playful. She was seemingly open in a way that got other people to talk to one another, and she was an expert at spotting chemistry. At convincing people to give someone a shot, to see what happened, to let love take them.

Cas raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I’ll want to explore my own romantic prospects. And especially not on live television.”

Frankly, an extended event she could do—send her off on a weekend somewhere, she’d be able to swing it—but the live television piece was immediately more nerve-wracking than Cas would ever be willing to admit. She was obsessed with Hot Summer. She watched it every year and wasn’t the least bit embarrassed about how she followed the ups and downs of the relationships, the wild highs and lows that this type of program loved. She knew all too well the way that the show twisted people around. Made perfectly happy people unravel for the entire country to see.

It was excellent television, but not exactly something Cas wanted to subject herself to.

“You don’t have to make a genuine romantic connection,” Robert said, dismissing her concerns with a wave. “I know you haven’t exactly been interested in getting seriously involved with anyone, so we’re not going to pressure you on that front.”

Cas’s brows furrowed. “How do you know that?”

Robert leaned back in his chair, his imperious expression slightly hampered by the feeble creak of the springs as he tilted too far back and swiftly tried to right himself. “I’ve heard whispers.”

Oh Christ. Cas could only imagine the things he’d heard over the years. Especially because, once she and Skye became friends, Cas tended to care more about the entertainment value of her storytelling than whether anyone was listening in.

She crossed her arms. “And these whispers were enough to convince you that I should spend all summer lounging around a villa in a bikini?”

“These whispers were enough to convince me that you had the right skills for the job.”

“I—”

“If you flip to page three, you’ll see a more detailed outline of our proposal. Take some time to read it, but do it quickly.” Robert flipped through his own packet and jabbed his index finger at the page. “If you agree to go on as a contestant, you’ll be installed as the new head of our marketing integration division when you’re back at the end of the summer. In return, we expect that you maintain a professional image as much as possible—we’ve outlined specific lines in the contract, I know there’s quite a bit of... suggestive behavior on the show, so we’ve been flexible in our expectations. We want future partnering between the show and Friday to feel natural, so become someone that the viewers like, that they trust—and, of course, make it to the show’s finale.”

“The finale?”

Fucking hell. He was trying to make this impossible.

“The research we’ve done has shown that people who make it to the Hot Summer finals bring with them huge opportunities for brand integration. You’ve already cultivated a social media following—albeit, a modest one—and we think that that, coupled with the following you’d get from a successful run on Hot Summer, will make you an ideal candidate for brand opportunities. You can leverage those connections to help grow this new division and use your new following to advertise Friday’s services. A win-win.”

Cas was loath to admit it, but it actually made some sense the more she thought about it. People lucky enough to be well-liked on this show saw an absolute explosion in their social media by the time they walked out of the villa, enough that they were able to coast on the collaborations with fast-fashion brands and protein-shake companies for at least a few years afterward. Those who really leveraged it were able to completely turn their lives around and build a career, but with this job Robert was practically handing her? She wouldn’t even have to worry about turning her following into an income stream. Not in the same desperate way as everyone else.

“Yeah, okay.” Fuck it. She wanted something new, and this was certainly that. “I’ll review everything and get back to you, but let’s do it.”

A month later, after several interviews, planning meetings, and one very long psych evaluation, Cas got the final email confirmation from Hot Summer’s production team. She was officially in.

Hot Summer 2024 Cast:

Meet the lovers who are going to keep this summer SCORCHING

By Liliana Yu

The official Hot Summer cast lineup is here and holy HELL. This summer is looking even hotter than ever. With the lovers set to storm into the villa on Sunday night, this year in gorgeous Cyprus, let’s get to know who we’ll be watching get down and dirty all summer long.

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