Page 23 of (Un)Expected

“Game for what?” I asked, my head swiveling between them. This whole talking around me thing was starting to get on my nerves. Whatever plan Theo had concocted needed me to work, which already made me feel unsteady—not to mention the massive frown on Adam’s face.

He stared at Theo for a long minute, who still did not back down. Eventually, Adam groaned and then turned to me. “You don’t have to do this.”

“Do what?” I finally snapped. “What do you want us to do?”

Theo smirked across the table. “We need you to pretend to be Adam’s girlfriend.”

NINE

“Excuse me?”

My voice came out too squawky and too loud, unable to hide my shock. Theo wanted me to be Adam’spretendgirlfriend? How was that even an option? Sure, I’d seen movies and read books with the whole fake-dating thing, but to hear it suggested out loud boggled my mind.

Theo and Adam were looking at me like this was a completely normal request, like this was a normal conversation. If I ever had any doubts that Adam and I were from two very different worlds, they’d be dead now.

“You two would pretend to date,” Theo continued. “Some scheduled events and strategically planned candid photos.” He slowed his speech, as if the words were what I was failing to grasp. “It’s a very common occurrence.”

“Oh, well, then it makes complete sense,” I snorted. “This is insane. You know that, right?”

“You sound like you have questions,” Theo says.

“No shit.”

He scowled at me but passed over a stack of papers. “If you bothagree to this plan, we will draft a contract stating all the terms and conditions. This is what a standard one would look like.”

“And you happened to have this on hand?” I asked, trying to read the words on the page. None of them make sense, all the legal jargon going over my head. Maybe under normal conditions, I would understand, but right now, my brain was too foggy to even try.

“As I said, it’s a prevalent practice in Hollywood.”

Adam leaned forward in his chair, reading over my shoulder. Eventually, I gave up and passed the entire thing to him. He read through it, nodding as he turned through the pages. “How long?”

“At least until the end of filming,” Theo said. “Once the movie has wrapped, you’ll return to LA. We’ll say that your relationship ran its course. We can even throw in that Alex wasn’t willing to relocate.” He shrugged. “Simple as that.”

Simple? To this man, this insane, bullshit plan seemedsimple. Instantly, I started laughing, unable to hold it back any longer. Theo stared at me like I lost my mind, and maybe I had. That was the only way this night made any sense. When I calmed down, I shook my head. “I thought the whole point was to get Adam’s love lifeoutof the news.”

“Originally, it was,” Theo answered. “But after our research, we found that audiences preferred seeing him in a committed relationship. It changes the narrative from playboy to relationship material. Much better for his image.”

“Then it can wait until he finds a real girlfriend!” I shrieked. “Not some random girl off the street!”

“Would love to, darling, but you’re the one in the photos,” he said. “Plus, people like that you’re the girl next door. It’s a bit of a Cinderella story, and people eat that shit up.”

I turned to Adam, throwing my hands in the air. “Are you really buying this?”

“I have no idea,” he said. “But then again, it wouldn’t be my first time in the fake dating arena.”

“Seriously? How many times have you done this before?”

“Twice,” he winced. “And no, I can’t tell you who. We had to sign NDAs as well.”

“NDA?” I asked, directing my question back to Theo.

“Non-disclosure agreement. You agree not to speak of the arrangement to anyone.”

My eyes narrowed. “And if I do?”

“Then you would run the risk of a major lawsuit,” Theo said. “That is non-negotiable. After Adam’s latest dating disaster, we do not want any unauthorized stories about your relationship getting leaked.”

That made sense. At least, it made sense that it would work in Theo’s mind, but the idea of lying to everyone in my life gave me pause.

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