Page 16 of Forever Yours

“Kill me now,” I muttered to Georgia with a smile.

She frowned slightly. “Aren’t you excited? This sounds fun!”

I shook my head. “Not fun.” I appeared to be the only one who thought that, though. Perhaps some of their opinions would change once they learned who their partners were.

It wasn’t fair. One way or another, the playing field wouldn’t be level. Some of us would probably get solid partners, while others would be at a disadvantage because of a partnership we didn’t choose.

Before she could respond, Evan spoke again. “Are you ready to meet your celebrity partners?”

A chorus of “yes” sounded from the group. Not wanting to be the only one with a sour attitude, I joined in, feeling like a fraud. I reminded myself that it was show business, where fakeness was not only normal but expected.

Evan chuckled. “Good, because that’s happening today.” He turned toward a camera and winked, then the cameramen stepped away from their equipment. I guessed they got the footage they needed. I understood the network wanted high ratings, and drama worked, but I felt like we’d been ambushed for entertainment value.

My stomach sank as I realized I should probably get used to it if I wanted to succeed not only on the show but in show business.

Rolling his neck, Evan took a swig from a bottle of water. “Here’s how this is going to work.” Unlike when the cameras were rolling, he was all business, which I appreciated. “Your partners have different call times, and you’ll meet them based on that time.”

“Who are they?” someone called out.

Evan grinned. “That’s a surprise. The cameras will be rolling.”

It had escalated from not fun to absolute nightmare. I was a great performer because I had talent, and I practiced. Improvisation was not my thing. The audience’s first introduction to me very well might be the footage of me meeting my partner, which meant I needed to make sure I had an appropriate reaction. I wasn’t entirely sure what that was. Cool, calm, and professional, like two colleagues meeting one another for the first time, maybe. That didn’t seem right because I doubted audiences could relate to it. But did I want audiences to relate? Would they be compelled to vote for someone who freaked out over meeting their celebrity partner? I didn’t have the answer. All the planning and preparing I’d done had been for nothing.

Evan checked the time on his smartwatch. “We’re running a little behind schedule, but we should get moving in about half an hour.”

Damn it,there was no time to privately practice my surprised-yet-happy expression in a mirror. “If you have questions in the meantime, Sandra is here to help.” He motioned to a woman standing behind him.

Sandra held a clipboard and looked bored. “Please sign the addendum in your folders and give it to me. Nikki, where are you? Your e-signature didn’t come through on the other forms.”

While Sandra and Nikki sorted out the paperwork issue, Georgia signed the addendum with a flourish.

I frowned at her. “Aren’t you going to read it?”

She shrugged. “I skimmed it. Let’s face it—I’m going to sign the thing either way, and it’s not like I’m in a place to negotiate.”

She had a fair point. Still, I never signed anything until I’d at least read it. I did a power skim, noting the most important part of the addendum. There was another NDA.Guess they take the integrity of the show seriously.In another two weeks, the first episode would air, so that would no longer be an issue. Honestly, it wasn’t an issue for me in the first place. My family didn’t even know that I was in California. I hadn’t told them I was auditioning for the show because I didn’t want them to try to talk me out of it. Also, if I didn’t make it, I didn’t want to face their smug told-you-soexpressions.

There was another part of the addendum that outlined what the celebrity partners had agreed to. I blinked at the mention of three hours’ rehearsal time per show to be fit into the celebrity’s schedule.That’s it?I had a repertoire of material prepared, but obviously, none of it was a duet. That meant all new material, and I would only be allotted three hours with the person I was supposed to perform with. Cue the hyperventilation.

“Did you see this?” I asked Georgia, pointing. “Only three hours?”

She didn’t seem bothered. “They’re busy people. I’m not worried. We’re being matched with professionals.”

That didn’t comfort me.

Georgia squeezed my hand. “Relax. Did you read the part about them getting bonuses every time their partner advances? They’ll be motivated.”

I wasn’t so sure. There were twelve female contestants and twelve male contestants, which meant a whole heap of celebrity partners. How big could the bonuses possibly have been? Probably not enough to make much of a difference to celebrities, unless they’d gotten B-list stars who were down on their luck.Shit.The more I thought about that possibility, the more likely it seemed.

Sandra clapped her hands. “Since we have time, the producer asked me to go over the format of the show. For the first six weeks, there will be three episodes each week—the women’s performance show will air on Wednesday, and the men’s will air on Thursday. Those shows will be an hour long. Friday night, we will have a combined results show. For the first six weeks, the women will compete only against the women and the same for the men. Then once we’re down to a total of twelve contestants, everyone will be combined in the Thursday show. Questions?”

About a million, but I didn’t know where to start.

“Good. Each pair will have a production assistant to help coordinate song choice, costumes, and everything else along those lines. I recommend that you do not get attached to a song selection because we have to secure the performance rights, which can be tricky sometimes. We will do our best, but there are no guarantees. Later today, you will receive a list of preapproved songs. There will be no repeated songs, so I suggest you get your selections to your production assistant early. It’s first come, first served.”

It might have been my imagination, but it seemed like a few girls got cagey expressions as they eyed those sitting around them. Sandra’s speech made me feel like they were pitting us against one another. While it was a competition, in past seasons, the contestants always seemed to have camaraderie on stage during the results shows. But besides battling it out onstage, we’d be battling behind the scenes for the right to perform the best songs. Since they had to be duets, the pool was small.

Thank God I had Georgia. I was doubly thankful it was unlikely we would want the same songs.

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