Page 72 of Idle

My body falls. Guess I’m the only one who wants to have sex? Yet, I can’t prevent him from seeking advice from his woodworking teacher. Maybe he’ll offer some tips about how to go faster. “Sure thing. I’ll go to the ViewPad and get cleaned up.”

I turn away, but Jesse stops me. “Hey.”

“Yes?”

“You’re amazing. Once I get this straightened out, I want to straighten you out.” He grabs me around the waist and pulls me into his body.

“I like the sound of that.” I lead him into 1626 where the cameras capture us doing some “fake decorating tasks” to use in the show.

We’re kissing when Quinn saunters into the room.

21

Jesse

“Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt.” Quinn looks around the room, surveying what we’ve done.

I disengage from my beguiling partner and focus my attention on the show’s director. “Quinn. What can we do for you?”

“I understand you’re switching up the game.” Her foot taps.

“What do you mean? We haven’t broken any rules.”

“True. But you’re both now doing carpentry work. Paige here spent the afternoon working on the dresser you built.”

In order to give me some breathing room for the headboard. I open my mouth, but Paige beats me to it. “We have a lot of things to finish, and they’re more along the lines of carpentry. I offered to help Jesse out. I’m still handling all the design elements.”

“Don’t you think the viewers will be confused by this switch? How do you expect me to portray this to an audience?”

“Didn’t Marion and Peyton do both design and execution? How did you handle it then?”

Paige has a point. I focus on Quinn, who fiddles with her necklace. “Their roles were made clear from the start. You’re switching it up midstream.”

It’s time for me to come clean. “The headboard project is larger than I expected. Paige offered to do some finishing work on the pieces I built previously. She’s essentially decorating them, so can’t you put that spin on it?”

Quinn’s eyes narrow. “I suppose that’s a good explanation. I’d like to do a side interview with you both to add to the footage. Separately.”

We exchange glances while Quinn instructs the camera crew to set up in the corner. Someone brings one of the barstools into the room and places it, moving it a few times until Quinn’s satisfied.

“Jesse, you can go first. Off-camera, I’ll ask you questions for you to answer.” She turns to Paige. “I’d like for you to wait outside so we can get your unvarnished take during your interview.” Behind her back, my partner blows me a kiss and exits the room.

Once I’m seated, Quinn asks me to repeat why we decided to mix up the duties for this final round. She seems satisfied with my responses. I’m about to stand when she asks one more question. “How does having a burgeoning relationship with your partner influence your work?”

What? This is none of her business, and certainly doesn’t belong in the public domain. I don’t care too much about myself, but Paige doesn’t deserve to be drug through the mud. Although, given my partner’s family’s situation, I bet Quinn was waiting to be able to exploit the situation.

I choose my words carefully. “Paige is a consummate professional. Her work product speaks for itself. She offered to finish up a few pieces to allow me some more time to work on the focal point of the room, the headboard.”

Quinn’s finger goes around like a tornado. “That’s a wrap. Thanks, Jesse. Please send Paige in for her interview.”

Unsure if my responses were what she wanted or not, I take my time getting to my feet. Since she’s talking with the camera guys, I let myself out, closing the door behind me.

Paige pounces. “How did it go? What did she ask?”

“She basically asked about why we split up the duties like we did.” Her final question bugs me. “She also asked me how being in a relationship with you influenced our work.”

Her hand covers her mouth, fingernails smudged with paint. “That’s so rude.”

“That’s a word for it.”

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