Page 44 of How Jenna Became My Dilemma

“Fine,” Quinton huffs. “If you two aren’t willing to do this for your own careers, think about the cast and crew. We haven’t been signed on for a second season with Flixmart yet. They’re waiting to see if the show is a success. If you both do this, a second season is a given. Teague Morrow is counting on that. It means continual jobs for the cast and crew and yourselves. You’ll be back for The Stolen Princess and The Forgotten Queen. Not to mention, my reputation as a director is on the line. But if all of that isn’t enough, think about the author of the books the series is based on. You’d be fulfilling her lifelong dream by getting her books made into shows.”

“Don’t be a jerk, Quinton.” Cody glares at him. “We all know what you’re doing.”

“What? I can’t tell Jenna what’s on the line if she doesn’t agree to this?”

“You’re manipulating her, and you know it.”

Something about how Cody defends me scares me even more. Like, why can’t he just stay the detached playboy jerk? It would make all of this so much easier.

“Jenna?” Tawny gets my attention through the noise. She gestures for me to sit down, and for some reason, I obey. “I know you pride yourself on being honest and genuine, and I respect that about you. But this would just be taking on another role. You’d be playing the part of a happy couple in order to promote the series. It’s no different than playing Renna Degray in The Promised Prince.”

Except, this is real life with real feelings.

I drop my head into my hands, thinking over everything they’ve said. If I don’t do this, I run the risk of taking down the entire series, not to mention my career, Quinton’s, and Cody’s. I hate it, but I don’t see any way out of this.

“You don’t have to do this,” Cody whispers next to me.

I lift my head, gazing into his vivid blue eyes. “Yes, I do.” I swing stare around the room. “Fine. I’ll do it. But I want an ironclad contract.”

And if we could get something made of iron to lock my heart up, that would be helpful too.

“Oh, don’t you worry, honey.” Tawny pulls out a stack of papers from her purse and hands them to me. “I’ve already started working on the contract. But before we get into that, let’s talk about tomorrow. I’ve scheduled an exclusive interview with Celebrity Today that will be broadcast on their evening show and their website.”

“You already scheduled it?”

“That’s correct.” Tawny nods. “Their crew is on a plane headed to us as we speak.”

“What if I had said no to this fake relationship? Then what?”

“I knew you wouldn’t say no, because this is what’s best for your career. We didn’t work this hard for this many years just to give up now.”

She’s right. I may hate everything about this plan, but I can’t say no to it even when I want to. There’s too much on the line.

Quinton leans forward. “I think the exclusive is a great idea to keep people watching the series.”

Tawny blinks back at him. “Of course it’s a great idea. I came up with it. Celebrity Today will fly to Calgary. They’ll do the entire interview here on location. It will be about The Promised Prince, but also your new relationship, so really make sure you sell that. Okay?” She looks back and forth between me and Cody, waiting for an answer.

She must get one from both of us, because she moves to the contract, but I don’t remember saying anything. It’s like I’ve just driven twenty blocks home and pulled into my driveway with absolutely no recognition of how I got there.

That’s exactly what this whole experience is like.

I have no idea how I got here.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

JENNA

The call rings twice before my brother Trey picks up.

“I was wondering when I’d hear from you.” His voice is full of amusement. He’s obviously seen the tabloid stories.

Gossip really does travel fast.

“It’s not true.” After I say those words, I grimace, looking around to make sure my make-up artist didn’t hear me. She’s at the other end of the trailer, comparing different shades of lipstick to the dress I’m supposed to wear in the scene we’re filming tonight.

Twenty minutes ago, in Quinton’s trailer, I signed a contract with a non-disclosure clause stating that I can’t tell anyone that Cody’s and my relationship is fake. And here I am, already blabbing to my brother.

I suck at being fake.

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