Page 12 of Y'allywood Billionaire

“I’m off, my little kiddies. Event preparation time.” She sighs, looking down. “I feel responsible for all this. Sorry we brought you both to the nude beach. But I’m going to fix everything, okay?” She points at us. “Do your homework on each other.” Then she’s out the door.

Now, Maddox Winter and I are alone. In my apartment.Weird.

Maddox’s face goes serious. “I have a rule to add to the list.”

“Sure.”

“No sleeping over.” His tone is cold.

I furrow a brow. “I assumed we wouldn’t be having sex.”

“No, sex is fine.” After he says the words, he blushes. “I mean, we don’t have to. Or I don’t expect it or anything,” he adds, fumbling. After a pause, he says, “I understand that we probably won’t be having sex. But what I meant was I don’t want us actually staying the night in each other’s bedrooms. It’s too personal.”

“That’s fair.” I nod slowly, still trying to catch up. “So…sex isn’t too personal, but sharing a bedroom is?”

“Exactly.”

“Alrighty, then.” I shrug. “No sleeping in each other’s bedrooms. And I’ll just go ahead and add my rule to the mix.” I arch a brow. “No sex.”

He points a finger gun at me. “Deal.”

With a plan, sort of, Maddox leaves, and I return to bed actually thinking I’ll go back to sleep.

How cute of me.

4

Sex, Lies, and Streaming

After shooting today, Maddox and I head to the interviewing room of the studio where Jemma Jade, Maddox’s freshly minted ex-fling, will interview us for the first time. She used her quasi-fame to become a social media influencer, and because of Maddox, she’s now a part of Bingeflix’s PR team to stream live interviews of the network’s casts. Her brief clips are aimed at building anticipation for upcoming episodes and letting fans get to know us on a personal level.

Smith and the rest of the PR crew thought this would be the best way to control the Rilox narrative with all the rumors and conspiracy theories running rampant.

I still can’t believe I’ve become Maddox’s D-lister numero uno.

“Hey, Jemma.” I step into the living room-style setup.

“Riley!” She smiles so big it looks forced. Then it falls away as she adjusts her microphone clip.

I sit on the love seat. “Cool setup.”

“Mm-hmm. You both ready for today?” Her voice has an extra dose of upbeat energy.

Maddox approaches Jenna. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? I can talk to Smith if you’re not. We can delay.”

“Why? Because you and I had a fling that meant nothing?” She scoffs. “I’m a professional, Maddox.”

He puts up his palms. “Okay. As long as you’re sure.” He sits next to me on the loveseat.

“Totally.” She rolls her eyes.

She might be sure, but I’m not. She seems off, and I don’t blame her if she’s hurt that Maddox ended things with her and is instantly with me. It’s not true, but she has to believe that.

Jemma slides into her orange velour chair, and again, her smile is a little too bright. “Today,Urban Dawn‘s PR team thought it would be best if you two fielded the most common questions fans have asked in the comments sections. Does that work?“ She’s speaking as if someone’s doubled the speed of her audio.

We give her a thumbs up, but my pulse is in high gear, and the room suddenly feels hot. Jemma is definitely not herself, and my gut is begging me to abort this interview. Except now, hundreds of thousands of our fans have logged in to watch.

This ship has left the dock, and this is big. It’s the first moment the world is seeing Maddox and me as a couple, and what happens today might determine if we can pull off this ruse or not. Because if we can’t, then we have to fess up, which could get us both canceled. And let’s get real: the chances of that happening to me are much higher than they are for golden boy Maddox.

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