Chapter 10
I have an hour with Mallory. One hour until I need to be at Granny’s first follow-up appointment. One hour to change Mallory’s mind about me.
Yesterday was an epic fail. I hope she’ll give me another chance if I keep showing up and being myself, but I know that I need to rebuild trust with her.
I’ve been staring out the front window for five minutes, waiting for Mallory to arrive.
I don’t want to miss a single second with her.
The falling snow takes me back to our hot chocolate date and our first kiss.
I can almost feel the sensation of her lips on mine mixed with the feeling of snowflakes landing in my hair.
When a familiar black car with tinted windows finally pulls into the driveway, I rush out the front door.
Ted is getting out of the car, but I wave him off, mouthing, “I’ve got this.” He wears a knowing smile as he gets back into the driver’s seat.
I open the rear passenger door. Mallory looks stunning in her pink sweats. Her wavy hair is pulled up in a messy bun today with a few strands down framing her face. I smile as I extend a hand to her.
She doesn’t accept my offered hand, rising out of the car and stepping past me, all while looking entirely indifferent. I wish she’d show me…something. I’d even take anger over this. Any type of emotion seems better than indifference.
“What did one snowflake say to the other?” I try to lighten the mood as we walk inside.
She sighs. “I don’t know.”
“Let’s stick together.”
Mallory’s expression remains neutral as I let her into the house. “You need to up your joke game.”
I run a hand through my hair and lead her through the foyer into the living room. “Do you have a better one?”
She sits on the edge of the couch cushion, looking like she’s ready to dart out of here at any moment. “Now isn’t the time for jokes.”
I sober. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
Her expression is pinched as she looks around the space. “I thought you’d rent a giant mansion.” Her words hold a bite, finally giving me some type of emotion. This isn’t the Mallory I met before, though I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised since I’m the reason she’s in this predicament.
“It’s been the perfect rental for me to stay in while Granny recovers.”
Now doesn’t seem like the right time to tell her that I don’t own any houses. I do have an apartment in Los Angeles, but I’ve waited to buy a house because I’m holding out to buy my first one with my dream girl.
Except, it’s becoming more obvious by the minute that she wants absolutely nothing to do with me.
“Can we get to the real reason I’m here?”
“Yeah, sure.” I grab my laptop from the coffee table and open the video call app. Only I am visible on the screen, so I wave Mallory closer. “I promise I don’t bite.”
She rolls her eyes and sighs like sitting beside me is pure torture, but she concedes, scooting closer until she’s in the video frame.
“You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” she mutters.
I pull up Karina’s name and press the video chat button.
The familiar call tone rings for a moment before my agent’s face appears on the screen.
Dark circles are present under her eyes, and her brown hair, which is usually curled, hangs flat and limp around her face.
I feel responsible for making her work overtime to figure out how to resolve this issue I’ve caused.
“Hi, Griffin. And you must be Mallory. I’m Griffin’s agent, Karina.” Her smile looks tired and makes me feel even more guilty.
“It’s nice to meet you.” Mallory offers her a smile in return.
I wish it were aimed at me.
“Let’s dive right in, shall we?” Karina adjusts a stack of paperwork on her desk. “Photos of you two are all over the tabloids, and a video was posted by CelebritiesNow this morning. Have the paparazzi found where you live?”
I shake my head. Mallory nods. I hate that she had to deal with the paparazzi on her own, but she won’t have to moving forward if I have any say about it.
“I had someone take care of it, but they found me early Sunday morning,” Mallory says.
“You didn’t give them a statement or any comments?” Karina asks.
“No, I knew better than to respond to their ridiculous questions.”
Karina’s shoulders fall slightly, making her look a tad less stressed. “Good, that saves some work. If the paparazzi approach you, just continue to ignore them. I can have security set up around both of your houses if you’d like.”
“How much would that cost?” Mallory asks. “I’m on a teacher’s salary, but I might be able to—”
“I’d like security at both our houses,” I insert. “I’ll pay whatever it takes.”
Karina nods. “Send me Mallory’s address, and I’ll have teams out to both locations by the end of the day.”
Based on the tense set in Mallory’s jaw, she looks like she wants to argue, but she doesn’t say anything.
I place my hand on her knee, trying to reassure her. She scoots her leg away, making my hand fall off.
I don’t get it. I explained how I lost her number and have been looking for her ever since. No word fully encompasses how happy I felt when I ran into her in that coffee shop, and it stings that she doesn’t seem to feel the same way about seeing me again.
Karina clears her throat. “Now that that’s settled, we have the business side of things to attend to.
Please, hear me out.” She pauses. It might seem like it’s for dramatic effect, but I know her well enough to know that she doesn’t have time for things as frivolous as dramatic effect.
My agent only speaks slowly when choosing her next words wisely.
“I think we should roll with this narrative.”
My eyebrows shoot up my forehead. Is she saying what I think she’s saying? Does she want me to date Mallory? I approve tenfold. Where do I sign on the dotted line?
Mallory frowns. “What do you mean roll with this narrative?”
“We’ll put a positive spin on this,” Karina explains.
“Everyone thinks you’re already dating, so if we share the story of two people brought together by fate not once, but twice…
” Her eyes light up. “Your story sells itself. No one will be talking about Griffin and Brittany anymore; the whole world will talk about you two. There’s no way you won’t get the audition for The Heartless Prince when your own story is one of fated soulmates. ”
“I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves here.” Mallory gestures with her thumb between us. “Griffin and I aren’t dating.”
The way Mallory says the word makes it sound like dating me is equivalent to getting a tooth pulled without Novocain. As for me, the idea of dating her is a dream come true. An answered prayer. What I’ve been waiting for since the moment I met her.
Karina’s gaze bounces between us. “I thought you both felt the same way?” Mallory shrugs, and my agent’s gaze narrows in on me through the screen. “You’re telling me that you couldn’t land the girl that you’ve been sear—”
“Mallory’s made it very apparent she’s not interested in dating me,” I interrupt, not wanting the beautiful woman next to me to hear about the Mallory-shaped hole she left in my heart.
Karina taps her dark-red lips. “I still think we need to roll with this narrative if you don’t want to end up looking like Hollywood’s newest bad boy.”
“But she doesn’t want anything to do with me.” Each time I say these words, it’s like another stab to an already gaping wound. My hope is slowly bleeding out, my optimism waning with each reminder of rejection.
My agent stares us down, looking like a parent explaining something for the umpteenth time. “We can still say you two are an item and share your story, without you having to date.”
“You mean you want us to fake it?” Mallory scoffs.
Karina nods. “I mean, Griffin and Britt weren’t even faking it.”
Mallory shoots me a look like she caught me lying red-handed.
I hold up my hands. “We were faking it.”
“No,” Karina corrects. “You both just never shot down the narrative. But if we share the story of how you and Mallory first met and how you found your way back to each other…” She taps a pen on her desk. “People will eat that up.”
Mallory shifts on the couch cushion and looks out the window. I’m surprised she doesn’t immediately reject the idea, laugh in my face at the ridiculousness of it.
She finally turns to me. “If I did this—” A smile immediately pulls at my lips, and she holds her pointer finger up. “If,” Mallory repeats, with emphasis. “What would be in it for me?”
“That’s a fair question.” Karina leans back in her chair. “I’m speaking to both of you about this for the first time, so I’m not sure if Griffin’s had a chance to consider—”
“Whatever she wants.” I clear my throat and face Mallory. “Whatever you want.”
“I don’t think there’s a dollar sign big enough for you to convince me to date you.” She waves a hand in front of her face. “Fake date you.”
I pull my phone out and text my agent how much I’d be willing to pay Mallory to do this.
I know how inconvenient it would be for her to get pulled into the spotlight, especially since she wants nothing to do with me.
It would make a dent in the savings I’ve built up from my two movie earnings, but money is just something we need to pay the bills.
Spending time with Mallory? That’s priceless.
Karina’s eyes go wide as she glances at her phone. I can see the question in her gaze as she looks back at the camera, and I give the barest of nods.
“How about this?” My agent reads the amount I texted her.
Now, Mallory’s eyes are the ones bugging out. She whips her head to look at me, the enticing tropical scent in her hair wafting my way. “It would take me over five years to make that with my teaching salary.”
“I think it’s only fair. I understand it’s a big ask, so I want to make it worth your while.”
She raises an eyebrow. “You’re serious.”
“I’ve learned that Griffin doesn’t say anything he doesn’t mean,” Karina adds.
“I’d beg to differ,” Mallory mutters under her breath.