Chapter 10
RIO
"Hey, Ringo, eyes off my fiancée," I snap at Keith, wiping sweat from my brow under the blinding stage lights.
Maddie and Antoine have just walked into the studio. And I don't like the way Keith's looking at my fake fiancée.
We’ve been running the setlist for three hours straight. Every note must be perfect for Derek Ward. Assuming the president of Midnight Records will really show up for the concert, like Prince Michael said.
"Possessive already? Didn't peg you for the jealous type, Wilder."
Keith figured me wrong.
But I don't give the Manchester-born drummer the satisfaction of an answer. Instead, I hop off the stage to greet them.
But Maddie's not the same girl who walked into the conference room this morning. She walks toward me wearing skin-tight jeans, and stilettos like she's auditioning to be a billionaire's arm candy.
Nothing close to the 'schoolmarm' of just a few hours ago.
She reveals curves I never noticed before. Dangerous curves. Her eyes flick to mine, widening slightly as she takes in my sweaty state.
“Okay, you two, let’s meet in the conference room for our briefing.”
We follow Antoine into the sleek room offstage.
Maddie takes her fancy dog out of his carrier. It looks up at me and lets out a little huff, as if warning me to keep my distance.
Antoine sits at the head of the table and places a thick file folder on the glass surface.
"Rio, you're a professional performer," he says.
"I don't have to coach you on the art of persuasion. But you and Maddie must make the journalists believe you are truly in love. The chemistry must be undeniable. Sponsor Henry Lemon and all your fans are looking for romance."
I let out a laugh that echoes against the sleek walls.
"Did I say something funny?" Antoine asks, his tone dry.
"No. But this whole setup, The dog, his designer carrier, this fake romance. It rubs me the wrong way."
"Rio," he says, his voice dropping an octave. "This is serious. If you blow this press conference, you could blow the Midnight Records deal."
"As far as anyone knows for sure, this 'deal' is just a pipe dream in Prince Michael's imagination," I say. "But I'll try to keep myself in check."
“Now check the message I sent you both on your phones. It's a list of questions the press are likely to ask you. Rio, do you see the question about why Maddie attracted you?"
"Yes," I say, scanning my screen. "You want me to answer that I was attracted to Maddie's joie de vivre. That she had a unique sophistication I hadn't seen in any of my other girlfriends."
The words taste fake in my mouth. Like saccharine.
"And it's true," Maddie blurts out. "Because those women were skanks."
Realizing what she just said, Maddie slaps her hand over her mouth. Like she's surprised by her own words.
"I didn't mean to say that out loud," she mumbles, looking mortified. Her cheeks turn a brilliant shade of crimson.
I smirk, leaning back in my chair. This is the first interesting thing that has happened all day.
"Skanks, huh?" I let the word hang in the air between us, relishing the sound of it coming from her prim little mouth. "That's what you call my lady friends?"
I watch her squirm, enjoying this rare moment where perfect, judgmental Maddie loses her cool.
“Just read from your script, Rio,” Antoine sighs.
“When I met Maddie,” I continue, reading from my phone in a monotone drone, “I realized I was at a time in my life when fun and games were over.”
I look up, addressing Maddie clearly. “And I was ready for the ol’ ball and chain.”
Maddie makes a face and looks pointedly at Antoine. “Can you please make him be serious? This is humiliating.”
I throw up my hands.
"Fine, I'll play along. But seriously, Antoine, who's gonna buy this crap? I've got tattoos on my neck and a mug shot that went viral last month. The tabloids call me 'The Wrecker' for a reason."
I gesture toward Maddie, who's sitting there with her ankles crossed, stroking that expensive looking dog.
"And they're supposed to believe I'm marrying Miss Goody Two-Shoes with her fancy dog and designer bag? We look like we belong on different planets, let alone in the same relationship."
Antoine leans forward, his elbows on the table.
"They'll swallow whatever story you feed them, Rio. Because they want to. After that snake incident in New Orleans, the press is practically begging for a redemption arc. They want to see the ‘wild child’ tamed by the love of a good woman."
I snort and glance at Maddie, taking in her perfect posture and that tight bun that makes her look like a sexy librarian.
“And Antoine, we need to change the script,” Maddie interrupts, finding her voice again. “I wouldn't have been at a museum on a Saturday. Saturdays are reserved for grading papers or yoga.”
“We’re not talking about your real life,” Antoine says, his patience wearing thin. “This is fiction. Remember why you are here, Madeleine. Remember Snorty."
Snorty lets out a little yip from her lap, as if reminding her of the stakes.
Maddie stiffens. The fight goes out of her shoulders. “Okay. I got it," she says, deflating slightly. “Rio and I met at a party. A mutual friend.”
“Fine,” says Antoine, making a note on his tablet. “I’ll make that revision. Now listen up, guys…”
I force myself to pay attention while Antoine instructs us on how to smile at each other at just the right moment, how to touch without looking possessive.
And how to project that Maddie and I are soulmates to a room full of sharks.
If I knew this would be my punishment, I never would have gotten drunk. I never would have picked up that damn snake.
"Now let's practice the likely questions to pop up during the press conference
Q&A. Rio, what made you feel Maddie was ‘the one’?”
I look at at Maddie and smirk. "Because I have a kink for schoolmarms with snapping dogs."
“Try again,” Antoine says sharply.
"I swept in like a rock god, saving her from a boring life of yoga and student loans. Right, Mads? Or was it the other way around. You saved me from myself?"
She glares at me, cheeks flushing in a way that's annoyingly hot.
"As if I'd touch that ego with a ten-foot mic stand."
Antoine laughs, clapping his hands. "Sparks! Good. That friction works. Next: What's Rio's most endearing habit? Maddie, it’s okay to lie convincingly."
Antoine's got us cornered, turning this press conference into some twisted Newlywed Game. Part of me wants to laugh it off. The other part wants to tease her until she cracks a real smile.
“Final question,” says Antoine. “Describe your first kiss. Maddie, you go first.”
Maddie's flush deepens. Her gaze locks on mine, and suddenly the air in the room changes. It gets heavier. Thicker.
Hate, heat, and history swirl in the space between us.
I feel it too. That magnetic pull I experienced when we fake kissed earlier today.
"Describe our first kiss? It was unexpected," she begins, looking to the left as if recalling a memory. "It was delicious."
The word hangs in the air.
Delicious?
I stare at her. Did she just say delicious?
Maddie blinks, snapping back to reality. I didn't mean that!" she sputters, looking frantically from me to Antoine. "I meant 'pleasant.'"
I lean back, a slow, satisfied smirk spreading across my face. "Too late, Schoolmarm. You said 'delicious.'"
Though I'm curious where that word is coming from. Did she mean our boardroom kiss? It was a little too quick to be delicious. But there hadn't been any other kisses ...
... unless she meant that time I kissed her 'happy birthday' after dancing with her on her 13th birthday. Could she still remember that? If she still carries that ballerina notebook with her, maybe she does.
"Magnifique!" Antoine beams, oblivious to Maddie’s panic. "That is the word! It sells the hunger. Now, practice that 'loving gaze.' Hold it for ten seconds. The press loves authenticity."
I turn to her, my eyes claiming hers. She's breathing hard, but she doesn't look away.
Snorty yips approvingly.
If we could fake it for him, maybe the journalists at the press would believe it too.