Mallory looks like she’d like to tell Noah to stop talking like a sausage too.
I’d like to hear that from her, honestly. This is the closest she’s ever come in my presence to losing her cool publicly, and I’d be one hundred percent here for it.
Instead, she takes a deep breath and smooths out her features. “So this meeting is for what, then?”
“To finalize the details with the network and to ensure that you’re willing to coach from Cashmere Cove for the next six to eight weeks,” Noah says.
“And,” Vivian cuts in, “to offer you a spot on the show.”
3
Up in Flames
Holland
“What?” Mallory and I speak the word at the same time—me in shock, her with disdain.
I have most definitelynotbeen briefed on that not-so-minor detail. It complicates the heck out of my plan to use the show to get over my misplaced feelings for my coach.
The rest of the room is quiet. The lawyers and Noah are glancing between Vivian and Mallory and me. Caroline is tapping furiously on her tablet.
Vivian simply looks across the table at Mallory, who, for her part, wears a horrified expression. Her mouth hangs agape, and her already porcelain cheeks are even paler.
She snaps her jaw shut, swallows visibly, and clears her throat. “I’m afraid I misheard you. You want to offer me a spot? OnMost Eligible Mister?”
“Yes.” Vivian nods.
“Dating…Holland Bradley?”
“That’s how this whole thing works.” Vivian chuckles.
Mallory barks out a laugh, which she covers quickly by clamping her hand over her mouth, but it’s a losing effort. Her peals of laughter quickly fill the room. I glance to Steve, who is trying to hide his smile. He offers me a shrug. The lawyers don’t seem affected at all. Stoic little buggers.
While Mallory continues to try to cover up her snorts of laughter next to me, Vivian cuts a glance to Caroline. “What do you think?”
“We could definitely work with their dynamic.”
“A workplace romance.”
“Exactly.”
“Plus forbidden love.”
“The forced proximity of it all will be delicious.”
“Viewers will eat them up.”
“Enemies to lovers is a favorite.”
“Hey now,” I interject. “Not sure what Chuckles McGee over here is thinking, but the two of us are not enemies.
“We’re sure as heck not lovers either.” Mallory collects herself, but her cheeks are now red, and her eyes are glistening with unshed tears.
I nod, even though I wish we could be. It dings my pride to have her react to the thought of dating me as so outrageous that she can’t do anything but cackle over it.
“So you’re saying no?” Vivian clarifies.
“Yeah, that’s going to be a hard no from me.” Mallory turns to Noah and my lawyer. “Even spending six weeks in Cashmere Cove is going to be a stretch. I have a family situation that requires me to be on call and flexible.”
