“A few months,” Anita confirms as she sips her delicious-smelling chai latte. I stare at the black coffee Anita’s set in front of me.
“And there’s one little detail,” Anita muses around the foam of her drink.
“What is it?” I take a sip of the bitter drink. Definitely not what I would’ve ordered but hey, it was free.
Anitaturns around to ensure no one could overhear us, and her voice drops to a mere whisper. “You’ll be entering a fake relationship with Roman Everett in order to promote the film.”
I choke on my coffee as her words sink in and droplets go flying.
“I have towhat?” I say through a series of coughs.
Anita rolls her eyes, clearly thinking me dramatic, which, duh, I’m an actor.
“Clover, please,” she says as she hands me a napkin. I blot the spilled bits of my drink on the table. “It’s not real,” she reassures.
“So what is it then?” I ask, pushing away my mug.
“There will be an additional contract for the PR relationship, and it will outline specifics.”
I continue to look at her like she’s grown another head.
“It’s all for appearance’s sake. You and Roman go out on some dates in public together, show off the chemistry you have, and get people talking. It gets picked up by magazines and news outlets, and soon more and more people are talking about you two and talking about the movie. It’s a PR move that’s worked for plenty of films,” she assures.
Me? In a fake relationship with Roman Everett? The same guy who spoke so poorly of me not even a few hours ago? The same guy who seemed to loathe being in my mere presence? A fake relationship? With him? It’s laughable, really.
“Is this negotiable?”
“Do you really want to ask that?” Anita says, expression hardening.
I swallow, worried I may have just pissed off my best ally in Hollywood. “No,” I whisper.
Her expression softens. “Look at it for what it is, it’s an extension of your role. Just some more acting,” she saysflippantly.
“And Roman’s on board with it?”
“Yes.”
I’m not sure who’ll dislike this more, me or him.
Chapter Ten
ROMAN
“So, let me get this straight,” my sister muses around a mouthful of ice cream. She’s sitting on my couch, wrapped in a blanket and eating straight from the pint.
“Jill...” I groan, “don’t eat that shit around me.” I stare into the fridge again and pull out one of my pre-made nutritionist and trainer approved meals. It’s boring, flavorless, and completely devoid of any joy.
“Sorry,” she laughs as she covers her mouth and puts the lid on it before tucking it out of sight. I pull up to the counter and dig into my depressing meal.
“So you’re going to be fake dating your new co-star... the one that you were adamant about not getting the role?” she clarifies.
I may or may not have complained to Jill about having to do the chemistry read with Clover when Jill was over the other night.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” I ask, “Like your own house?”
Jill pouts in return, pulling her long blonde hair to the side and playing with the ends of it. “But it’s so noisy with all the construction in the building,” she whines.
It’s true, and it’s not. I know there’s noisy construction in her building, but I also know her well enough to know that she just hates being home alone. She often ends up at my place since I’m about a block away and we’re close with one another.
