Sinfully Sexy (19 page)

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Authors: Linda Francis Lee

Tags: #Romance, #Sex in the workplace, #Fiction

BOOK: Sinfully Sexy
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* 
*  *
Chloe felt exhaustion tick through her body. She now had a greater
appreciation for actors who directed and starred in their own
productions. While she might not be directing, she was producing and
making sure all went smoothly.
She also missed her father. It was amazing to think how much the short
time they had spent together
had meant to her. She missed coming home and him asking about her day,
how that eased the tension. She even missed his constant desire to fix
things around the house. Did he miss her, too? Would he be glad to get
back from Ruidoso when all this was over? Or would this give him the
courage to return to
a life on his own?
Chloe focused on the task at hand. The show. The Roses alone were
enough to make her want to pull
her hair out. But the behind-the-scenes machinations between the women
was the icing on the cake of frustration. Regardless, she had to
persevere. The whole thing would be over at the end of the following
week.
Which is why when the Roses sat around the breakfast table, waiting for
the day's taping to begin, alternately supporting one another and
trying to find out how the other was planning to win Trey,
Chloe didn't get up and go to the other room.
"I wonder what we're doing next," Mindy stated.
"I hear it's group dates," Jo Beth added.
Mindy groaned, and Chloe knew that she was thinking about how in a
group, each of the women would be looking out for herself. Competition
would be fierce.
What surprised Chloe about this was that while the women were in direct
competition, they also seemed desperate to form bonds with one another,
as if somehow the bond would keep them from being dragged too deep
through the mud of competition. It also seemed like a way for each of
them to get additional information that could help her get ahead in the
quest to win the bachelor's heart.
"I'm so not good in a crowd," Mindy lamented.
Chloe believed her, having seen how awkward the nurse was in social
settings. Chloe shuddered to think what it would be like in a hospital
with her if she was that uncomfortable with syringes and heart monitors.
"Once I was applying for a flight attendant job with a major airline,"
Mindy continued. "We all sat
around in a circle, and the interviewer would ask a question. She just
put the questions out there, and
she wouldn't call on us to respond. We had to jump in so she could see
things like how assertive we
were, how polite, how confident. Ugh. It was horrible because really,
think about it... If you're too assertive, you're rude, but if you're
not assertive enough, you're a wimp. So you have to time it just
right. I was so unbelievably stressed that I was sweating, not to
mention that not only do you have to
get your answer in there in just the right way, you have to come up
with an answer to put out there!"
"I'd hate that," Kacey conceded.
"I'd kick ass," Jo Beth preened, and no one there doubted that she
would.
Leticia took a sip of her coffee. "What kind of questions did they ask?"
Mindy wrinkled her nose. "The woman asked about politics. And each of
us had to tell our most embarrassing moment. But the worst question—at
least the worst for me, because clearly I am a moron—was: Who, living
or dead, do you admire the most?"
A traditional question, but all the women
mmmed
and
ahhhed
and considered their own
answers.
Mindy chewed her lip as she remembered, then sighed dismally. "Most of
the candidates came up with some of the most amazing responses. One
lady said Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ! She was so impressive when she
added that regardless of your religion, he's had an effect on just
about every aspect of life around the world. Another said Hillary
Clinton because she didn't let a twerp like Bill bring her down. Then
this one guy, really cute and no doubt gay, said Cher because she
didn't let Sonny bring her down. Everyone laughed, and I was burning up
with mortification because I couldn't think of a single person living,
dead, or even made up, whom I admired. How pathetic is that?!"
Mindy ran her finger along the rim of her coffee cup as if she wasn't
going to go on.
"You can't leave us hanging!" Jo Beth exclaimed.
"What did you say?" Leticia prompted.
Closing her eyes for a second, Mindy sighed, then uttered two words.
"Martha Washington."
"Martha Washington?" the group demanded.
"Who is Martha Washington?" Jo Beth wanted to know.
"Our first president's wife," Chloe supplied. "As in the guy who
supposedly chopped down the cherry tree. The first George."
"Oh."
Everyone turned back to Mindy. "Why in the world did you say Martha
Washington?" Kacey asked.
Mindy scrunched her hair in her hands. "I don't know. I was desperate,
really desperate, and out of nowhere her name popped into my head. One
minute I hadn't a clue who to say, then the next her
name was just there."
"Oh, my gosh!" Leticia exclaimed.
"And you know the worst of it? When everyone else gave their answers,
you could tell that the others in the group were busy composing their
own responses, timing themselves, hardly giving a thought to what
anyone else said. When I tossed out old Martha, everyone there,
including the interviewer, stopped everything, turned to look at me,
and asked, 'Why? "
By now every one of the Roses was leaning forward, staring at her, and
wanting to know the exact
same thing.
"What did you say?" Leticia demanded on a gasping laugh.
Mindy groaned her misery. "I said,
'Because
she was so helpful to George.'
"
After a single, silent heartbeat, the group burst out laughing until
even Mindy saw how ridiculous it was. Somehow the remembered
mortification was mitigated and she felt very much a part of this
group. She joined in and laughed.
"Okay, everyone," Chloe said, breaking into the fun. "We only have
thirty minutes before we start
taping. The crew will be here any second. So we'd better hurry."
"Come on, Mindy," Nina said with surprising kindness, "let's get ready
for today's shoot. The other
day I was thinking of a way that your hair would look awesome."
"Really?"
"Yeah, really."
Mindy beamed. "Thank you." She bit her lip. "It seems like Trey thinks
I'm a dork. I would love for
him to see me differently."
The Roses piled out of the kitchen just as Julia walked in. Chloe was
the only one who stayed behind.
"Aren't they chipper this morning," Julia said.
Standing, Chloe came over to Julia, hugged her tight, then set her at
arm's length.
"What's that about?" Julia asked.
"I haven't told you often enough how much I love your friendship."
"Great, what's happened now?"
"Nothing." Chloe studied her fingernails. "It's just that I realized
that while we don't choose our families, we choose our friends. And I'm
glad you chose me."
Then she headed upstairs to get ready with the rest of the Roses.
* 
*  *
The group date consisted of a pool party in Julia's backyard swimming
pool, which was built inside a
huge glass atrium. It was a beautiful Indian summer day, a bright and
sunny sixty-nine degrees. The station planned to shoot the episode in
two parts to make it look like two separate parties. It wasn't the sort
of big budget extravaganza that the major networks were able to stage
for their bachelor-type shows. This was local television.
The cast grilled hot dogs, drank wine, and showed off lots of bare
skin. The last thing Chloe wanted to
do was get into a bathing suit. Though the others weren't having the
same problem. That is, if tiny
scraps of material could be considered bathing suits.
When Pete called action and started taping the party, Chloe stood on
the sidelines. She debated her
plan, but decided that: One, she wanted off the show, and Two, making
herself look less than great on television wasn't such a bad idea,
since she wasn't interested in attracting any more Albert Cummingses.
She decided plunging in was the best plan of action on all counts.
The second she stepped out of the shadows, it was as if there was some
cosmic signal to the Catch, because he turned around and saw her
despite the circle of women around him as he grilled hot dogs.
Chloe had the unexpected thought that while he clearly was a fish out
of water in the regular pursuits
of life, once he decided to do something, he actually did it quite well.
Which didn't endear him to her. Couldn't he do anything badly?
Chloe?
he mouthed.
"Chloe?" Jo Beth blurted.
Chloe appeared poolside in a red, white, and blue one-piece bathing
suit that had a flag skirt fluttering around her thighs. Chloe's suit
used more fabric than all the other suits combined.
"You look ... great," Mindy tried to enthuse.
Trey looked at her as if she had lost her mind.
And she did think of him as Trey—or rather, she forced herself to
continue thinking of him as Trey
so she wouldn't screw up on the show and call him Sterling.
"Hiya!" she called out with a wave.
Hiya?
No one ever would have accused her of being perky in the past, but
she'd seen enough of it in these Roses to have learned a thing or two
from some pros.
"Hi, hi, hi!" she added with a smile that made her cheeks hurt. "What
do you think?" She twirled, the
skirt swirling around her hips like she was a skater on ice.
"Wow," they said, their faces scrunched in false cheer.
"What are we having? Hot dogs! Yummy!" She marched right up to Trey and
took his free hand.
"You look yummy, too!"
Trey grimaced.
Perfect!
They taped for hours. They played water volleyball in the pool, all the
women doing their best to keep their hair dry. Chloe dunked herself
immediately and left her hair plastered to her head. She oooed and
gooed over Trey in her flat hair and 1950s bathing suit, and by the
time they were wrapping up the
party segments, Trey looked like he didn't know what had hit him.
Finally, her plan was working. He'd seen the light that she was the
plain-looking, too-sensible-for-fun
sort of woman that she was. She would be ejected from the show before
day's end, and she hadn't
even had to lower herself and incorporate the more idiotic and
certainly archaic aspects of Sid's suggestions. Being less elusive was
good—she admitted that. But have sex, then act all clingy? Ha!
She was bigger than that, smarter than that! She'd be leaving the rose
ceremony without a rose and
she hadn't even had to show much skin.
* 
*  *
They had only an hour to tape the rose ceremony because Chloe had
forgotten that after the pool party eight Roses would have to take
baths, do their hair, and dress, seven of them hoping to receive one of
the remaining six positions. But finally they were ready to begin.
The women wore formal eveningwear, this time compliments of Adriana's
Accents. Jewels sparkled in
the bright lights, makeup glittering on smiling faces.
Chloe wore a tweed skirt and blouse, just to be on the safe side.
Standing in a half circle, the Roses waited for Trey to appear. In real
time, handing out the roses wouldn't take long. Later this afternoon,
she, Julia, Pete, and Trey would edit the piece, drawing the moment out
to create anticipation for the viewers. Plus they would add music,
which would peak each time just
before he offered a rose.
"Is everyone ready?" Pete called out. "Then ... action."
Trey entered the room, causing each woman to sigh, including Chloe,
even though she managed to swallow it back. He looked more dashing than
she wanted him to.
He stopped next to the tray of yellow Texas roses. Then he looked at
each of the women, smiling.
"This is the hardest part for me," he began, his deep timbered voice
running through the room, along
each woman's senses.
Chloe had the disconnected observation that this segment was going to
make great television.
"But unfortunately," he continued, "I have only six roses left. I wish
I could choose each and every one
of you because I have enjoyed your company. But because that isn't
possible, I must begin."
That seemed a little much, but still good TV.
"Mindy," he said first, "will you accept this rose?"
With a scrunch of shoulders and pert little nose, she hurried up to him
and threw her arms around his shoulders. "Yes!"
The other girls waited nervously, looking at one another, then away.
Next came Nina. After that Leticia. A woman named Marnie, who had been
in the background most of the time, strutted up and winked at him when
he called her name, as if there had never been any doubt. Chloe
fleetingly wondered what had gone on between the two of them that she
hadn't seen.
Not that she cared. She didn't, she told herself firmly.
He moved on to Jo Beth. Then all too quickly, he had only one rose left.
He played it out beautifully, and part of Chloe thought how well the
show was going. She also felt
certain that the rose wouldn't be for her. She was relieved. Happy.
Though a strange twist in her heart made her flinch.
And then he did the horribly impossible thing.
"Chloe."
Just that. Just her name.
He had picked her!
Her mood instantly plummeting like a ride on a roller coaster, it was
all she could do not to launch
herself at him and demand that he explain himself.
He couldn't choose her.
She should have run him off by now.
But all thoughts for her own dismal situation were lost when she
realized that Kacey stood next to her, crying. Kacey was crushed, along
with Jessica, who sat there fighting back tears. Which was crazy,
since she had snuck out each night to meet her new boyfriend.
"Why, Trey?" Kacey choked out.
The girls who had been chosen were relieved that they weren't the ones
kicked off the show. They'd made it through another cut.
Trey looked ill at ease in a way that Chloe never would have believed
if she hadn't seen it firsthand.
Plus, she felt horrible for Kacey. When he walked over to her, Chloe
grabbed his arm.
"Pick Kacey instead of me," she implored him.
He looked down at her. Really looked. Then cupped her cheek, an intense
emotion burning in his eyes, along with what she was sure was regret
for hurting the other woman. "I wish I could."
Then he stepped away and went over to Kacey and said something that
made her smile.
As much as Chloe didn't want to believe it, deep down, maybe, just
maybe, there might be a bit of kindness in this coldly callous man.

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