“I hear he bought one of his dates a car.”
“Should we put in our requests now?” The two ladies threw back their heads and laughed.
“He seems really nice,” Renee chimed in. She wasn’t part of the conversation yet, but she needed to do something to fill the time.
The women stopped laughing abruptly and looked at Renee. “I mean…I bet he’s sweet.”
The first woman blinked, and the second raised one eyebrow.
“Don’t you think he’s kind?” She wanted them to talk about some of his features besides his looks and wealth. She hoped the participants were searching for something deeper than material things. If not, she would really stick out.
“Nice…” The closer woman leaned back. “Yeah, I’m sure he’s nice.” She turned away and rolled her eyes.
Renee shifted on the itchy couch. She would learn their names in time, but she didn’t need to right away. With any luck, several of them would be gone later, and Renee would still be there. She hoped the bachelor had discernment. He needed to get rid of those who might only be after his money and attractive features if he was going to find someone genuine.
Renee realized she was way ahead of herself. She was also a pot calling the kettle black. Sure, she wasn’t there for his fame or fortune, but she intended to use him. Just in a different way than the others. Shame washed over her. The little she knew about Ben wasn’t favorable. At least in terms of his dating history. But he still deserved to find real love. And no matter what he did to other people, he didn’t deserve to be used.
“Hi,” a voice broke through Renee’s thoughts. “I’m Eva.”
Renee slid over to make room on the couch as a stunning lady sat next to her. Renee took in the woman. She was petite in every way, and her dark hair glistened under the lights. Most captivating, though, were Eva’s eyes. They sparkled with depth. Renee realized right away that Eva was not only beautiful on the outside, but she had real character.
“Renee.” Renee stuck out her hand.
“Is this crazy or what?” Eva straightened her short skirt and crossed her legs.
“Definitely.” Renee glanced around the room. “Have you spoken to Ben yet?”
“Just got done.” Eva’s smile brightened her face even further.
“How did it go?”
“Great.” Eva lowered her voice. “I think we hit it off. I hope to be around to get to know him better. He seems really nice.”
Renee smiled. That was what she wanted to hear from the other contestants. She nodded. “Good.”
“Can I ask you something?” Eva bit her lip.
“Sure, go ahead.”
“What happened to your face?” Eva asked bluntly. “I mean…it looks like you smeared your makeup off with the back of your hand.”
Renee laughed softly. “You’re pretty close. I actually used a handkerchief.”
“A handkerchief?” Eva looked at Renee’s empty hands.
Renee glanced over to the corner where Ben held court with another stunning blonde. Eva followed her gaze.
“That handkerchief?” She pointed at Ben.
Renee nodded and chuckled again. Eva’s eyes widened. Eva’s laugh made Renee giggle harder, and Renee had the same effect on Eva. Before long, they laughed so hard, the other contestants began to take notice. Renee didn’t realize someone stood behind the couch right by her.
Eva’s laughter quickly slowed as she looked above Renee’s head.
“Who wants to share that joke with me?” Ben asked.
Renee spun around in mid-cackle, her mouth half open. Eva tilted her head toward Ben as if to tell Renee to go ahead.
“I guess I will.” Renee stood a little too quickly. The room spun, and she swayed on her feet. Ben reached over the couch and grabbed her elbow to steady her.
“Careful. Have they been giving you gals drinks I don’t know about?”
Great. He suspected she was drunk. It would certainly explain the makeup incident, the loud laughter, and the swaying.
“I have low blood pressure,” Renee explained.
Ben scratched his chin, then held his long, tapered fingers out to Renee. As his fingers enveloped hers, a jolt of electricity ran up her arm.
“Sorry.” Ben glanced in her direction. “The static in this studio is the worst.”
Renee smiled. For a second, she wondered if the lightning reaction had been chemistry between them.
Renee allowed Ben to lead her over to the corner where the lighting dimmed to induce romance. Though the bright lights from surrounding cameras were present, a few subtle candles flickered nearby to soften the harsh studio background.
Renee sank into the chair, grateful to have something sound beneath her. She was still dizzy from standing up too fast, and she didn’t want to make herself look worse than she already had.
“Renee Lockhart.” Ben recited her name as he leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees.
“Ben McConnell,” Renee returned. She didn’t really know what else to say.
“Are you ready to share that joke?”
Renee blinked. They’d been talking about her first encounter with Ben. “Oh, that was nothing.” Renee’s cheeks grew warm, and her neck started to sweat.
Ben nodded, allowing her the grace to get out of that particular conversation track. “Okay, tell me about you.”
“Well, I work in radio.” It was best to get her job in the forefront as soon as possible. Though she was having some issues with guilt, she came on the show to make a name for herself. She would keep an open mind, but she still needed the publicity. “I’m on the midday show over at KGBR.”
“Renee Lockhart.” Ben searched her face. “Yeah, I think I’ve heard you. You do requests and stuff?”
Renee nodded. “I also do a lot of behind the scenes things like make commercials, write promos, help out at concerts, that sort of thing.”
“Make up a commercial about me.” Ben scooted his chair closer.
Renee frowned. “Huh?” She was suddenly very aware of the camera before her, capturing her every motion.
“What would you say in an ad for me as the bachelor?”
Renee froze. He was serious. He wanted her to come up with something on the spot to advertise a date with him. She could write, and she knew it. But she usually did her writing in a small office alone with no one looking over her shoulder, much less into her eyes.
“Um…” Renee clasped her hands in her lap and fidgeted with her thumbnail.
“Come on, I won’t be offended. Give it a try.”
Renee took a deep breath. She always liked to start and end her ads with the company name. “Ben McConnell,” she said with a dramatic pause, “man of mystery, bachelor of the city.” Renee stopped again, and gazed at Ben. For a moment, she wasn’t sure she would be able to go on. The look in his eyes captivated her, and she found herself speechless…very rare for someone like her. It wasn’t so much that his eyes were piercing and such a beautiful color of brown, but more their amusement and depth. Renee suddenly realized how careful she needed to be. This man could easily draw her in and break her heart.
She tore her eyes away from Ben and placed them on the camera behind them. “With dark hair and shimmering skin, gleaming from a touch of sun, and a laugh that would light up a room, Ben McConnell is the date of any girl’s lifetime.”
Now she was on a roll. Renee glanced back at Ben long enough to see he was enjoying her recital. She had his attention, and in order to keep it, the rest of her impromptu commercial needed to be memorable.
Renee leaned way over in her chair, throwing her arm up beside her for dramatic effect. She had the perfect line to close her short ad, but instead of delivering it, she flung one of the flickering candles to the floor with a loud crash. “Fire!” she screamed as she realized the flame had not extinguished, but rather transferred itself to the hem of her dress.
Before Renee could stop, drop, and roll, Ben leapt from his chair and threw himself
across the small space separating them. The pressure of his body against her leg put out the fire instantly, but it also toppled her chair over, leaving them in a heap on the concrete.
Renee found herself on her side with Ben’s breath on her cheek. She slowly turned her head, though what she really wanted to do was push him away and run out of the studio as fast as possible.
“That was quite a commercial.” Ben didn’t make a move to rise. “Are you okay?”
Renee wasn’t sure how the dress looked, but there was no burning sensation on her leg. There was a twinge in the pit of her stomach. She nodded. “I’m okay.” She met his eyes and allowed herself a few beats to study him closely. He was handsome. And now, he was even a hero. Though he wouldn’t have had to save her from burning flames had she not set herself on fire.
Ben deftly got to his feet and pulled Renee from her chair as the producer rushed over and the camera operators stood by, panning down to capture Renee’s smoldering dress.
“Hey, Renee,” Ben whispered into her ear, “next time there’s fire between us, I’m not going to put it out.”
Ben turned away as the staff brushed off his coat to ensure he was okay. The producer then turned to Renee with a glare.
“Total accident.” Renee held up both hands.
Mike nodded and softened as Ben clapped a hand on his shoulder with a good-natured smile. “She was just trying to make an excuse to get my hands on her.”
“Let’s take a break, and get this cleaned up,” Mike ordered. “You can go back to the other side of the set.” He placed an arm around Ben.
“Nice talking to you, Renee.” Ben winked as Mike led him away.
CHAPTER SIX
“Can you believe her?” Mike, the producer, asked Ben, running his hand over the shiny spot on his head.
Ben shrugged and looked over Mike’s shoulder towards Renee and the rest of the girls. Her dress would never be the same, and Ben was pretty sure he could say a similar thing about himself. Their contact had been short, but he was most certainly intrigued. Not only by the way she talked, but also because of what he experienced when he plunged across the space separating them to put out the fire.
Ben realized he had his fair share of dates in his thirty some years of life. The media painted him as a playboy with a different woman on his arm every weekend. Part of that was accurate. He did date a lot. And the testosterone driven part of Ben enjoyed it. A man liked looking at beautiful women. But Ben’s problem with ladies was that no matter how gorgeous, or sweet and charming they were, he didn’t experience anything special. Hence the real reason his first dates never turned into second dates. Women always wanted to see him again. He couldn’t stand starting a relationship if he wasn’t drawn to that person.
Ben knew he needed to grow up. He was the mastermind behind his thriving business. His forethought and ingenuity forced the photography software company he created called ConArt to go worldwide. It spread faster than the recent social media outlets. But what Ben had in the corporate world, he lacked in his personal life. He even went so far as to think he didn’t know how to love someone.
Meeting Renee changed all that. Ben now knew he could feel. He just didn’t know what to do about it.
Ben saw Mike’s hand wave in front of his face. His tore his gaze from Renee, who was limping to the couch, and focused on the hand in front of him.
“You like her.” Mike’s mouth remained half open as he stared. “You like…her?”
Ben shrugged. “I haven’t talked to them all yet.” Perhaps someone else in the group would make him tingle like Renee had.
“Yes, but you specifically asked for her to be on the show. And you even changed the name based on how she answered the question about her favorite flower. This isn’t some kind of set up is it?”
“What do you mean?” Ben asked. He was having trouble keeping track of the conversation with Mike when all he wanted to do was watch the contestants.
“You hadn’t met her before, had you? You weren’t dating before this, were you?”
Ben started to realize what Mike implied. Ben wanted to do the show, but he already had a girlfriend, so he simply had her audition for the show and placed her among the contestants. The couple would become popular in the city and would enjoy the fame the local reality program brought to their door.
Ben placed one hand on each of Mike’s narrow shoulders. “I had never seen Renee Lockhart before the day of the audition.” He didn’t mention he had heard her voice before, on the radio. But even he hadn’t put two and two together until she brought it up.
“Okay,” Mike agreed. “Shall we continue?”
Ben nodded and surveyed the other side of the room again. He still had half a dozen women to talk to, and he chose one at a time and took them to his little corner. But it didn’t matter how beautiful they were or what they said. He almost thought every woman after Renee made him experience something special, but he wondered if what he felt was residual from being near her. Since Ben never knew what it was like before, he couldn’t be sure. He would continue with the show, and see where things went. It was too early in the game to decide anything. He only had to make one decision that night. Which two girls should he send home?
* * *
Renee sat stiffly on the couch for the rest of the evening, playing with the dark hole in the dress near her calf. She had no choice but to await her fate. She was embarrassed about what happened with Ben, and the other women steered clear of her. She was certain they had to be talking about her. She was a pariah. Eva stuck by her side and entertained her with bright conversation. Renee was encouraged by that. At least she would be able to relate with one other person on the show. She hoped they both survived the evening.
After every lady had time with Ben, the producer sent the crew on a break, and Ben disappeared. Mike stood before the contestants with his clipboard. “Now, each of you will talk to the camera for a confessional time. The person running the camera might ask you a few questions. Ben is in another room doing the same. We’ll have the elimination ceremony next and afterwards, you can go home. This week, the program will be edited together and will air on Monday. Until that time, no one is to say anything about what happened here tonight. After the show airs, you’re free to talk to friends, family, or even other media outlets. Meet back here Tuesday to resume taping.” Mike tapped his clipboard. “There are three cameras posted here, here, and here.” He pointed to three stationary cameras throughout the room. “When you’re ready, go to a camera and do your interview. It shouldn’t take long. Once everyone is done, I’ll bring Ben in for the elimination.”
Mike briskly walked away as silence permeated the studio. The women had been having a good time until Mike interrupted and mentioned the elimination. The twelve contestants looked at one another with questions in their eyes. Who would it be? Renee figured she had a pretty good shot at being the first to go. She made an impression on Ben. After all, she had lit herself on fire. But that didn’t mean he wanted an accident prone woman. Renee could see her time on TV going up in flames…quite literally.
Since no one headed toward a camera, Renee decided to get her interview over with. She quickly stood, and the room swayed yet again. She needed to do something about her blood pressure. How could it not be higher after everything she’d been through?
Renee made her way to the nearest corner. “I’m ready for my interview.”
The man behind the camera nodded. “Just stand where you are, and I’ll adjust.”
Renee waited, licking her lips and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes flicked from left to right as she shifted from one foot to the other. What was she supposed to do? She was an awkward mess.
“Okay,” the man finally said. “Start by telling us what you thought tonight when Ben first came into the room.”
“I feared there was a mouse.”
“What?” The cameraman took his eye away from the lens and looked at Renee around the camera.
Renee sighed. She thought she’d been pretty clear. “When all the women squealed earlier, I was certain there was a mouse in the room. So I jumped up and started dancing around. Like this.” Renee pulled her dress up to her knees and kicked her feet up as she looked down at the ground like she was searching for a rodent.
When the man behind the camera didn’t answer, Renee slowly lowered her dress. “Once I noticed Ben was in the room, I felt pretty silly.” Way too late Renee realized what she had just done. She hoped the cameras missed her little dance earlier. Now she was certain they had it.
“Tell us about your one-on-one time with Ben.” The man’s voice was light with amusement.
Renee cleared her throat. Why was this so hard? She was on the radio. But now she couldn’t think of the right thing to say. “I enjoyed speaking with Ben.” Renee tried to act formal. “He was interested in my career and seemed to be a really helpful person.” Renee smiled. There.
“What do you mean by helpful?” the man probed.
“Well, he put the fire out when my dress ignited in flames.” Oops. She just undid all the good she’d done with the last eloquent statement.
“How did I miss that?” the man muttered. “You were on fire?”
“Let’s just put it this way. If Ben likes a woman who burns for him, he won’t pick anyone else.” Renee knew her voice was laced with the irritation she felt.
The man raised a hand above the camera. After a few beats of staring into the lens, he told Renee she was finished, and she could return to the others.
Renee stalked back into the room and slumped onto the scratchy couch. Eva awaited her.
“Did you do your interview?” Eva inquired.
Renee nodded and crossed her arms over herself to hide as much of her existence as possible.
“Me too. They didn’t really have any questions. Just what I thought when he first came in, and how our time together went, that sort of thing.”
Renee pursed her lips. Eva was nice, but she didn’t want to commiserate.
“I just talked about how handsome I thought he was and how intelligent and charming he came across when we spoke alone.”
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