Seven Roses (Haremworld)

“Fuck it.” He grunted and shook his head. “That is what happens when you deal with celebrities. There’s a reason we don’t normally have them on the show.”

“She was really excited when she told me about it.” I let out a sigh. “She always does seem to stumble and fall into all of her hopes and dreams though.”

“That’s funny.” He chuckled and his scowl turned to a bit of a smile—similar to the one I was used to seeing every week. “Who is she marrying anyway?”

“Sullivan Banks.” I shrugged and tilted my head. “I’m sure you know who that is.”

“Yeah, he threw five touchdowns the last time he was in Chicago. This will be the second time he cost me a fuck-ton of money.” Charles looked at his watch. “Where the hell is my driver?”

“Probably with mine...” I looked down at the Uber app on my phone.

“You have a driver? Are you on television? I don’t think I’ve ever seen your work.” He turned his body towards me and looked me over as if he was trying to place me.

“Me?” I laughed and shook my head. “No, the only time I’ve ever been on television was when I got killed two seconds after my first appearance on a zombie show. They didn’t even let me be a zombie.”

“That’s a shame.” The edge of his mouth twisted slightly. “Can you act?”

“I mean...” My cheeks flushed redder than the chill was making them. “I like to think that I can.”

“Hmm.” He tapped his foot and looked back at the building. “How would you like to take Jessica’s place on Seven Roses?”

What—is he serious?

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” I heard him, but my brain needed to hear it again.

“I’m serious.” He tilted his head again. “I have a crew inside and they’re getting paid whether we shoot some promotional shots or not. It’ll take me a week to line up another guest and if we had someone we could promote when we announce Jessica’s departure, it would make the whole thing go over a lot better.”

“You are serious.” My mouth fell open in shock as I tried to collect my thoughts. “Don’t I have to audition?”

“You’re an actress, right?” He motioned towards the building. “Your next gig is right through those doors.”

Holy shit!

“Um...” My feet didn’t even want to move. My legs were practically numb with pure excitement. “Okay!”

“WE’RE BACK IN BUSINESS boys.” Charles Montgomery returned to the group that was starting to pack up their things. “Get your shit unpacked, I’m paying you for the whole day!”

The next few hours were painful. A couple of women took me to a dressing room where my jeans and t-shirt were replaced with a long red dress I could barely walk in. My feet were squeezed into a pair of shoes that made them cramp. After that ordeal, I was sent to a chair where two women started putting on my makeup. It felt like they were carving up my face as their brushes slid across my skin. A man with a British accent started working on my hair, turning my straight blonde mop into a frizzy mess that sort of resembled curls. When the trio was finished, I didn’t even look like myself anymore. My face felt heavier than it did when they spread all the fake blood on me for my appearance on the zombie show. They seemed pleased with their work and after carefully helping me to my feet, they took me to a studio where I was put on a stool while lights flashed from every direction.

The photographers were relentless, yelling out instructions and telling me which way to shift. My body didn’t even bend some of the directions they wanted it to go, but they weren’t satisfied until they got what they considered the perfect shot. Charles Montgomery walked in after they had been splattering me with light for what seemed like an eternity.

“Come on, you ruined her!” His tone was so loud the guys nearly cowered in fear. “I wanted a beautiful girl that didn’t look like she was made out of spare doll parts! This is the exact opposite of that!”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Montgomery.” One of the makeup artists ran to my side and grabbed me by the arm. “We’ll fix this immediately.”

“You fucking better.” He shook his head angrily as I was whisked back towards the dressing room.

Chapter 2: Charles

Seven Roses had become a source of nothing but grief in my life. When I signed on to host it, I never imagined it would blow up like it did. After one season as a host, they offered me the chance to produce in addition to my regular duties. They were so pleased with my work that they pretty much let me run the whole thing after that. I was making more money than I knew what to do with when my voice spilled into the middle of everyone’s living room week after week, but it was exhausting. There was no off-season for me. When we matched the final girl with her boyfriend, I was right back at work preparing for the next season. I knew I was a control freak, but it was what kept the show going. If I left it to other people, we would end up pushing girls in front of the camera that looked like the abomination they had turned Lyn into.

Lyn didn’t need to be caked in makeup. She was captivating just standing on the sidewalk and that was the look I wanted to capture. She was wholesome and fun. The world needed to see that. They needed to see her smile without Botox injections or buried in Maybelline—her natural beauty would be what captured America’s heart.

“That’s more like it.” I nodded as Lyn was led back in front of the cameras.

Damn, she’s fucking gorgeous.

I trusted the crew enough to get the photography right once she was ready for the camera, so I walked back to my office which still allowed me to keep an eye on things, but allowed me to take care of some other business. I placed a call to our lawyers and got Jessica’s contract canceled. I could have pushed for a civil suit or buried her in paperwork, but it wasn’t worth it. A clean break, followed by a picture and a quote from our latest contestant would put things right in the world. It wasn’t the first time we had lost a contestant, but I hated that it had to be a celebrity.