Throb (Life on Stage 1)

“Let’s start out with an example of what is not sexy. We have some clips from the show that landed on the editing room floor. This isn’t the first day of shooting, ladies. We need to forget the cameras already.” Miles motions toward his dutiful secretary, and the concealed screen at the front of the room begins to inch down.

The video starts off with a kiss so awkward, it makes me uncomfortable just to watch it. Jenny Clark and I did better than that behind the dumpster in the back of the school in sixth grade. At least the way I remember my first kiss.

A second kiss comes on, this one a little better, but the woman looks right into the camera the second it’s over. Not exactly the voyeuristic feel my brother is going for. A few more roll across the screen, none of which hold my interest for long.

I watch as Kate glances up at the screen on occasion, but her doodling seems to have her rapt. The corner of her mouth quirks up slightly as her pencil swirls around the corner of the page. It makes me curious what she’s drawing. Then suddenly her pencil stops, she raises her head, and our gazes meet. And hold. She blinks a few times, almost as if she’s deciding if I’m really standing here or not, then her eyes widen when she decides I’m really on the other side of the room.

Amused at her reaction, I flaunt a smile and watch as she becomes flustered. Nervously, she looks to see if Miles is watching our exchange, then looks back to me. My brother is oblivious. He’s busy pausing the video so he can berate the poor women who he’s caught uncomfortably sharing a kiss with the moron bachelor.

Not quite sure what to do, Kate tries to ignore me. Her eyes dart all over the room—to Miles then back to me, down at her pad for a second, then quickly back up to me. My stare never waivers. She fidgets in her seat when she realizes I’m not looking away anytime soon.

I casually move from my position near the back door. Kate’s eyes flare wide when she realizes I’m walking toward her. I stop a few feet behind her. She shifts her hand to cover her doodle, but I catch it before she does. A script C is scribbled over and over. Again I’m brought back to sixth grade. Jenny used to scrawl my name all over her notebooks. I smile triumphantly. Kate’s fidgeting in her seat becomes more pronounced as I take a step closer to her from behind.

I’ve lost track of what Miles is talking about as he drones on … until a close up of Kate freezes on the screen.

“Well, ladies. We’ve learned what a bad kiss looks like, now let’s learn what a good kiss looks like.”

Miles nods and his assistant begins the video again.

“Did you know,” says Flynn, the bachelor I’ve come to despise, yet never met, “that on the majority of dating shows, the first kiss on the show winds up being the last?” He reaches for Kate’s hand.

Kate looks down, watching him lace their fingers together. “I didn’t know that. But sounds like you may want to be selective with who you bestow the coveted honor on.” There’s a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

“Oh, I’m selective all right. I’ve been saving the kiss for the right one.”

Kate squints. “So you haven’t kissed anyone yet? That’s not what the ladies are saying.”

Flynn’s face shows surprise.

“According to rumors, you’ve kissed plenty more than one.”

“I haven’t,” he protests.

Kate looks up at the longhaired dickhead. “Why would they lie?”

“Strategy, I guess.”

“Hm. The thought of kissing someone right after they’ve kissed someone else does kind of gross me out.”

Dickhead takes their joined hands and wraps them around Kate’s back, pulling her close to him. “Well, I haven’t kissed anyone else, Kate.” He pauses and waits for her to look up. “I was saving it for the someone I thought might be my last kiss of the show.”

Kate opens her mouth to say something, but Dickhead doesn’t give her a chance. He seals his mouth over hers and kisses her. At first, it’s stiff—he’s kissing her, but she isn’t sure what to do. Come on, Kate, don’t kiss him back. Then the reality hits me like a blow. Her body melts into him and she kisses him back. Kisses the fucking asshole. I see Kate turn to sneak a look at me a few times, but I don’t ease my glare at the screen. The loud snap of the pencil I’m holding in my hand echoes through the room two seconds before I storm out.

Back in my office, I pace as I rake my fingers through my hair, tugging as I bellow harshly at Helen. “Go find Kate Monroe. She’s in my brother’s production meeting. Wait till it breaks and bring her to my office.”

Chapter six

Kate

“Ms. Monroe?” a kind-looking older woman asks as I exit the production meeting.

“Yes?”

“My name is Helen. Could you come with me?”

“Umm … sure. Where are we going?”

“Mr. Montgomery would like to see you.”

I turn and look back at the room.

“He asked me to bring you to his office after the meeting was over.”

“Oh.” Shit. Miles knows. He must have caught on with how the two of us were looking at each other. The guy would probably be thrilled if I’d been making out during the meeting with one of my fellow bachelorettes, but I’m likely to get fired for even flirting with one of his colleagues.

Together, Helen and I make our way across the complex and up to the top floor of the building. She brings me to an open door at the corner of a luxurious-looking suite of offices. Much nicer than I would have expected of Miles. Classier. I would have thought he would be more a metal-desk-and-worn-shag-carpet kind of guy. The sleek, intimidating swank of this place doesn’t fit.