“I’ll bring the card up to your apartment.”
She was probably going to toss it in the recycling after reading it. “That works.”
“I think you’re smart to wait for real romance.” He grinned wide and escorted her outside to the car, where her driver Tony took over. “Have a good day.”
“You too, Cy. You too.”
Tony was quick in getting Brooklyn to the studio while she answered emails on her phone. When she arrived and got out of the car, she was relieved not to be greeted by anyone with a protest sign, grammatically challenged or otherwise. It made for an easy trip inside to stop at the security desk.
“Ms. Monroe, we’re so glad you’re back.” Maddie, the curly-haired security guard, took care of signing Brooklyn into the building. “I’ll get Stacia to take you where you need to go.”
“Thank you so much,” Brooklyn said.
“You know, we’ve got a pool going.” Jerome, the burly male guard, rocked back and forth in his seat, not looking at Brooklyn and instead eying a computer screen.
“A pool?” Brooklyn asked.
“A couple, actually,” Jerome quipped. “One to guess if you fall in love with one of those men who responded to the letter, one to guess when you’ll get pregnant, and the third is to guess whether you get pregnant at all. Twenty bucks minimum to get in, if you’re interested. One pool is up over three hundred dollars.”
And to think Brooklyn had liked Jerome the first time she came to be on the show. Now she was rethinking it. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say in this situation. Good luck?”
“I don’t need luck,” Maddie said. “I know I’m going to win.”
“So says the woman who bet on Miami in the Super Bowl,” Jerome snorted.
“Miami was good last year,” Brooklyn said in Maddie’s defense.
“Yeah, Jerome. Shut it.”
Brooklyn leaned closer to the woman guard, resting her arms on their reception desk. “Just out of curiosity, what exactly did you put money on? For the pool?”
“I put twenty down that youwon’tfall in love with one of those men, but another twenty that you’ll definitely get pregnant by Christmas.”
“Christmas? That’s two months away.”
Maddie cocked her head to the side. “Only takes a minute to get pregnant.”
True.“So, no love connection? You’re thinking sperm bank is the way to go?”
Maddie shook her head. “Oh, no. I think you’re going to fall in love with someone who takes you completely by surprise. Not someone who sent you a lame email. That’s lazy. What woman wants that?”
“I get your point.”
“Don’t worry. I have a sixth sense when it comes to this stuff.”
“Interesting.” Brooklyn couldn’t help but wonder if Maddie had an actual talent for predictions. Was this one of Brooklyn’s signs? “Thanks.”
“You aren’t going to ask me what I think?” Jerome sounded genuinely disappointed.
Brooklyn pursed her lips and considered the question. “Nah. I think I already have my answer.”
A tall and curvy woman rushed in from the hall. “Ms. Monroe, I’m Stacia. You can come with me.” She glanced at Maddie. “I just heard from Jason Adams’ publicist. He should be here any minute.”
“Jason Adams, the actor?” Brooklyn’s voice hit an unnaturally high note, sounding both incredulous and excited. Jason Adams was a Movie Star—capital M, capital S. He was also a major hottie.
Stacia held a finger to her lips. “You can’t tell a soul. He’s here to promote the opening ofLavamanin a few days and announce his next film, but we only teased his appearance, calling him a surprise guest.”
Brooklyn twisted an imaginary key in front of her lips and tossed it over her shoulder. “Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me.”
