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“I think it’s pretty obvious from the title,” Teagan retorts, not looking at him when she says it.
“I’m not an idiot!”
“Could have fooled me,” she mutters under her breath.
Of all of Mallory’s shortcomings, her inability to stop this from escalating tops the list.
“I can see this is already starting perfectly.” I look over at Brad and Teagan, who are both acting like five-year-olds.
If this project wasn’t my brainchild, I wouldn’t be here, which leads me to wonder why Mallory is. Sure, Teagan is her client, but it’s not as if Teagan is keeping her company afloat. I’m sure Teagan is just a means to get her legs wet before she goes to work for her father, so why put herself through this?
“Stefan believes knowing what motivates each other will be a powerful asset to you both as we embark on filming, but he wants it to go a step further. He wants you to suspend disbelief, and instead of drawing examples from your own life, he wants you to be your characters.”
“What’s our part in this exercise?” I ask.
“Act as moderators but be in character, too.”
“How does that help them? There isn’t anyone else on the island in the movie.”
He shrugs. “Stefan thought it would be a good idea. Perhaps he wants to portray their characters as losing their minds. Talking to people who aren’t there. Who knows Stefan’s motives?”
From beside me, I see her tense. “So we just make up lines? Act like part of the movie?”
“Precisely,” Michael says.
Mallory exhales at Michael’s words, but then Brad cocks his head in her direction.
“I think you should. If we have to do this, you might as well do it, too.”
“It could be fun,” Teagan chimes in. “I’ve run lines with you. You’re good.”
“Come on, Mal. It will be like role-playing.” I wink. “You can pretend you’re someone else and gather intel.”
I know I’m a dick, constantly throwing what she did in her face, but it can’t be helped. The girl brings out the worst in me.
Mallory’s eyes grow wide, and there is no missing how hard her jaw locks. She wants to fire back at me but smiles boldly instead. “Sounds like a great plan. But wouldn’t you think Stefan would want Brad to know more about Teagan’s real personality? That way, if a problem does arise, he can refer to what he will have learned today and use that as a means to come to a resolution. Or, at the very least . . . refrain from being a dick?” She turns to Brad. “No offense. It’s just hypothetical.”
His brows lift. “None taken.”
“She does have a point.” Michael nods.
“Maybe we can do both?” Teagan adds.
“Yes, because we have nothing better to do than play games all day,” I gripe, hating the way Mallory turns things around.
“At least I’m trying,” Teagan mutters back.
“Children,” Michael interrupts. “We need you all to get along—especially Brad and Teagan. Right now, the idea that you fall in love is so far-fetched that if the press got hold of your lack of chemistry, the studio could pull it. So do what you need to do.” He turns to me. “Show them what real chemistry looks like.” His head swivels to Mallory. “It’s plain to see that you two have it.”
My mouth drops open, and a squeak sounds from Mallory.
Michael doesn’t notice the shift his words have caused, and he jumps right into the next ask. “Also, Stefan would like for you all to practice fishing.”
“What the hell?” Brad balks. “I don’t fish.”
“You have to film a scene in the next few days where you build a net with the leaves of a palm tree, so you might as well practice this now while you get to know each other.”
Michael doesn’t wait for us to object before he points at the water. “Go. I have things to do.”
“And us?” Mallory asks, voice so high she sounds like a Disney character.
“Observe. Help. Contribute.”
It’s all he says before he stalks off. Brad paces the moment we are left alone, but Mallory is already gathering leaves.
I have to hand it to her. Despite my feelings for her being handed everything on a gilded platter, she doesn’t seem to mind getting her hands dirty.
Or maybe this is her way of distracting herself from the awkward shit Michael said about us. I’m not bothered. Shocked? Yes. Bothered? No. He isn’t wrong. We do have chemistry. That has never been our problem.
As we all sit down on the towels to weave palm leaves, Mallory is the first to break the silence. “What makes everyone tick, or in our case, get ticked off? Let’s each go around the circle and say something that ticks us off, and then we can problem-solve. Once we get the hang of it, Brad and Teagan can do it again in character? Sound good?”
