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“We have a full filming schedule today. You’ll meet your match and instantly go on a one-on-one date with them. Meet back up with your group”—he points around our circle, indicating we are a group—“and talk. Then back to a group date. All filmed here. Food will be provided, obviously.”
“We won’t be leaving for our date?” one of the guys asks.
Boris levels him with a look. “No. That comes later. Once you make it through.”
“What do you mean, make it through?” I raise my chin a little as the question comes out. This part interests me.
“Only three of you will continue filming after today. There will only be one cut, but we thought viewers would be excited to see that right out of the gate. Then, they’ll get to watch your relationship unfold as you live together, go on a trip, and spend day-to-day life together.”
My heart jumps when the meaning is clear. One of us will be cut. And I’m going to try my damnedest to be the one walking out of here first. I rein in the first real smile I’ve worn in a while, keeping my cards close to my chest.
“Any questions?” Boris looks around at the four of us, expecting us to be satisfied with the small amount of information he just fed us. One of the guys opens his mouth, but Boris claps his hands together. “Excellent. You have thirty minutes.” With that, he spins and walks out, leaving our small group staring at each other.
I instantly back up, crossing the room when hands start clasping and shaking between them. I’m not here to make friends. And if I have anything to say about it, I won’t be here long enough to try.
I think back to the day I basically got forced into doing Blindly Ever After.
“Please sit,” Dr. Greene said, indicating the chair in front of his desk.
I sank into it and then glanced at the other man in the chair beside me. He had one ankle crossed over the other knee, sitting back casually as he grinned at me. I jolted and then frowned when I recognized him.
“You remember my son, Boris.”
Horrible name.
“Yes, we went to high school together. Good to see you again.” I wasn’t normally so friendly, but in front of my peers and heads of the hospital, I put on a good face.
“Made quite a name for yourself, Simon,” Boris said, looking smug.
Everyone knew he had gone to Hollywood and helped on a few B-list movies. He now fancied himself a director. I only knew it because his dad liked to talk about him every chance he got.
“You as well.”
I leaned over to shake his hand. He squeezed mine tight, as if overcompensating for something. Hell if I knew what.
I didn’t want to be rude, but I was a little impatient to see what all this was about. I had been about to leave for the day, and now, I was in an impromptu meeting with an old classmate and Dr. Greene. I faced the latter and watched as he clasped his hands and shifted forward, placing his forearms on his desk.
“Simon, my son here has an interesting proposal, and considering the rest of the surgeons are married, you are the only one who fits the bill for what he wants.”
Fits the bill?
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” What does my marital status have to do with anything hospital-related?
“Boris?” Dr. Greene looked to his son, and I did the same.
“I’m launching a new reality TV series called Blindly Ever After. It’s a dating show, and I need eligible bachelors and bachelorettes to be on it. I wanted to come home and set it in Sunnyville and the surrounding area—call it nostalgia.” His smile reminded me of a shark moving in on his kill, teeth exposed and ready to snap down at a moment’s notice.
“Sorry, I still don’t understand.” I was about ready to stand up and walk out. I didn’t have time for this bullshit. I had cases to go over, paperwork to do, and I’d promised Vicky she could have the night off, so I needed to get home to my daughter, Ivy.
“We need you to be on the show. The search for your match will be very thorough You’ll fill out an extensive questionnaire, and so will she. On paper, you two will be soul mates. We’ll film for six weeks. You will live with your match for the majority of that time, and in the end, after it’s all said and done, you will pick whether or not you want to stay with your match.”
“No,” I said without even thinking. The word was grating, even to my ears. But what had they expected me to say?
“You haven’t heard what’s in it for you,” Dr. Greene admonished.
I sat back down after realizing I was half out of my chair already.
“He’s willing to contribute to local charities, including yours, with proceeds from the show.”
