gave the signal for the next bracket of music to be played.
Mia waited until she was sure they were off air. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing? I’m not in love with you!’
‘I know,’ Bryn said, leaning back in his chair to survey her outraged features. ‘But the listeners don’t know that and neither does my producer.’
‘You mean…’ she glanced at the still beaming producer in the studio next door and then back at Bryn ‘…you mean they think it’s…real?’
‘Of course they think it’s real.’
‘Are you crazy or something?’
‘Not crazy, just hungry for more ratings.’ A segment of advertisements began to play as he continued, ‘I thought since you ruined a pair of Armani trousers this morning the very least you could do was give my ratings a boost by pretending to be in love with me for a week or two.’ He pressed another button. ‘But that bit about marriage was total overkill. It’ll be all over the papers tomorrow.’
Mia felt her heart give an extra beat. ‘The papers?’
‘Yep. Journalists love this sort of stuff. Celebrity playboy meets perfect match.’ He smiled a white-toothed smile. ‘But we can go along with it for a while. What do you think?’
‘I think you’re a jerk, that’s what I think. I lost my job because of you.’
‘I told you you’re wasted in the café; you could do much better than that.’
‘Not the café, although that was bad enough,’ she bit out through clenched teeth. ‘I was dropped from Peach Pie Productions this morning. Theodore Frankston saw your review and decided to pull me out completely. Then I spoke to my agent who told me she was too busy to represent me properly but I know it was because of your stupid review.’
‘Too bad.’
‘It’s worse than bad. I have bills to pay.’ And I need a heck of a lot of money to get my sister out of trouble, she wanted to insert but stopped herself just in time. ‘I’ve not long moved into a flat with a friend. How am I going to meet my commitments when I no longer have a job and no agent to find me a new one?’
‘Ah, but you do have a job,’ he said. ‘I just gave you one.’
She frowned at him in confusion. ‘What are you talking about?’
He leaned forward in his chair until his knees were almost touching hers. Mia hadn’t realised how very dark his eyes were until that moment and she felt her tummy do a funny little moth-like flutter as she was pulled into their deep, oceanblue depths.
‘I want you to act the role of my devoted fiancée,’ he said. ‘I would have settled for girlfriend but, since you mentioned the M word in front of two-point-four million listeners, I’m afraid we’ll have to run with that role instead.’
‘Your fiancée?’ She gasped. ‘You want me to pretend to be your fiancée?’
He flicked a glance at the monitor and pressed another button before he sat back in his seat. ‘You’re an actor, right?’
She gave him a resentful look. ‘Yes, but according to this morning’s paper not a very good one.’
‘Here’s your chance to prove me wrong,’ he said. ‘If you can convince the Press and my listeners that you are indeed in love with me then I’ll take back everything I said. I’ll pay you, of course. What was Frankston’s company giving you?’
She told him and he gave a snort. ‘What a joke. No wonder you didn’t put your heart into that role. I’ll pay you four times that much, plus expenses.’
‘Expenses?’
‘Hang on a minute.’ He turned his headphones back on and began to speak on air. ‘You heard it first on Hot Spot FM. Bryn Dwyer the confirmed bachelor is in love with a little lady who has promised to be his wife. You know the number. Give me a call to congratulate me. This is one very happy man.’
Mia sat silently fuming. This was getting ridiculous. Surely he didn’t expect her to take him seriously?
She chewed her lip for a moment.
It was a lot of money he was offering. Besides, it might only be for a week or two, maybe a couple of months at the most. And it would certainly solve Ellie’s problems, which was her biggest priority right now. And she was an actor, so it shouldn’t be a problem playing the role, but still…
She stole a covert look at him as he chatted with another caller. He was smiling, which made his eyes crinkle up at the edges in a rather attractive way.
‘So what do you say?’ he said as he went off air again.
‘What if I don’t agree to this?’ she said, not wanting to feed his ego by sounding too keen.
He shifted his lips from side to side as if he was thinking about a suitable plan of action. Mia felt distinctly uneasy. She felt as if she was now under his control and she didn’t like it one little bit. She had come storming to the studio to tell him what she thought of him but somehow he had turned the tables on her.
‘There were witnesses to your assault on my person this morning,’ he said into the little silence. ‘And, like you, I have a lot of friends, several of them with impressive law degrees. All it would take is one phone call and you could be in very hot water, even hotter than the liquid you tossed in my lap.’
Mia’s throat moved up and down. Surely he wouldn’t press charges if she didn’t fall in with his plans?
She met his midnight-blue eyes and swallowed again,
Yes. He would.
She lowered her gaze. ‘You mentioned something about expenses…’
‘Yes. You’ll need to have nice clothes and get your hair done occasionally. I don’t expect you to pay for that out of your own pocket. I’ll make sure you have a substantial clothing and grooming allowance. So have we got a deal?’
‘How long do you expect me to play this role for you?’
‘Not long; a week or two, maybe longer.’
She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘How much longer?’
‘What say we give it a month at the most and then we’ll call it off?’
‘What will happen to your ratings then?’
He gave her another grin. ‘They’ll probably increase due to my heartbroken state. Everyone will feel sorry for me being dumped.’
Mia rolled her eyes.
‘I’m off air in thirty minutes,’ he said, flicking another switch. ‘Wait for me in the cafeteria and we’ll go somewhere where we can have another chat about the deal. But in the meantime, don’t let the cat out of the bag. I don’t want anyone at the studio to suspect this is a stunt.’
‘What about your publicist?’
