After The One (The One Series Duet) by Danielle Allen

chewing with his mouth open, I couldn’t help but wonder if that was parmesan cheese sprinkled on the eggplant fries.
    “No, no deal.” Julian’s face was darkening and his eyes were narrowing. I put my hand on his back. “I’m not going to let you bully us into this and then make a joke out of us for ratings.”
    “Make a joke?” The older man wiped his mouth with a napkin. “You two are the success story. You two are the one couple that made it and will give these suckers hope that they can find love too. I want this shit to be a fairy tale. I’ve already talked to Finance about the budget. I don’t know what you two were planning to spend on your wedding, but take that number and triple it.” He laughed. “But at the end of the day, this is my show. I want to tell the story that needs to be told, the story that’s best for business and a love story is good for business.”
    “Drama and fights trump the love story every time in ratings and you know it,” I interjected, ripping my eyes away from his plate. “So what about this: we have final say regarding the wedding ceremony. That’s sacred and special and ours. That’s non-negotiable. Every image of us and our family and friends at the ceremony must be approved by us. Any of our family or friends who choose not to be on TV has the right to refuse and they will not be approached by producers or filmed. If we have total control of the ceremony and what you can and cannot do, you can have the major reception moments. Obviously, our input should be taken into consideration and if there’s anything we’re not comfortable with, it stops immediately. But the reception is where you’re going to get your money shots anyway. Unlimited drinks and pseudo celebrities looking for love. That’s your story and that can be your focus. If you must find filler conversations and drama, you can look for it within the former contestants of The One if they’ve already consented.”
    Both men were quiet as I looked from one to the other.
    “I can live with that,” Robert decided after a moment of silence.
    “Me too,” Julian agreed.
    “Also, we will have a contract drawn up for you to sign as well so we will all be under obligation to adhere to what we’ve discussed tonight.”
    Robert laughed. “I like her,” he mentioned to Julian. “You made a good choice.”
    Julian slipped his arm around me protectively and pulled me into him. He dropped a kiss on the top of my head. “I know.”
     

Chapter 6
     
     
    “Are you ready yet?” Julian asked as soon as I answered my cell phone. The sound of music and laughter in the background reminded me that I needed to get downstairs.
    “I’ll be down in a few minutes,” I promised as I closed my laptop. “Love you!”
    I’d been mostly ready for the last twenty minutes, but I was reading over the contracts Julian’s lawyers had put together. Based on the verbal agreement we’d made with Robert at the dinnerless dinner a week prior, everything seemed to line up. Robert and the lawyers from The One had put something together over the weekend and had it sent over to us on the following Monday. There was a negotiation back and forth between the two groups, but by Friday night both groups had agreed. Although I was confident in Julian’s team of lawyers, I couldn’t help but look over the final drafts myself.
    Just appeasing my curiosity, I told myself as I hopped on the computer twenty minutes after I got dressed.
    I tucked my phone away in my black clutch and gave myself a once over in the mirror. The leather pants were tight, sticking to my body like a second skin. My sleeveless white top dipped low, showing the swell of my breasts. The clingy shirt was longer in some areas than others, giving the sexy material a cool asymmetrical edge. I shrugged on my black leather motorcycle jacket and felt like I was in a motorcycle gang.
    Or Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” video.
    “This is a lot of leather,” I muttered