Forgetting Prince Charming.

CHAPTER 10

They were in Toby's office. Emma felt intrusive but Joey was adamant Toby had offered his space. He claimed it had the best Wi-Fi signal. Emma didn't care. She wanted to go home but it wasn't an option. She wasn't always one to complain, she saw no point in it. Complaining never got her far in life. Complaining about eligible men fighting for her heart, seemed ridiculous.

Yet, it was all Emma could do. She grumbled a lot in her mind. 

"Alright, so there's a camera set up in a room and the recording will stream straight here and on all our platforms. Linda and Taylor will first clue the men in on who you are. Those that remain, will be sent into an interview room. Our marketing team has done a lot of research and have created a questionnaire. All we have to do, is sit here and watch."

Emma nodded. She sat curled into herself on the small two-seater sofa against the wall. The table ahead of her had a large monitor screen that showed a dull, empty white room. "When do I choose?" she asked Joey. He stood near the monitor fiddling with some wires.

"You'll need to pick three. We'll watch all of them and when it's done, you tell us your choices."

"What happens after that?" It was the after that scared her most. Picking hot men out of a pile was easy. Dating them, was something else entirely. Emma never was good at dating.

Joey stretched his back with a grin. He moved away from the monitor and sat beside her. "Don't stress yourself too much about later. Take it one day at a time."

She scoffed. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one dating different men for the publics' entertainment."

"Let's not forget you're also trying to keep your secret safe."

She deadpanned. "Do you actually think what you say is helpful?"

He laughed. "Everything I say is gold."

"Fake gold." She muttered.

He shook his head. "You've got spunk. I think that's why I liked you so much that night." She blushed into her sleeve. "That was before the alcohol wore off though."

She kicked him. When he landed hard on the floor, she sat taller. "Asshole."

~~***~~

They'd been staring at the screen for the past hour. Not much had happened. It had taken fifteen minutes before anything had moved on the screen. Since then, it had been one boring interview after the next. Emma had only seen five men so far and not one was memorable. At this rate, Emma have better luck getting Eamon to date her.

Another yawn passed her lips. Joey sat leaning his cheek against his left palm. It squished his faced and knocked at least three years off his age. She hated to admit it, but his dopey look was adorable. "This is bad," he muttered. She simply nodded. "We need to shake things up." He shot up from his position and reached for his cell phone from his back pocket.

"What are you doing?" she asked hesitantly.

"This is a show. We need more action." He began typing at his phone and Emma simply watched him from her spot. She didn't know him very well, but she knew he couldn't be up to anything good. When he was done, he turned to her with a smirk. "Now watch."

Emma looked back towards the screen just in time to see Taylor glance at her phone. The buxom redhead grinned. Emma gulped. Taylor leaned across the table where she sat and looked at the contestant across from her. He was a plain looking man. His hair was long, a dirty blonde that he'd pulled up into a wobbly bun on his head. He wore a casual tee. Emma felt no attraction, but he looked relaxed.