The Final Rose

The Call

* 9 Months Later *

The busy hum of the newsroom bought a smile to Sophie's face. The rush of adrenaline as everyone furiously typed to meet next morning's deadline - that was what Sophie lived for. Things were going extremely well for her at the New York Times. She had just gotten back from an assignment in Switzerland, covering the World Economic Forum in Davos. She had landed a major interview with the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York next week and was knee deep in research about interest rates.

"Sophie, want to go out for coffee now?" asked Veira as she strode by her desk. Sophie looked up at her supervisor, admiring her curls and the dark ebony glow of her skin. Veira always carried herself with such grace. Sophie wished she had a bit of Veira's talent of walking into a room and commanding everyone's eyes. Sophie was an introvert, she would much rather slink away into the background than be the centre of attention.

Sophie grabbed her purse, and followed Veira out of the office into the bustling streets of Manhattan. They went to their usual spot in Starbucks. 

"So how are things going with the Fed story?" questioned Veira.

"Man I'm so nervous about this, its such an important story and I want to make sure I get it right you know." Sophie admitted.

"Hmm...you'll be fine Sophie. You're always prepared. I just wish more people paid attention to news that matters instead of some dumb celebrity getting arrested for the 17th time." muttered Veira.

"Oh, don't even get started on -" Sophie was cut off by the insistent vibration coming out of her purse. She reached into her purse to grab her i-phone.

"Hello. Is this Sophie Davis?" questioned a brisk voice on the line. 

"Yeah, that's me." replied Sophie, sending Veira an apologetic look for interrupting the conversation.

"Sophie, my name is Andrea Kromatzky. I'm a casting director for The Bachelor."

"What?" Sophie gasped. "T..The B...Bachelor?" Her mind slowly went back to that night at Matt's nearly a year ago, when they had all signed up for reality TV. She had not thought about that since that night. Surely no one would actually call her back. She looked across the table at Veira who was watching her intently with eyebrows raised.

"Yes Sophie. The Bachelor - the ABC dating show." Andrea replied in a clipped tone. "Anyways, congratulations. You have been selected to come in for an interview with the producers. I wanted to schedule a time with you."

Shopie's jaw dropped open with incredulity. It was almost funny. No way would she go on the Bachelor. She laughed into the phone, "I'm sorry Andrea, but I'm actually not interested in - "

Before she could finish the sentence, her phone was snatched out of her hands by Veira. "Hello, sorry Sophie is in shock right now. Did you say the Bachelor?"

Sophie gaped at her supervisor. What the heck? "Yes, I'm her friend," Veira continued, "Sophie can meet you tomorrow at 2pm."

Sophie closed her jaw, glaring at Veira. Some friend, she thought. "What. Was. That?" Sophie enunciated each word slowly as Veira gave her a cheeky grin.

"You were going to say no. I said yes for you." Veira shrugged non-chalantly. 

"That much is obvious. Why?" said Sophie with a scowl on her face.

"Sophie, carpe diem girl. Seize the day. You have an opportunity in front of you. Take it." Veira told her with a surprisingly serious look.

"The Bachelor! Veira, are you seriously kidding me right now? You want me to seize the day with the Bachelor?" cried Sophie.

"There are a lot of girls who would kill to be in your shoes - anyways its not like you've actually been cast yet. Just go to the interview, see what its like. Doesn't hurt to explore Sophie."

"Yeah, only bimbos go on that show. It's ridiculous." Sophie shot back.

Veira observed her carefully as if wary of her reaction to what she would say next. "Sophie, you know when Cory mentioned doing that expose on reality TV? I actually think its a good idea to get a behind the scenes perspective from the contestants."

"We're the New York Times! Not Cosmo!" Sophie could not believe what she was hearing. Did Veira seriously think she was going to play the part of a contestant for a story?

Veira levelled her with a look. Her I'm your supervisor so you better listen to me look. "As your boss, I'm asking you to go that meeting, as a reporter." Veira replied cooly. She then hesitated for a second, "As your friend, I....well when is the last time you've been on a date?"

"Are you insane? Ok yeah I haven't dated since that break up nine months ago, but you think competing with 24 other bimbos for a superficial ass on TV in front of millions of Americans is the solution?"

"I didn't say that Sophie" Veira sighed. "Just that I think you need to take a break from work. Live a little, enjoy the roses." 

Great, she was basically being told by her boss that she needed to get a life. 

"I'm not saying I want you to pretend to fall for some guy on reality TV. I'm saying I hope you can enjoy your life a little bit more, be open to new experiences. They always do fabulous location shoots, just go with the adventure Sophie. See where it takes you."

Sophie stared at her friend / boss as if she'd grown an extra head. "You're actually forcing me to go to this interview aren't you?" She said shaking her head.

"Consider it your next assignment."

"Fine," Sophie said with irritation clearly in her voice. "But I'm not going to turn myself into a bimbo just to be on that show. Once they realize I actually have a brain, they won't want me anyway."

At that Veira burst into laughter. "I'm not asking you to change into something you're not. Just be yourself Sophie, put in your best effort. See where you end up."

Sophie grimaced. Tomorrow was going to be one hell of a day.