Chapter Twenty-Two Madison

F ilming Day

I never thought the words would run through my mind soon enough. Just hearing the directing crew and the producer run through the agenda this morning brings a smile to my face. I wasn’t sure what to expect months ago when my mom and I agreed to everything, but now that I’m seeing and experiencing it… I can’t get enough.

Especially considering that Jaxson has fumbled over the apple pie he’s been working on more times than I can count. The director is getting increasingly upset by the fact that he keeps fumbling. Demanding retakes only makes Jaxson fumble even worse. The entire situation is more than amusing, my hand constantly going to my mouth as I try to hide the smile and laughter that persist in escaping me.

I shouldn’t find it funny. I mean, this is his life, creating this show. Making a name for himself further than he already has. But it’s just so damn amusing to see the great Jaxson Rivers fumbling all over himself like it’s his first time in the kitchen.

The moment he attempts to place the pie crust into the oven without the leveling stones or basting it, I can’t help but step in. “Baste it first.”

A few eyes turn to me, but Jaxson gives me a slightly grateful look before picking up the butter and basting brush to do as I instructed. A smile tugs at the corner of my lips as I watch him following my instructions only to forget the stones again.

“You forgot the stones.”

“Cut!” the director shouts, his eyes darting towards me. I bite my tongue, glancing elsewhere as I step back, pretending that I’m not doing anything wrong. A voiceless apology leaves my lips when I look up to find him staring at me once more. “Let’s do one more take to get it in the oven.”

This time, Jaxson gets it right. A sense of accomplishment washes over me as I watch him slide it into the oven… only to see him turn to cut the apples, making the slices too big. Irritation fills me as he places them into a bowl, splashing them with lemon juice only to grab the eggs and sugar. Wait… that’s white sugar… he should use dark brown.

“What the hell? What kind of rookie mistake is that?” I gasp, storming forward, no longer able to contain myself as I snatch the small bowl of sugar from his hand before he places it into the pan of melted butter on the stove. I don’t care if they’re filming a show. There’s no way in hell I’m letting him butcher this pie.

“Madison, what are you doing?” he says between gritted teeth. “We’re filming.”

“I don’t give a shit what you’re doing,” I shake my head. “No way in hell am I letting you fuck up this pie in my kitchen. Everybody knows you need brown sugar, not white.”

“That’s not true.”

Giving him a sideways glance, I narrow my gaze. “How many times as a kid did you help me and my mom bake? Don’t tell me it isn’t true…”

“Madison, you’re interrupting. ”

I place down the bowl of white sugar and grab the container of brown from the shelf behind me without even looking. My hands move on instinct as I bring it towards the slowly melted pan of butter on the stove. The whisk within my hand is an extension of myself as I quickly melt down the sugar, letting it blend with butter, before turning it onto a low heat.

“Yeah, and so was your haircut senior year, but we don’t talk about that, do we?”

“Hey!” he quickly snaps in shock. “What was wrong with my hair?”

Glancing at him again, I let out a soft chuckle. “A mullet looked better than the bowl shape you had on your head.”

The comment causes soft laughter to escape from a few of the producing team, as we both stop and stare at them only to see a smile cross the producer himself as he waves for us to continue with what we’re doing.

“Madi—”

Ignoring Jaxson, I turn to the apples and pick up the knife before looking at him. “Every single one of these slices needs to be cut in half or they won’t cook evenly.”

I quickly make a few slices through the apples showing him as an example before he quickly stops me and takes the knife away. “There’s nothing wrong with the apples.”

“Yes, there is,” I reply flatly. “Now, are you going to cut them, or am I?”

“You know you sound like a nagging wife,” he grumbles, causing me to stop and turn to him, pointing the sugar-covered whisk in his direction.

“Keep on, and I’m gonna show you a nagging wife. Now, do you need me to hold your hand or can you do it yourself?”

“I can do it, Madison. I’m not two,” he says sternly, causing my eyes to narrow at him.

“You can cook a lot of things, Jaxson, but pies clearly aren’t one of them. Now cut the damn apples.”

“Madison—”

I continue to glare at him until he sighs and turns to the bowl, cutting the apples as I instructed. There’s a sense of satisfaction in putting him in his place, regardless of the situation. To know that Jaxson Rivers can be humbled is an exciting thing.

Apples cut, Jaxson takes them over to the brown sugar butter mixture on the stove and begins to stir in the apples. The blend comes together perfectly as I reach for the secret ingredient that most people forget: salt.

“What are you doing?” Jaxson asks, staring at me with a raised brow.

“Adding the secret ingredient.”

“Salt?”

I nod, taking a pinch as I sprinkle it over the mixture. “It helps to enhance the flavor. Aren’t you a chef?”

“Don’t start,” he growls as I throw my hands up, laughing as I back away towards the leftover lattice dough.

“Don’t be so touchy…”

It isn’t until the pie is in the oven after a heated discussion with Jaxson on how he’s supposed to do the lattice that the director calls cut on the scene and I realize I’d forgotten we were filming.

A sudden hesitation of uncertainty fills me as Jaxson steps forward. His eyes are wide, and a slight guilty feeling fills my stomach with the realization that I may have just fucked this up for him.

“I’m sorry… I know this is supposed to be—”

“Oh, stop it!” The director chuckles with a wave of his hand. “This is exactly the ‘IT’ factor I was looking for! The comedy and reactions between you are exactly what will make this cooking show perfect!”

Say what ?

My eyes shift to Jaxson, who's just as surprised as I am, before what the producer just said really sinks in. I didn’t agree to this to be part of his show. And I’m in no way in hell trying to steal his thunder. Jaxson worked hard for this.

“No, no… that’s not what I was trying to do,” I reply, shaking my head as Jaxson shoots a look as if to tell me to be quiet.

The last thing I meant to do was to step on his toes and steal the light from him. It’s just that watching him fuck up the simple task of making an apple pie struck a nerve in me that awoke my impulses to jump in and take over .

I never expected that our constant bickering would make the producers of the TV show like me. Hell, Jaxson and I have always been like this. Even when we were kids.

“Look, we want this show to keep going. But the only way that’s going to happen is if you’re in the show as well,” the producer says, glancing between Jaxson and me. “I mean, come on… there isn’t another cooking show out there that would be able to compete with this. Your act would be one of a kind. Don’t you want to be a hit?”

Jaxson’s eyes meet mine, and I can tell from his gaze that he’s silently pleading with me to say yes. This means everything to him, and as much as he’s pissed me off, I don’t want to be the reason he misses this opportunity. Though, it wouldn’t really be me but his lack of skills making desserts.

“I don’t know… I mean, I have to help mom with the bakery—”

“You will be compensated for this… say $1000 per episode with a guaranteed 20 episodes for the first season of this show?”

My mouth drops at the numbers he’s giving me. Twenty thousand dollars for the first season of this show, and I get to do what I love plus spend time with Jaxson? The offer is tempting, my mind slowly processing the information as I bite my bottom lip.

“Can I have a moment to think about it?”

The man nods, gesturing for me to take a moment before turning back towards his cast, speaking to them about how they want to make the show proceed even though I hadn’t agreed to anything. It’s as if he knows I’m going to say yes, when I don’t even know.

Glancing at the timer on the stove, it marks twenty-five minutes remaining. My heart is hammering within my chest as I turn and head towards the back door in desperate need of fresh air.

One thing about working in a kitchen, it gets hot really quick.

The moment the cool air meets my face, I let out the breath I’d been holding. How is it that I’ve recently been contemplating my future? Thinking about the cake shop that I want to open up and wondering how long it would take me to save up enough money. And now, I’m being offered exactly what I need to make it happen .

“Are you okay?” Jaxson’s voice coming from the partially open back door catches me by surprise. My eyes meet his briefly before I step forward, hands on my hips trying to calm my racing mind.

“I didn’t mean…”

“I know,” he replies, stepping out to join me. “But honestly, you saved my ass there. I appreciate that.”

To hear him almost thank me for what I did makes me stop. After our bickering over the apple pie, I’d half expected him to go off on me. To tell me how I was fucking things up for him, but instead, he was thanking me.

I let out a soft bit of laughter, shaking my head. “I never meant to jump in though. This is your dream, Jaxson… not mine. I don’t want to take away from that.”

“You’re not, Madi.”

Our words fall short as one of the girls from the crew comes out to let us know it’s almost time to start filming again. I know what they are expecting when I walk inside. They want me to agree, hell, they want me to be the face of this with Jaxson and as unsure as I am… the look on Jaxson’s face makes me feel a little more confident.

The moment I step inside all eyes are on me. The producer sitting before me with a smile on his face that’s stretched from ear to ear. “So, what’s the verdict?”

“I’ll do it,” I reply. “Under one condition…”

“What’s that?”

“I want fifteen hundred per episode, and I get to pick the desserts.” If they want perfection, they aren’t going to short me with only a thousand. I need thirty thousand to open my own store and outfit it the way I want. And I’m not going to settle for less.

The producer takes a moment. His smile widening even further as he nods, “you got a set of balls on you, sweetie. Big ass balls. I respect that, a woman who knows what she’s worth.” I can’t help but smile as he stands and shakes my hand. My heart racing as Jaxson's smile grows to match mine. I never imagined an offer like this, and usually, I’d be kicking myself for letting my emotions get the best of me in the kitchen. But right now, I’m thankful.

Because I’d just landed an opportunity that’s going to change my life .

As the buzzer on the stove starts going off, I’m snapped out of thoughts and quickly grab the oven mitts, pulling the pie from the oven as I place it on the stove. It’s perfect, as it always is, and as the producers start to roll their cameras again, I ponder over what’s going to happen next.

Over how my future is going to end up turning out.

Or better yet, how things with Jaxson will turn out.

We’re either gonna kill each other, or… You never know.