FIVE

Ronan

I bloody hate the idea. Raising my public profile is the last thing I want to do. I'm already far too easily recognizable for my liking. Makes having a genuine private life almost impossible. Casual dating is off the cards when you're Heartstone Times' bachelor of the year. I get swarmed by society misses who want you to put a ring on it.

They're trying to steer the wrong bull.

Unfortunately, raising my public profile is also the thing we discussed at the last shareholder meeting. The board of directors told me I needed to improve my image or they were selling up.

I should just give up already. Sell my shares and back away. Trouble is, it feels like one of the last pieces of Dad I have left.

Why didn't he leave me a controlling balance of shares?

The atmosphere in the boardroom is practically frigid. Between Justine's embarrassed silence and the board's hostile demeanor, it's enough to make me want to walk right back out again.

I take my place at the head of the table and usher Justine to wait beside me. She's still holding the damn coffee, looking around the room as if she's trying to find a place to put it. I take it from her and set it next to me.

I glance down the table. Five disapproving expressions greet me. I let out a long sigh. "Good morning. What was so urgent that we couldn't have waited until our usual meeting time?"

Hathir, a griffin with long brown-gray feathers on her wings and a winged pair of horn-rimmed glasses narrows her eyes at me over her beak. "Is this what you call ‘improving your public profile', Kernos?"

She slides a tablet across the table to me and I glance down at the picture on the screen. Then I look again. I'm sitting with my hoof crossed over my leg, staring down at my phone and looking bored as fuck. In the background, the red and white banner of Heart Health Org on the wall behind me is a stark reminder of what I should have been doing.

Is it my fault these charity dinners always go on far too long?

I was probably reading the meeting notes from one of my chief producers. Of course, it doesn't look like that. It looks like I'd rather be anywhere else. I just find it so hard to read on my screen. But I don't have time to waste in the evenings to waste.

I curse.

I only went to the damn dinner to do what they wanted. Seems like I just should have made a donation like I usually do.

Before I can say anything, another member of the board mutters into his hand, "It might be time to leave before the ship starts sinking and we have to swim."

A murmur rises around him.

I suck in a breath. Among them, the five members of the board of directors own about 30 percent of shares. If they all sell at once...

I clear my throat. "Listen, I know that looks bad, but I received an excellent proposal today that I wanted to bring to you. I was going to take some time to review it, but given the pressure I know we're all under, and the directive from you at last month's meeting to act, I've decided to go ahead with it."

Internally, I'm praying they tell me it's a bad idea. I don't think they will, though. Because it's not. Like I told Justine, it's very clever.

I just hate it.

I glance at Justine standing with her hands folded in front of her and looking anxious. Turns out she might just have saved my beef after all.

"Imagine a revamped version of Married for a Day," I begin, spreading my arms out in front of me. "Our biggest grossing show. But instead of the usual casting process, one person is a celebrity. And viewers can interact as the show airs to direct the couples" challenges and the dates."

The board settles, most of them sit back in their chairs, clearly listening.

God damn it. I'm going to have to go through with this aren't I?

I continue, giving them my best self-assured smile. "And imagine I'm the first celebrity contestant."

Justine stares at me open-mouthed.

I know how she feels. This whole meeting is like an out of body experience. Looking down at myself opening my big mouth and putting my hoof in it further and further, until I'm pretty sure I'll choke on it.

The meeting ends. The typical awkward socializing afterward ensues. I smile and shake hands and claws with the members of the board. I ask Hathir how her fledglings are and make small talk until finally they all file out.

Then I turn to Justine with a sigh. "Let's go make it happen."

"What do you mean you'll have to clear my schedule for three weeks!? I thought you said filming was quick."

Justine winces. "Three weeks is quick, but when I talked with production, they said they can't make it any shorter, not with the home stay."

"The what?" I stare at her, trying to read a clue from her flat human face, but aside from the blush that seems semi-permanent, I've got nothing.

"You know, the part of the show where the couple goes and stays at each other's houses. In the real world."

My jaw drops open. "You want me to let some random come and stay at my house? You want me to stay with her?" I'm pacing behind my desk, but I can't help it. This whole thing is more pain than it's worth.

Justine shrinks a little more into the leather chair. "I think you have to. Unless you both vote no at the end of the honeymoon."

I rub the spot at the base of my right horn. I feel a headache coming. But if she's clearing my schedule for three weeks, I can't be sick now. I can't even take a shit I'll be so busy. "You might as well be talking a foreign language." I sigh. "Just work it all out and rent me a house that we can pose as mine for the stay at home, or whatever it is. I'm not using my real home."

She presses her lips together in an expression I'm absolutely certain indicates disapproval. She says nothing, though. She's a good girl at heart. Just needs training. Something Asha should have been providing. I make a mental note to have a word with her about that when she gets back from leave.

"Is there anything else?" Justine asks.

"I don't know. Is there?"

She shifts in the seat. "Well, do you want to have any choice over your bride? That's not the normal way the show runs, but Amy Lee in production said that since it's you..."

I snort. "Too scared to choose someone for me are they? You pick, then. I'll send you a list of my requirements. Though I suppose they won't listen to me, anyway. Not if they're trying to make good television. I'm sure they'll find someone who gets on my nerves in the worst possible way."

"Oh, no. They don't! I mean," she retrenches, "I think the show is about finding real matches. At least it used to be." She looks down at her hands folded in her lap.

She seems like a genuine fan. A genuine fan who's about to have her dreams crushed, but that's not my problem.

It still makes me a little sad, though. It's always sad to see such an innocent creature jaded by real life. I miss the days of being relatively innocent myself. Though they seem long ago now.

Throughout the rest of the afternoon, my thoughts stray to her and the way she's romanticized the show. As a result, I get less done than normal. She's such a strange mix of innocence and wild energy and... something else. Something I can't quite put my finger on. That bothers me. I feel like I'm not seeing the real Justine.

God, why am I even thinking about this? She's my junior assistant for fuck's sake!

I work through dinner, satisfying myself with a protein shake and a half container of mints in my drawer. When I finally crawl into bed that night, only a few hours remain before I have to get up and do it all again.