Grumpalicious by Mia Faye
Chapter 17
GENEVIEVE
I didn’t see any of it coming. One minute I was getting a glass of wine while they sequestered Cash and then there was this intense pain in the back of my head, and I felt like my brain was being set on fire. I lost my footing and within seconds I was in the water. Just like that, I was the only one, fully dressed, treading water in the pool. First, there was fear, then anger and then everything was confusing and sad. I swam to the steps but didn’t get out of the pool because Allie was raving.
“You fucking bitch! You fucking cheating, conniving, crazy, bitch!” She kept saying the same thing over and over.
I looked around to see if she could be talking to someone else, but she wasn’t, she was looking at and speaking directly to me. Why? I just kept shaking my head as Cash ran to her to hold her back as it seemed like she was going to jump into the pool to come at me again.
“You cheating, lying, backstabbing, piece of shit!” she screamed at him and raked her fingernails across his face.
She seemed hysterical and I couldn’t even think of the reason why. I mean Cash had told me she knew they’d broken up. I signed a contract with him to be on the show, so I couldn’t have been the reason for her outburst. I was cold, tired, wet...in a shirt I realized was see-through with cameras all over me. I pulled myself out of the water with my hands crossed over my breasts hoping the cameras weren’t filming me in my bra. A production assistant ran up to me and offered a towel which I took eagerly.
“How dare you!” Allie came barreling at me again when Cash had let his guard down and I turned to run, but then rethought my strategy and just stood there. Was she going to scratch my face too? I looked over to Cash and he had an angry red line etched down the side of his cheek.
“Tell me you aren’t going to marry him!” Allie was right up in my face. “Tell me he didn’t give you a ring and that you’ve been together for over A YEAR!” she screamed.
“Way to blow the surprise, Al!” Cash came running up behind her.
Wow, it was way too much drama for me. In fact, I did my best not to laugh at both of them.
“And you're pregnant? Is that why he’s making you an overnight sensation? You’re carrying his bastard child?”
It was so surreal. Pregnant? I mean we hadn’t even slept together and Cash...oh he wouldn’t have married me if I was pregnant, he would have kicked me to the curb, sure as shit. So, I just turned around and walked off the set.
“Genevieve!” Cash called out working his best theatrics.
“You get back here, bitch, and own this!” Allie shrieked.
“Y’all deserve each other,” I threw back as I shook my head and walked off the set, and locked myself in one of the bathrooms at the mansion we were filming in.
I hadn’t signed up for any of this. Through the doors, I could still hear the rumbling of a commotion and just figured Allie turned her fight back onto Cash. After a lot of screaming and hysterics, I heard the director yell ‘cut’ and all the drama died away. After a few minutes, there was a knock at the bathroom door.
“Genni, it’s me.” Cash sounded sweet and apologetic and frankly, I needed him to tell me what the hell was happening, so I opened the door. “Are you okay?” was the first thing he asked.
“Are you?” The red mark on his face had started to bleed a little.
“I’m good.”
He didn’t seem good, but I took his word for it.
“What was all of that?” I asked him without even thinking that there might be cameras on us.
“Well,” he sighed and somehow I worried a big bomb was about to explode. “See. I took the liberty of telling the producers that I was going to ask you to marry me and maybe we’d want to film that in the next episode.” He didn’t dare look me in the eye and say that.
“And our six months? We’re at six days, barely...so.” I clenched my jaw and did all in my power not to be Allie.
“Right well, you know, six months will be the big day. Or, we’ll have this horrible break up…” his voice drifted off.
“So, we meet, we fall in love and get engaged in six days, to be wed in six months? And the world is buying this? I mean, sane rational people who have breakfast because they know it’s the most important meal of the day? Those people are like ‘yes, Cash is finally in love.’ I’m asking, do people who are not bat shit insane buy this story? Because… I sure wouldn’t.”
“Well, this is Mount Olympus, they’ll swallow whatever you feed them. We’re the untouchables with a rich and glamorous life.” He smiled and sheepishly shrugged.
“And so, Allie thinks we’re getting married? That’s why she came at me like a rabid cat with diamond bedazzled nails?”
“Yes, she thinks we’re getting married and maybe having a baby.” That was a step too far.
“So, just out of curiosity, what is going to happen to this baby you don’t want? I mean since you are nearly ready to sterilize me so I can’t have them…luckily all this is fake.”
“The world loves good drama,” he offered. I could tell he really felt like shit.
“So, you were going to mock those suffering legitimate pregnancy loss with a lie? Cayden,” I used his real name for emphasis. “Why am I here? You aren’t the kind of man I want to even be in a room with let alone marry or date… or make love to. I’m going back to the hotel.” I turned from him and did everything I could not to just lose it on him like Allie had. “I’ve been a fool, but I won’t be fooled anymore.” As I was walking out to the car, one of the producers of the show ran up to me panting and had a layer of sweat coating his forehead. “Don’t bother, I’m leaving,” was all I said.
I was a ratty ass mess, my hair was still dripping down my back, but while I was in the bathroom I had grabbed a robe from behind the door. I didn’t care that it wasn’t mine, I wasn’t wet on purpose. So my plan was to go to the dressing room, change into another pair of clothes which I had brought because wardrobe had called us the night before and asked Cash and me to bring a few things for them to choose for us to wear on camera. I had my plan in place and I wasn’t going to budge.
“We need you to get into hair and makeup stat,” he had the audacity to bark at me.
“Nope. I’m done.” I wasn’t even playing.
“Taylor Rayne just called, she heard your acapella and she wants to meet you and record a duet with you. She’s calling back in an hour and we need to get that call on film,” he panted out.
“And Allie’s out there runnin’ wild still, right? No thanks. I can talk to Taylor Rayne off-camera.” I was done... done.
“Actually, you signed a contract and you’re shooting day is not over. She’s signing releases now. You will be doing this on camera! So, you will get to hair and makeup,” he told me in a very commanding and gruff tone of voice.
I didn’t really have a comeback, so I did it. I went to hair and makeup, they made me look unreal. I mean it, I didn’t look at all like myself and I sat in a room in a comfortable chair with a glass of water and a bay window view of the ‘party.’ Allie was being flocked by her ‘friends’ and seemed to be crying, but I didn’t really care. Cash was nowhere to be found, but when that phone rang I answered it and a female voice on the other end said, ‘hold for Ms. Rayne.’ Again, it was all just surreal.
“Sure,” I said into the phone, unsure if anyone was even still there.
“Hey, I hope I’m not bothering you,” a voice exactly like Taylor Rayne’s said. “I just, well, I just saw your YouTube video and then Parker sent me a clip from the show of you singing an acapella version and I’m blown away. You are so good.” I wouldn’t say she was patronizing because I really don’t think it was her vibe at all, but um, more like a big sister to a little sister kind of acknowledging was definitely going on.
“Thanks,” I wasn’t exactly sure what else to say.
I mean I definitely shouldn’t say I’d been listening to her sing since I was a teenager, or that I tried to pretend to be her before I found my own voice. I was too freaked out and annoyed to fangirl her, but if it were a different place, I wasn’t on camera and hadn’t just been attacked by a rabid viper...perhaps I would have been more nervous.
“So, I was thinking. I’m in New York right now and I’m doing this charity event for homeless youth. My foundation is trying to raise money for housing, jobs, counseling, and stuff and I talked to Parker,” who was the executive producer on Allie’s reality TV show, “and he said he’d kick in a couple mil if he got us both on camera singing a duet. So, we’ll leak it to YouTube, you know, clips and stuff, then on the big day with this huge gala fundraising thing you and I will sing, and I just think it would be so special.” She was very convincing, and the gig seemed right up my alley, so I said ‘yes’ having absolutely zero clue as to what I was getting myself into.
“Sure. Sounds fun.” Ugh, why was I me sometimes?
“Great then it’s all set. I’ll let the powers that be work things out, but this is going to be great. Can you meet me tomorrow at my hotel?” She made sure not to say the name of the hotel on the air, but it turned out that it was the same hotel I was staying in.
In fact, our suites were right next to one another. It was awkward. After we ended the phone call, it was a wrap. I never saw Allie again and that was great. I had to be back the following week to film my stuff with Taylor and the fundraiser and I was dreading it, but I just figured they’d keep me out of Allie’s line of fire because that would be really bad television if they let something blow up at a charity event. I met up with Cash before we were loaded into a black van and I let the adrenaline rush of the day just flush through me to the point that I was weary and quiet.
“Well, that was unexpected,” was the awkward remark Cash made as we pulled away from the mansion.
“Which part?” I mean, it was all horribly awkward.
“You did great.” He smiled and cuddled me into his arms and suddenly he was the man I liked again.
“So, what happened?” I didn’t really want to dive into the drama, but I felt I had to.
“Don’t worry it was all for the cameras. Everything is good.” Was he blowing me off?
“I wish someone had told me I was going to literally be dragged into the pool.” I didn’t want to be as pissed off as I was, but really? “And that world thinks I’m going to be marrying you.”
