Jackie Braun - The Game Show Bride

She assured herself that her sudden willingness to participate in the show was only a matter of pride and had nothing at all to do with the fact that, arrogant and annoying as Sam Maxwell was, her pulse seemed to take off like a rocket whenever he glanced her way. Just nerves, she told herself.

And she was nervous.

They were seated in the company’s conference room in the Danbury Building in downtown Chicago. Another time, Kelli might have enjoyed the swank surroundings and the killer view of Lake Michigan. But right now, she was still too tense. Her stomach had been knotted since receiving the call—summons really—from Samuel Maxwell the night before telling her to report to the main office the following morning. He hadn’t given her a reason, but his tone had been no-nonsense to the point of sounding grave. She’d spent a nearly sleepless night worrying that she was about to be fired. She’d been late twice in the past week, after all. Now, she wasn’t sure if being unemployed would have been so bad given what she had just agreed to do.

The legal counsel and assorted other representatives for Swapping Places sat on one side of the long conference table. Danbury’s lawyers, Sam and his secretary sat at the other. One look at her frowning boss and Kelli had opted for the chair closest to the door when she arrived. For the past twenty minutes, the show’s producer had done most of the talking and all of the pacing. Sylvia Haywood stood five-foot-three thanks to a pair of spike heels, but she stalked around the conference room with all the confidence and stature of a five-star general.

“You’ll do it. Great!” She barely paused for a breath before she began ticking off the particulars of the show in a raspy voice that Kelli would bet was the result of smoking at least a couple packs of cigarettes a day. Then she paused and pinned Kelli with a flinty stare.

“You have kids, right?”

“Two girls.”

“Hmm, that won’t do.”

Kelli gasped, startled by the woman’s bluntness. “Well, I’m not going to get rid of them just to do a television show.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Sylvia paced again, running a hand through her spiky red hair. “You’d have to live in each other’s homes, essentially take over all aspects of each other’s lives. This works best with single people.”

“I’m not married,” Kelli said.

“Yes, but you have kids. How are you going to feel about leaving them in his care for a month?”

Kelli shook her head and without sparing a glance at her boss said, “Oh, no. Absolutely not. My kids come with me.”

“That pretty much blows the whole point of the show. He needs to step into your shoes. You’re a single parent. That has to cause a lot of stress and create a lot of challenges for you, especially since you work full time and take night classes.”

“You have no idea,” Kelli muttered.

“No, Ms. Walters, he has no idea.” Sylvia pointed at Sam.

“Well, I’m not leaving my kids in a stranger’s care.”

“Ms. Walters, a camera crew would be there most of the time,” Sylvia said. “And, if it would make you feel more comfortable, you could get your sitter to move in for the duration as long as she stayed in the background and didn’t perform any actual child-care duties. Your girls would be safe and well cared for.”

“No. My daughters are my responsibility.”

Sylvia sighed. “Could they go stay with their father for a month?”

It embarrassed Kelli to admit, “I don’t know where he is.”

“You don’t know where he is? What about child support?” Sam asked.

They were the first words he’d spoken since she’d walked into the room. His tone wasn’t critical. In fact, his expression seemed to be one of concern. Still, Kelli bristled. It reminded her just a little too much of how disposable she and the girls had been to her ex-husband.

Kyle had left without a backward glance while she was still pregnant. He’d never even seen Chloe. The last time Kelli had come face-to-face with him was in a courtroom when they had divvied up their limited assets and dissolved their marriage. He hadn’t sought joint custody or even visitation. He’d simply said goodbye.

“I heard that he moved out of state not long after Chloe was born.” She didn’t add that he’d done so with the college-age girlfriend for whom he’d tossed aside nine years of marriage.

For the millionth time, Kelli told herself it was Kyle’s loss. She didn’t need him. The girls didn’t need him.

“You should have someone track him down,” Sam persisted. “I can put you in touch with a good attorney.”

Pride had her lifting her chin. “I’m perfectly capable of providing for my children, thank you very much.”

“I wasn’t implying that you weren’t. But as their father, he has a responsibility to—”

“Responsibility?” Kelli issued a humorless laugh. “Believe me, that’s not a word in Kyle’s vocabulary.”

“I’ve got it! I know how we can make this show work,” Sylvia interrupted. And Kelli found herself thankful for the woman’s one-track mind. “We’ll have to bend the rules a bit, but I think it would add an interesting twist that our viewers will enjoy.”

“Bend the rules how exactly?” Kelli asked.

“You could spend the weekends with your kids, unless there’s a work function that requires your attention. We probably won’t use much of the tape from then anyway, but Mr. Maxwell would have to be included. And he’d have to handle household tasks as well as any crises that came up. As for during the week, you could slip back into the apartment around midnight, as long as you’re gone by eight the next morning.”

Sam straightened in his seat. “Um, and where will I be?”

“I’m assuming she has a couch,” Sylvia replied, one eyebrow arched. “You’ll have to stay.”

Kelli swallowed hard, but at least had the satisfaction of seeing Sam do the same.

“He c-can’t stay in my apartment,” she stammered. “What would my girls think?”

“She’s right. It wouldn’t look…appropriate.”

“That part wouldn’t be broadcast to America,” Sylvia said. She laid her palms flat on the table and split an exasperated gaze between the pair of them. “Look, we’re all adults here, so this shouldn’t be a problem. You’re not lovers, for crying out loud, and this show is not Temptation Island. So, take it or leave it. This is the last concession I’m willing to make.”

Of course they weren’t lovers. They hardly even knew one another and what Kelli did know about Samuel Maxwell the Third, she didn’t like. Still, a man in her apartment overnight?

“I don’t know,” she said.

“The payout is half a million dollars, Ms. Walters. You need to look at the big picture here.”

Kelli glanced at Sam. Sylvia had already explained that if he won, the television show would make a sizable donation to the charity of Danbury’s choosing. But he didn’t really have anything to lose. Either way, Danbury’s would still receive all that wonderful free publicity. What would she get if she lost? Sylvia seemed to read her mind.

“You’re taking night classes, right?”

“That’s right. I’m working toward my master’s degree in business.”

“This could be the best chance you’ll ever get to prove your potential in management. Consider it an internship. Better yet, consider it a way to broadcast your résumé to every company coast-to-coast. You could wind up a very hot property afterward, Ms. Walters. The last winner was interviewed on Good Morning, America and the Today show, not to mention making the cover of Time. Even the loser wound up doing Oprah.”

Kelli had to admit, her career path at Danbury’s was not looking particularly promising, and not just because the personnel director was hiring family and ignoring her applications. She glanced over at her glowering boss and took a deep breath.