Meeting His Match

Chapter 7-1

Chapter 7

Mac paced the reception area of the studio, waiting for Gem. Just like earlier in the week, they’d been summoned to Brad’s office. They’d spent all the filming hours together, crashing each other’s plans with the clients. What Brad wanted now escaped him.

Gem pushed through the door, looking a little harried as usual, but when her eyes met his, they lit up as she smiled. His heart gave an unwelcome lurch. Over the last few days, they’d managed to find a balance of some kind of friendship. He was still uneasy because he wasn’t sure with whom he was forming this friendship.

But like he had said to her the other night, they were having fun.

“Good morning, Gem.”

“Right back atcha, Malcolm.”

“Are you ever going to call me Mac?”

She shrugged with a smile and eyes that were a little glazed.

“Are you ever going to tell me your real name?”

“Don’t see any reason I would.”

She stood close now, close enough for him to get a hint of her perfume. “I’d like to know who my friends are. We both agreed we don’t like pretense.”

She chuckled. “I like my pretense just fine. Any idea why we’re here today?”

“None.” He let the rest of the conversation drop. Some day soon he’d get her to confess her real name, her story, so he could know the real her. He had a feeling he would like who she was when she wasn’t Gem.

“Mr. Winford is ready for you,” the receptionist said. She pointed down the hall. “He’s in his office.”

Mac followed Gem down the hallway and when they reached the door she paused, as if she was waiting for him to open it, then reached for the knob. His hand beat hers to it and he flashed a grin. “Do you have a problem with a man being polite?”

“Maybe I was the one being polite. I arrived at the door first, so I planned to open it.”

As he swung the door open, she sneezed. And sneezed again. Two more times. When her fit stopped, she shook her head and sniffed. Her eyes were watery. She dug in her purse and pulled out a tissue. She dabbed at her eyes and wiped gently at her nose.

“Bless you,” Brad called from behind his desk. “Hope you’re not getting sick. We have a lot of work to do.”

Gem waved a hand. “I don’t get sick.”

“Mike’s not joining us today?” Mac asked.

“No. He’s started editing the rough cuts. He doesn’t need to be here for this. Have a seat.”

Gem plopped into a chair and crossed her legs. “So why are we here?”

Brad waited until Mac sat.

“When we talked earlier in the week, I thought you understood what we were looking for.”

Gem straightened her shoulders. “We’ve done what you asked. We spent every minute filming together.”

“I know, but…you didn’t disagree, argue, or fight.”

Gem chuckled and it turned into a cough.

Mac glanced at her, a little worried that she was, in fact, getting sick, but he spoke to Brad. “I thought you weren’t looking for us to manufacture fights. You didn’t want to script anything. We were being ourselves.”

“I don’t want it scripted. I don’t think either of you can act well enough to make it look good. While you both have a great onscreen presence, you’re not actors. But the last two days of filming haven’t given us the spark we were expecting from you.” He leaned his forearms on his desk.

“How do you want to remedy this?” Gem asked, still sniffly. Her voice was scratchy.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer. That’s why I asked you to come in today. I hoped you’d have ideas.”

Gem’s gaze slid to Mac.

What did she expect from him? He still didn’t know what Brad found so fascinating from the other day. Mac and Gem stared at each other for a moment. Assessing. Thinking. Until she started to sneeze again.

Brad suddenly stood. “I’m starting to think you are sick, Gem. You should probably go home.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

“When do you film next?”

“The day after tomorrow, I think.” She glanced back at Mac for confirmation. Their schedules were mostly synced.

“Sounds right.”

“Get well. Figure out what the two of you can fight about. If all you’re going to do is get along, then the great footage from the first meet-and-greet is a waste.”

Mac had nothing to say. He hadn’t intentionally avoided conflict with Gem. They’d just gotten to know each other a little better. He shook Brad’s hand and Gem waved.

Back out in the hall, Mac walked beside Gem. “Any ideas?”

“None. My brain’s foggy. I have no idea what’s going on. I was fine when I woke up this morning. I think I’ll go home and crawl into bed.”

Images of her in bed assaulted him, and he mentally kicked himself. She was sick. He wasn’t supposed to think about having her n***d.

“I’ll give our little problem some thought and give you a call later. Let me know if you come up with something.”

“I doubt I will. A sick brain might be delirious.”

“Delirious would keep things entertaining.”

“Funny.” She waved at him and trudged to her car.

Mac drove to the office. He hadn’t been spending enough time there because of filming and the latest requirement to spend so much time with Gem. When he got to the door of his office, his mom called for him, so he continued down the hall. He walked into her office, took a seat across from her desk and crossed an ankle over his knee to wait while she finished whatever she was working on.

“We need to talk about this show.” Her barely restrained disgust echoed through the room. Why should she be irritated? It was her idea.

“What about it? I’m doing what you and the producer have asked.”

“Bradley sent me the rough cuts of the last meet-and-greet. You were awful. Simply dreadful.”

He uncrossed his legs and thumped his foot against the cushiony carpet. “What the hell are you talking about? I did everything you do at the meet-and-greets.”

She waved her dismissive hand. “Not that. You actually did a stellar job there. I’m talking about the rest of your time. Your interaction with Gem.”

Mac gritted his teeth. He and Gem were fine. Everyone needed to get off their backs and let them do their jobs.

“You come off looking like a dud. Especially beside her. She’s so full of life and charm. You, on the other hand, look stiff and borderline bored.”

“I do not. I’m not boring. I worked competently with the clients, building their trust.” He inched forward in his seat and tapped on her desk. “I look like someone who cares about whether our clients find a true match. I’m not out there to play games.”

“Ah, but darling, it is a game. It’s supposed to be fun. And I saw the other clips. You and Gem in the hallway arguing about who the clients should be and again at the first meet-and-greet. You’re not a dud when you’re interacting with her.”

Mac didn’t have an argument. While he didn’t think he was a dud alone, he knew he enjoyed his exchanges with Gem. They were fun. And in all honesty, there were few interactions during the last meet-and-greet. Gem had kept her distance.

“Well, Mother, I can’t force the woman to talk to me, much less fight with me, which seems like what both you and Brad want. We talked after her first outing with Jennifer. Simple conversation set us both at ease. I suppose when one of us does something annoying, the other will step in with a comment, but that didn’t happen last night. We’ve only been at this for a couple of weeks. One with the clients. I’m sure we’ll hit our stride.”

“Malcolm, hitting your stride isn’t something you can wait for in the world of streaming TV.”

As if she were some expert now?

“If Bradley doesn’t see what he’s looking for, he might look in a new direction. And none of us wants that.” She sat with her back perfectly straight, hands folded on her desk. But her eyes held some fire. She was warning him.

“What do you expect me to do?”

“Find something to criticize about her.”

“I will not demean a woman to make viewers happy.”

Again with the dismissive wave. “Not a personal attack. Her style. The way she deals with the clients. Point out her lack of experience in finding love. For others, of course. I would never approve of you attacking her for her personal lifestyle.”

His conversation with Gem from the other night echoed in his head. He had little experience as well. And they all knew it.

“Maybe you should review some footage and see where you could’ve argued. Then you’ll know what to look for to spice things up.” She stood and a look of genuine concern crossed her face. “We need this, Malcolm. I’m trusting you to get it right.”

He stood and nodded. Their business was solid but word of mouth had become harder and harder over the years because of apps and online matchmaking sites. This success would put them on the map in Chicago again. And it would prove to his mother that he was serious about taking over the business.

Mac left his mom’s office and went back to his. He studied files of potential clients his mother would be meeting with over the coming days. His job was to start digging into their database to find appropriate matches. Unlike the silly TV show, no one expected to get it perfect on the first try.

He worked for a few hours but was distracted by his conversation with his mother. Lydia, his mother’s secretary, had dropped off a disk of the rough cuts his mother had referred to. He wondered what kind of relationship Brad and Gail had that allowed her access to footage he hadn’t been able to see.

Sighing, he realized that until he dealt with the show, he wouldn’t be able to focus on his real job. He stared at the disk. He should watch it, but it would give him an unfair advantage, again, and he’d told Gem he would do everything in his power to keep the playing field level.

He sent her a text asking if she wanted to meet up and watch the video.

No. Came her quick reply. I look and feel like crap.

I doubt it.

Watch without me and give me the highlights.

Sure?

Yeah. I’m not fit to be in public.

Mac gave it some thought. If she didn’t feel well enough to go out, he’d go to her. He scooped up his things and the disk and headed to Gem’s apartment.

Mac parked his car near Gem’s apartment and realized he should’ve called ahead. Yeah, she was probably home, but no one liked unexpected visitors, especially when sick. He hoped the spicy Asian chicken soup he brought would be enough to balance her irritation.

At her door, he rang the bell and waited, looking for a call box or buzzer. A minute later, a beautiful woman came to the door. Had he rung the wrong bell?

“Can I help you?” she asked, only opening the door an inch.

“Uh, I’m here to see Gem.” He suddenly felt ridiculous that he didn’t have a last name to offer. “She told me she lived on the third floor.”

The door swung wide. “It’s you!” she yelled.

Mac wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be good or bad, so he waited.

“The matchmaker guy. Na—Gem told me all about you. She didn’t say you were coming over.”

“I didn’t tell her. I know she’s not feeling well, but I need to talk to her about the show.”

“Oh, well, come on in. I’m her roommate and best friend, Jillian.” She spun on her heel and jogged up the stairs.

Mac followed, careful not to jostle the soup too much. Jillian reached the apartment before he did and from the hall, he heard her calling, “Hey, Gem, your matchmaking buddy is here for a visit.”

“What?”

Mac stepped through the door and closed it behind him. Hushed whispers crept in from the other side of the living room. Gem didn’t sound happy he had come by. She rounded the corner, and he did a double take.

She wore big, dark-framed glasses. Her hair was piled on her head in a sloppy knot. The usually perfectly styled Gem wore flannel pajama bottoms with cats on them and an old Northwestern University sweatshirt. Cute.

“What are you doing here?”

“I brought you soup.” He held up the bag. She didn’t seem impressed. “You said you didn’t want to go out, so I came to you.”

“I was being polite. I don’t want to see anyone.” She sounded congested, but she didn’t look like she was on death’s door. “Like I said, I look and feel like crap.”

He smiled. “It’s a good thing I don’t care what you look like. The soup will help you feel better. We need to talk about the show. Brad wasn’t kidding about needing something more from us.”

She huffed and crossed her arms. “Why couldn’t this wait?”

“Because we have two days until we’re filming again. If we don’t have a plan, we’ll keep doing what we did for the last two days and it obviously wasn’t good enough. They want spark, remember?”

She blew a breath up and her bangs fluttered. She held up a hand and waved over her body. “Let me go change—”

“Don’t. You’re fine. Do you have a DVD player or should I get my laptop out to watch the footage?”

“We have a DVD player.” She held out her hand.

He looked over to the TV, saw the player, and handed her the bag with the soup. “Go have a seat and relax.”

Then he went to the DVD player and slid in the disk. From her perch on the couch, Gem used the remote to turn on the TV and get the footage started.

“How’d you get your hands on the this? Brad didn’t offer us anything this morning.”

“My mother had a copy.”

“How did she get one?”

“I have no idea.” He checked out his options for seating.

Gem patted the cushion near her. “I promise not to sneeze on you. The chair isn’t as comfortable as the couch.” She leaned forward and took the soup from the bag. When she popped the lid off the Styrofoam container, she took a whiff.

“Spicy Asian chicken soup. It’ll help.”

She nodded. “The spices will clear my sinuses while keeping everything from drying. The veggies offer vitamin C to fight the virus. I should’ve thought of this before. Thank you.”

She settled in the corner of the couch with her knees pulled up and the soup cradled against her chest.

The disk started and the footage was rough, but Mac couldn’t disagree that it was boring. The camera zoomed in on Mac watching Gem giving Jennifer instructions at the bar. He listened but didn’t comment. Maybe he was supposed to have said something.

“Brad was looking for me to say something to you after that.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Because I had nothing to say. Everything you told Jennifer made sense. I told you that over drinks.”

They watched in silence as the cameras followed Jennifer’s movements in gathering phone numbers from men at the bar. Mac picked up the remote and fast-forwarded to the meet-and-greet.

Mac saw nothing wrong. He was competent and professional. Like always. Then he focused on Gem. She’d been unusually quiet at the meet-and-greet. She was the problem. Now, how could he say that without being a total d**k?

He eyed her, sitting curled around her soup.

“This is lame,” she announced.

“You don’t like the soup?”

“No.” She sat forward and put the near-empty container on the coffee table. “The soup was amazing. I feel almost normal again. I’m talking about this show.”

“I guess we know why Brad called us in this morning.”

“How the hell are we supposed to fix this? They can’t blame us for this boring s**t. They’re the ones who insisted on following us all over.”

“At the risk of pissing you off…”

She nailed him with a glare. Yeah, she was feeling better.

“Go on.”

“I really don’t want to tick you off.”

“Ha! Since when?” She waved her hand. “On with it.”

The spark was back in her eyes, noticeable even behind her glasses. A smile hovered on her bare lips.

“You weren’t engaged. You were lifeless.”

She smacked his thigh. “I followed your lead. You said nothing during my session with Jennifer so I figured you expected the same. I was being courteous.”

He rubbed his eyes. So it was back to him. “They don’t want you to be like me. I don’t want you to be like me. Be yourself. You’re fun.”

She blushed and her gaze darted away. “Thanks,” she mumbled.

He picked up the remote and paused the disk. “What was that?”

“What?” She suddenly stood and gathered the soup container and bag.

Instead of pushing, he waited until she returned from the kitchen. She handed him a bottle of water. “Sorry I don’t have anything stronger.”

“Water’s fine. Now tell me what that shy mumbling was about.”

“Huh?” She c****d an eyebrow, but it wasn’t enough to hide the insecurity.

“You’re not quite yourself.”

“I’m sick.”

“It’s more than that.”

She sighed. “I’m stressed. My day job situation isn’t good and being on as Gem all the time is overwhelming. More than I thought it would be.”

“Then why do it?”

She bit her lip. “Because Gem is the fun one. She’s who everybody wants.”

He chuckled. “It’s creepy when you talk about yourself in the third person.”

She shrugged. “It’s easy to do because I’m not really Gem. You know that.”

The stare she offered told him she knew he saw beneath the cover. She didn’t mind. But he wanted to know instead of guess what was under there.

“Not true. I don’t think you’re that good an actress. You are Gem. At least partially.” He settled against the back of the couch beside her. “But I have to ask again, why?”