Marriage Material

Chapter One: Night One - Meeting the Groom

"Hi!" she said brightly. "I'm Juliette and the producers only picked me for this season because I tweet mean and snarky things about the show, and they were hoping I'd stir up some drama and boost the dismal ratings." Jules held out her hand, but Ravi didn't take it. He grinned nervously and looked around the courtyard for help. Jules noticed the cameramen, boom mic techs, and lighting guys for the first time.

Short-and-skinny Eddie, a producer, came rushing over. He clapped a reassuring hand on Ravi's back but spoke directly to Jules. "You can't say that. You know you can't say that. It's in your contract that you won't reveal to any of the contestants that you're a producer-plant."

"Yes, but he's not a contestant."

Ravi finally smiled. "Not anymore, anyway. Besides, I already know she's the producer-plant."

Ravi Kapoor, the fan-favorite contestant from the previous Bride-led season, was gorgeous. Juliette couldn't deny it. In fact, she'd tweeted those very words at least a dozen times during his second runner-up run on the show. He seemed a lock to helm his own season, but many fans doubted the network would take a chance on diversity. They'd never done it in the past, even with fans demanding it. But here he was, and he'd been disappointed to see her. Surely not because of her tweets; she'd only ever said good things about him.

"Don't worry, Mr. Groom, I'm not one of your swimsuit model contestants. I'm just here for the money." And the food, if they'd ever give me any.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Clearly you weren't expecting such an underwhelmingly plain woman to step out of that car. I saw it all over your face."

"Whoa." He put a hand out, towards Jules's shoulder, but she took a step back. "I wasn't thinking that at all, I promise." His eyes flitted to glance at Producer Eddie, who frowned.

"Look, Jules," Eddie said, "if you have some sort of chip on your shoulder or something, we can get somebody else. I mean, you signed a contract saying you'd play nice..."

Jules sighed, then addressed Ravi directly, "They're going to hold that damn contract over my head all season, aren't they?"

"If my experience is any indication, then yes." Ravi smiled again, and the warmth of it caused Jules to take another step back.

Eddie tapped his watch. "Can we try that again? Back in the car and this time, you're happy to meet him, right?"

She nodded and turned. A big, black camera followed her every movement. The crew hung around the fringes of the courtyard; some of the producers and assistants muttered to each other, while the remainder looked bored. She wondered how they could stand the joke of it all. She'd only been part of it for a day and already regretted it.

Regret or not, though, she got back into the car, took Patrick's hand when the door opened a moment later, and walked to Ravi with another smile on her face. She thrust out her hand again. Here we go, she thought, and heard herself say, "Hi, it's nice to meet you. Call me Jules."

****

Jules wandered from room to room, noting the cameras mounted to the ceiling and examining the house - her home for four-to-six weeks. A string quartet stationed in the grand, back courtyard gave the impression of a classy affair, but the already tipsy girls in low-cut gowns and too-high heels told the real story, she thought.

Her contract guaranteed four weeks. One month of espionage for more money than she made in six months working for the government of Wake County, North Carolina. One month to pay off her debt so she could continue with her real life and real future - a small sacrifice to make.