something else to talk about chapter 2
in which cordelia is an oscar winning actress, anna is an entrepreneur and the author of a popular lifestyle blog, ariadne is a model and owner of a famous winery, matthew helps write anna’s lifestyle blog and is a highly sought out fashion designer, james is a singer and occasional actor, lucie is a famous author, thomas and alastair both have their own separate talk shows, christopher is bill nye 2.0, jesse is director and producer, and grace is a model
thank you to the wondrous @sleepy-sendhelp for helping me come up with this and proofreading i could not have done this without you!
you can read chapter one here!
hope you enjoy!
When James opened the door to his penthouse he was not expecting to see Cordelia Carstairs, standing in all of her crimson-haired glory. He certainly wasn’t expecting the words: “be my fake boyfriend” to leave her mouth.
But, in spite of that, he invited her in. Offered her a glass of water and waited for her to explain. She was sitting now on his plush gray couch, water in hand, taking a long sip of water and James made his way over to the couch. Of course, he knew what had happened with her father, it was all over the news.
He was also scared of the impact it would have on his career since it was his first role ever. His career as part of the band he was in with Matthew, Christopher, and Thomas, The Merry Thieves, had given him his start as a musician and now his career as a solo artist had cemented his future for the next five years. But he knew that if this movie failed, he would forever be known as “that singer that tried (and failed) acting” and he didn’t want that. He also knew that this movie was a huge thing for Lucie and he could not risk ruining that.
He turned to face her, finally ready to listen to whatever thought process brought her to this insane idea of fake dating. He didn’t know Cordelia very well. Other than the fact that she was Lucie’s best friend and that they were co-workers, they had never spent any one-on-one time, unless it was to practice their “chemistry” for the movie.
Cordelia was looking at him now. She placed the glass of water onto the wooden coffee table and tucked a strand of her garnet hair. “I feel like I should elaborate now,” she said as she chuckled awkwardly, “About the whole ‘fake dating’ thing.”
“Yes, I think that would be quite helpful,” he replied, trying not to sound as uncomfortable as he was. After his relationship with Grace, he wasn’t really in the mood to date somebody else, even though his publicist had told him multiple times that he had to date someone else so that he wouldn’t look like he was still pining after Grace and also make him win the date race.
“So you probably already know about my dad,” she paused and took a shaky inhale. “And that’s going to cause ticket sales to drop. My plan is... to give them something else to talk about, for example, a new romance.” She gestured towards him and looked him straight in the eye. “And you also care about the ticket sales and with the whole Grace thing, well... we could... you know...”
“Fake date?” James asked. Listening to her now it did seem logical even though it was a little unorthodox. This could be the perfect way for James to make the public happy but be happy himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cordelia clench her hands into fists.
Dating someone was out of the question for James. He had so much going on that he didn’t want to have to deal with another person, especially if that relationship would end up like his relationship with Grace had. He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to handle the heartbreak that came from breakups and he also knew that he wouldn’t be a very good boyfriend. He looked back at Cordelia, she sat with her arms crossed over her chest, one of her fingers tapping impatiently on her elbow. He could feel her anxiety, the waves of it reaching him, almost as if they were beckoning him to respond faster.
She stood sharply and began walking towards the door. She wrapped her hand around the doorknob. “Never mind, it was a stupid idea. I’ll see you tomorrow, James.” She twisted the doorknob and opened the door. James desperately reached his hand out to her.
“Wait!” he called out. She stopped in her tracks and turned around to face him. He looked her in her coal-black eyes that seemed to shine, almost as if she had captured the stars of the midnight sky in her eyes. “I’ll do it,” he announced.
Her eyes widened in surprise as if she couldn’t believe his answer and frankly, neither could he.
He couldn’t date someone, it would end badly for the both of them.
But this wasn’t a real relationship, this was for the press, it was simply a mutually beneficial alliance made between two co-workers to get a job done. It was all fake. He couldn’t ruin their relationship by breaking up with her because there wasn’t a real relationship to ruin.
“Okay so... we need to make some ground rules,” Cordelia said, as her surprise wore off. She stepped out of his apartment. “But not now. I’ll see you tomorrow, you’re taking me out on a date. Pick me up at noon and make it public.” And with that, she shut the door to his apartment, not even waiting for confirmation from him.
James knew that this was the best possible option for the both of them, but a part of him knew that something was going to go wrong.
***
The next day, James woke up at eight and went through his usual morning routine. He got up, went out for a jog and stretched afterward, showered, ate breakfast, and finally, brushed his teeth. He looked at his closet, trying to find proper first date attire while debating where to take Cordelia for lunch. He eventually decided on going to Perch because of its glamorous rooftop dining and quickly called to get a reservation. On normal occasions, James would’ve tried to reserve the entire rooftop for privacy but Cordelia had told him to make it public. He made sure that the table was in a more secluded space that was still seen by others.
It was a smart idea, to have their first date in front of others, it would ensure that they were seen so they could get the rumors about their relationship started. They would still have to come up with an official relationship timeline and a whole story on how they got together.
James speedily chose his outfit, a white t-shirt, and some jeans, left his penthouse, and drove over to Cordelia’s apartment building. He had only been there a few times since they usually went to his place when Lucie made them practice their chemistry, he rushed inside and turned to go to the elevators when he saw a familiar flash of red hair out of the corner of his eye. He turned around to see Cordelia sitting on a sofa near the entrance to the building. She was reading her favorite book, Layla and Majnun.
“Hey!” James said, trying to sound enthusiastic as he walked over to her. In reality, his stomach was a mess with nerves and he couldn’t help but think that yesterday had been his last day of normal, his last day of being real, because now, everything he did, every move he would make, would be part of the show he and Cordelia would have to put on.
Cordelia had put her book in her purse and was walking towards him by the time James had been snapped out of his mind. She was dressed in a dark green sundress that was decorated with tiny white flowers. It had a square neckline that perfectly allowed Cordelia to show off the friendship necklace that Lucie had given her.
James signaled for Cordelia to follow him as he led her over to the place where he had parked. He unlocked the doors to his black BMW and slide into the driver’s seat as Cordelia slide into the passenger’s side. He could tell that she was also as nervous as he was from the way that her knee bounced and the way that she kept on looking around, almost as if she was trying to find an escape.
“Where are we going?” she asked, as she continued to look at the street. She had stopped bouncing her knees and started to tap on her elbow, just as she had the night before.
“Perch,” he replied. He got to a stoplight so he turned to look at her, “I didn’t reserve the entire roof though so that it would be public.” The light turned green and James accelerated again.
“Thank you for doing this. I really do appreciate it,” she said as she stopped tapping her elbow. She seemed calmer now. As if knowing where they were going was calming her down or maybe she just really liked the food from Perch and that was making her more calm.
“No problem,” he replied as he took a turn to find a place to park. Cordelia seemed to notice because she began to sit straighter and look around again.
“There,” she said as she pointed at an empty parking spot near a tree. James began to make his way over there and parked flawlessly. He turned off the engine, took off his seatbelt, and looked out of the window before opening the door to get out. He went around the car to open the door for Cordelia and waited as she stepped out to close the door.
Together they walked over to Perch and went into the elevator. This was it, the point of no return. Once they stepped out of the elevator, their scheme would have to face the scrutinizing eyes of the media and everyone else and they would have to hope that they would never be found out.
Cordelia looked up at him, almost as if waiting for confirmation.
He held out his arm for her and looked her square in the eye.
“Ready?” he asked.
the next chapter will definitely feature their first date and it will be in cordelia’s pov. constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated! please let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!
taglist: @alastair-esfandiyar-carstairs1, @jem-nasium, @writeforjordelia
