2 Months Later…

"Seth Rollins…you're at the top of your game. You're young, successful, and I gotta admit, you're a good looking guy," the news anchor, Rich, smiled at him. "So tell me…why are you trying to find love on a TV show?"

Seth was really getting tired of answering that question. Every promo appearance he did for the last week seemed to revolve around the show because it was set to start filming. He was currently sitting with an older guy who actually seemed to be a big fan and a pretty redhead who had been giving him the eye from the moment she saw him. He laughed and took a drink of his coffee, trying to ignore how bad it tasted, "Well I appreciate all of the compliments. They're all true. And I'll be honest with you, I didn't like the idea at first. I really didn't want to do it. But I've started to warm up to it. I wouldn't exactly say I'm looking for love. But..,I'm a busy guy and I don't always get to meet people the way I'd like to. Why not try something new?"

"Well whatever woman you choose is going to be a very lucky lady," the redhead smiled.

"I can probably still get you in if you're lookin' to sign up," Seth smiled at her. He gave her a wink and her cheeks flushed as she turned to the camera and reminded the audience at home to watch Raw that night. When they cut to commercial, Seth was primed to ask what her plans were for the night when Alexander, the WWE Network PR guy who had been assigned to attend all promo with him, came over blocking his way.

"Ready to go?"

"Not exactly," Seth smiled over the shorter man's shoulder. He knew morning news shows didn't have long commercial breaks so he had a limited amount of time to talk to her.

"She already has seats for tonight. You can hit on her then," Alexander informed him. Seth couldn't help but laugh. He hadn't learned much about the other man but he'd quickly realized that Alexander was very blunt. He called it like he saw it. Seth appreciated the honesty and gave him the same respect.

"Fine, then I guess I'm ready to go," Seth shrugged, waving at her as someone came over to touch up her makeup.

"You do remember that you're going to have 50 women competing for you in a week, right?" Alexander questioned.

"That's a whole week from now," Seth smirked. "What am I supposed to do until then?"

"Control yourself?" Alexander shrugged, looking down at his phone as they headed out of the studio. They retrieved their things from the green room and Seth took a few pictures with station employees who asked before they went outside and got into their car.

"So I have some notes from Stephanie and Brian. They listened to the radio interview you did yesterday," Alexander said as the car pulled off.

"Oh good, can't wait to hear them," Seth deadpanned.

"I won't read it word for word but the gist is, you've got to sound more enthusiastic about the show," the network employee explained. "You've gotta stop trying so hard to make it clear that you're not looking for love. You need to look like you can't wait for this to start not that you're dreading it."

"Well maybe I'd show more enthusiasm if I had any idea what these girls are going to be like," Seth shrugged. He'd asked to have a hand in the casting but he was rebuffed. It didn't make sense to him. If he was supposed to like at least some of these girls, why couldn't he help pick them out?

"That's how shows like this work," Alexander explained. "I worked on a few back in the VH1 celebrity dating show heyday. They never let you pick all of the girls. One of the best parts of the show is the suitor's initial reaction to the contestants. Trust me, this thing is going to be heavily produced and you will have a say. They just like to show a little element of realness and surprise in the beginning. It helps to set the tone for the viewers."

"Well if they're going to play things their way. I should get to play things mine."

"Whatever you say Seth," Alexander gave a bored sigh, typing on his phone again.

They rode in silence for a few moments and then Seth looked over at him, "So which dating show did you work on? Rock of Love? Flavor of Love? Something else of Love?"

Alexander smirked, "None of your business."

Elle yawned deeply, shaking her head hard to snap herself awake. It was 10:00 A.M. and she was on her way to Repas Parfait to work brunch after closing Porte Noire at 2AM, not actually making it home until 3:30. She was dead tired but Poppy called and woke her that morning asking her to come in because they were fully booked for brunch and 2 people called in sick. They were probably just hung over but it didn't matter to Elle. She needed whatever extra money she could get so she'd pulled out her old uniform, jumped in the shower, and borrowed Ethan's car. He was sleeping and didn't have to work so he wouldn't miss it. She would probably be back to change for her dinner shift before he even noticed it was gone. He'd done a photo shoot the day before from some YA novel series and he claimed he was exhausted. Elle wouldn't complain though. At least he'd booked a job. He'd been fired from the bar and hadn't found a new job yet so his modeling was his only income and his agency wasn't sending him out on as many castings because he'd shown up late to a few. She wasn't one to pray but she was close to getting down on her knees and begging whatever higher power willing to listen to keep him from getting dropped. In the last 2 months, their rent had increased and someone had hit the car and driven off while Elle was at an audition, resulting in some pretty expensive damage that Elle had to pay for by herself.

She pulled in to the small employee lot behind the restaurant, greeting a few guys she knew from the kitchen staff who were out back having a cigarette. One of them whistled at her when she walked up the back stairs in her skirt and she flipped him the bird before going inside. Poppy swept her up in a hug, profusely thanking her for coming in before promptly leaving the restaurant. There wasn't even a manager in yet. Elle sighed, knowing this was going to be a rough shift. She was glad she'd arrived early. She checked the cutlery and glassware at each table and made sure the rest of the wait staff knew their sections. She helped the hostess seat a few of the tables that showed up early until the other hostess arrived, then she was able to focus on her own section. About a half hour into the service, she got another table, a 6 top, and when she walked out to introduce herself and get drink orders, she was pleasantly surprised to see Daisy. She hadn't seen her friend in almost a month because they were both working so much. They still talked a few times a week but she missed her. She only recognized one of the people with her, Scott, a fellow field producer that Elle met at Daisy's housewarming party a few months earlier.

"Hey!" Daisy jumped up excitedly, pulling her into a big hug when she reached the table. "What are you doing here?"

"Poppy asked me to come in and then fled," Elle made a face. "But now I'm glad I came. I haven't seen you in so long."

"I know. We need to compare schedules and have a wine night. I have so much shit to tell you."

One of the men at the table cleared his throat and Daisy laughed, angling toward them, "Guys, this is my friend, Elle."

Daisy introduced everyone by name and Elle shook hands with a few of them.

"They let us out into the world for the morning and we heard this place has the best brunch in West Hollywood," Jim, the man sitting closest to her, explained.

"We absolutely do," Elle confirmed. It wasn't hyperbole. She could gorge herself on their brunch until she died and she wouldn't be upset about it.

"Elle is the one I was telling you guys about," Daisy explained, plopping back down into her seat.

Elle raised an eyebrow at her friend, "Should I be concerned?"

"This is the bitchy Illinois girl?" Jim smiled excitedly, staring up at Elle.

Elle's eyes widened and she kept her gaze on Daisy, "The what now?"

"This is the actress who could pull off bitchy girl," Daisy corrected, kicking Jim under the table without an ounce of subtlety.

"You were right Daisy, she's really quite beautiful," Amy, one of the other producers, said, staring at Elle like she was hanging in an art gallery.

"I told you guys," Daisy shrugged.

"Okay, ignoring the fact that Daisy thinks I'm a bitch, which we'll discuss later. Why does it matter that I'm from Illinois? I'm very confused right now."

Daisy smacked herself on the forehead.

"She's told you about the new show, right?" Scott asked.

"I have a pretty vague idea of it, yeah," Elle nodded.

"Well we're starting off with one girl from every state. Then our guy is gonna cut more than half on the first day."

"I could definitely see her as our short term villain," Jim nodded.

Elle tried to ignore the fact that now they were all staring at her, "What exactly is a short term villain? It sounds like you just made that up."

"Oh honey, no," Amy shook her head. "You know how a lot of times on these shows, there's a super pretty girl who only lasts a few episodes. She's kind of a bitch but not the absolute bitchiest girl. She usually gets cut because the guy doesn't think she's opening up and none of the other girls like her. That's your short term villain, the one everybody thinks is gonna be the bad guy until the real bad one reveals herself around episode 3 to 5. She's a flash in the pan that gives you great face and great sound bytes for commercial."

"I feel like I'm learning more than I need to know about reality TV right now," Elle laughed.

Most of them were still staring but Elle was able to brush it off. Sometimes when serving a table of industry people, you were constantly being scrutinized. She didn't even think they realized they were doing it.

"Guys, you're all being creepy. Get out of work mode," Daisy said loudly and a few of them quickly looked down at their menus. Jim and Amy kept staring. Elle would have to thank Daisy for this incredible awkwardness later.

"Weren't you on General Hospital?" Amy squinted at her.

"Yeah, a while back," Elle confirmed. She was surprised to be recognized for that job, it had been a while.

"What are you working on now?" Jim asked.

"Getting your brunch order," Elle pulled out her pen, giving him a firm look before turning her smile back on. "Do you want to take a look at the menu for a bit? Or if you'd like, I can put in some items I'd recommend and you can start with those."

"That would be great," Amy and Daisy spoke at the same time.

"Sounds good. I'll put some food in for you and bring out some mimosas. Anything else to drink?"

Scott and Jim ordered bloody mary's and then Elle headed to the POS to enter the order. She was in the process of selecting all of her favorite dishes when she felt her phone buzz in her apron. She had a text from Daisy.

I'm sorry they're weird. I swear I didn't call you a bitch.

I wouldn't care if you did, she quickly typed back. I can be a bitch.

She went to the bar and put together her own mimosa carafes while one of the bartenders made her bloody's. She put everything together on a tray and made herself a mimosa as well, downing it quickly while she had time. Mimosas were like water to Elle, she needed them to live, especially with some of the tables she had. She dropped off the carafes with Daisy's group and then touched her other tables, putting in a few more orders and refilling some sparkling water. Once the food she put in for her friend was ready, she headed with the bussers out to the table. She would explain each dish as they were placed on the table. As she approached, she heard her name.

"You don't think she would reconsider?" Scott asked.

"Our current Illinois is a total fucking snooze," Amy said.

"Your friend would be perfect," Jim insisted. "She's crazy hot and I can tell by how quickly she turned on me that she's probably a little volatile. It took her less than 30 seconds to despise me."

Elle cleared her throat, smiling as they all turned awkwardly to face her. The bussers started putting the food down and she went through each dish with them.

I am so sorry, Daisy mouthed to her.

Elle winked at her before turning her attention to the others, "You can stop asking Daisy. I won't be reconsidering. And Jim, you shouldn't sell yourself short. It took me more like 45 seconds to hate you. Please enjoy your meal."

Nashville, TN

"Renee, where are you planning on putting all of that food?"

Renee looked down at the food in front of her and back up at Roman, shrugging and then patting her stomach. She usually ate in moderation but she had a weakness for Waffle House. She had ordered enough food for the whole table and she was going to eat it all by herself.

"That's my girl," Dean smiled proudly, digging into his own omelet.

She smiled, shoving a large forkful of hash browns in her mouth and chewing obnoxiously in Roman's direction. The Samoan chuckled, shaking his head as he dug into his own food.

Seth returned to the table after a trip to the bathroom looking very confused.

"Something go wrong buddy?" Dean asked.

"Do you guys see that girl?" Seth questioned, briefly glancing at a table toward the door.

They all turned and Renee sighed when she saw the pretty redhead sitting at a table with an older woman, probably her mother.

"She's not a ghost, Seth, we can all see her," Roman answered.

"She's been staring at me since we got here," Seth explained.

"Shouldn't you be used to that by now?" Dean asked. "She's probably just a fan. Let's just appreciate that she's being nice enough to let us eat in peace."

Renee rolled her eyes, waiting for one of them, hopefully Seth, to figure it out.

"She's not looking at me like a fan," Seth frowned. "She looks pissed."

"She does look a little…perturbed," Roman observed.

"That's because you had sex with her and you don't even remember her," Renee blurted.

"What?" Seth stopped before his fork could reach his mouth.

Renee groaned looking up to the ceiling. She recognized the woman as soon as she saw her. The fact that Seth didn't made her want to slap him a little. She loved Seth. He was more than just Dean's friend, she considered him one of her close friends as well. She really believed that he was a good person. But he could also be gross.

"What are you talking about?" Seth asked.

"Why would you remember that?" Dean laughed.

"Remember the last time we were in Nashville and Seth had the room next door to us?" she looked over at Dean. "He met that girl when we all went to Tootsie's and brought her back to the hotel and we ended up throwing shoes at the wall because they were so loud we couldn't sleep."

"That's the girl?" Dean asked, realization finally dawning on him. They barely got any sleep that night. Throwing the shoes only seemed to encourage them to get louder.

"That's the girl," Renee nodded.

"Are you sure?" Seth's brow furrowed in confusion. "I thought that girl was blonde."

"Oh my God," Renee propped her elbow on the table and pressed her hand to her forehead. "What is wrong with you?"

"I just don't really remember," Seth shrugged.

"Well I bet she does," Renee said. "And I bet she's pissed because she was probably expecting a call from you and from what I'm seeing right now, I'm gonna guess she never got one. Because you didn't even bother to pay attention to what color her hair was."

"Or maybe she dyed her hair," Seth offered.

"He does have a point there," Roman agreed. "Who's to say it wasn't blonde at the time?"

"It wasn't." Renee sighed. "And even if it was…do you remember her name?"

"Do you, Renee?" Seth challenged. "Do you know that girl's name?"

"I didn't hook up with her," Renee laughed in spite of herself. "You are awful."

"I'm not that bad," Seth insisted. "I will apologize to her on the way out. I promise. I'm not that much of an asshole."

"Good," Renee smiled. She knew that he wasn't. He was more of a relationship guy than he would probably admit. He'd just been on the prowl a little too much after his last breakup. "So, change of subject…I heard that Stephanie was not pleased with you after that last interview."

"She wasn't," Seth shrugged. "Look, I'm doing them a huge favor by agreeing to this stupid show. She can't get upset because I don't want say exactly what she wants me to. The PR guy told me they just want me to give the illusion that I think this is going to lead to something special."

"Maybe it will," Renee shrugged. "I mean, I've watched The Bachelor before. They always get engaged at the end. I mean they usually break up but…they still get engaged."

"She made me watch it with her a few times," Dean said. "Those guys are even less charming than you so you've got a pretty decent chance of tricking one of these girls into falling for you."

"Oh you mean like you tricked Renee?" Seth suggested.

Dean shrugged, "Stockholm Syndrome is a real thing."

"I actually feel a little bad for those girls," Renee said. "They don't know what they're getting into."

Elle tapped her nails on the table, staring at the account balance on her computer screen. She'd just finished paying bills, hers and Ethan's, and now she was even more broke than she expected to be. She shut the laptop, knowing that staring wasn't going to make more money appear. She headed to the refrigerator, pulling out a bottle of wine. She opened the cabinet to take out a glass but remembered that she'd just finished doing the dishes and she didn't want to create more for herself to do. She would just keep it extra classy and drink straight out of the bottle. Ethan wasn't home, she had no one to impress. She twisted off the top and tossed the it into the garbage. She had no illusions about herself in that moment. She was going to finish the bottle. She took a long drink, stopping when she heard her phone ping. She picked it up, figuring it was a text from Ethan letting her know he was on his way home. Instead, it was an email from Poppy.

Hello Porte Noire staff,

After last night's less than stellar service, my lovely but temperamental husband has decided to close for a week to overhaul the kitchen. We're rearranging and bringing tons of new equipment so we won't be able to have service. We will fulfill reservations for the rest of this week and be closed starting Monday. These will be unpaid days. I will try to find shifts for you at Repas Parfait but, as you all know, we are fully staffed there so no guarantees. Shifts following the break will be as they are currently posted. Enjoy the unexpected vacay!

Love, Poppy

"Are you fucking kidding me?" she asked out loud, staring at her phone.

Unexpected Vacay? Only a person with endless disposable income would think that an unexpected, unpaid vacation was a good thing. This wasn't even the first time they'd done this. Once, Repas Parfait got a bad review, one, and all of the kitchen staff had to go through rigorous testing to keep their jobs because Marc went on the warparth.

A week without pay was going to be way too hard on her pockets, especially with rent due soon. She was going to have to figure out something. Flustered, she twisted her hair up into a bun and then downed more wine. She didn't have any auditions lined up. She could call her parents but that was the absolute last thing she wanted to do. She still hadn't heard the end of the last time they gave her money. She rested her head on the arm of the couch, looking around the room for inspiration. Her phone started ringing and she considered ignoring it until she looked down and saw Daisy's picture.

"Hey," she answered with one hand, picking up her wine bottle with the other. "What's up?"

"I'm sitting here looking at head shots for the girls for this show and they're all starting to look like the same person," Daisy spoke. "I seriously think these 3 girls had to have had a nose job with the exact same doctor."

Elle had almost forgotten that Daisy's new show started filming the next week. A tiny part of her wished that she hadn't been so adamant in saying no before. All of a sudden she found herself with some unwanted free time and a near empty bank account. Work, no matter what it was, would be nice.

"Did you get all your spots filled?" she asked absently, taking another long drink.

"Looks like it," Daisy sounded tired. "I'm looking at alternates too in case someone doesn't show up on Monday. This guy has a pretty tight schedule so we don't have time to lose a day."

"Who's the guy?" Elle asked. "You never actually told me."

"He's a pro-wrestler," Daisy explained. "Seth Rollins. He seems nice enough. I haven't met him in person yet but I've been on a couple of skype calls and he was pretty cool."
Elle's ex, Chase, was a big wrestling fan when they were kids but she hadn't actually watched any of it in ages. She had no idea who this Seth Rollins person was.

"You have any room for one more?" Elle joked. "Or I could just come to work with you and eat the free craft services."

"Don't joke with me, Elle," Daisy laughed. "I get gullible when I'm tired."

She looked back over at her laptop, the remaining number in her account was still emblazoned in her brain, "Maybe I'm not joking."

"What?" Daisy asked. It sounded like she dropped something but Elle couldn't tell what. "Eleanor, what did you just say?"

She flinched at the use of her full first name, "We had a shitty service and Marc freaked out. He's shutting down the restaurant all next week and I don't have anything lined up. So…What exactly would this entail?"

She didn't want to get her friend's hopes up until she had a clearer picture. She put Daisy on speaker while she google image searched Seth Rollins. He came up quickly and Elle was impressed. He was certainly good looking, maybe not her type, not that it mattered.

"Well, on Monday we're doing the first introduction and cuts. There'll be 50 girls. He meets each one for about 60 seconds. Then we're going to cut the field to 20. All 20 remaining girls will move into a huge house we rented in Sherman Oaks. He'll make cuts until he gets to the final 3."

"Sounds intense."

"A little," Daisy said. "But it would get you some exposure. I mean, Emma Stone's career started on a reality show."

Elle was well aware. Daisy loved to use that line when she encountered someone who didn't take her work seriously.

"And it's on a niche network so you don't have to worry about too much exposure. Also, it would be a huge help to me. I need a win in front of my boss this week. Bringing in a perfect girl would get me tons of points."

"I just don't know Daisy," Elle sighed, rubbing her forehead. She knew she brought up the idea but now it just seemed odd.

"It would only be a few days of work," Daisy insisted like a dog on a bone. "You would get through the first cut, go through the motions of moving into the house, then you'd be cut in the next elimination or the one after that. Just a few days' work and you'll get paid for every day you're there. Everybody wins."

"Except Ethan. My boyfriend," Elle reminded her.

"Oh honey, you wouldn't be the first girl to go on one of these shows with a boyfriend," Daisy laughed. "And you're not even trying to win. All you have to do is flirt a few times. It's an acting job. It doesn't count as cheating. You probably flirt harder at the restaurant."

"What are you trying to say Daisy?" Elle joked.

"Elle, if you're serious, you just say the word and I'll bump my Illinois girl to alternate. She'll still get a check for the first day and I'll look good to my bosses for bringing you in. Jim and Amy told our EP about you and he told me to try again but I didn't want to bug you."

Elle stared at the picture of Seth for a moment, trying to decide what to do. On the one hand, this seemed like a cockamamie plan but on the other, she saw her rent being paid on time. Her screen flashed and she closed the google images, opening her texts. She had a new picture message from Ethan. He was at a bar with a bunch of friends around him. They all looked drunk and she could swear she saw bottles of Patron at the table.

She sighed, pinching her bridge of the nose, "I'll do it."