Scottâs dark brown eyes met hers in a nonverbal challenge. âI dare you to go out with me, to see past the flashbulbs and gossip-sheet rumors about me.â
Raine wanted to accept. It would give her a chance to put her idea of making him fall for her into action. But was she willing to risk her job just so she could one-up him? And she definitely was going to one-up this man.
âWhatâs the matter? Scared you canât handle me off the set, where youâre not in charge?â he asked in that silky tone of his.
She raised her chin. âIâm not scared of any man.â
Scott stepped closer, his body a mere whisper away from hers. âThen Iâll pick you up in your suite at eight.â His breath tingled on her skin. âBe prepared for the night of your life.â
âHey, sexy lady. Where do you want me today?â
Raine Montgomery bit the inside of her cheek not to respond to Scott Rivers. Every morning it was the same line or some variation of it. It should have sounded like a pickup line but didnât. Instead he made her want to believe she was a sexy lady, even though sheâd had enough experience with gamblers to know they never told the truth.
âCanât decide?â he asked, slipping an arm around her waist.
She stepped away from him. âIn your chair at the table.â
âHoney, when are you going to loosen up with me?â
âWhen you stop flirting with every woman who walks by.â
âIs it making you jealous?â
âNo.â
Scott laughed and walked away from her as the other players trickled in.
Sheâd gotten into the film business for one reason and one reason only. Sheâd dreamed of the moment when sheâd be called onstage at the Academy Awards to accept her Oscar for best director. She even had her speech rehearsed:
âIâd like to thank the Academy for recognizing my accomplishments, and Iâd like the rest of the world to know that Missy Talbot is a spoiled bitch and my dad isnât a loser.â
Okay, so it was a little melodramatic, but sheâd been in junior high at the time and it had seemed like the perfect solution to her dismal and dreary life in New Jersey.
But her dream hadnât gotten her to the Oscars; in fact, she wasnât even close to winning a Peopleâs Choice Award or even an MTV one. She doubted anyone was going to be giving her an award for World Champion Celebrity Poker Showdown.
The taping ran for four weeks, with three celebrities and three champions from across the country who competed. In each weekâs episode two games were played and at the end of the show two players were eliminated. When just two players remained, they played two high-stakes games to determine the celebrity poker champ.
The show was essentially a high-stakes Texas hold âem poker game where viewers could log on to a Web site and win prizes by correctly guessing if the celebrity winner had been bluffing or really held the cards needed to win.
Spawned in part by the reality craze that was sweeping through the television industry, the show tapped into the publicâs desire to watch celebrities spend their money and their free time. Every four weeks a new group of celebrities and champs were brought in. Then at the end of the season they had a winners-only play-off.
Their show taped a monthâs worth of episodes in one week. Each person on the show signed a waiver promising not to reveal the results, because viewers had the chance to vote on who they thought was the best and win a myriad of prizes that had been donated by sponsors. The celebrities were playing for charities as were the champions.
Raine had given all the players a wide berth because her producer, Joel Tanner, didnât like her or any of the crew mingling with the players. In fact there was a clear no-fraternization clause in the contracts signed by everyone on the set, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. Joel wanted to make sure they didnât end up with any kind of lawsuit because of the way the players were shown.
Prizes were given to viewers who chose the winner each week. So how Raine shot and edited the show could influence them. Theyâd had to fire a cameraman last season because heâd been involved with one of the players and had been giving her more camera time than the other players.