Adrenaline

Chapter 27

Jason

Alyssa had gone quiet next to me. I wanted to say something, but I kept quiet too. She played with the hem of her pajama shorts finally turning towards me. My heart skipped a beat as she asked the question, "Would it be okay if I asked what happened between you and Christina?" She looked down in regret as I shuffled uncomfortable and fidgeted with my hands.

"... I'm gonna tell you an unfiltered version that no one else knows. I spared my parents from a lot of details." I said.

"I'll take it to the grave." she promised.

I studied the sincerity in her eyes and took in a deep breath.

Christina Griffin was a struggling singer formally from the Children's Network where she had her start. She was the star of a show named Farm Girl, which was about a girl from the city who suddenly had to live on a farm and struggled with the lifestyle change. It only ran for three years and was in syndication for one. She launched a singing career at the beginning of the show like most 'Network Stars' but gained little recognition for her talents. Her auto-tuned albums flopped miserably compared to her counterparts who were taking over the teen scene.

When I was 16, I had already been in the US for two years, attending American high school so I could also attend Stanford University on a scholarship. The year before, I'd been using the knowledge from school to turn the shop into a bakery chain with the help of the marketing department back home. I had also graced the cover of Forbes Magazine for the first time regarded as a boy genius having turned his mom's bakery into an empire in Canada. I was about to take the bakery international within the next year, expanding into the U.S.; so all eyes were on me. I was approached by Christina's manager and was asked to meet with them for dinner. I politely accepted and that night I was given a proposition. At that point in time, I was one of the most well known teenagers in the world, beating out every public figure in my age group.

They asked me if I would be willing to be part of a marketing strategy, as they put it. Her manager placed it on the table that they wanted to create a high profile relationship to boost her image as well as her tragic album sales.

During the entirety of the meeting, Christina was behaving like a shy girl assuring me that it was all right if I declined the deal. I'd found her so beautiful and felt bad that someone as sweet as her was struggling that much. I completely looked past her lack of talent and fell for the façade of a genuine person. After listening to their pitch, I decided to accept. I signed a three-year contract after reading the fine print.

The contract stated I had to compliment her 17 times a day and after a three-month period, use the words 'I love you' and when people were around I had to act as though I were truly in love with her. I had to be seen in public often with her, but keep tight-lipped about a possible relationship to increase speculation and create a larger hype for two months. In the first month, I followed the rules of the contract, but by the second month, real feelings began to develop on my side. I went out of my way to meet her needs and in the third month I confessed to her that I really did love her.

She didn't return the sentiment, but she told me that she did care about me. I made it my mission to make her fall for me. A year passed and while I wanted to focus on her, first I had to work on the bakery. I returned home for the summer to finally make Sweet Nothing's Bakery and Coffee Shop international. With hard work I broke into the market in New York and Los Angeles. In the rest of the summer months I expanded down to Miami then Chicago. I couldn't give as much time to Christina as was stated in the contract and that's when it all started. I'd been hopping from city to city to make sure that my plans were being executed properly when one day Christina showed up in Darling. She'd never met my family before so I decided it was the right time and kept the contract a secret.