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“So, tell us why you are here.”
“My friend…”
“No, no, don’t look at me. Look at that spot on the wall behind the camera.”
Daisy adjusted her focus. “My friend signed me up as a joke. She thought it was funny. And for some reason you guys picked me. To be on your reality show.” She shrugged. “That’s why I’m here.”
The producer sighed. “One of those, just my luck. I don’t know why they keep casting people like you.”
Daisy looked at her in disgust. “People like me?”
“People who aren’t here for the right reasons. People who aren’t looking for love. Look, I don’t really care if a monkey signed you up for this show, I’ve just got to get usable footage.”
“Sorry,” Daisy said. “I’m not trying to be difficult. It was just the money was too good to pass up.”
“Well, maybe one of the other producers can get something usable.” She turned to an assistant. “Get Sousa up here. He’s good with cases like these.”
Daisy tapped her hands on her lap, waiting for the other producer to come. She could kill Jemma for doing this to her. Jemma said it would be a fun social experiment, see if they could get her cast on the reality show “The Playground.” Daisy thought the idea was ridiculous, but then she found out they pay you per episode. She needed that money, so she went through with the casting process. Somehow she had been cast on the show.
The premise was simple. They put 20 singles together in a secluded place for a month and let magic happen. Or something like that. Really, they let drama and romance happen. That’s what drew the viewers in. Which was why Daisy was baffled that she had been cast. She had never lied to anyone or even pretended to be remotely interested. She definitely wasn’t looking for love. But apparently she was exactly what the show wanted.
“Are you Daisy?” A man walked forward to shake her hand. “I’m Daniel Sousa, one of the producers.”
“Yes, the producer who deals with ‘people like me.’” Daisy made a face.
Daniel smiled. “Did May say that? It sounds like her. I’m just better with people than she is. She’s jealous.”
Daisy couldn’t help but agree that he seemed to be better with people than the previous producer. She already felt much more at ease.
“Alright, do your worst,” Daisy said.
Daniel sat down on the stool May had vacated. “So, why are you here?”
“Because my friend signed me up and your show pays money.”
Daniel made a face. “Ok, that’s fair. What is your end goal for being here?”
Daisy looked at him. “To stay sane.”
“Look at the spot marked on the wall please,” he said. “When was your last relationship?”
“Two years ago.” Daisy stared into the spot marked on the wall.
“Nothing since then?”
“No.” Daisy thought for a moment. “Not really. A few dates here and there, but nothing significant.”
Daniel nodded, looking at his notes. “Why not?”
Daisy closed her eyes. “My boyfriend passed away.” She opened her eyes and stared at the spot once again. “When Lincoln passed, I felt like I would never love anyone like that again.”
She could feel Daniel’s eyes on her. “I’m very sorry to hear about that,” he said. “Do you think you’re ready to find love now?”
Daisy looked down at her hands. “I don’t know. Maybe.” She looked up again. “But it definitely won’t be here.”
Daniel surprised her by laughing at this. “That’s also fair. Between you and me, you have the right idea. But it won’t hurt you to just look interested. Keep viewer interest up.”
“Do I want viewer interest though? I was hoping I could just hide in a corner eating free food and drinking free booze until the show was done.”
“It’s not a horrible idea,” Daniel said with a shrug. “Most people come on here looking for some level of fame, but if you’re really not interested I suppose you could lay low. You’ll be stuck talking to me on a daily basis though. Hope that doesn’t ruin your plans.”
Daisy looked at him closely. She couldn’t help but think that if they met outside this show, they could have been friends. “I think I can handle that.”
She met the rest of the cast at a banquet that evening (all on camera of course). They seemed like exactly what she would expect from her experience watching shows like this. First of all, they were all amazingly good looking. It was kind of intimidating. Second, what Daniel said seemed to hold true. Most of them wanted some level of fame. Bobbi modeled and volunteered with international relief organizations which she wanted to promote. Lance had created a brand of alcohol of some sort (Daisy wasn’t really interested in the details). Raina was an Insta influencer looking to bump up her numbers. Deke was in a band. All of the cast had a good reason to be there.
Except Daisy. This was going to be a long month.
For the first week, Daisy spent her time trying to guess who was going to hook up with who. Bobbi easily made friends with everyone, but there was some definite sexual tension between Hunter and her. Daisy was pretty sure Deke was mostly interested in himself, but he was good for a laugh sometimes.
Every day Daisy was brought by Daniel into the room with a camera. There he’d ply her with questions, trying to get some usable footage. Daisy did not make it easy for him, but he never got impatient or frustrated. He just kept talking to her in that sure way of his, and before she knew it those interview sessions were the highlights of her days.
To try and get her to talk more, Daniel would ask her questions about her life, sometimes sharing tidbits of his own. She learned that he enjoyed reading (but mostly nonfiction). She learned that he loved to tell dad jokes (and she laughed every time). She also learned that he was very, very single.
Soon Daisy found herself seeking out Daniel any time he was on set with them. Sure, she would mingle with the rest of the cast, but inevitably she would find herself in a corner chatting with Daniel about things that had nothing to do with the show.
Daisy knew she was walking a very thin line, but she also didn’t want to stop talking to Daniel.
Three weeks in, Daisy was called in to her interview. To her dismay, May was there to ask her questions.
“Where’s Daniel?” Daisy asked.
May gave a tight smile. “He’s busy right now.”
“Oh, ok.”
“So, how are things today? Making any new connections?”
“I...no,” Daisy said. “Nothing new.”
“Why do you think that is?” May asked her.
Daisy turned to look at her. “What do you mean?”
“Look at the spot behind the camera,” May said. “And I mean why do you think you’re not making connections here?”
“I’ve made friends, isn’t that good for something?” Daisy complained.
“Not really,” May mumbled. In a louder voice she said, “How do you feel about Bobbi?”
“Bobbi is really cool. She’s smart and nice. Perfect combination.”
May nodded. “Okay, and what about Lance?”
“Lance is always good for a laugh,” Daisy said. “And he can be really helpful when he wants to be.”
May went through each cast member, and Daisy did her best to say something nice about each one. She refused to get caught up in any drama.
“Last question,” May said. “How do you feel about Daniel?”
Daisy stared. “Daniel, my producer Daniel?”
“Do you know another one here?”
“No, no I don’t,” Daisy said. “But I don’t understand the question. Why would I feel one way or another about Daniel? He’s not part of the cast.”
May put her tablet down. “I’m going to be quite honest Daisy. We have some concerns about your relationship with Daniel.”
“Who’s we?” Daisy demanded. “And what relationship? You’ve seen every interaction we’ve ever had either in person or on camera.”
“‘We’ is the rest of the producers,” May said. “The rest of the cast has picked up on it too. In fact they’ve almost all mentioned it in their interviews.”
Daisy shook her head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“How about a few quotes for you then. ‘Daisy is a really fun gal, but she always ends up talking to that producer chap.’ ‘I think I could have a real vibe with Daisy if she weren’t always talking to Sousa.’ I have several more if I need to go on.”
“No, I don’t think you do.” Daisy scowled. “They’re just being busybodies. And I’m just being friendly.”
May raised her eyebrows. “Really? Well then how about this quote. ‘Daisy is completely in love with Daniel, even if she can’t quite admit it. We can all see it.’”
“Was that Bobbi?”
“I will not divulge their names,” May said.
Daisy pursed her lips. “Look, do I enjoy talking to Daniel? Yes. Would I rather talk to him than any of the other people here? Absolutely. Do I wish that I could have met him under any other circumstances so that we could just be some sort of normal couple?” Daisy stopped herself and looked at May with wide eyes. “I...that’s not…”
May just grimaced. “I think you’d better get used to having me in here from now on.”
“He’s not going to get in any kind of trouble or anything, is he?” Daisy asked. “I mean, he didn’t do anything wrong. I’m the one who fell...I mean...I’m the one who’s supposed to be on this show.”
May appeared to have some sympathy for Daisy’s situation. “No, he’s not in trouble. But we’re going to make sure both of you stay out of trouble.”
“No, yeah, that makes sense,” Daisy agreed. “Thank you.”
May patted Daisy awkwardly on the shoulder. “You only have one week left. Best to make the most of it.”
Daisy nodded. “Right.”
Over the next week, Daisy did her best to engage with other cast members. After all, that’s what she was getting paid for. She saw Daniel a few times, but he only ever gave her a nod and a smile. She wondered what they had told him. Had he watched the interview footage? Did he know what she had said? Daisy wasn’t sure if she preferred the answers to those questions to be yes or no.
Miraculously, Daisy survived the week (even if she thought she might not). On the last day, they threw a wrap party for the cast and crew. Daisy couldn’t wait to just get home and tell Jemma all about this experience.
Bobbi and Lance were the one solid couple to come out of the entire cast, and they had apparently become very popular with the public. So most of the night was a celebration of the moneymaking pair. Daisy was happy for them. They really did seem to work well together.
Of course, before she could enjoy the evening she had to give one last interview. They called her into the room for one last time. When she entered she was surprised to see Daniel there.
“Hey there,” he said with a smile.
Daisy just stared for a moment. “What are you doing here?”
He looked a bit confused. “I’m here to do your final interview.”
“But...why?” Daisy stumbled over her words. “I thought May said they were keeping us apart.”
Daniel grimaced. “That’s a bit dramatic. It’s not uncommon for people’s duties to get switched around. Whatever it takes to make the production run smoothly.”
“Right.” Daisy paused. “And did it? Run smoothly?”
“Yes,” Daniel said. “As smooth as could be.”
“Good. I was worried.”
“What were you worried about?” Daniel asked her.
“I just...May had made it sound like we were in trouble,” Daisy said.
Now Daniel looked very confused. “In trouble for what?”
“Because I’m in love with you.”
His jaw dropped. “What did you say?”
Daisy shook her head to clear it. “C’mon, you had to have noticed. I constantly sought you out, only wanted to talk to you. In fact, I tried to drag those interview segments out as long as possible just to be able to spend more time with you.”
Daniel stared at her. “Daisy...I don’t…”
“It’s fine Daniel,” Daisy said. “I know you were just trying to do your job. It’s not your fault that apparently I’m just attracted to guys being nice to me.”
He studied her face. “Daisy, will you do me a favor?”
“Never speak of this again to anyone?” Daisy guessed. “Done.”
Daniel gave a small laugh. “No, that’s not it. Would you find me at midnight?”
“I don’t understand,” Daisy said.
“Just...do it. Please.”
“Yeah, sure,” Daisy agreed.
“Good.” Daniel smiled at her, then continued with the usual interview process. Daisy was pretty sure her answers were not great, but she did enjoy talking with Daniel again.
Daisy spent the rest of the night trying to mingle and be sociable, but she wasn’t really feeling it. As it got closer to midnight, the crowd really seemed to thin out, but Daisy was committed to finding Daniel, so she waited.
Finally, at almost 12, she went to look for him. She wandered around for a while until she finally found him in a secluded corner. He held up a finger while staring at his watch.
“Three, two, one…”
With that he walked over and immediately kissed Daisy. Daisy pulled back.
“Wait, what…?”
“You contract ended at midnight,” Daniel told her. “So I’m officially no longer your producer.”
Daisy felt a slow smile form on her face. “You’re not my producer anymore?”
Daniel smiled broadly. “No. I’m just some guy now.”
Daisy threw her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. Then she suddenly pulled back and made a sound of disgust.
“What’s wrong?” Daniel asked, sounding worried.
“Now I have to admit to my friend Jemma that she was correct. You really can find love on reality TV.”