Summary: Jen never had much trouble on keeping things strictly professional between her contestants and herself… until she met MC.
Author’s note: this fanfic takes place right after the ending of Chapter 10. Gender neutral MC. I kept my girl Bianca in my game and I’m romancing Mackenzie because Jen still is not an LI. Characters belong to Pixelberry Studios.
Jen had been working as a producer in America’s Most Eligible reality show for the last two seasons. Although that was not her dream job – she definitely didn’t want to end up producing reality shows like that one for 10 seasons and become someone like Piper -, she was pretty satisfied with it, especially since MC came in. She still remembered the day they met as if it happened just the day before, when MC came to her rescue…
“That’s it, I quit!” – the blonde girl shouted as she rushed out of the house.
“Whitney, come back! We can fix this!” – a frazzled Jen chased her, but the contestant wouldn’t listen to her. – “Whitney, please! I’ll be fired if you leave now…” – the producer was practically on her knees, almost begging the young woman to stop with that tantrum. The first day was about to start and Jen hadn’t had a proper night sleep for days. She was exhausted and the last thing she needed was Piper firing her.
“I don’t care, I’m not spending one more second in this stupid house!” – Jen followed her around the corner.
“Please, Whitney, just come down…” – she tried to comfort the contestant, but the girl refused to even look at her. – “Here, drink some water—”
“No! I’m not gonna let everyone push me around like that, Jen.” – Whitney barked at her with a scowl on her beautiful face.
“Hey… Jen, are you okay?”
Both of them turned to look at the standing figure near them. The producer’s jaw dropped open. The person there was gorgeous and was worried about her, the producer.
“Me? No one ever asks about me…”
“I heard what you said earlier about being fired…” – the attractive stranger told her with a worried frown on their beautiful face as they approached them.
“And you believed her? Ha!” – Whitney snapped. – “Don’t you know producers will say anything to get what they want? And who are you, anyway?” – she pointed a perfectly manicured finger to the stranger, glaring at them.
“My name’s MC. And for the record, I think Jen’s telling the truth.” – the blonde girl huffed annoyingly to MC’s answer.
“Look, Whitney, I know the Confessional questions aren’t ideal, but I have to ask about that kind of stuff to get the footage we need.” – Jen calmly said, shooting a grateful smile at MC, who grinned back.
“I don’t know how my personal life is relevant…” – the young woman retorted stubbornly.
“But… it’s a reality TV! That’s the only thing that’s relevant!” – Jen couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Didn’t that girl know what she was getting into when she signed all those papers?! Without knowing what else to do, the producer threw a desperate glance to MC, who gave her a small nod and took a step forward…
MC was incredible. They knew exactly what to say. Even Jen herself, who had already worked a few years producing reality TV shows – and knowing very well what happened behind the cameras and how those shows were anything but ‘reality’ -, felt inspired by their speech. Even though they got to persuade Whitney to not leave the show, the girl was cut and Piper ordered Jen to find the “Girl Next Door” replacement in five minutes, or she really would be fired. Jen didn’t think twice and announced MC to fill Whitney’s slot. Piper didn’t seem convinced at first, but what MC did to get into the show…
Suddenly, Jen felt MC’s arm wrapping around her waist as they bent her backward.
“Just go with it, okay?” – they whispered, with a mischievous smirk on their face.
“Okay…” – she murmured before MC kissed her passionately. Jen still got shivers and felt her cheeks getting hotter for just remembering of that breathtaking kiss.
And then, MC got the part and Jen became their producer.
And, to be honest, Jen never felt happier. She even didn’t let Piper’s harsh words bother her too much, because she knew she would get to see MC everyday.
“So, is this good enough?” – MC asked as they stood up from the armchair after shooting another confession.
MC’s confessional tapes always left Jen out of breath and gave her goosebumps. They could play their role so well, as if they was born to be on television.
“You were great as always!” – Jen said honestly, squeezing their shoulder reassuringly, making MC grin widely.
“You always flatter me, Jen.” – they winked at her, and the producer could swear that she felt her knees weakening.
It usually was easy not getting yourself too involved with the contestants. Piper always made it very clear that the crew, especially the producers, shouldn’t get too attached to the participants and definitely not have a favorite.
But Jen was in so much trouble. She not only cared for MC and they were her favorite contestant; she kind of had a crush on them too.
MC was everything that Jen was not: confident, extrovert, driven and dashingly charming. It wasn’t a big surprise when some of the contestants – Derek, Adam and Mackenzie – fell head over heels for them. And it wasn’t a surprise at all that Jen couldn’t stop herself from feeling so attracted towards them too.
Jen knew that she’d been drawn to them since that very first day. She knew it was wrong and unprofessional, but she just couldn’t stop those feelings, that only grew stronger the more time she spent with them. She couldn’t even control her jealousy whenever she watched MC getting more intimate with the other contestants.
As their producer, Jen was fully aware that MC was great friends with Bianca – and they even shared a couple of heated kisses with the swimsuit model – and that the soft spot Mackenzie had for them was reciprocated. Jen knew that she would never be able to compete with them. Both women were gorgeous and with such strong personalities; while little plain Jen was… well, plain. MC’s producer. All she could do was hide her pain and pretend that she felt nothing as she saw MC kissing their housemates.
She definitely couldn’t let anyone – even MC themself – know that she had such feelings for them, obviously. That was unprofessional. That was wrong.
But the brunette producer couldn’t hold herself back all the time too; Jen always tried to be really subtle around MC. She always found excuses to touch them innocently, trying to steal some alone time with them. At least, as alone as it was possible in that house, with all the crew and the other contestants and Piper around.
And things were going fine… Jen was happy for just being near MC. Those brief moments they had to discuss strategy alone, far from the crew and the other contestants, were the highlight of Jen’s day.
But then that awful gossip about MC sleeping with the staff members started. And the way Lina looked accusingly at both of them, Jen knew that she had to lay low… and fix that mess, even if it meant setting MC up together with a contestant and boosting their relationship. Unsurprisingly, MC chose Mackenzie.
It hurt watching MC and the ‘Tough Girl” getting even more intimate, but at least MC’s morale with the audience was high again. And then, Lina got eliminated and things seemed to go back to “normal”… until Piper suddenly decided that she was going to be MC’s new producer, instead of Jen.
The petite brunette felt her heart shattering, but what could she do? Piper was her boss and she had the final word… but MC wouldn’t accept it so easily. They fought to have Jen back as their producer. And they won successfully, like every other challenge in the show. Jen never felt happier. MC wouldn’t do it if they didn’t like her, right? Even if they just liked her as their producer, Jen felt flattered and delighted to know that they cared that much about her.
But her happiness didn’t last long, since one of the contestants secretly nominated MC as the third person for Elimination, along with Zeke and Bianca. Jen and MC tried everything to keep them on the show. She even went against the rules and showed them the other contestants’ latest Confessionals, so MC could use it on their favor before the Elimination Ceremony. Jen was desperate, she just couldn’t bear losing them.
…But it didn’t worked. And MC was deemed ineligible anyway.
MC marched through the mansion, clearly mad with the elimination. They had just taped their exit interview and they had only 15 minutes to grab their things before hopping in the car that would take them and Bianca to the Jury House.
“Please, MC, calm down!” – Jen trailed behind them.
“I’m pissed! This was a set up! I should have known that I couldn’t trust anyone, this house is full of snakes!” – they kept yelling as they entered their bedroom. The producer watched hopelessly as MC put their clothes and belonging inside their bag, still muttering under their breath.
She didn’t want them to go. But what could she do?
Suddenly, MC stopped throwing their things inside their bag and turned to look back at her, who was awkwardly waiting for them by the door.
“Will I see you, Jen?” – they asked, trying to keep their cool. At least for a quick second.
“In the Jury House?” – MC nodded. – “No… I have to stay here.” – she bit her bottom lip, hesitating for a quick second. – “I’m going to miss you, MC.” – she whispered softly, feeling her eyes watering.
She saw MC frowning.
“I’ll miss you too.” – they stopped short before they kept talking: – “Jen, I… after you left the producers’ room, a footage started playing and… uh, I watched it…” – they said, rubbing their neck, looking away from her face, as if they was almost embarrassed.
“Another video? With whom?” – she thought they had watched all the contestants confessions…
MC’s eyes were on her face again.
“You. And Omar.”
“Oh. And… hm, what happened there?” – Jen was feeling confused. The producers should never appear on screen. She would have to check if the staff forgot a camera on.
MC stared back at her for what seemed an eternity before they finally spoke again:
“Jen… do you have a crush on me?”
The producer paralysed for a quick second, feeling her heart stopping. Oh no. It couldn’t be.
“Uh… what? Me?” – the little producer asked after she cleared her throat, avoiding MC’s gaze on her face. – “No! Of course not! That would be so… unprofessional.” – that was what she had told Omar. Ah. The camera recorded that time. – “I mean, of course I care about you, MC! But in a professional way…” – Jen desperately tried to find excuses, pretend that she didn’t have certain forbidden feelings towards the contestant, like she’d been doing all those past weeks, that she even didn’t notice MC approaching her.
“Jen.” – MC’s calm and firm voice brought her back. Jen found their eyes already locked on hers, their face suddenly so close, their hands on her shoulders. She felt her heartbeat speeding up. – “Jen, you know you can tell me anything, right? You’re the only person I trust in here.” – they whispered as they brushed off the hair out of the woman’s flushed face. – “So all I ask is for you to be honest with me.” – Jen saw a gleam on their eyes. – “…Do you have a crush on me?”
She was is so much trouble. She knew she should have said that no, that MC was just like any other contestant to her. But the truth was that Jen was tired. Tired of pretending that she didn’t like them. Tired of denying that feeling. She liked them. And they was leaving the show. That was her last chance. Last chance to confess. To be true to her feelings, for once.
She took a deep breath, before stating:
“I do. I like you, MC.” – her heart pounded inside her chest and she could feel her cheeks and ears burning. – “I guess since that moment when you asked me if I was okay, before you were even accepted to be a contesta—”
And then, she felt MC’s lips on hers, shutting her up, and their arms around her, pulling her closer. Jen immediately melt into their embrace, throwing her arms around their neck, pressing herself against their bigger frame, kissing back deeply. The kiss was both passionate and tender and they just pulled out when they needed air.
“Oh my God…” – she murmured when she realised what they had just done. MC chuckled before kissing her forehead.
“I’ll be back, Jen. And you’ll be my producer again and I’ll win this damned show and get my money and we’ll fund our own studio and you will be my main producer and we’ll swim on money…” – Jen chuckled softly to MC’s rambling, still clinged on them. – “Hey, I’m serious.” – they frowned.
“This is a nice dream…” – Jen caressed the smooth skin of their beautiful face.
“I don’t dream, Jen. Well, maybe I dreamed of you in my arms, like this.” – they smirked cheesily at the producer, who felt her cheeks burning again. – “But what I mean is that I don’t dream; I make plans. I have projects. And you’re in them, Jen.” – they tightened the grip around her waist. – “And this is why I know I’ll be back to this show, no matter what I have to do. But I’ll be back, I promise.” – they grinned widely at each other. – “…I felt so happy when I found out that you had a crush on me too. I thought you only saw me as contestant. You know, just work.”
“I should have. But you’re so… wow.” – MC giggled. – “But I thought… you liked Mackenzie… or maybe Bianca.”
“They are both amazing women and I care for them. They possibly are the only contestants that I care… but, to be honest, I was doing it for the show, like all the other contestants. But I’ve always liked you, Jen.” – they whispered, leaning in, their lips just a breath away… when Jen’s walkie-talkie suddenly squawked, startling them both and making them break the embrace.
It was Omar, asking Jen if MC was ready. It was time for them and Bianca to leave. Jen said that they were on their way and turned to face MC, who had a small sad smile on their face. She felt her heart breaking.
“It’s time to go, MC.” – they nodded at her and picked the bag on the bed. – “Did you grab all your things? Haven’t you forgotten anything?” – she asked as they exited the room.
“Just this.” – MC pulled Jen towards them for another – and final – kiss. This was a quick one, but Jen felt its bittersweetness. – “A kiss goodbye.” – they winked playfully before both of them headed downstairs.
When they stepped out of the mansion, side by side but with a respectable and professional distance between them, there was a car parked in front of the house, waiting for MC. Bianca was already there, looking miserable.
“Finally!” – Omar exclaimed, rolling his eyes as they approached the car. – “Can you deal with this, Jen? I have to check on my contestants.” – he didn’t even wait for her response and marched towards the house.
The driver put MC’s bag in the car trunk. MC turned to the little producer and their eyes locked on Jen’s for one last time as they took the backseat next to Bianca.
“I’ll be back, Jen. This isn’t the last you’ll see of me.” – they whispered at her, a sly grin tugging on the corner of their mouth, before they closed the door behind them.
Jen watched the departing car, leaving her completely alone on the sidewalk, a cool breeze of the Florida’s night air passing through her.