In Holly James’s newest rom-com, sparks ignite as a pair of broke exes get locked in a house together on a reality show for a chance to win a million dollars, a second-chance romance that perfectly captures the absurd sincerity of made-for-TV love.
Intrigued? Well read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Holly James’s Name Your Price, which is out July 30th 2024.
Olivia Martin and Chuck Walsh have chemistry. Too much chemistry, perhaps. Their every interaction as a couple either lights the house up with sexual tension or burns it down with anger. After one huge, very public fight, they finally break up for good. Or so they think. Someone was filming their dramatic argument in the street and—because Olivia’s parents were Hollywood royalty, and because Chuck’s an actor whose star is on the rise—the video goes viral. When Name Your Price, a reality game show, sees the footage, they invite Olivia and Chuck to shoot a very unusual challenge: Live locked in a house together for one month and they will be paid a million dollars. Each.
Olivia really needs the money if she’s going to keep her beloved grandmother in her nursing home, and Chuck is desperate for any chance to win Olivia back. So the game is on—even as the show tries to pluck every nerve with only one bed, one bathroom, and a set of rules that will lose them money if broken—including no touching. With stakes that have never been higher and their explosive chemistry at a fever pitch, can Chuck and Olivia keep it together (and their hands off each other) for one month? Find out next week on Name Your Price!
Chapter 3: The show set-up
“We’ll cut right to it,” Parker the executive producer said. He used a remote to click on the TV mounted at the end of the room.
The video of Olivia and Chuck’s fight played for everyone to see. Even though she knew countless strangers had viewed it, being forced to watch it in a room full of people made her want to hide under the table. It got to the part where she whipped off her shirt, and she noticed Chuck’s hand that was resting on the table slowly close into a tight fist. The sight stirred something inside her. Perhaps he felt defensive that everyone could see her exposed. Perhaps he just felt turned on.
Parker hit pause on the video and turned to their side of the table with a smile. “You can’t buy passion like that. You two are a ratings gold mine. We want to bring you on the show and take it further.”
“It’s been taken plenty far already,” Olivia muttered.
The woman on the other side of the table, who had in fact been introduced as a lawyer, leaned forward. “Ms. Martin, we are prepared to pay for the rights to the video, which will effectively cease its spread online outside our control.”
“The rights to the footage will most certainly be covered in any agreements made today,” Mansi said like it wasn’t even up for discussion.
“Of course,” the other lawyer said.
“So, what exactly are you asking them to do?” Mansi asked.
Parker cleared his throat and nodded toward the lawyer. She produced a stack of papers that she split in two and slid across the table. Mansi and Cameron each grabbed one. “We’re asking them to agree to come on the show together.”
Olivia fought not to scoff or roll her eyes. She wondered what Chuck was thinking down where she couldn’t see him. She watched Mansi’s eyes scan the document. She didn’t make much effort to try to read it, though she was curious, because reviewing the contract was the whole reason that she’d brought her lawyer friend with her.
“This seems a little out of scope for your show, doesn’t it?” Cameron asked. “I mean, you guys usually do dirty jobs and entertaining relocations. You want them to live together? For a month?”
“What?” Olivia blurted. She rocked forward and reached for the contract. Mansi held out a hand to calm her and stop her from tearing it by accident.
Chuck didn’t seem fazed down at his end of the table, which made Olivia think he already knew this minor detail.
“No one said anything about living together!” Olivia hissed to Mansi. When she’d decided to come to the meeting and at least hear out the offer, she expected maybe a date or two. Certainly not moving in together.
“Mr. Stone,” Mansi said, “I agree with Mr. Smith that this proposal is beyond the scope of your normal show. What makes you think this will be successful, and what’s in it for my client’s benefit?”
“How about a million bucks?” TJ spoke up for the first time. He casually leaned back in his chair with an ankle on his knee and clicked a pen in one hand. He wore a black blazer over a gray tee shirt and smugly smiled like he owned the room.
Olivia blinked in shock. They were actually offering a million dollars? Mansi hadn’t mentioned that, or perhaps it wasn’t on the front page of the contract, and she hadn’t gotten to it yet. Or perhaps she did know and was protecting her friend from having to regret agreeing to spend a month in the same house with her ex because even a million dollars wasn’t enough to say yes.
“Yes, well, that is something to consider,” Mansi quietly said, and flipped the first page of the contract. Her eyes continued to scan.
TJ popped up out of his seat. “Think about it,” he said, and spread his hands like one did when asking others to envision something. “A new direction for Name Your Price. I mean, I love seeing a city girl shovel pig shit, or an awkward gamer dragged from his basement to join the dating race, but this. I saw the chemistry you guys had on the street—I felt it, and our viewers will too! We’ve never had a couples segment before. What could be better than a pair of combustible exes trying to live together? The sponsors will be begging for airtime on this episode.”
“You’re actually serious,” Olivia heard herself say. The words slipped out. She was in too much shock to control her mouth.
TJ skipped around the table to her side. He spun her chair and leaned down to her eye level. His were brown but bright. His musky cologne hit her in a rush. “Yes, Olivia.” He stood and kept one hand on her chair and used the other to point down the table. “Why deny the facts? You and Chuck are a beautiful couple, and people love beautiful couples. Putting the two of you on TV is a ratings guarantee.” He clapped his hands together and smiled around the room.
Olivia frowned up at him. “You left out the part where we can’t stand each other.”
He dropped his gaze back to her and leaned in with a rush that made her lean back in surprise. “That’s the point, Olivia! That’s what people will come to see.” He stood back up, and Olivia tried not to get dizzy from all his movement. He looked over at Chuck and winked. “And if the two of you maybe find a little spark of magic, a little temptation to rekindle that flame we saw on the sidewalk, then we’ll tune in for that too.”
Olivia’s face heated. Her brain was screaming disaster at her with the enthusiasm of a drunk football fan. She scrambled for an excuse to escape what was clearly a terrible idea. “I have a full-time job. I can’t just—” she started to say, but stopped when she felt Mansi’s hand gently land on her arm and squeeze.
“Your description of the living arrangements and filming location is vague. Can you elaborate?” she asked.
TJ gestured at Parker to respond. “The house is in Pacific Palisades. We just confirmed it today, after the contracts were printed. It will have all necessary accommodations for a temporary but continuous stay: pool, gym, grocery delivery. You’ll be set up for the full month. The camera crew will come and go, but you’ll have no reason to need to leave.”
“Wait,” Olivia said, gaping at them. “We can’t leave?”
The Name Your Price team exchanged looks with one another. TJ was the one to finally speak, and he did it with a grin that put an uneasy feeling in Olivia’s gut.
“That’s the object of the game, Olivia. If you and Chuck can figure out how to stand each other in close quarters for one month after that fantastic breakup we witnessed in all its glory, you win the money.”
His words landed, and an invisible bomb exploded in Olivia’s brain. She unstuck her tongue from her dry mouth. “And if we don’t make it?”
TJ casually sat on the table’s edge and grinned. “Game over.”
Game over. She honestly didn’t know if she had it in her.
“And, of course, you’ll be presented with a set of challenges while you’re in the house,” TJ added.
“Challenges?” Olivia asked as Mansi flipped another page of the contract, surely looking for this part.
“Yes,” TJ said. “We’re not going to film you doing nothing all day. This isn’t Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”
Olivia could only imagine what horrors they had in store for them.
It occurred to her that Chuck hadn’t said anything this whole time, which led her to realize that he had already agreed. This whole meeting was happening to convince one person to say yes.
Her.
She leaned forward so that he could see her from the other end of the table. “Can I talk to you outside, please?”
He met her eyes with a flash of guilt and nodded.
