Britney Spears is so desperate for a boyfriend that she offered Mike Marchand, a waiter and aspiring actor, $25k to date her and appear in one of her videos. She also gave the guy a cell phone so she could have a direct line to him day and night. Britney is hounding the waiter to date her, and has shown up at his restaurant, Mirabelle’s, multiple times in a lame attempt to garner his interest. Marchand doesn’t seem to want to be associated with Britney, and has even tried to tell the media that he’s not dating her. His mom may have blown his cover, though.

“Britney met Mike at the restaurant a couple of weeks ago and she immediately put on a full-court press to get him to go out with her,” an insider told The Enquirer.

“Britney’s in Mirabelle’s all the time now keeping tabs on Mike’s every move.

“At one point, she told Mike she’d pay him $25,000 and give him a part in her new video if he’d start dating her. But the whole thing is stressing him out. He can’t stand how she watches his every move.”

The no-nonsense waiter “initially turned down Britney’s offer, but she’s still hoping he’ll change his mind,” says the source.

“Mike said Britney gave him a dedicated cell phone and she texts him constantly.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, December 10, 2007]

Meanwhile one of Marchand’s friends told OK! Magazine that it’s not true that he’s dating Britney. The guy may be hoping for an acting career, but he seems to realize that being linked to Britney is only going to hurt his chances. They claim he never dated Britney and she’s only showing up at his workplace to hound him. He did drive to her place once, but he only waited at the gate while trying to return a cellphone that was left at the restaurant.

“Michael Marchand isn’t a new one-time fling,” explains Brit’s closest friend to OK!. “He isn’t a new boyfriend — he isn’t even a friend… And he did not go to Las Vegas with her!”

So how did Brit, who celebrates her 26th birthday next Monday, end up being photographed with Michael? “The only connection she has with him is that she’s eaten in Mirabelle, where he works,” claims the friend.

However, the friend confesses, Michael did indeed attempt to make contact with the divorced mother of two. During one of their dinners at Mirabelle, Brit’s ever-present pal Sam Lutfi left his cell phone on the table. Michael retrieved the mislaid mobile and drove out to The Summit, Britney’s gated community looking down on Beverly Hills. “Michael was not allowed through the gates,” Brit’s friend reveals. “He has never seen Britney outside the restaurant.”

[From OK! Magazine]

Contrary to these other reports that Britney and the waiter are just friends, Star Magazine has quotes from Marchand’s mother about how friendly he and Britney are. She says that “Michael and Britney really enjoy each other’s company,” and that “they like watching videos together and playing Scrabble.” She also says that “Britney is a very sweet person, very down to earth, and is also a very loving and caring parent.”

These quotes come in an inset article about the weird sex room Britney has in her dirty near-abandoned mansion. And she’s supposedly telling friends that she’s pregnant again. When it comes to Britney, anything is possible, but I’m more likely to believe that she tried to bribe a guy to date her over a story that she likes playing Scrabble and is a good mom. The pregnancy story is a toss up, but it seems likely.

Here are pictures of Britney looking uncharacteristically good at the Scandinavian Mansion of Style party on Saturday, where she took home a fur coat, Paris Hilton and a guy. Yesterday was her birthday. Splash News reports that she took a male party-goer back to her hotel while x17 has her partying back at the hotel with Paris. Maybe the new guy will take the heat off that poor waiter.

Thanks to PRPhotos for these pictures.