Chapter 9
The producers leave me alone the rest of the night. I go straight to bed, but it takes hours to fall asleep. I’m worried, and I’m angry. I’ve never been so stressed. I pass out somewhere in the neighborhood of three a.m.
They let me sleep until ten. Maxine, the psychologist and woman sleeping in the bunk across from mine, calls my name softly.
“Time to get up,” she says. “Sebastian has a solo date with Emma in an hour. As soon as they leave, James wants to get you moved into the house.”
Sweet, shy Emma got the solo date. Maybe Sebastian has taste after all. I smile at this until the second half of Maxine’s sentence registers. Moving day. I groan. “Let me get showered.”
A voice calls out from the doorway, “Wash your hair, but don’t dry it.” Tina grins at me. “That’s my job from now on.”
I fall back to my pillow. I officially kiss my freedom and privacy good-bye today. “Why would anyone willingly sign up for this?”
Tina chuckles. “Not the response I usually get from people sitting in my chair.”
I give her a sheepish grin. “You know what I mean. I’m actually excited to let you and Sadie have your way with me. My fingers are crossed Sadie gives me lashes as great as hers. It’s the rest of it I’m not looking forward to.”
“That’s why I’m here,” Maxine says. “The show is insisting you sit down with me before they move you into the main house with the others.”
I smirk. “A mandatory psych eval?”
She grins. “Every contestant has one before the show. They want to make sure you’re emotionally stable.”
I scoff. “Should have done that before they railroaded me into doing the show.”
There’s enough bitterness and anger in my voice to make Maxine’s face fall. “Just so you know, I have the authority to send people home at any time if I think the show is damaging them psychologically.”
I sit back up, feeling a spark of hope. “Great. Tell them I’m not fit to do the show.”
She winces. “I’m sorry. I can’t do that without proper cause. Besides the fact that I’d be fired if I just started sending people home because they asked, I take my job very seriously. I can’t sully my professional integrity no matter how much I hate what they did to you girls.”
Well, there goes that plan. “I wouldn’t want you to have to do that.”
“But I don’t want you to worry. I’m on your side. I know this situation is a lot different for you than the others, and I know you must be very anxious and stressed about what’s going on back home. I won’t let them push you too far. Contrary to popular belief, the show doesn’t want to emotionally break people.”
Tina and I both laugh at that. “Sure, they don’t,” Tina says. “People getting their hearts broken is this show’s main goal.”
I nod in agreement. “That’s what gets the ratings. And Jeremiah more than proved last night that ratings are the only things that matter.”
Maxine sighs. “Get showered and dressed. Then you and I can sit down and have a nice chat over breakfast. Without cameras,” she adds. “My sessions are private.”
Well. At least there’s that. Probably only because the medical field takes privacy very seriously, and it’s against the law to break that patient-doctor confidentiality. Maybe I’ll visit with Maxine several times a day from now to the end of the show.
Something occurs to me. “You could have sent Ana and Juliette home.”
Maxine nods. “Had I known what was going on, I would have.”
I take a breath to calm the rage sweeping through me. With the twins’ emotional state last night, Maxine should have been the first person called. No doubt Jeremiah purposely kept her from the meeting in an attempt to keep Juliette and Ana from knowing they could be sent home. One more thing that could have prevented this. I pound the wall with the side of my fist. “That bastard!”
Maxine pats my leg over the covers. “No use getting angry about it now. You already signed the contract. What’s done is done, and the important thing is that the twins are with their family.”
It’s the same thing Sebastian said to me last night, just with a lot more tact. She’s right. Spending the next couple months angry will only make this suck even more. And, really, it’s only going to be through the end of the week. After the ball, Sebastian will be able to send me home, and there’s no way he’ll want to keep me around. He was disgusted with me last night. I should be happy about that since it will get me out of this sooner, but part of me hates that he thinks so little of me.
After I’m dressed and ready for the day, Maxine drags me to an office in the guesthouse where she assesses my mental state over breakfast. I don’t mind. It feels good to unload my frustration to a sympathetic ear. Plus, I’m starving. I’d been starving last night, but after my argument with Sebastian, I was so mad I’d skipped dinner. The omelets and juice are the best things I’ve ever tasted.
Unfortunately, Maxine declares my mental health perfectly fine for being on the show. She sends me to my room to pack up my things so they can move me in with the other contestants. I’m not there two minutes before a man I’ve seen around the production knocks on the open door. “Vivian?”
I look up from where I’m taking clothes from the closet and folding them into my suitcase. I’ll have to iron everything again. “That’s me.”
The man gives me a bright smile. “I’m José Martínez. Second unit director. I’m here to film your introduction video. Can we come in?”
Behind him is a camera guy, a lighting guy, and a sound guy. They all squeeze in without waiting for my approval. I resist the urge to sigh. “You’ll be seeing a lot more of us now that you’re a contestant,” José says. “James and his crew handle all things where Sebastian is involved. These guys and I film the contestants when James is away. We’ll be with you in the main house all day.”
Joy.
At least he’s friendly.
“Come on in. I’m just packing.”
“Hold off on that until we get set up.”
I pause and raise an eyebrow. “You want to film me packing?”
He grins at me and shrugs. “It’s good for you to be doing something, and it’ll make sense when you tell us a little about what happened.”
There’s no use arguing, so I wait. Once the camera’s rolling, I start packing my bag again. “Tell us about yourself,” José says.
It takes me a minute to think of something to say. I’m really not interesting enough to be on TV. “I’m twenty-three. I’m a fashion designer from Hollywood, and I’m an only child.”
“You were raised by two men, weren’t you?”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Of course they’d bring that up. I don’t know if they’re trying to embarrass me for being different or what, but they won’t get that reaction from me. “Yes. I was raised by two wonderful men who love each other very much and who love me even more. I probably had a better life growing up than most people.”
I place my pajamas into the suitcase and zip it up.
“Why are you packing?”
“As you’ve probably heard by now, two of the contestants had to go home for a family emergency. I agreed to join the cast in their places so they could be released from their obligations to the show. I was the show’s wardrobe specialist, but now they’re moving me into the main house with the other contestants.”
“Why you?” José asks. “The women who left were beautiful twins. Juliette was one of Sebastian’s favorites. What makes you so special that the show asked you to replace them when they could have just sent them home? The point of the show is to eliminate women, not add more of them.”
I chew on my tongue to keep from reacting. Some of the ladies have mentioned that the crew can be rude in hopes of getting the contestants flustered enough that they have emotional outbursts. It’s the film crew’s job to instigate drama.
I really want to say something snarky and bash the show, but I hold back. Sebastian’s scolding is still fresh in my mind. I can be the bigger person here and turn the other cheek. “I don’t know,” I say with a shrug. “I’m really not that interesting. I guess they saw something in me they thought would make me a good fit.”
There’s a long pause. José narrows his eyes at me. My response wasn’t what he expected and clearly not the one he was hoping for. He nods his head slowly as he thinks of what to say next. The show is all but scripted. I’m sure he’s been briefed on the direction the producers want my character to go. He’s got to manipulate the conversation to get the result they want. José is all smiles and ease, but he is not my friend.
With my bag packed, I move to the closet to grab the few things I didn’t want to place in the suitcase. As soon as I’m standing by the hanging clothes, José changes the subject. “You’re a fashion designer?”
“Yeah,” I say carefully, not quite trusting the change of topic. I’m not sure where he’s going with this.
“What got you into it?”
The question makes me relax. I can handle this topic. “I grew up around fashion. My dads are costume designers. They taught me how to sew when I was six. I’ve been making most of my own clothes since high school.”
“Did you make the clothes you’re wearing now?”
I look down at my high-waisted, wide-leg trousers and zebra print top. It’s bold and fun. More funky than edgy, but just understated enough that the trendiness of the top isn’t distracting. “Yeah. In fact, almost everything I brought with me are my own creations.”
“That’s fun. Show us some of the other things.”
Happy to share my passion with them, I pull several things out of my closet and show them off to the camera. “This job was a bit of a dream job for me,” I explain after telling them about my schooling and some of my résumé. “Of course, the ultimate goal is my own show at Fashion Week, like every good designer, but you can’t go wrong with getting to dress dozens of women in all the latest fashions. And the gowns.” I sigh dreamily. “I have a weakness for beautiful gowns.”
The crew chuckles, and José stops rolling the cameras. “That’s great. Let’s change locations. One more should do it.” He and the other crew members start discussing possible locations to finish my interview. “Are you a beach person?” he asks hopefully. “A surfer, maybe?”
I shudder. “Oh, no. Definitely not. The ocean terrifies me. It’s so bad that just being at the beach and seeing the water makes me nervous. And you wouldn’t want to film me sunbathing, either.” I smooth out my Kool-Aid red hair. “This shade may be artificial, but there’s a true ginger underneath it. I’m so pale, I’d blind your cameras.”
He eyes me up and down, but it’s in a critical way, not in a creeper way like Aaron. “You look very fit. Are you a gym bunny?”
That makes me laugh. “Not exactly. I’m a dancer. Ballet. And a yoga junkie.”
José’s face brightens. “That’s perfect. Change into something you can dance in. I think there’s space in the gym where you could show us some moves.”
The camera crew clears out of my room to go set up in the gym. I change into some leggings and a sports bra with a tank top over it. Then I find Tina and Sadie. If I’m going to dance, I may as well look the part. Tina accomplishes the perfect dancer’s bun and Sadie goes just a tiny bit dramatic with my eye makeup while giving me a light blush and a pale pink gloss on my lips. I’m looking forward to this. I haven’t been able to dance since I got here.
After I’m dressed, I find the crew setting up in the mansion’s home gym. It’s not a ballet studio, but there’s wood flooring and they’ve moved some of the equipment to make room for me to move. It’ll work. When I start to do some stretches, they ask me to wait until the camera and lighting are set up.
“You’re glowing,” José comments once the camera is rolling.
I sit on the floor and put myself through my usual stretching routine. I can’t help the smile on my face when I answer his comment. “If there’s one thing I love more than fashion, it’s dance. I’ve been in ballet since I was five and was in a competitive dance troupe growing up and all through high school.”
“You didn’t want to become a professional ballerina?” José asks curiously.
I grin. “Don’t most girls, at some point, want to become ballerinas when they grow up?”
I stand up and continue my stretches, moving through the standard ballet positions and lifting up onto my toes to get them loosened up. “If I could have gone pro, I would have, but I never quite got to that level. Didn’t stop me from loving it, though, and I still take lessons for fun. If I didn’t decide to do fashion design, I would have opened my own dance studio. I love teaching the little ones. They’re so precious.”
“Will you dance for us?”
I’m more than happy to dance. I usually dance three times a week, alternating with three days of yoga and one day to rest.
Someone hooks a phone up to the gym’s sound system and finds the Odile solo from Swan Lake. It’s one of my favorite dances, and I know it well. I go through the dance a couple times and then wait while they reposition the cameras several times and do it again. By the time they’ve got everything they need, it’s well past lunchtime, and I’ve worked up a sweat, but I’m a lot less stressed. Dancing has always been an emotional release for me.
I get showered and dressed and they let me eat lunch in the guesthouse since they want to film my official move into the main house, and that will take a while.
After lunch, I convince Andrea to let me call Ella. The first thing they did after I signed the contract is confiscate my phone. No outside contact with anyone while filming, but they make an exception so I can check in on Rich. Of course, I have to make the call on speakerphone and in front of a camera.
I sit down on the couch in the guesthouse and try my best to ignore all the people as I call Ella. She picks up on the third ring. “Vivian! They let you call? I thought they’d take your phone.”
She sounds exhausted. I can’t imagine how hard the last twenty-four hours have been for her. She lost her mother in a tragic car accident when she was eighteen. Her father is the only parent she has left. “They made an exception. But they’re filming me right now, and you’re on speaker.”
“I figured.”
“How’s Rich? How was the surgery?”
There’s a long pause, and Ella lets out a shaky breath. “He ended up having to have a total gastrectomy. He’s in recovery now. We haven’t gotten to see him yet.”
“I’m sure they’ll let you soon. How are you holding up? Have you gotten any sleep? How are Jennifer and the twins?”
“I got a little sleep last night. I went home after the twins arrived at the hospital. I’ve got my hands full with Apollo. I don’t know what I’d do without Alice.”
My heart hurts. She sounds like she’s barely holding it together. “I should be there helping you right now.”
“Viv—” Her voice cracks, and it makes my throat clog. If she starts crying, I will definitely start crying. “I know I said it last night, but I can’t thank you enough for stepping in. I swear, Brian and I are going to make the show regret manipulating you. The show will never have another season, if I can help it.”
I grin through my emotions. Between Ella, Brian, and Juliette, this show is definitely going to have a hard time recovering from this. “Well, I won’t stop you.”
“At least it’s not for long. Jules said you’re allowed to quit after the ball this weekend.”
I sigh. “Only if I go and agree to let the show film it.”
“So do it.”
She says it so easily. I’m shocked. Ella’s more media friendly than Brian, but she also knows there’s a time and place for it. She’s classy about it. A reality TV show trying to chase celebrities around for higher ratings isn’t classy. “Are you sure? It’s obnoxious. They’ll annoy the guests.”
“People will understand. And the show will have to get anyone they film to sign a release form, or they can’t use the footage. No one will be filmed who doesn’t agree to it. You should really be there. I need you there. Please?”
“Are you going to go?”
She sighs. “If you’re coming, I’ll go. I want to see you. I miss you.”
That gets a smile from me. I miss her, too. It’s only been a couple weeks, but it’s been a very long two weeks. “Okay. I’ll be there. As long as you’re sure you don’t mind the entourage.”
“There’s really only one person I’m curious about.” Her voice turns playful. “Tell me about this man you’re going to marry.”
I choke on some spit. If it weren’t for the fact that she was teasing me and probably smiling for the first time in days, I’d hang up. “Not going to marry him.”
“The twins showed me his picture. He’s gorgeous.”
“The man is definitely hot…if you think a perma-sneer is sexy.”
“He can’t be that bad.”
“He’s arrogant and moody.”
She doesn’t relent. “Juliette says he’s just misunderstood. She thinks he’s angsty, not a jerk. He’s a tortured soul who needs the right woman to mend his guarded heart.”
I think about it, and I can see what she’s saying. There were moments he was kind. Of course, those were all followed by a cutting remark or a bossy demand. That’s what’s so confusing. “I suppose there could be some truth to that. But he’s still a jerk.”
“You like jerks,” she teases.
I bark out a laugh. I’m glad to see her sense of humor is still with her. Listening to her sob yesterday broke my heart. “It’s good to hear you laugh.”
She lets out a long breath. “It feels good to laugh. Thanks. I needed it.”
I catch movement out of the corner of my eye and remember there’s an entire camera crew watching me. I’d forgotten for a moment. Ella has always been able to cheer me up. And me her. Maybe I’ll be able to get through this week after all. At least until I can see her at the ball this weekend.
I meet José’s eyes. He gives me a big smile. He’s not going to rush me. He’s getting a call from the Ella Oliver on his show, and we’re talking about Sebastian. This call is gold for him. Still, as much as I could sit here and talk to Ella forever, she needs to get back to her family. Reluctantly, I say, “I should let you go.”
“Yes. You need to get back to your grumpy billionaire.”
“I thought he was just misunderstood.”
“He can be both.”
He probably is both.
“I’m looking forward to meeting him at the ball.”
I want to grin and groan at the same time. She’s got that tone in her voice. Mischievous enough to make you suspicious. She and Brian are both meddling matchmakers. Ever since they got their fairy-tale ending, they feel it’s their duty to make all of their friends as sublimely happy as they are. Something Juliette—the hopeless romantic—must have said has clearly put ideas in Ella’s head. “What lies has your sister been feeding you?” I demand.
She laughs. “Nothing. Just that your chemistry with Sebastian was off the charts. She said the whole group was choking on your sexual tension at the meeting last night.”
“She did not!” I’m as horrified by the accusation as I am that the cameras are rolling. “That tension wasn’t sexual; it was mutual dislike.”
“Everyone knows there’s a fine line between love and hate.”
“Oh, my gosh. I’m hanging up now! You tell Jules I’m going to kill her when I get home.”
She laughs again. “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”
“I hate you. The whole world is hearing this conversation.”
“Good. It’ll make this season the best one yet. You know we’re going to have massive viewing parties for every episode when it airs, right?”
“Seriously. You’re supposed to have my back here.”
“I have your best interests at heart. I can’t help it if those don’t line up with your opinion on this matter.”
“You are so wrong about this. You’ll see.”
“Yes, I can’t wait to meet him and judge for myself. I’ll see you at the ball this weekend. Love you.”
The brat hangs up, leaving me sitting on a couch, flustered, and being stared at by a room of people. José’s grin is a mile wide. “You’re going to be excellent for ratings.”
I groan again and sink back into the couch, rubbing my face to hide the pesky blush heating my cheeks.