Chapter Eighteen
Blue and I collect Ciara from the bar, and he leads us to a dining room that’s lit up with all sorts of intimidating, expensive-looking lights for the confessionals.
“I think I’d rather be in church,” I mutter and Ciara laughs.
“You can go first,” she says as she takes a step backward.
“Hey, I saved your life, remember?” I tease as Blue motions for me to sit in a chair in the middle of the room. “Is this where they interrogate captured operatives?”
“It’s easy,” Blue says as he makes sure my mic is on. “Just look into the camera and answer the questions.”
“I was told not to look into the camera,” I counter.
“This is different,” Kristina says as she enters. “This is when I get to interview you.” Then she drops the tough-ass producer voice for a second to tell me, “I was a broadcast journalism major. I always wanted to be the next Diane Sawyer.”
“I always wanted to be the next Rachel Carlson,” I say excitedly, thinking maybe producer-bot and I have finally found some common ground.
“Who?”
“The marine biologist and conservationist? She wrote Silent Spring, which basically led to the creation of the EPA?”
Kristina shakes her head. “Let’s just get started.”
“Okay . . .” I say, exhaling away some of the tension. I’ve been interviewed by scientific journals. This has got to be similar.
Kristina sits behind the camera operator and tells me, “I’m going to ask you a question, and I need you to repeat the question in your answer so we can use it as a sound bite.
So, if I ask, ‘Who is the person you’re crushing on the most?
’ you would say, ‘The person I’m crushing on the most is . . .’”
“I would never say that.”
I hear Ciara laugh off camera before Kristina says, “Humor me.”
I take a deep breath. They certainly don’t ask about crushes in the International Journal of Environmental Sciences.
Kristina clears her throat and launches into her questions. “What was your first impression of Javier?”
“Energetic.”
“Please repeat the question in your answer and elaborate.”
“My first impression of Javier was that he had a lot of energy. He’s funny and very liberal with the hugs.”
“Did you find him attractive?”
“Yeah, everyone here is attractive. It’s like some weird dystopian future where all the regular people have died off in a climate change apocalypse.”
I hear a smothered laugh and turn to see Andrew has walked into the room, off camera.
He stands next to Ciara and Blue, with his hands in his pockets as he casually leans against the wall, looking at me.
As if he has nothing better to do than watch me mess up this confessional.
And suddenly, I’m back to feeling nervous.
Kristina checks her list of questions, then asks, “Who do you have the most chemistry with?”
I shrug. “I think TC is really nice. He has twinkly eyes and a kind smile.”
“You just described Santa Claus,” Kristina says, pinching the bridge of her nose. She mutters something about unusable quotes, and it makes me happy I’m not the only one who’s miserable right now. Kristina inhales deeply and continues. “Let’s try this again. Which guy do you find most attractive?”
“Um . . .” My eyes involuntarily find Andrew again.
Except when he sees me looking at him, he raises his eyebrows as if he’s caught me.
I quickly look away, only to realize I’ve forgotten all of the contestants’ names.
Until Hot Scott pops into my head. “I think the most attractive contestant is Hot Scott.”
Kristina laughs. “Hot Scott. That’s perfect, why didn’t I think of that?” Then she looks back down at her “hard-hitting” questions and asks, “Okay, what was your first impression of Bill?”
“Cowboy Bill? Total douchebag,” I say, ready to explain, but then I feel the energy in the room shift.
Some of the PAs are exchanging glances and looking at me pityingly while Kristina scribbles furiously on her notepad.
When I catch Andrew’s eye, he shakes his head subtly then whispers something to Blue.
Blue claps his hands loudly, getting everyone’s attention. “I’m grabbing some waters. Who wants one?”
“I do. I’m parched,” Ciara emphasizes, shooting a quick glance at Andrew and then me.
Andrew gives me a nod like I should say yes, so I raise my hand at the same time he says, “Me too.”
Kristina looks annoyed but concedes. “Fine, quick water break.” Then she gets up to talk to someone behind the camera, and Andrew walks toward me.
He looks like he’s choosing his words carefully before he says quietly, “Be careful what you say. If you bad-mouth the other contestants, they’ll make you the villain. ”
“Pretty sure America would agree with me about Bill.”
He suppresses a grin and says seriously, “That might be true, but don’t give them any fodder. They always edit it to make someone look bad. Or mean and judgmental. It’s really easy to manipulate the viewership into turning on you.”
“And that’s legal?”
“It’s not illegal. It’s just . . . a part of the game.”
I shake my head at his complicity and ask, “Then why are you helping me?”
Andrew shrugs as a smile plays on his lips. “Maybe you’ll remember this the next time you’re about to make my life difficult.”
I give him a doubtful look, which makes his smile grow wider and I feel like I’ve won a prize. But then Andrew quickly steps away when he sees Blue rushing back with the waters.
Kristina gives Blue an impatient look as he hands them out. “Everyone ready?”
I take a sip of water, then say, “Uh, Kristina, can I answer that one again?” Ciara gives me a discreet thumbs-up. I smile at her, then try to focus on the confessional. But I’m finding it hard to shake off the fact that Andrew just quietly figured out a way to help me.
“Okay, we’ll take it again,” Kristina says suspiciously.
I plaster a fake smile on my face and look into the camera. “I’m not really sure what to make of Bill yet. He’s obviously in great shape, but I don’t know if we have much in common.”
Kristina nods, satisfied with that answer. Though I get nervous when she jots another note.
“And what about the other female contestants?”
I smirk at Ciara, then answer, “Well, Ciara is a total badass, even if she is scared of snakes. And there’s so much more to Madison than I originally thought. She runs a mental health nonprofit for kids and she’s so passionate about helping others. It’s really inspiring.”
“And what about Beth Anne?”
“Beth Anne is a total—” This time Andrew, Ciara, and Blue all cough. I take their note and quickly change course. “I haven’t really gotten a chance to get to know Beth Anne. But I like her accent.”
“That’s interesting. Because she has a definite opinion of you,” Kristina says, trying to bait me. I look over at Andrew and Blue, and they both discreetly shake their heads.
So I bite my tongue and say, “Well, bless her heart.”
When I’m done with my confessional, it’s Ciara’s turn in the hot seat.
As Kristina starts asking her similar questions, I stop listening as I chat quietly off camera with Blue.
He assures me that my answers weren’t as awkward as they felt.
I’m tempted to ask Andrew because I doubt he’d pull any punches, but he’s stepped outside to take a phone call.
Not that I’m paying attention to his comings and goings.
I just happened to notice he’s been gone for a couple minutes.
“Uh-oh,” Blue says under his breath.
“What?” I whisper.
He motions back to Kristina and Ciara. “Kristina is trying to bait her.”
“To talk shit about other contestants like she did with me?”
“Worse. Sometimes she tries to make people cry or yell on camera. Then they edit it so it seems like their response is to something completely benign, so they look unhinged.”
“What the hell?” I look back and can tell that Ciara is getting agitated whereas Kristina looks like the cat that ate the canary.
Kristina raises her eyebrows and addresses Ciara: “Then why were there rumors that you still have a boyfriend back home?”
“I don’t. Who said that?” Ciara demands angrily.
Kristina shrugs obnoxiously. “I’m not at liberty to say.”
“I would never do something like that. Loyalty is the most important quality to me.”
Kristina leans in. “So you’re not here to two-time and cheat?”
“What? No! That’s total bullshit!”
I’m about to run in there and stop the interview, but a hand grabs my shoulder. I’m pulled into someone behind me and immediately engulfed in a masculine scent . . . a familiar, intoxicating cologne.
“I’ll handle it,” Andrew whispers in my ear.
The proximity of his lips to my ear—and the feeling that he’s lingering there behind me a beat or two longer than he needs to—gives me a tingling feeling that I try to ignore, even as it floods my body.
I spin around so we’re face to face. His hands come to my waist to steady me.
“Kristina is trying to make Ciara look awful!” I hiss up at him.
“I know,” Andrew whispers back. “I said, ‘I’ll handle it.’”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!” I whisper-yell back.
“Just trust me, okay?” Andrew says, brushing his thumb against my waist once and then walking off.
It takes me a moment to recover from his unexpected touch before I spin back to Blue, ignoring how quickly my heart is beating. “He expects me to trust him? He’s the lawyer for the show! What do you think he’s going to do?”
Blue looks around and makes sure Kristina and Ciara are still in a heated discussion before pulling me farther away from the crew.
“I had my suspicions last year . . .” Blue begins.
“Sometimes files accidentally got deleted. And it always seemed to be in an effort to protect the most vulnerable contestants.”
“And you think Andrew’s the one who did it?”
Blue nods. “He has access to the dailies and the edit bay.”
I don’t know what any of that means, but Blue’s implication that Andrew might be working behind the scenes to protect people surprises me. Is it possible I’ve misjudged him too?