Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 95609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
That’s horrifying. “I did not. Why would I do that?”
“Hey, a wardrobe malfunction can jumpstart a girl’s career,” Ivy continues. “But they don’t know you. We know you can trip over air.”
“Thank god he caught you. That dress… Tell me you’re wearing underwear.” Harper sounds like my mom.
I don’t want to lie to her. There’s a reason I haven’t sat down even once. I’m not sure that would end well. “Well, my granny panties made lines, and I didn’t bring a thong.”
Harper groans.
“Look, one of the other girls dropped out, and the director needed thirteen for timing or something.” Though now that I think about it, maybe it is a dark ritual. It feels like one. “It doesn’t matter. Luca is going to reject me at the live elimination. Tell me no one’s watching.”
I know I should be pulling for this thing to be successful, but I’m being selfish.
“Yeah, absolutely no one’s watching.” Ivy is usually an excellent liar. I feel like she’s not even trying here.
“It’s late. No one cares. It was a stupid idea.” Harper makes a better attempt.
I still don’t buy it. “How many?”
Ivy laughs. “Oh, man, it’s got a million plus views already. Ani, people love you. I mean they’re totally making fun of you, but they love you. And there is zero way that man is going to reject you.”
“He looked at you like he could eat you up,” Harper agrees. “They’re talking about that on the Internet too. You two are hot together.”
I knew something they didn’t know. “Doesn’t matter because he’s going to cut me loose.”
The door slams open and my nemesis is standing there, his face a glowering red. “Are you fucking kidding me? You are not supposed to have a cell phone.”
I wince. “I forgot about it. I’m also not supposed to be a contestant on a reality show, but here we are.”
“They’re looking for you. We need you for the welcome champagne shot. Get your ass out here,” Patrick barks.
“I have to go,” I say into the phone. “It’s going to be okay. By tomorrow everyone will forget tonight. I’m just one more girl in a short dress who should watch where she’s walking. Talk to you tomorrow.”
I hang up before they can argue with me.
Patrick holds out his hand.
I stare at him.
“Phone.” He looks even more irritated than usual as he shifts his attention from me back to the living room and then back to me as though I’m keeping him from his real job but I’m also dangerous, so it’s not like he can take his eyes off me.
All contestants give up their phones. They’re allowed to talk to loved ones but under some kind of supervision. Contestants can’t spend all their time mooning over a man and fighting each other for him if they’re on their phones.
I stride to him, wincing because my feet hurt, and drop my precious phone into his hands. “I’ll expect that back in a couple of hours.”
He slides it into his pocket. “You have an odd sense of time, Fox. The elimination ceremony goes live in fifteen minutes. The director is upset that you didn’t do one of the live shots from the cocktail party. You know all the other women snagged the king to get some one-on-one time. You’re supposed to be pretending to be a contestant, not an ornately dressed hermit.”
So my plan has worked. I’ll deal with Joseph being irritated with me. It might be helpful because I’ll see how he handles being annoyed by his subordinates. I walk through the French doors because this is almost over. I’ll be locked into my postage-stamp apartment, curled in a fetal position on my Murphy bed in mere hours. I will nurse a bottle of wine and try not to Google myself.
I might stay off the Internet forever.
Patrick moves ahead of me, disappearing onto the set.
As I turn the corner to join the other women, I wonder how I would look with red hair. And a new face.
And I bump straight into a big hunk of man.
Luca reaches out to steady me, and a grin lights his gorgeous face. “Ah, Anika. I’ve been looking for you.”
The kitchen hadn’t been enough. I should have hidden in the pantry.
Chapter Eight
I try not to think about the fact that his hands are on my elbows, cradling them and holding me up so I don’t topple over. I seem to fall a lot around this guy. “Sorry. I’m struggling with the heels. I usually wear sneakers.”
“We only have a moment,” he says. “They think I’m in the bathroom. What are you doing here? I never thought I would see you again. Why didn’t you tell me you were on the show?”
“I didn’t know.” Though even if I had known, I wouldn’t have been allowed to tell anyone. Not my mom or my friends. Certainly not some random dude I’d met in a bar, no matter how gorgeous and charming he was. Because I’d been “cast” so late in the process they hadn’t shoved an NDA in my face, but I’m sure it’s coming.