It was our last night in Mexico, and I was in the same awful position of sending another person home. The shitty part was that Kaisley and I had had a wonderful time horseback riding on the beach. It was romantic and beautiful, but I was there with the wrong person. Emma and Kaisley stood in front of me. Ophelia, off to my right, held a lit candle and seemed to be trying hard not to smirk. I wondered if she thought she was my final pick since she was the first.
“This experience has taught me a lot about people and relationship expectations. I came onto the show looking for love, or at least the possibility of love. We all did. I truly believe everyone left is here for me and what I want. That’s why this is so hard.” I imagined all the tabloids and entertainment shows were going to roast me, again, only this time for getting rid of fan favorites. “Please understand that I care for each of you so much and respect you for sacrificing so much to be here.” I looked at Emma and Kaisley and knew Kaisley was going to be crushed. Deep breath. “Emma.” Tears instantly welled in Kaisley’s eyes. Fuck, it killed me to do this. “Emma, I feel a spark with you. Do you feel it, too?” She hugged me first and then held her candle to my flame. Kaisley started swaying back and forth, and I knew I had to get to her and explain.
Lauren reached her first. “Kaisley, I’m very sorry. Please say your good-byes.”
She turned and embraced Ophelia, who smiled at me over Kaisley’s shoulder. I looked away. I didn’t want the hint of any scandal on this season that involved me. I waited patiently while Emma handed Kaisley a tissue, and she desperately tried to remain calm and in control, but the minute she walked toward me, she started sobbing. I held her tightly until her sobs were somewhat under control.
“Let me walk you to the limo,” I said.
“Do you mind if I just go alone?”
I was shocked that she didn’t want me to explain myself and completely embarrassed that she said so in front of the cameras. “I’m completely fine with that. I understand your need to be alone.” I really did. I hugged her one last time and watched her walk out the door and climb into a limo waiting to take her far away from here.
Since I didn’t have the emotional breakdown like I did with Alix, I stayed behind and toasted with Emma and Ophelia. They were the ones who would meet Jane and hopefully my mother next week. The thing I liked about When Sparks Fly was that I got to meet their families as well. Final candle was in a week. Episode four out of ten was dropping tomorrow. The pace astounded me, but I was warned upfront that it was a whirlwind of a season.
“Ladies, how is everyone feeling this evening?” Completely unscripted and unplanned, Lauren sat in a chair opposite the couch. My heart soared, and it was difficult to keep from dreamily smiling at her. “It’s been a very hard week, and I’m excited to go home and meet families and see mine again.” I wondered how the business was doing. I knew Jane could handle it, but it wasn’t easy being so cut off.
“At least Kaisley can go home to her son,” Ophelia said.
She wasn’t wrong. but I found her comment in poor taste. “Hopefully, she finds somebody soon. She’s really a wonderful person.” I was worried about her mental state. She wouldn’t have closure, and that would make the “Secrets Revealed” episode even juicier for fans of the show. Too bad I’d already had my appendix removed.
“Okay, ladies. Have a good evening. I have a surprise for you when we get back to Florida,” Lauren said.
I couldn’t read her expression and was going to have to wait to find out with the rest of them. It didn’t seem like bad news though. Surprises were usually good, right? “Sleep well.” We watched Lauren walk away.
“She’s so pretty. Is she single?” Ophelia asked.
I wanted to say keep your hands to yourself and leave her alone, but that would blow my cover, and she was pretty. “I don’t think so. I mean, she never said she was.”
“Is she even gay?” Emma asked.
“She’s probably dating somebody ultra-rich and famous. Like royalty in a foreign country. She literally could pick from anyone she wanted,” Ophelia said.
“There’s not a lot of personal information online. I did a social-media dive when I was chosen to be on the show, but it was never confirmed or denied that she’s a lesbian or bi.”
I stood because we’d reached the gossiping stage of the conversation, and I wasn’t going to partake any longer. “Okay. I’m leaving. I’ll see you both in the morning.”
“Oh, you can’t stay for just a bit longer?” Emma asked.
I shook my head. “Thank you, but I’m drained. Have fun.” I walked back to my room, sad because I knew I wouldn’t see Lauren privately until the show was done. I locked my door, and even though I didn’t have the energy, I packed my clothes and crawled into bed early. I was beyond exhausted, and life wasn’t about to get easier.
* * *
When I opened the door to my mansion, Jane was standing in the foyer. “Jane! You’re here!” I grabbed her and hugged her. “I can’t believe it. Wait. Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine. The business is fine, your mother is fine,” she said.
That’s when I started crying. The stress of the entire show and me being so alone was too much.
“Come here. Has it been that bad?” she asked.
She stroked the back of my head while I cried out my frustrations. “Let’s go upstairs.” I needed my best friend, and our conversation didn’t need to be filmed. I grabbed her hand and walked quickly up the stairs. I had so much to say and wasn’t sure where to begin.
Jane sat on the couch and leaned forward, obviously eager to hear about my journey. “Mexico, huh?”
“I have so much to say, but I need to shower.”
A knock at the door startled me. It was Evelyn, one of Denise’s assistants. “Denise wants to see you.”
“Right now? We literally just got back, and I’ve had two minutes with Jane.”
“She was pretty adamant.”
I sighed and wiped my eyes. “Jane, I have to go, but hopefully I’ll be back in just a few minutes. If you want something to eat, ask Josef with an ‘ef.’ He’s the chef of the manor, mansion, whatever this place is. I won’t be long.” She gave me a playful salute and waved me off.
I followed Evelyn down the stairs. Instead of entering the information room or the office, she walked out of the house. “Wait. We aren’t meeting here?”
“No. We’re going to the office.”
I hadn’t been there since the initial meeting. “Okay.” I climbed into the back of the car and tried to clean my smeared makeup the best I could with a tissue and a compact. The drive took about twenty minutes in minimal traffic. I wanted to get back to Jane. She said everything was fine, but I needed more information.
“Right this way, Savannah.” The driver opened the door and ushered me inside.
The same receptionist greeted me. “Ms. Edwards. It’s nice to see you again. I’ll buzz you through the door.” She hit a button and pointed me to the side door. Cole was walking toward me.
“There you are. I’m sorry I wasn’t downstairs to greet you,” he said.
“What’s going on, Cole?”
“I’m not one hundred percent sure. Follow me, please.”
I followed him down the hall until we reached the same conference room where I had signed my life away months ago. Denise, Peter Meyers with his great hair, and two men I didn’t know were sitting on one side of the table.
Denise waved me in. “Savannah, please sit down.” Her lips were pressed so tightly that they disappeared into a straight line. This wasn’t good.
I sat opposite them and folded my arms. “What’s this about?”
She pulled out an eight-by-ten photo, slapped it onto the conference room table, and pushed it in front of me. “We’re being blackmailed because of this photo. What in the fuck were you thinking?”
I looked down at a photo of me kissing Lauren. It was when she sneaked out of my room in Mexico. I went from extreme cold to extreme heat and was starting to sweat.
“Who is she, Savannah?”
They didn’t know. I looked closer. The hat and sunglasses disguised her features, and the world hadn’t seen Lauren in jeans and a casual T-shirt. They weren’t looking for Lauren in the photo, so they didn’t see her. It didn’t look like any of the contestants either. It was obviously me. I couldn’t deny that, but I could pretend it was just a hookup. “She’s somebody I met when I sneaked out. Not a contestant. Somebody who I found at a bar like two blocks from the hotel.”
“This has royally fucked everything up. What in the hell were you thinking?” she asked again. “I don’t even know how to do damage control,” Denise shouted.
I was two seconds from freaking out when Lauren burst in.
“I’m so sorry I’m late. What’s going on?” she asked.
I wanted to protect her, so I started talking immediately. “I hooked up with somebody in Mexico, and some rando took a photo and is blackmailing the show. Here.” I thrust the photo at Lauren.
“Wait, what?” Lauren grabbed the photo from me and looked at it closely.
“Nobody even knows who it is,” I said.
“Who the fuck is it?” Denise asked.
“None of your damn business,” I said, my anger boiling over at my own embarrassment.
“Everything about this show is my business,” Denise yelled.
Peter stood. “Okay. Let’s settle down and focus on damage control. Obviously we’re not going to pay anybody anything. Let’s figure out how to get out of this.”
“The show is ruined,” Denise said.
I dropped my head iton my hands. This wasn’t happening. “I can quit. I can walk away.”
“Will any of the contestants say it’s them? Maybe we can throw money at one of them,” Cole said.
Now I was offended. “They aren’t like that.”
“They’re on television, aren’t they?” Peter said.
I wanted to argue with him, but he wasn’t wrong. “Can’t we just say I was kissing somebody?”
“She is literally hanging off your balcony. This isn’t just a kiss. This is a fuck session,” Denise said.
“Don’t be rude, Denise. We’ve had scandals in the past. What are our legitimate avenues?” Lauren asked the two men sitting next to Peter, whom I assumed were the show’s lawyers.
“We can let the scandal blow up, and Savannah can take the blows. She’s a favorite, and fans will probably forgive her. Maybe tonight she can tell Emma and Ophelia that she kissed somebody else and let it play out,” Denise said.
“Nobody’s throwing Savannah under the bus,” Lauren said.
I put my hand on Lauren’s arm. When she looked at me, I shook my head. I didn’t want her to sacrifice everything. Her job was too important to her. “Don’t worry about me. Let’s just figure out the best way to get out of this with the least amount of damage for the show.” Including you, I added silently, hoping that she knew what I was doing.
“Lauren, you’re the level-headed one of this group with the best ideas. You have your pulse on the audience. Do you have any ideas?” Denise asked.
Lauren pushed her chair out and stood, putting both her palms on the table. I shook my head at her, but she ignored me. “I don’t know how we’re going to fix this, but I want everyone to know that the person in the photo with Savannah is me.”