Chip’s production crew had outdone themselves this time. They’d constructed a giant apparatus twenty feet off the ground consisting of various rope and wooden bridges, ladders, and barriers. The contestants had to race around the setup gathering a variety of tokens that represented different moments in the game and then place them on a board in the right order. All of the team members had to work together to collect them, organize them, and hang them. The team who did it the fastest, successfully, would be the winners of the show.
The teams were evenly matched, both having collected roughly half of the tokens already. Of course, not many of those tokens could be attributed to Rick or Alex’s efforts. Their efforts in the finale seemed to lie directly in making the other person feel as much pain as possible before the show ended. It was unnerving to watch.
“What the hell is going on with those two?” Chip asked, coming to stand beside Zoe while they peered up at the apparatus and the grown men acting like school kids.
“I have no idea. It’s like they’re out for blood instead of winning.”
“Did either of them say anything to you?”
You mean besides Alex threatening me to help him win?
She shook her head. “Nope. No one said a word to me about anything.”
Alex cursed loudly as he tumbled over the side of one of the bridges and landed in the net hanging beneath the entire apparatus. Now he had to crawl to one of the ladders and climb back up, easily losing time to gather tokens. From somewhere above him, Rick cackled as if he really enjoyed seeing Alex fall.
Where had all of this animosity between them come from? It wasn’t as if they’d been living together recently to get on each other’s nerves. At last week’s challenges, they hadn’t batted two eyelashes at each other. But now they acted as if they were archenemies.
Zoe’s slip up to Rick about Alex threatening her flashed through her mind. Shit. Another disaster that was her fault. If she’d only been able to keep her mouth shut, this wouldn’t be happening right now. Instead, Rick looked as if he wasn’t going to stop until he made Alex pay.
“Get up here, we have the tokens!” Justin yelled from the platform where they would hang each of the tokens in the order in which the event happened on the show. They weren’t allowed to start until each member of the team was accounted for on the platform and currently Alex was still in the net making his way to the ladder.
“Get your ass up here,” Dale called down to him. “We can’t start without you and the other team is almost to their platform.”
Alex let loose a string of profanities and scurried to the ladder. He hoisted himself up onto the first wrung but his grip must not have been good enough because a second later he landed spread-eagled on the net again looking up at the sky.
Rick peered over the edge to gawk at Alex. “You get what you deserve!” He laughed again then joined his team on the platform so they could start hanging their tokens.
Zoe held her breath watching as Alex climbed the ladder. He’d better hurry or the game would be over before he even got up there. Then how angry would he be?
Alex pulled himself onto the wooden bridge then sprinted to the platform, collapsing when he reached it, attempting to catch his breath. The rest of his team jolted into action, arranging the tokens on the ground in order then hanging them on the hooks.
Zoe looked back and forth between the teams trying to see who was closer to winning. She didn’t have to wonder for long. Rick’s team hung their last token then cranked the lever that would only move if the tokens were all in the correct spot. The crank moved, raising a flag into the air, and declaring them the winners.
A loud cheer went up from Rick’s side of the apparatus and then the entire team jumped off their platform together to land in the netting below. Curses came from the rowing team’s side as a token slammed to the wood at their feet.
While Rick’s team lay in the net for a few minutes celebrating and enjoying their victory, the rowing team climbed down the ladder and stalked over to where Zoe stood waiting to film the final wrap-up. They stopped a few feet in front of her on the mark production had indicated for their final positions.
Alex, however, didn’t stop with his team. He stormed up to Zoe, anger etched into every surface of his face. “How could you let this happen?”
She stepped back, startled at his outburst. Glancing past him to the rest of his team, they looked as shocked as she was. Off to the side, Chip moved forward as if to come to her rescue, but she held up her hand, motioning for him to stay put. She would handle Alex on her own. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Don’t start with me. Don’t stand there acting all high and mighty when you know full well what you did. You sent him after me, didn’t you? It’s not enough you’ve had the producer in your bed, you’ve probably had Rick in your bed this whole time too.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I never asked Rick to go after you.” She glanced to the side to see the cameras aimed at her and Alex instead of the teams. Crap. Just what she needed — to be thrown under the bus at yet another finale. Awesome.
Not that it was against the rules or anything, but there was a huge part of her that didn’t really want her fling with Chip broadcast on national television. Was it too much to ask that some aspect of her life be allowed to remain private?
“Get the hell away from her,” Rick said, shoving Alex back away from Zoe.
“Rick, don’t,” Zoe pleaded. She didn’t know what the hell was going on with Alex now, but physical violence wasn’t going to help.
“You don’t know what I’m talking about?” Alex laughed and shook his head. “How stupid do you think we all are? Look at him. Protecting you like a jealous boyfriend. You sent him after me, didn’t you? You couldn’t seduce the information about the challenge out of your lover boy producer anymore so you sent your pit bull Rick after me to put me out of commission.”
“What the hell is he talking about, Zoe?” Chip asked, joining them.
She bit her lip. Great. Now Chip had broken his own rules and was in the shot when he was supposed to remain behind the scenes. He never stepped in front of the camera. Ever.
So much for wrapping up the finale and getting out of here.
“It’s nothing, Chip. Can we get the finale over with already?”
“What’s wrong, Zoe? Are you worried your little producer boyfriend will find out the truth about you?” Alex smirked, but anger still flared in his features. “Are you worried your pit bull will find out he’s been sharing you this whole time?”
“That’s enough,” Rick said stepping between them. “Zoe never asked me to go after you. I decided that all on my own once I heard about you threatening her. I wasn’t going to sit around and let some little shit like you get away with that. Someone had to put you in your place.”
“You told him I threatened you?” Alex narrowed his eyes at Zoe. “Did you really think he could stop me from ratting you out to everyone?”
“That’s enough, Alex. Join your team so I can announce the winners.” She tried to sound as forceful and authoritative as she could, but Alex didn’t move or attempt to hide his amusement. Her pulse pounded in her head as her nervousness increased. She had to end the show before Alex told everyone her secret.
“I agree. I think it’s enough too.” Alex smiled.
“What’s going on, Zoe? Threats from Alex? You and Rick? Someone better hurry up and tell me what’s going on here.” Chip clenched his jaw, barely keeping his cool.
“If you really want to know the truth, maybe you should ask Andrea to tell you.” Alex crossed his arms, looking smug.
The trees around her spun as she sucked in a quick breath. He’d done it. He’d sold her out on national television. Now everyone would know.
“Who’s Andrea?” Chip and Rick asked in uni
son.
“I am,” Zoe said in a quiet voice. Her breathing came quicker now, unable to hold back the fear and embarrassment as it spiked within her.
“That’s right. Your sweet Zoe Oliver is actually Andrea Miles. Ugly Andrea Miles. Andrea here seems to have gotten a new face and a new name since the last time I saw her, but she’s still the ugly girl on the inside, aren’t you? No amount of plastic surgery can change the person you really are.”
“I told you not to call me that.” Zoe clenched her hands into fists at her sides and tried to fight the overwhelming urge to punch him in the face. She fought to focus on her breathing so she wouldn’t pass out, her dizziness almost consuming her. “I only had those surgeries to fix my scars from the accident and you know that.”
“But it didn’t fix all of the scars did it? You still look like a monster under all that makeup, don’t you?”
She willed Alex to shut up, but it was too late. The damage was done. The truth was out. Now everyone would know she’d lied and she wasn’t really who they thought she was. She would be Ugly Andrea again.
Zoe swiped at the tears on her cheeks only to realize that they were mixing with raindrops. Seemed the sky had opened up above them with the news as if mirroring her mood. Good. Then maybe they wouldn’t be able to tell she was crying.
“You’re not Zoe? You’re Andrea?” Chip shook his head in obvious disbelief. “I don’t understand.”
“I … I changed my name to get away from people like Alex. But it doesn’t matter who I was before because that’s not who I am now.”
“So you had a whole other life I knew nothing about?” Chip’s voice trailed off.
“That life was my past. No one was supposed to know the truth. Ever. Alex just couldn’t keep his mouth shut when he recognized me.” She glared at him and wished looks could kill. Or at least hurt him as much as he’d already hurt her, past and present included.
“I warned you I’d take you down with me,” Alex sneered.
“Zoe, what is he talking about? Did he threaten you?” Chip asked.
“Not physically. More like he gave me a compelling ultimatum,” Zoe said, not wanting to get into details here in front of everyone. Best to gloss over as much as possible so that maybe she could salvage some kind of dignity after all of this was over.
“Sounds more like blackmail, doesn’t it?” Rick added. “Now people don’t feel so sorry for you getting beat up in the finale.”
“You didn’t beat me up,” Alex yelled, lunging for Rick.
Chip stepped between them, holding them off long enough for their respective team mates to grab their arms so they couldn’t pummel each other. When they were both controlled, Chip turned to Alex. “You blackmailed Zoe? What did you want from her?”
“The same thing I wanted from her last week — information about the challenge so that we’d have an advantage. But last week she was more successful at getting the information out of you, wasn’t she? Seemed she couldn’t get back into your bed a second time.” Alex faced Zoe again. “You must not be very good in the sack. Bad in bed and ugly too. Sucks to be you.”
“I … ” Zoe started to defend herself but before she could, Chip punched Alex in the face. Blood poured from Alex’s nose as he cried out and fell to one knee.
“You knew about this and didn’t tell anyone?” Chip yelled, turning on Rick next. He threw his fist out to clip Rick too, but Rick saw it coming and dodged.
“I only knew that Alex had made some kind of threat to her, not that he’d forced her to get information out of you. At least that explains her unlikely attraction to you now. And besides, I did do something about it, in my own way,” Rick shot back.
“A lot of good that did,” Chip said. “Maybe if you’d told someone on the production team, we could have done something, but now it’s too late.”
Zoe cringed when Chip turned to her next. She didn’t want to answer the questions she knew he’d ask. What could she possibly say to make him understand?
“Zoe — Andrea — whoever you are … How could you let this happen? How could you let yourself get blackmailed and not come and talk to me about it? Why didn’t you trust me with the truth so I could help you?” Chip paused, an expression of pure pain flashed in his eyes. “Was I really just a pawn on your blackmail game? Is that all it was to you?”
“I didn’t mean for this to happen. I thought I could deal with Alex on my own.” She glanced from one man to another wondering how her life had suddenly gotten so complicated. “I couldn’t tell you the truth about me, Chip. I wanted to, but I couldn’t.”
“You could tell me anything. Anything and I would listen.” Chip raked his hands through his short hair. “But you told Rick?”
“I slipped and mentioned it in a fit of anger and frustration. I had no intention of telling him about the blackmail. I swear I didn’t send Rick after Alex. And I’d never tell him the truth about me. Never.”
“Please tell me you didn’t tell Alex what the competitions were in advance last week.” Chip’s gaze pierced her, making her chest tighten. She couldn’t lie to him but telling him the truth would hurt both of them.
“I … ” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see any other way. I thought … ”
Chip pressed his fingers to his forehead and closed his eyes, sighing deeply. This was bad. Worse than she’d ever imagined. How had she been so stupid to think she could cheat for Alex’s team and nothing bad would come of it? She’d been reckless and impulsive.
Chip probably hated her for ruining his show. How could they air it now knowing the challenge last week had been rigged? It might not have even been these two teams in the finale if she hadn’t told Alex what the challenge was. She’d screwed up Chip’s entire production.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it through, I just panicked and did what I thought I had to,” she said in a small voice.
The tears she’d been fighting back overflowed her eyes, spilling down her cheeks. She’d made a huge mess of everything and now she’d have to pay the price. Now everyone knew she was a liar and a cheat. She’d never live this down in the tabloids. Never. They’d loved her drama before, but this would be the drama to end all drama. Her hidden past, her new identity, her accident and now her ruthless behavior as host — the media would eat her alive.
And she had no one to blame but herself.
“I need a few minutes to figure out how to salvage this game,” Chip said, pacing, his expression one of deep concentration. “Zoe, will you be able to finish filming in a little while?”
“Shouldn’t you start calling her Andrea since that is her real name?” Alex commented as he moved to stand on his mark with the rest of his team.
Zoe looked down at her feet. She couldn’t look at anyone anymore. They all gazed at her like she was some kind of circus freak — just like the others had after her accident. The memory sent a shot of pain into her chest making her breath hitch. She rubbed her hands against her face as if doing so could somehow stop her from turning back into Andrea now that her secret was out. When she pulled her hands away, they were covered in beige foundation.
Shit. She rubbed her hands together as panic rose in her throat like bile. It wasn’t enough they all knew she’d lied about her true identity, but now thanks to the rain, they’d all get to see her scars firsthand. She peeked up through her lashes at the cameras still focused on her. If she looked up, the camera would take in her appearance and then the whole world would see how she really looked.
Well she couldn’t let that happen.
Her hands shook, but she steadied her voice. “Chip, I need a couple of minutes to freshen up and then I’ll be ready to film when you are.” She didn’t look up or wait for his response. She turned and simply walked away as if there was nothing wrong with her other than needing a few minutes a
lone to collect herself.
When she was out of eyesight of the contestants and production crew, she bolted into the forest. Chip would never forgive her for this, but right now she couldn’t think about that. She had to get away.
Chapter Twenty-One
Chip couldn’t understand how his show could get so out of control so quickly. How the hell had this happened? He’d kept the contestants separated from each other and the crew and yet somehow they’d all ended up in some muddled mess. It wasn’t enough Rick had been flirting forcefully with Zoe, but he’d tried to take out the competition on her behalf.
Although Chip couldn’t say he wouldn’t have done the same thing considering he’d just punched the very same contestant in the face. Alex had it coming.
If only she’d come to him, told him about the blackmail even if she wasn’t ready to tell him the truth about who she really was. He could have done something to prevent his show from being completely ruined. But she hadn’t. She’d risked everything, the show, the other contestants, his reputation … everything, to save her own skin.
No, it wasn’t okay to blackmail anyone, especially not Zoe. But it also wasn’t okay to save yourself at the sacrifice of others either. Not knowing the reason why she was so set on being blackmailed instead of telling his the truth stung deep. He would do anything for her, but she couldn’t even share the details of her life with him. Ouch.
Of course, here he was defending her but if what Alex said was true, then Zoe wasn’t innocent in all of this either. She’d lied about her past, which maybe helped to explain why he’d had so much trouble finding information out about her from when she was younger.
Had she really only been with him to find out information about the show’s challenges?
Chip felt like he had a knife twisting in his chest at the thought of Zoe only being with him to gather information.
No. Her feelings were real. She couldn’t fake those.
Or maybe she could. She was obviously practiced enough at lying about who she really was. Maybe that meant she was practiced when it came to lying about her feelings too. Maybe nothing he knew about her was true.
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