Coming Home

by Kimberly McKay

  “Sounds like you kind of have a crush. And you were at lunch with Timberly? I bet she didn’t like that one bit.” Allyson laughed at the thought.

  The edges of Chad’s mouth twitched. Allyson loved watching her son’s eyes twinkle. He reminded her so much of Charlie, with his rugged good looks and bright blue eyes.

  When he was born she thought he looked like a little angel, and he’s stayed true to form. He was a good kid and deserved a good woman by his side. She really hoped he’d find that someday, but highly doubted he’d find it in L.A.

  If only he’d move back to Texas …

  “Well either way. It’d be nice if I could be a fly on the wall, so I could warn you off from any of those girls that were up to no good.” Allyson said half heartedly, as she cleared the table. “Who’s ready for dessert? I made pineapple sheet cake.”

  Chad leaned back in his chair, and rubbed his belly. “You’re going to put ten pounds on me. I have to fly back tomorrow to start taping the next day.”

  Allyson squinted at her thin-framed son. “You could use a few pounds. You both could,” she said, before pointing at Abbey. “I’ll be right back.”

  Chad watched his mom retreat into the kitchen, pondering what she’d said.

  A fly on the wall … The idea had merit. He smiled to himself and pulled out his phone to send a quick text to his manager, which read:

  ‘Check my contract with the show. See how loose the wording is on what control I have on my part in the taping.’

  Abbey pursed her lips and tossed a napkin across the table. “I know that look. You’re up to something.”

  “I might be, sis. I’ll let you know.”

  “What?” She scooted over in anticipation. “Tell me!”

  Chad leaned in, more than willing to share his idea. His mom and Abbey’s comments on their frustrations over reality dating shows had him thinking, and he needed someone to bounce his idea off of. He hoped his contract would allow him the wiggle room to shake things up.

  Chapter 7

  Anne woke up in the early hours of the morning, with her stomach churning. Sleep evaded her through most of the night and now she was almost sick with worry.

  The info packet sitting on her desk was taunting her most of the weekend, and as it was the last night before taping; it was now keeping her awake.

  The thought of production schedules, which were outlined inside, were the only thing she could think of.

  The crew was set to start taping this morning as the girls packed their gear, to get ready to move into whatever accommodations awaited. The thought of being loaded in with so many other girls, competing for one man was daunting – but hey, she was a military brat. Anne had handled new schools and competitive girls all over the world, so she could handle this.

  It was just a matter of jumping in – except she hadn’t quite taken the leap of faith yet. She was still in the dreaded anticipation mode, which felt the same as when her dad would get orders for a new duty station. The thought of going somewhere foreign was always out of her comfort zone – but as soon as they moved she handled it with flying colors.

  Anne, once again, out of her comfort zone needed to tackle this head on. In order to shake any last minute jitters, she grabbed her workout gear - determined to get to the gym early enough that she could come back to her room without interruption. She needed to feel and look her best.

  Since she had the convenience of arriving early, she’d yet to meet any other contestants. However, over the last couple of days, she saw plenty of beautiful young women coming and going, whom she could only assume were here for the same reason. And, as they made her feel plain in comparison, she took a little extra time to pamper herself in efforts to keep her mind off what was to come.

  Another distraction she chose over the last few days, was playing tourist. Since she was a local, she’d always avoided Hollywood, as there was no reason to visit the traps of the travel industry in that area. Since she’d never truly experienced Rodeo drive or any of the celebrity home tours, she made the rounds with Ned’s personal assistant, Tia, whom he’d loaned to her for the week.

  Anne asked Tia to take her everywhere from Rodeo, to the farmers market, and then finally the scenic tour. By the end of the week, she felt like it was a normal vacation, almost forgetting the real reason she was here. However, every time she looked to the driver of her town car - she quickly remembered this was anything but a personal vacation. The truth of it burned, like a blaze, into the pit of her stomach.

  One of her biggest concerns was that her past would come back to haunt her. With shows like these, any sort of privacy is foregone. However, she was sure she wouldn’t make it past the first couple shows for her story to matter. After all, she was Anne LaSal – not Anne Aundine. And if she did, by some miracle, make it through more episodes than she expected … maybe a little scandal was what her grandmother needed.

  Anne inwardly grinned at the thought as she pulled on her sports bra and running shorts. If she timed it right – she’d be able to run on the treadmill and then shower and change, before any production started rolling.

  Twenty minutes later, she held a steady pace on a slight incline on one of the numerous treadmills at the gym downstairs, and was enjoying the solitude of having the room to herself.

  Her ear buds were blaring with a mixture of sounds from Maroon 5, Natasha Bedingfield, and Pink. It was the kind of music she needed to get her in the zone to start her day.

  Just as she was about to lower the incline on her treadmill, the gym door flew open revealing another young woman, with a towel in hand. The leggy blonde made eye contact, and headed in her direction, as if on a mission.

  Anne half smiled but got nothing in return except the raise of an eyebrow and a tilted chin. Although there were plenty of treadmills in the room to choose from – the girl stepped up next to Anne to give her a once over, before starting her own treadmill.

  Anne couldn’t be sure but she almost felt like this girl was challenging her.

  Don’t be ridiculous. Not everything is about you. She may just be in her zone.

  Anne diverted her eyes forward, and let it go. After all she knew what it was like to need to burn of the edge, with a good run, besides this was not supposed to be social time. She was just on the cusp of getting back into a solid rhythm with her run, when she noticed the leggy blonde glancing down to Anne’s control panel.

  What the heck? She was tempted to move to a different machine.

  She turned her head once more, and saw the girl staring at her, with a raised eyebrow. Without breaking eye contact, this brazen blonde began upping her speed, skipping the warm up phase of her work out, to match Anne’s pace.

  Anne quickly looked down to the panel on the machine next to her, only to notice her challenger was now surpassing her speed. She clenched her jaw, turned her head away, and kept running.

  There were plenty of machines in this place, and this girl had to run right next to her – and then challenge her to boot?

  Anne slowed her pace intentionally, and came to a stop. As she stepped down, she pulled her ear buds out and stood in front of the treadmill. If this woman was going to interrupt her time, two could play at that game.

  Anne stood in defiance, waiting for the twiggy blonde to take notice.

  Irritated, the blonde looked down and said, “Can I help you?”

  Anne cocked her head. “Yeah, I just wanted tell you to have a good run. It looks like you need it.”

  As, she spun on her heel to leave, she heard the girl mumble an obscenity toward her. Instantly, she felt bad and turned back.

  “Hey, I’m sorry. That was rude of me. I’m normally not that way. It’s just early in the morning, and I felt like my space was a bit invaded.” She rubbed her hand off with her towel, and then extended it. “I’m Anne. Hope to see you around.”

  The girl slowed her machine and loosely shook her hand. “I’m Cara. And I doubt it, but thanks for the apology. It is a free coun
try you know. This room is for everyone.” She defended herself.

  “I know. But with all these machines …” Anne waved her arm down the row of eight treadmills. “You had to pick the one next to me and challenge me? That’s all I meant, but listen, like I said – I was being rude. I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, you were.” Cara put her ear buds in and tuned Anne out. She sped up her machine, and gave Anne a look that meant she was done talking.

  Anne left this time with certain names running through her own head. She shook it off though because she didn’t have time for any more games.

  Within two hours, cameras were rolling. Anne propped her hotel door open, as instructed, and realized all the doors down the hall were open as well. It was obvious they were housing all twenty contestants on one floor, as bright lights lit up the entire hallway. Overwhelmed wasn’t a big enough word to describe how she felt. She sunk back into her door, and stared in awe at the commotion that lie outside.

  “Hey, no worries!” Janie said, popping into Anne’s room.

  Janie, an assistant producer for the show, took one look at Anne’s face and narrowed her eyes.

  “You look like you’re about the throw up. Need anything? Sprite? Tums?”

  “How about another fun weekend? Ugh. What am I doing here?” Anne grunted. “I’m sure all those other girls are very excited. This is just not me. It’s not like I’m a Barbie doll, like most of them out there.”

  Anne peered outside at some of the hard bodies that were scattered throughout in the hall, congregating for the benefit of the cameras. She had curves that were natural not implanted, and her frame wasn’t what you would call thin, but she wasn’t overweight either. At 5’ 8”, she should have been a size six but she usually fit into a size eight. Her one asset, she felt confident in, were her long legs. She looked down to them and hoped she was good enough to be a part of this process.

  “Trust me. You’re the girl next door. You’re who America is going to fall in love with. You’re who Chad Chambers might also fall in love with.” Janie spoke before she thought about her words, and then her hand instantly flew up to her mouth.

  Anne spun around to face her, in shock.

  “You would have found out today anyways.” Janie wrinkled her nose.

  “Ugh.” Anne really felt like throwing up now. She dropped into her bed. “What? You’re telling me that Chad, who dates Timberly, is on the show? Now, I know this is rigged. He’s in a relationship! And why on earth would he be interested in me over any of those glamorous girls out there?”

  Janie laughed. She thought Anne was funny, and really wanted her to do well on the show. She knew Ned had his hopes pinned on her being the one special girl that would make sparks.

  “Stand up.” Janie ordered. “Do it.” She said more emphatically when she noticed Anne wasn’t listening.

  Anne gradually stood and took a step toward Janie, saying, “Look, maybe if I back out now. No harm – no foul. You can just tell Ned …”

  Janie quickly interrupted. “Come here - and look at yourself.”

  She positioned Anne in front of the mirror, and looked to her cameraman. Her eyebrows shot up, asking if he was rolling.

  He nodded. He’d been holding the camera down by his side, like it was turned off but it wasn’t. Anne was none the wiser.

  “What do you see?” Jane asked, but didn’t wait for the answer. “Because I see a woman, who is far from average but doesn’t have to do anything to improve on what she has. Use that, Anne, and just have some fun. Do you know how many girls would kill to be in your position? Plus, you’re locked in a contract. You’re on the show until you’re kicked off or eliminated. Understand?”

  Janie lied. Anne could have left at any time, but Janie knew how integral Anne would be for the show. She was someone special, and Janie was afraid the show wouldn’t be the same without her.

  Anne rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. All she could think about was Chad Chambers, which made her head spin. If history repeated itself, she wouldn’t be able to look at him let alone talk to him. Odds were that she wouldn’t last long.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Anne gave a fake salute, trying to lighten up the moment. It didn’t work. She still felt like her feet were glued to the ground, and she might toss her cookies at any moment.

  Suddenly, she remembered Timberly’s jealous outburst, and turned to face Janie, with eyes narrowed. It was clear to her that Timberly and Chad were more than friends.

  “And Timberly?” She asked, wondering if this whole thing really was rigged.

  “Just a friend.” Janie reassured her, giggling at Anne’s response. Who wouldn’t love her?

  “Not that it matters…” Anne played it off.

  “Whatever! If it didn’t matter, you wouldn’t have brought it up … twice.” Janie held up two fingers and laughed. “Now get back out here so we can finish your reel.”

  The next two hours were just her and the camera operator, who had specific questions planned in order to get good footage. Anne answered things like where she was from, what she did, what were her hopes for the show … and so on. She wondered again about the other girls. She hoped she’d find at least a couple that she could relate to.

  Chapter 8

  Chad wrung his hands as he paced the floor. This was a lot more nerve racking than he ever imagined. He approached the television executives first thing Sunday, when he got back in town to pitch his idea.

  After his manager told him his contract was iron clad with no wiggle room, he knew he’d have to position his idea in a way that would be good for the show, so that they’d sign on.

  “You ready?” Ned walked in, smiling. Each season was the same. They all acted like nervous schoolboys, which was a comfort to see. If his bachelor was too calm, it was a bad sign.

  The fact that Chad was nervous meant he was invested. Heck, he knew how invested as of Sunday when he got a call from his boss that Chad had approached the executives to change up the show.

  Ned had seen better ratings but also knew his show was a hit. They still tuned in whether it was the same old tired format or not. However, he also heard the rumblings of those, saying he needed to shake things up for better ratings. He and his team were brainstorming on a few ideas, but Chad had beaten them to the punch.

  Chad’s pensive look spoke volumes. Ned could tell he was apprehensive to see how he reacted to the changes.

  “Don’t stress. You did me a favor.” He laughed at his knitted brow. “And you must be one good salesman because they all went for it. Apparently, you pled a good case for a few changes?”

  “Are you mad? I got back in town and made the quickest call that would get me the most results. Actually my agent did. I felt some things needed to happen if I’m going to single out the right girl for me. And to be honest this current model …” Chad waved his hands to the set around him. “… doesn’t work for me.”

  Ned snorted. “I don’t think it’s working for a lot of people. To be honest, we were already brainstorming on how to shake things up a bit to change up the game. You actually made my job easier.”

  “So you’re not mad?”

  Ned chuckled and took a seat. “Only mad that I didn’t think of it first. Now, you don’t have authority to run the show. That’s my job so keep that in mind as I have final say, but the studio approved the changes. But for anything in the future – run it by me and I’ll let you know. Okay?”

  “I understand. Thanks so much. I got dressed up just in case. I wasn’t sure if I’d have to go down there tonight to meet the girls.” Chad visibly relaxed, and joined Ned in the chair next to him.

  “Nope. In fact one of my guys should be rolling in here with a monitor so we can watch, as we break the news to all the girls that you won’t be joining them tonight.” Ned nodded for his intern. “Here he is now. All you have to do is sit back and watch the fireworks.”

  “Will Terence tell them where we’re all headed?” Chad asked, referring to the host of the
show.

  “Are you kidding? This is television at its finest. Keeping them guessing is the name of the game.” Ned chuckled. “I can’t wait to see their reaction when they see where they’ll be staying. Are you crazy man? Do you really want twenty women to hate you?”

  Chad grinned. “I thought it would be a place where they could get real – and quick. I just want to see some of their true colors.”

  “Well, it’s ingenious. Like I said, I wish I thought of it first. Take a look,” Ned said, referring to the screen. “Here we go.”

  Chad looked to the monitor as the camera panned the room and liked what he saw … plenty of beautiful women, who were all here for him. Who wouldn’t get an ego boost from that? It was mind boggling that he’d be dating them all. Part of him felt bad, as they’d have to work so much harder at it now. But, this was his opportunity to see who was really here for him – and who wasn’t.

  Chad looked to Ned, who looked like a little kid with a secret. “What? What are smiling at?”

  “Now guys. Zoom in.” Ned spoke into hand-held radio, without taking his eyes off Chad. He eagerly nodded toward the monitor, suggesting Chad take another look.

  Chad’s attention quickly turned back to the screen, as the shot went from a wide one of all the girls to a tight one, with two girls sitting off to the side. One of them was Anne. She sat with a champagne glass in hand, and smiled pleasantly to the girl next too her, intently listening to her.

  “What the?” Chad’s heart leapt with joy. “Isn’t she?”

  Ned nodded, giving Chad a mischievous grin.

  “I thought you two were….” Chad frowned. “I don’t understand.”

  “You assumed we were together.”

  “Yeah, I thought …”

  “You thought wrong.” Ned responded.

  “I thought she was in town visiting you.”