by Maggie Knox
17
Cass
Tuesday: 4 Days Until Christmas . . .
Los Angeles
“Do you need anything?” Priya asked, knocking gently on the door. Inside the restroom, Cass stared at her reflection in the mirror, her fingers gripping the sides of the sink. She was sweaty and pale, with her stomach in knots. Cass’s insides churned every time she thought about Miguel and how they’d left things the night before. Also, she spent half the night questioning if she had it in her to pull off yet another elaborate pastry recipe today. Then when she’d arrived on set, already feeling queasy, the smell of burnt plastic (an intern had left a ladle too close to a hot element) had pushed her over the edge. Luckily, the restroom Priya directed her to was private, so no one else was witness to the unfortunate dry heaving.
“Uh, Charlie?” Cass wondered why Priya was calling her by her sister’s name, then realized someone else must be standing outside the door with her. “How about a peppermint tea?”
Cass cleared her throat. “That sounds great. Thanks.” She turned on the cold water and splashed a couple of handfuls on her thankfully still-bare face, glad at least she wasn’t ruining Priya’s hard work. Patting her skin dry with one of the paper towels, she took a deep breath before opening the door.
Austin leaned against the wall across from the restroom, arms crossed and with his signature smirk in place. “Hope that wasn’t from testing one of your own recipes, Goodwin.”
“Do you have nothing better to do than obsess over me? It’s not a good look on you,” Cass said, before walking quickly back down the hall to the makeup room. But Austin kept pace beside her, continuing his needling.
“Not feeling so hot, huh, kiddo?” His tone was concerned, but she knew it was faked. Cass clenched her jaw and resisted the urge to turn and punch Austin right in the nose.
“Leave me alone, Austin.”
She sat back in the chair, hoping Priya would return soon and Austin would slink back into the hole he had come out of. Cass had no idea how Charlie worked with such a weasel, day in and day out.
But Austin wouldn’t leave, and instead stood in the door watching her. “We should probably let Sasha know you’re sick. You know how freaked she gets about germs on set, with all the food and everything.”
Austin put his hands in his pockets as he scrutinized her in the mirror. “You’re not going to fool anyone. So, are you going to tell Sasha or should I?”
“Tell her what?” For a moment Cass was panicked, thinking he was referring to the swap. But then she realized he simply meant about her being ill. He looked far too happy at the prospect of being the one to rat Cass and her wobbly stomach out. Suddenly she couldn’t stand to let Austin feel like he had the upper hand for one more second.
She frowned, put a hand to her stomach. “Wow, I really feel awful all of a sudden.” Then she turned toward him. “You probably shouldn’t be in here. I might be contagious.”
He took a small step back, but his smirk remained. “I never get sick.”
Just then Cass slapped a hand over her mouth, and looked at Austin with wide eyes, lurching forward in her chair. That did the trick. Austin jumped backward.
“Don’t you puke on me, Goodwin!” Then mumbling something about needing to get on set, he turned and left the room in a flash.
Cass took a deep, satisfied breath and settled back in the chair just as Priya appeared in the doorway, watching Austin retreat down the hall.
“What did you do to him?” she asked, handing Cass the steaming mug of tea.
“Nothing he didn’t deserve,” Cass replied, blowing on the surface of the hot tea. “Thanks for this.”
Priya put clips in the front of Cass’s hair, to hold it back before she applied her makeup for that day’s show. “You look less ghastly. So, what happened this morning?” Priya mixed two foundations together on the back of her hand, then took a brush and started on Cass’s forehead.
“Nervous stomach, I guess.” Cass shrugged.
“Hmm. Anything you want to talk about?”
She wished she could. Priya was a good listener and an enthusiastic advice giver. But Cass didn’t need advice, because there was really no other option than to end things with Miguel. Now she just had to keep her chin up and finish these final episodes and get back to Starlight Peak. Where she would hopefully be able to forget all about the surfing physician assistant who had somehow worked his way into her heart in a matter of days.
“Not really. And please don’t take that the wrong way. You’re a great friend to Charlie, and to me, too.” Cass smiled at Priya. “But I’ve created a mess, and now I have to set things right.”
Priya squeezed her shoulder, giving her a gentle smile. “You know, Charlie has that ‘nervous’ stomach thing, too.”
“She does?”
Priya nodded, then said, “Chin up, please,” and proceeded to dab under Cass’s neck with the pink sponge. “Our first day on set she threw up, like, six times. I had to redo her makeup more than once.”
“Seriously?” Cass couldn’t imagine it. Charlie was always so confident and self-assured. She couldn’t picture her getting nervous enough about anything to throw up once, let alone that many times. Though, to be honest, Cass had to admit she and Charlie had drifted apart recently and that she didn’t know her twin as well as she used to. With their workaholic schedules they hadn’t made time for each other like they should have, something Cass was regretting more every day. She missed her sister.
“I thought she was done for, especially when she got sick in her assistant’s take-out soda cup about five minutes before they started shooting. You should have seen the poor kid’s face. The horror. He didn’t last long.” They both cringed, then laughed. “But then she went out there and pulled it off somehow. She was flawless.”
Cass smiled, proud of her twin. Charlie was a force, and not much could hold her back.
“I know I’ve already said this, but the more time I spend with you the more I see how alike you really are. Even with your differences, like the tattoo, and the whole drinking thing. You both have that unstoppable energy thing. An eternal flame, I always say to Charlie.”
“That’s nice of you to say,” Cass said. Too bad she felt like a smoldering pile of ash, after a bucket of water had been poured on a fire.
“It’s the truth.” Priya took out the clips and fluffed up Cass’s hair. “And . . . done. Gorgeous, as usual.”
Any signs of sickness were covered up, and Cass looked refreshed and healthy. “Thanks, Priya. You’re a miracle worker.”
“I have an excellent canvas, friend.” Priya gave her a quick hug from behind. “Now, go show Austin who’s boss, okay? He needs to be brought down about a hundred notches.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“You sure will,” Priya said. “You’re a Goodwin twin, after all.”
* * *
• • •
Cass’s sugarplum cake, with the spiced cherry and citrus ice cream layer in its center, was the first to be plated and brought forward for judging. One of the finalists, a chef named Justin who was talented but suffered from time management issues, stood by anxiously.
Cass and Austin did the usual rigmarole, glancing at each other with raised eyebrows and other facial expressions, which were scripted for dramatic flair. They did three takes, because Sasha wanted to make sure she had enough B-roll, and in that time the assistants had to cut another two pieces of the dessert because the ice cream layer kept melting under the hot lights.
“So, Justin. We’ve talked about this before, but your station . . .” Austin gestured to Justin’s countertop, and the camera panned to the mess. “What happened there?”
“Yeah, it could be tidier.” Justin looked sheepish.
“Tidier?” Austin let out a laugh, then turned to Cass. “Charlie, what do you think about Justin
’s ‘Yeah, it could be tidier’ station?”
Cass played Charlie’s part as best she could, knowing she was to be the sweet persona to Austin’s salty one. “Your desserts are consistently impressive, Justin, but I’m sorry to say your station is also consistently a disaster.” She smiled, trying to give the nervous contestant a hit of encouragement. “We have seen what you’re capable of. But no pastry chef will be successful without a pristine bench.” It was a rule of the industry. You cleaned up as you went, no exceptions.
“What Charlie is trying to say is that with a mess like that it doesn’t really matter what this tastes like. You’re in a competition, man.” Austin picked up the gold spoon and pointed it at the dessert, which was starting to lose its shape on the plate.
“Cut, cut,” Austin said, sticking his spoon into the melting ice cream layer. “This is a mess. Again. We just had to do ice cream today.” Austin heaved a dramatic sigh in Cass’s direction, and Justin looked even more nervous. “Can someone get me another plate? Hurry up.”
“Please,” Cass murmured from beside him as the assistant scrambled to plate a fourth portion of the dessert.
Austin turned to her. “What was that?”
Cass put her hands to her hips, faced Austin and said, loudly, “Please. ‘Please, can someone get me another plate?’ ”
He was speechless for a moment, and it seemed everyone on set held their collective breaths, and then Austin burst out laughing. He slapped Cass on the back, continuing to chuckle. “I’ll say please the second they earn it, if that’s okay with you, Goodwin?”
Sasha told Austin to knock it off. He held his hands up and did his best to look wounded. “Sorry, Sasha. I didn’t know Charlie was so sensitive.”
“Are we ready?” Sasha was impatient, disinterested in the spat and wanting to get shooting wrapped up for the day.
Cass smiled at Sasha, ignoring Austin’s quip. “Ready, Sasha.”
They picked the banter back up as they dug into Justin’s dessert. But the second it touched her tongue Cass knew three things: Justin had made a grave error; his messy bench was the least of his problems; and she could not swallow the dessert.
Being as discreet as possible she grabbed the napkin in front of her and spit the dessert into it. But Austin, who thrived on drama, made a show of coughing, then bending over and gagging as he spit the dessert onto the floor. A stunned Justin, his eyes wide, watched in disbelief. A gasp came up from the rest of the group.
Cass took a sip of the water beside her and swished it around her mouth to remove the awful taste. “Justin, how much sugar did you use in the cake?” She took another sip while they waited for Justin to answer.
“Uh . . . two cups.”
“Are you sure about that?” Austin asked, still coughing as though he had been poisoned.
Justin looked back at his station, and the camera zoomed in on the containers littering the counter. The salt and granulated sugar canisters were side by side. The audience, when they watched this section of the show, would realize at the same time as Justin that he had used salt in place of sugar in his dessert—which had made it, obviously, inedible.
“Oh my God,” Justin wheezed out, panic settling on his sweaty face.
Cass felt terribly for him. The clear canisters and their contents looked identical, the labels barely legible. In a rush, you could easily mix the two up. And Cass had learned sometimes the show counted on this. It was no accident that all the canisters looked the same. It made for better television, even if it was incredibly traumatic for the contestants who didn’t remember to double-check everything.
“You added two cups of salt to your cake, man! Quite honestly, I didn’t expect this from you. But looking at your station, well, it makes sense. This is an amateur’s mistake, and this competition is not made for amateurs, so, Justin, your time in the Sweet and Salty kitchen is—”
But Austin didn’t get the rest of his sentence out because Justin suddenly pitched forward, just missing the countertop’s edge by a few inches. Luckily he didn’t land directly on his face, because one of the other contestants beside him saw what was happening and quickly stepped in to break his fall. Justin was out cold, and the set went into overdrive even as the cameras kept filming. This footage was gold.
Beside her, Austin was doing little to hide his laughter. Cass glared at him but then turned her attention to Justin. He was conscious now and sitting up, the medics tending to him. Cass crouched so she could look Justin in the eye. “Are you okay?” she asked. The contestant smiled weakly, still pale, but said he was.
“He’s fine,” Austin said, waving a dismissive hand. “Hey, if you can’t hack it, like I always say, get out of the kitchen. And that’s one way to do it.” He laughed at his own joke, and Cass couldn’t take it anymore.
“Would it kill you to just shut up for once, Austin?” Cass said, louder than she’d intended. “Please. Do us all a favor and just shut up.” Her hands shook slightly and she pressed them into her thighs.
Austin, none too pleased to have been put in place by his co-host, retorted, “Look, I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you these days, Charlie, but let’s not forget this is not just your show. You don’t call the shots.”
“Yeah, well, neither do you. You’re a jerk. And I’m tired of it,” Cass replied, feeling both panicked at this uncharacteristic outburst as well as proud of herself for standing up to Austin.
“So, I actually call the shots here,” Sasha said, stepping between the two of them. “And I need you both to take a minute to cool off. Then I want you to come back on set and finish this. Can you handle that?”
“Fine,” Austin muttered. Just as Cass said, “I need some fresh air.”
“Take ten, everyone,” Sasha said. Then she lowered her voice so just Austin and Cass could hear her. “And you two? Work it out. We are at the finish line here, and we are finishing it. Today. Okay?”
Austin rolled his eyes and Cass mumbled an apology to Sasha.
“I’m going outside for a minute,” Cass said to no one in particular, slipping on the flip-flops behind her workstation, before walking off the set.
* * *
• • •
Outside Cass took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes, letting the sun warm her face for a moment. Then, feeling more grounded and ready to face Austin again, she headed upstairs and was almost back to the greenroom when she heard Sasha’s voice from inside the room.
“Austin, that was an unnecessary stunt.”
“Sasha, come on. You know the viewers will love it. Justin’s fine. A crappy pastry chef, but he’s going to make it. Besides, isn’t this exactly what you hired me for? To stir the pot a bit, so to speak?”
“Yes, that is one of your particular charms, if we can call it that.”
“I think we can,” Austin said, his confident tone that of someone used to getting his way.
Cass took a step closer, being careful not to give herself away as Sasha lowered her voice. “I need us to finish this out smoothly, alright?” she said. “Which means you need to tone it down a bit.”
“And you need to talk to Charlie, Sasha. This was decided weeks ago. What are you waiting for? Having second thoughts?”
A long silence, then, “I’ll talk to Charlie, once we’ve wrapped tomorrow’s teaser.”
Austin whistled. “She is not going to be happy.” However, he sounded positively delighted about whatever Sasha had to talk to Charlie about. “Glad I don’t have your job, Sasha. Actually, I’m too good-looking to be behind the camera, know what I mean?”
“Honestly, Austin, you’re unbelievable.” Sasha cleared her throat, as Austin replied, “Thank you!”
“Please don’t make us regret giving you the host job over Charlie,” Sasha said, her tone clipped. “And let’s not be cute and pretend you were my first choice, okay?”
; “Well, then good thing it wasn’t up to you, Sasha,” Austin retorted. “Seems my on-camera confidence was a hard-to-resist asset. And, come on—I make these chef’s whites look amazing.”
Sasha sighed, then paused a moment before saying, “Austin, a piece of advice, not that I expect you to take it. Soon you won’t have Charlie to balance you out, so showing a touch of humility here and there would be a wise move. Viewers can be fickle, and you aren’t as charming as you think.”
* * *
• • •
“So, Charlie, tell us about your signature holiday cake.” Austin smiled into the camera, then turned toward Cass.
Cass, heels back on and makeup reapplied, returned the smile. The shock at what she’d overheard had been replaced by determination, and she was laser-focused on the task at hand. She put a hand on Austin’s arm, leaving it there just long enough that the audience might view it as more meaningful than it was (two could play this game), then faced camera B. “I am really excited for you to try this one today, Austin. It’s spicy, but simple, and positively sublime.”
“Sounds a lot like you, Charlie.” Austin raised an eyebrow, giving her a flirty smirk. There was canned laughter on set, and Austin looked quite pleased with himself. He was so predictably obnoxious.
“Well, if that’s a compliment I’ll take it!” Cass said, laughing easily. The buzzer dinged and she held up a finger—all of this, of course, was orchestrated—then slid on her Sweet & Salty–branded oven mitts and pulled out the cake.
“This is my dad’s recipe. He’s a celebrated and award-winning chef, who also happens to know his way around pastries better than anyone I know.” She set the cake on the hot plate in front of her, happy to see it looked perfect. Her dad would be proud. “Gingerbread cake with candied ginger and orange. We’ll top it with a light citrus-infused buttercream and a cinnamon-poached pear compote on the side, and then you’ll have—in my admittedly biased opinion—the perfect holiday cake.”
