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 unison.
“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 th
e 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 alone 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.
He couldn’t believe that. He couldn’t believe Zoe’s feelings hadn’t been real. The way she looked at him, the way she touched him, the way she kissed him … it had all been real. Hadn’t it?
“The light is fading fast, boss. Are we almost ready to finish up?” a cameraman asked, pulling him out of his torturous thoughts.
“Let me go find Zoe while you get everyone into their places.” He still hadn’t figured out how to save the show, but they needed to finish filming one way or another. Maybe he could edit it in a way that made some sort of sense later.
Chip started off in the direction he’d seen Zoe go early. How long had she been freshening up? Seemed like it had been a long time. The rain continued to beat down on them and the cameraman was right, the light was fading fast this afternoo
n. The cloud cover made it seem darker quicker. They really needed to get this filming wrapped, announce a winner and be done with it.
“Zoe,” he called as he walked further and further away from the filming area. “Zoe, where are you?” He stopped and listened for her response. Maybe she’d wandered further away than she’d realized.
Silence.
Maybe she’d needed to wash her face with all the crying and the rain. Maybe she’d headed down to the stream that wasn’t far from here. He quickly found the path that would take him to the stream and started jogging, anxious to find Zoe. Something inside him warned this didn’t feel right.
“Zoe,” he called again louder as he reached the edge of the stream. Zoe wasn’t there and judging by the lack of tracks in the soft mud, she hadn’t been here recently. No one had.
Chip unclipped his two-way radio from his belt. “Is Zoe anywhere in the filming area?” he asked the production assistant on the other end of the line. He wandered back down the trail he’d just walked as he waited for a response.
“Nope. I can’t find her anywhere,” the assistant said.
“Damn,” he muttered under his breath before pushing the button to talk into the radio again. “I can’t find her anywhere either and I went all the way to the stream. I need you to send a couple of the crew back to base camp and see if she went back to her tent for something. Tell the other production people to fan out and search the perimeter out about twenty feet but no further. I don’t want everyone getting lost in the woods.”
“Got it. What about the contestants? Should I send them back to their camps?”
“Not yet. Chances are Zoe wandered a little further than she meant to. We need to find her and get the filming wrapped. I’m going to keep heading south and see if I can find her this way since this is the direction I thought I saw her leave.”
Chip went back to where he’d originally thought he’d find Zoe outside of the filming area and looked around to see if he could find any hint at the direction she might have gone. A few moments later he noticed some of the soft grass in one area was pressed flat, almost as if it had been stepped on recently.
Unscripted Love: The Complete Reality TV Romance Collection Page 64
