by C. J. Anaya
“Ms. Davenport this is security. I need you to open up at once.”
Liz’s heart went into overdrive as she realized that having anyone catch her here with Felicia at the moment was an extremely bad idea. Surveying her options, she quickly dove under the bed with the tiny camera tucked under her arm.
Felicia took her time exiting the bathroom which was the only thing that saved Liz from losing such a great hiding spot.
“Liz,” Felicia called looking around, “where are you?” Grumbling she opened the door and moved back as the head of security, Talin Rhodes, entered the room with a few other security guys behind him.
“I’m afraid, Ms. Davenport, we are placing you under arrest as per the request of the LAPD. You’ll be delivered into the hands of local authorities at the airport and accompanied by a plain clothes detective on your flight back to L.A.”
Liz couldn’t help but smile as she watched the carnage unfold from underneath the bed.
“What are you talking about? Do you have any idea who I am? Do you have any idea who my father is?”
Rhodes ignored her and spun her around, cuffing her hands behind her back.
“You’ll regret this you glorified mall cop. I’ll have your greasy hide handed to you by the most expensive lawyers in L.A.”
Felicia continued to breathe out threats as Rhodes finished cuffing her and shoved her out of the room.
Liz expelled a huge breath. At least she didn’t have to worry about Felicia doing something crazy like murdering Midge in her sleep. She hated to ruin Midge’s happiness as she sought to attain her own, but if living on the streets through all of her formative years had taught her anything it was to take care of yourself. Friends just weren’t a luxury she could afford, and revenge on Felicia Davenport was really the only thing that mattered. A shot at happiness with a halfway decent guy who could provide for her was also extremely appealing, and one more thing she was stealing from Felicia.
Sorry, Midge. It’s time for me to finally have my happy ending.
She was about to pull herself out from under the bed when she heard the turn of the door handle. Holding her breath she watched as two bare feet came into view.
“Where is it?” said the young woman whom Liz recognized as Midge.
She held her breath, afraid to give away her location.
“Please tell me she left her purse here. Aha.” Midge found the purse that Liz had dropped and began rummaging through its contents. She let out a grunt when she came up empty handed.
Look on the bed, Midge. It’s on the bed, thought Liz.
At the very least, she could hope that her friend retrieved her manuscript since Liz intended to take away her future fiancé.
There. I’m not completely heartless.
Midge’s footsteps inched further into the room, and soon she let out a triumphant squeal as she strode over to the bed, reached for the thumb drive, and then turned around and headed for the door.
Liz couldn’t help but be grateful that Midge had retrieved her manuscript, though in truth she probably would have anonymously emailed it to Midge either way. She could be kind when it suited her. Patting her pocket to assure herself that the small camera was still there, she inched her way out from under the bed and quietly slipped out of the room.
Now all she had to do was edit the video, casting Midge in the most unfavorable light, and hand it over to Brody. With any luck, there would be trouble in paradise by the end of the day.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Brody sat in his room with his laptop on and his jaw hanging open, talking with Gregg on his cell phone.
“Did you leak this info to the press, Gregg?”
“I most certainly did not. If that information had been traced back to me it would make it look as if you hired me to discredit Felicia in the same manner she discredited you. It would hardly help the image we’ve worked so hard to salvage.”
Gregg’s nerves carried through in his tight tone of voice. Brody could just picture his high strung assistant pacing back and forth in front of his own TV wondering if somehow this information could be traced back to him even though he hadn’t reported any of it.
“Then who else knew about Felicia’s background, and why release it now? Not that I’m complaining. It’s been exhausting, having to work with Rhodes to keep Madelyn safe. Like I want that guy anywhere near the girl I love. With Felicia gone, I won’t have to worry about any other pranks or possible attempts on her life.”
“That girl has no doubt made countless enemies over the years. Anyone could have done enough digging and made those connections. I’m more inclined to thank the individual responsible and move on.”
“Good point.”
“Brody, there are a few emails I need you to look at. We have some new weddings set for next month. Two couples who met through the program have set their wedding dates for the end of the month and they contacted the company, wondering if you would accept an invitation to the ceremonies.”
“You know the answer to that is yes.”
Gregg sighed. “You don’t have time to attend every wedding, Brody, especially when none of them is your own. This is half the reason you’re not married. You never make time for yourself.”
“Well, I think you’ll be happy to know that progress has been made with Madelyn, and she has agreed to a truce.”
“A truce? Are we talking about a relationship or a battle of the sexes?”
Brody smiled, reviewing Madelyn’s particular brand of warfare. “She’s giving me a chance, Gregg. Once she actually lets down her guard completely, I can’t see this ending in anything less than matrimony. I certainly won’t accept anything less.”
“Considering her complete and total aversion to you from the first time you two met, I’d say I’m impressed with your rapid progress. It’s also a bit heartwarming to think that money has nothing to do with it.”
“Exactly.”
“Well, carry on with the schmoozing and please take a look at those emails soon…as in right after we hang up.”
“Fine. I’ll get some work done.”
Brody set his cell phone down and reached for his laptop. An afternoon filled with work related emails didn’t sound very appealing when all he really wanted to do was spend the rest of the day with Midge and reassure her of his feelings for her. Even though she hadn’t mentioned it, the tension around her eyes had deepened when he left her to go on his early morning date with Charlene. He couldn’t wait for this show to be good and over so he could get to the business of spending every waking moment with the girl he’d fallen in love with.
His lips quirked into a smile as he opened up his email account and started reading through his emails. A few were from his accountants, web designers, and people in other countries helping him to expand the company. A knock at the door broke his focus. He stood to answer, excitement filling him at the prospect of seeing Madelyn as he opened the door. Was she going out of her way to seek him out first? This was definite progress.
He was brought up short by the appearance of Charlene. Swallowing his disappointment, he worked to rearrange his features into a polite face.
“Charlene, what brings you here? Did I forget to tip the waiter?” He laughed at his lame joke and then swallowed away his mirth. She appeared extremely uncomfortable, shifting nervously from one foot to the next.
“I…Brody…I went back to my room after Rhodes arrested Felicia—”
“She’s been arrested already?”
Charlene nodded. “Apparently, she’s wanted for questioning. Can’t say I’m surprised, and I’ll certainly enjoy my room much more in her absence now that the police have arrested her.”
“Much to everyone’s relief, I’m sure.”
Charlene gave him a weak smile and did a little more shifting.
“I’m being extremely rude. Come in, Charlene. You seem to have something you really need to tell me.”
The look of relief on her face only furthered Brody’s cur
iosity. Once the door had been closed, Charlene rushed to her explanation as if she felt she might back down if she didn’t spit it out.
“I went to my room right after Felicia was escorted out of the hotel, and I was surprised to see Midge in my room when I got there. She grabbed what looked like a thumb drive from Felicia’s purse and left in a hurry. I tried to pretend like I didn’t see her do it. Anyway, she dropped the purse when she left, spilling its contents on the floor and when I went to pick it up I found this DVD with your name on it.”
Charlene offered him the DVD with a shaky hand and waited for his reaction.
The label on the front read Brody Prescott. His questioning eyes found hers as he tried to understand why she was behaving as if she felt reluctant to hand over the DVD. Then it occurred to him that she had probably watched it.
“You know what’s on this DVD don’t you?”
Great big tears welled in her eyes as she nodded. “I can’t say that I’m surprised by what’s on there, and to be honest I’m almost relieved because it makes me feel as if I might have a chance with you after all, but I don’t want to see you hurt.” She paused for a moment and let her tear-filled eyes weigh on him before she said, “But I think it’s definitely going to hurt. I’m so very sorry, Brody.” She leaned up to kiss his cheek, and then quickly turned and exited the room.
Brody’s gut clenched in fear as he wondered what could possibly be on the DVD she’d found, but he feared it had everything to do with Madelyn and the information might very well be devastating.
With numb fingers he fumbled to take the DVD out of its case and place it in the player in his laptop. He watched the DVD while tendrils of nausea made their way to his stomach. Felicia was blackmailing Madelyn with her own manuscript, and his sweet Madelyn was quite easily denying that she’d ever had feelings for him in the first place. Worse, she was happy to give up her manuscript and play along with this lie she had fabricated if it meant she got his billions in the end. How could she? It didn’t add up. It didn’t make sense. This wasn’t the Madelyn Knightly he’d come to love and respect. Had she and Knightly been playing him? Knightly was always looking to make the biggest splash when it came to ratings. Was it possible Knightly had been cunning enough to use Madelyn in order to get him to do the show?
Ridiculous. He was seeing conspiracies and mind games where none existed. He would go to her right now and talk to her. There had to be an obvious explanation for her response to Felicia’s blackmail.
But what if there wasn’t, and what if she simply rejected him right then and there, admitting that all she’d ever seen when she looked at him were dollar signs? He could hardly believe any of this was happening and yet he had the proof right in front of him, falling from her very lips. Lips that he had kissed more times than he could count. Kisses that held meaning, that promised a certain level of commitment, trust, and love. How could she have not felt that love like he did? How had he not seen how conniving she truly was?
He’d thought she was simply afraid to trust him, when in reality she hadn’t felt a thing. She’d played him for a sap.
He was a fool. Such a lovesick fool. The answer to her affections had been staring him in the face for quite some time, but he was too in love and simply too stubborn to give up what he wanted. He always got what he wanted, but this time it appeared what he wanted was simply a repeat of what he’d already had with his ex-girlfriend.
Brody was very much used to coming in second place while his money came in first. His fears of never truly being loved for anything other than his billions had followed him around like a stormy raincloud refusing to dissipate. He probably could have forgiven her for that, he could have forgiven her for anything if she had claimed to actually love him as well, but she wasn’t even sure if she liked him.
It was like a knife to the heart, twisted to inflict as much pain as possible, and he wasn’t sure how he was ever going to recover from it, but he thought anger might be a good starting point. Anger might be the best counterpoint to the pain that currently ran rampant through his system.
Midge was hard at work emailing her manuscript to herself and creating several other copies so that the tenuous position Felicia had put her in never happened again. Her heart hammered at what she had almost lost, and she wasn’t even thinking about her manuscript. The fact that she had considered, for even one moment, to place her manuscript and career over that of her love for Brody made her feel more than queasy. She’d nearly turned her back on the one man who had never pursued her with anything other than genuine interest, and the bullet she’d dodged left her wondering if she might be suffering from PTSD. Certainly her shaking hands and sweaty palms were a sign of that.
Setting aside her laptop she determined that the best way to deal with this inner turmoil was to spend an inordinate amount of time getting ready for the diamond ceremony tonight. Three more girls were being sent home tonight, but that didn’t worry her one bit.
Brody loved her.
He wanted her to stay.
“I’m so nervous, I think my intestines are about ready to explode!” Cambria stated in a squeaky voice.
Midge grimaced at the visual Cambria’s words brought to mind, but she had to smile at the girl’s behavior. She found Cambria’s penchant for speaking the first thought that came to mind endearing. It gave her a kind of refreshing naiveté compared to Midge’s experiences with people whose every phrase and comment were delivered with cold calculations and double meanings. She mentally berated herself for ever thinking that Cambria might have been in cahoots with Felicia. Then again, they still didn’t know who her accomplice had been, and after trying for several hours during the afternoon to discuss it with Brody without ever being able to find him, she felt anxious to get his opinion on the subject and talk about Felicia’s arrest.
“I’m feeling a little unsteady as well,” Midge offered.
“I don’t believe that for one second. You’re Brody’s favorite. Which makes me want to hate you, but I just can’t. Your ability to eat cicadas without batting an eye made you much too likable for me.”
Midge chuckled, wrapping an arm around Cambria’s shoulders and giving her a squeeze.
“Anytime you’re interested in bugs for breakfast just give me a call.”
“Bugs for breakfast?” Charlene asked as she entered the courtyard. “Please tell me that’s not on the agenda for tonight’s cocktail party.”
“No, we were just discussing some good times,” Cambria said.
Charlene rolled her eyes. “If you can call bugs in your entrails a good time.”
Charlene looked gorgeous in a black sequined number that hugged her curves and left very little to the imagination, especially with the thigh high slit, extending a nice side view of her leg. The dress was strapless, dipping low in the cleavage department. It was a daring look that left Midge feeling slightly dowdy, though she never would have considered showing that much skin. Her turquoise dress had an empire waist with a mermaid tail skirt flowing out in ruffles and lace around her feet. There was a slit in her dress toward the front so she had room to maneuver, but it merely came to just above her knees. The scooped neckline came together at the back with a thin strap, leaving her shoulders and arms exposed.
Cambria looked like a frothy strawberry milk shake with whipped cream, but in a delectable way. She’d gone into full Cinderella mode with her dress, something definitely fit for a princess and a royal ball. It was also the perfect complement to her bubbly personality of which Midge felt certain she would miss once Cambria left the show, whether tonight or the next elimination round. There were only seven girls left with Felicia gone, and three more would be leaving tonight. The next week the remaining four women were flying home to meet Brody’s mother and spend some time getting to know her and Brody’s hometown.
Midge realized that she didn’t have any doubts about tonight. She knew how strongly Brody felt for her, and she was anxious to get the cocktail party started so she could spe
ak with him again.
“So on a scale from one to ten, how nervous are you?” Cambria asked Charlene.
“Oh, I’m super nervous, like a nine nervous, but the date went really well so I am hoping the time Brody and I spent together will be enough to get me through this round.”
Midge quirked a questioning eyebrow in her direction. Charlene’s expression was peaceful and serene. She appeared to Midge as if she didn’t have a care in the world and wasn’t even remotely concerned about her position in the competition tonight.
Les entered the room at that moment effectively silencing the small group, and grabbing their immediate attention.
“Ladies, I know you were looking forward to the cocktail party tonight so you could spend some further time with Brody, but I’m afraid there’s been a change of plans.”
“Oh, no,” Cambria moaned.
Les gave Cambria a sympathetic look before continuing.
“It would seem that Brody knows exactly what he is going to do tonight, and feels that the cocktail party will not only fail to change his decision, but merely prolong the inevitable and cause everyone in the room more anxiety than is necessary. He’s opted to cancel the party and move straight to the diamond ceremony.”
Midge felt slightly relieved at this announcement.
“It’ll be okay, Cambria,” Midge said as she squeezed her shoulder.
The young girl’s tears started to drip down her face, making Midge feel terrible that Cambria was already showing signs of heartache even though Midge was so obviously the one Brody wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Or so Midge hoped.
She wanted to grab the cameras and throw them against the wall as she noticed them zooming in to film Cambria’s grief. This obvious raw pain of hers was being used for ratings and nothing more. An aspect of reality TV she both despised and scoffed at. Again she wondered why any intelligent woman would willingly put herself in such a vulnerable position as to compete for a man’s affections on national television. She had to remind herself she was essentially involved in exactly the same situation even if she had been coerced into it.
