Mom nods like she understands while Dad looks a little perplexed. Then again, his idea of reality television has usually involved touchdowns and strikes. Mom reads him perfectly and explains it quickly to him while I finish my coffee, Dad sitting silently through it all before he speaks.
“I saw the ads. The premiere episode is supposed to be on tomorrow. I watched what I could just because I knew you were in it, Son. One of the girls at the office told me.”
“Thanks, Dad, sorry to ruin the ending,” I reply. “Guess you can spend that time watching Baseball Tonight.”
“Perhaps, but there was something I saw,” Dad says. “Hayden, they showed a lot of the kissing. I guess they wanted to up the heat in the preview or something. Lee, I’m guessing he’s the slick looking one?” When I nod, Dad shakes his head. “Well, one thing I noticed, she never kisses him. He always kisses her for the most part. In the five-minute preview they stuck on the network last week, it seemed like he was the one pushing the issue every time. Seems a little convenient to me.”
“Okay, so what are you getting at here, Dad?”
He smiles softly, the same sort of smile he’d get when he was my Little League coach and his hard-headed son was missing something in the game that he knew would be obvious once he explained it right. “No, just seems to me that you thought y’all had something real, and maybe you did, maybe you didn’t. But Lee seems like he’s swooping in all Prince Charming-like, and that’s hard to resist, especially when you don’t see you’re getting set up. Did Emily seem particularly cunning? Skeptical?”
I shake my head, still not quite getting it. “No, she’s sweet, seemed a little uncomfortable about the whole thing initially. But she seemed to play the game in the end.”
Dad leans back in his chair, rubbing at his receding hairline which I swear I’ve added at least an inch to over the years. “Okay, let me put it more plain. Who’s the most likely one to get played by a game show . . . you, Lee, or Emily?”
I realize what he’s saying, understanding dawning. Emily. She’d be the one to get played. She’s just too sweet and wouldn’t suspect that of someone. But how? What’s Lee’s payoff? Dad raises his coffee mug to me, saluting. “Just a little something to mull over in that big head of yours. If you have feelings for her, tell her. Maybe she did play you, but you’ll never know unless you try. Find out if you misread things or if you both got played.”
Chapter 24
Emily
After going back home, I hate being in Los Angeles. It’s a week before the reunion show films, and starting tomorrow, I’m supposed to have a bunch of interviews coming up. The show’s been on for over a month now, and all I want to do is disappear into my bed and sleep. I want to pretend the whole thing never happened. Everyone has been supportive, and my friend Cassie was as helpful as she could have been, but I just couldn’t explain to anyone how weird the whole situation was.
Part of it is how cold and distant Lee’s been. After that incident with the interview, other than for public appearances, we barely talk to each other. He hasn’t been to see me and we haven’t even Skyped. The few times I have talked to him, he always has this . . . I don’t know what to call it, just a slightly annoyed tone to his voice, like I’m keeping him from something he would rather be doing instead. When I invited him out to spend some time with me, he turned me down, saying that he had some kind of business convention to attend.
McKayla and Brad have both called me, trying to talk me through the whole thing. They still don’t understand what happened with Hayden, and to be honest, I don’t either, so I can’t answer them. I told McKayla about Lee almost yelling at me to get it together after the interview and she offered to cut his balls off and feed them to him. “A for-reals ball gag, get it?”
I huffed but couldn’t really laugh and told her I’d keep the offer in mind. I’ve been binge-watching the show, even though it makes me cry every time I see Hayden on screen. The rest of the guys are interesting, surprising me several times in their confessionals. Some of them were much trickier than I thought, obviously hoping for screen time and talking up ways to seduce me. I’m glad they didn’t get much of a chance. I do feel bad for Dean though. While I never had a real connection with him, I do think he’s just about the sweetest guy in the whole bunch. I really wish I could have had more one-on-one time with him. I still don’t think we would have had a love connection, but he’s an interesting guy and I think we could be friends.
For most of the season, Hayden and Lee’s confessionals have been pretty similar, both talking about how much they like me, our connection, and how much fun we have. It’s hard to watch myself date and kiss and interact with them, making me feel stupid again for being blind to their games. I’m in full pity-party mode when I hear a tap at my door. I sit up. I’m not supposed to be meeting with anyone until tomorrow, and I know the studio didn’t put my name on the hotel reservation. Who could it be?
Peeking through the hole, I see McKayla and Brad, along with a third person in a hoodie pulled up high enough I can’t see their face. I crack the door open. “Guys, what are you doing here? How did you even get here? I can’t right now, I just can’t.”
Ignoring the whine in my voice, McKayla pushes the door open, barging in. “Sit down and listen up, babe. You’ll want to hear this shit.”
Brad follows her in, and as the door shuts, the third person pulls down their hoodie, and I see it’s Nate. I tilt my head, surprised for a moment. I’ve never seen him in anything as ‘low-brow’ as a hoodie. He looks almost normal right now. “Nate? What are you doing here?”
Before he can say anything, Brad interrupts. “Alcohol. Where’s your good stuff because you’re gonna need it for this.”
I point to the mini-fridge, waving my hand. “The minibar’s got some stuff. I haven’t really checked exactly what.”
Brad goes over, squatting down in his pink stretch jeans and humming to himself as he roots around before coming out with three bottles. “Tequila it is. Sit.”
Brad cracks open the seal and pours the whole contents into one of the tumblers before putting in two ice cubes and setting a shot in front of me, crossing his arms over his skinny chest. “Drink the whole thing. Then Nate-boy here talks.”
At this point, I’m scared not to because McKayla looks especially pissed as hell and I don’t know why. I drink it all, the Jose Cuervo burning on the way down to bloom like fire in my stomach. Blinking and hoping I won’t be shitfaced in ten minutes, I look at the trio. “All right, consider me prepped. Now what’s this all about?”
McKayla and Brad sit on either side of me on the bed, looking at Nate, and he shifts in the chair across from us. Finally, after a glare from McKayla that would turn most men to stone, he starts talking. “Okay, so first of all, I was never here. I’m not losing my job for this. Meredith would have my heart for dinner if she knew I was even talking to you. But I see things, hear things. Nobody even notices me because I’m just background, like scenery.”
I nod like I know what he’s talking about. I mean, most of the filming, everyone just sort of dismissed him as Meredith’s lapdog, her bitch boy who ran around delivering messages more than anything else. “Go on.”
“I was sitting in when Meredith got a call from Lee’s social media manager.”
“Uh, what? Lee’s got a social media manager?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. “I didn’t know that. Actually, I don’t even know what that is.”
“He didn’t get all those Instagram fans and YouTube subscribers on his own,” Nate replies, making me feel like an idiot. “Basically, he told Meredith that he was preparing a total social media onslaught against the show if Lee didn’t come out looking like a million bucks. He didn’t go into specifics, but after the scandal Bachelorette had down in Mexico, Meredith didn’t want to take any chances. She said she’d make sure Lee either won or got to the finals so that he could be the next season’s match.”
“That bitch!” I exclaim, but McKayla holds up a
hand.
“Hold your horses. There’s more,” she says, patting my leg. “Go on, Nate.”
“Meredith started manipulating things. She saw how Hayden was doing so great in the test audiences so she wanted him to be the next Match. It’d give the next season the best chance at success. So she had the tech guys start playing with the equipment, Lee and Hayden getting the solo dates, stuff like that. But she doesn’t take well to being threatened, and she didn’t want to deal with Lee’s douchebaggery again, so she did what she could to ensure he won, upholding her deal with the manager but minimizing Lee’s overall future with the show. His team was the one that had that ringer kid in football. She edited the confessionals and the test audience . . . stuff to make him look like a dreamboat. At the meetings, she told both Lee and Hayden they’d be the Match if they weren’t picked.”
“So it was rigged?” I ask, aghast, and Nate shrugs. “You asshole.”
“It was clean-ish until that meeting, pretty standard scripting for a reality show. But in that meeting, Lee was like a kid in a candy store, going on and on about his fans and how they’d be his most loyal viewers. Hayden had to be threatened with his contract, though, and Meredith made a decision. She knew you two were hitting it off for real, and she couldn’t deal with Lee’s bullshit again. It wasn’t worth the risk. Viewers could find out what he’s really like and flip on him in an instant. So she had me put together some edited clips of your dates with Lee, making it look like you two were all over each other and you were just playing Hayden. On the other side, she had me edit Hayden’s next confessional to try and make him look bad.”
Nate stops, looking at all of us to get our reactions. “Go on,” Brad says in a threatening voice. “Or a certain video of you might just surface.”
Nate gulps, then continues. “Even then, it took a few confessions to get the right sound bites out of Hayden,” Nate says. “And we tweaked the fantasy dates. Right before, Meredith reminded Hayden that he needed to cool it a bit with you. Nobody’s interested in a rebound guy who just lost the girl he wanted when she picks someone else. That’s why Hayden was off on your date. He thought you were all cozy with Lee and just playing him for the cameras.”
“And I thought he was cooling on me,” I whisper, tears coming to my eyes. “I thought he got freaked out by something I said.”
“Yeah, well, you both got played . . . by Meredith and Lee.”
“Wait, I get how Meredith is the bad guy here and Lee might’ve forced Meredith’s hand a bit, but how did he play me too?”
Nate looks guiltier than ever, shaking his head. “Meredith was meeting with him, sharing tips from your confessionals so he knew where he was doing well and where to improve so he could be what you want. I thought, watching your dates, that you’d have a fling and a breakup, get a bit of publicity, and have a little fun. It’s not like anyone comes on these shows to actually fall in love for real. But he was just hoping to get as much out of your picking him as he can. And when Meredith told him to shut you up anytime you asked questions, he did. Didn’t it seem like he just kissed you out of nowhere sometimes?”
I think about it, nodding. “Well, yeah, but I thought he was just the aggressive type. He kept telling me how much he wanted me, how I drove him crazy . . .” I reply before realizing how royally I’ve fucked things up and how I’ve lost Hayden. Groaning deeply, I feel like I’m about to throw up when Brad and McKayla put their arms around me. “Oh, Jesus. Guys, what am I going to do? I mean, I could’ve really had something with Hayden.”
Almost simultaneously, Nate, McKayla, and Brad state together, “Reunion show.”
McKayla chuckles a little at the harmony before grinning widely “Where the players get played. Muahaha.”
Brad looks over, grinning. “That’s a pretty legit villain laugh you’ve got there. Too bad we’re the good guys.”
McKayla shrugs. “Good guys, bad guys . . . fuck all that. They fucked with my chica. I’m vengeance come to life, like a horror movie. You can’t escape.”
For the first time in days, I smile. A real one, and I laugh at their antics and mentally get myself ready to set shit straight on national TV. Suddenly, a thought comes to me. “Wait . . . what’s this about a video of you, Nate?”
Nate looks nervous again but Brad waves it off. “Nothing you need to worry about, honey. Nate knows he did the right thing, so the Karma Fairy is going to reward him.”
I guess some things I just don’t need to know.
Chapter 25
Emily
Sitting backstage in my private dressing room, my hands are trembling. I’ve done all the interviews, keeping up the front so that no one, especially the producers of the show, can get a preview of what’s going to happen. Thankfully, Lee’s been doing his own thing, and I haven’t had to interact with him at all. Other than a few swapped texts, I haven’t heard from him since coming back into town. If anything, it only reinforces the feelings I have for what I’m going to do.
Still, it’s all I can do to wait to see Hayden. I’ve considered sneaking into his dressing room a million times, but I have to wait to do this right. I’m gonna throw this whole shit show out in the open on live TV. They’re filming it right after the finale airs. I may be sweet and even naïve, but I’m not a doormat, even if I’ve felt like one during this whole ordeal. I’ve got some devious friends who know how to make some drama, and I’m on board to do what I need to so I can have a chance to really choose the right man.
Lee pops into my room, looking happier than ever. Guess he’s gotten some more Instagram followers. “Hey, babe, wanted to make sure you were ready for this. You need help with your lines or anything?” He reaches for my hand, acting like he actually cares, and I pull back. He looks at me, tilting his head. “What’s up?”
“You barely talk to me all week and ignored me the whole time I was home. Now you want to call me babe and ask about my lines? Just save it.”
Lee looks angry, like someone just took his favorite toy away from him, and I wonder for a moment if that’s all I’ve ever been, a toy. “Fine. Just wanted to help. Look, just follow my lead and we’ll be fine. Don’t fuck this up again.”
He leaves, and I take a moment to wonder at how quickly he’s gone from sweet and romantic, saying all the right things to get me to fall for his bullshit, to . . . this. He’s abrupt and cold, and I realize that this is the real him. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before because now, it’s so obvious. I really wish I could have seen the other confessionals from the other guys, or at least been able to interact with everyone without Meredith’s tinkering. I’m sure I would have still fallen for Hayden, but I could have given some other, more deserving guy the chance to get to know me and maybe have a chance to be what Hayden is now, the Season Two Match.
No time to worry about that now. I walk out to set, Brad giving me a discreet thumbs-up while McKayla flips me off with a wink. I know she’s not telling me to fuck off, but instead is encouraging me to fuck some shit up, and I smile back. I see Nate next to Meredith but ignore him as he asked me to. I don’t want to give it away that he’s told me anything. I still don’t know what the armlock Brad and McKayla have on him is, but I don’t care. He did the right thing in the end.
Sitting down on two rows of couches, the show starts with the audience clapping loudly. The first half of the finale has just aired, where we’ve come to Vegas and I’ve had my fantasy dates. Now, of course, everyone gets to watch as the final confessionals and the final Match are made.
I see Hayden, and he keeps glancing at me like he wants to say something. There’s a fire in his eyes that I didn’t see in Vegas, and I recognize the same look in mine from the mirror this morning. I don’t know what his plans are, but I don’t care if he’s supposed to be the next season’s Match or not. If I have to, I’m going to tackle him right here on stage and cover him in kisses if that’s what it takes.
All of the top ten guys are here, with the host asking them questions while th
e show is going through the slow parts that are meant to draw out the tension and draw out the advertisers’ money. It’s weird, listening to the host ask questions to all the suitors. The guys all talk about me like I’m not sitting right on the other side of the semi-circular stage, an empty spot next to me for the ‘big reveal’.
Most of them are complimentary, but there are a few snide remarks, mostly from frat-boy wannabes Mark and Luke, who are still whining about how they didn’t realize the mics would pick up their comments. I shake my head, glad I cut them.
I smile a little as I look over at Hayden, remembering . . . well, not quite everything.
Finally, the final scene shows, the audience clapping their asses off as Lee comes over and sits down beside me. The host turns all of her questions to the final two suitors. I glance off stage, where I see McKayla draw her thumb across her throat. Go for the kill.
I clear my throat to get ready to lay it all out there, but before I can, Lee jumps up. He turns to the camera, holding out his hand. “Wait, guys. First, I have something to say.” He drops to one knee, holding up a ring box, and the audience goes wild. “Emily, I never thought I’d find my Match on a game show, but I did. I love you. Marry me. We can even make it air as a special episode for the audience.” He turns to the audience to hype them up, like he’s some sort of pro wrestler working the crowd. “Would you like that?” They cheer again. Lee turns back, trying to slide the ring onto my finger.
“Wait, wait—” I try to protest, but Lee’s grabbed my wrist in a steely grip, and I can barely move. Finally, I curl my finger, anything to keep him from shoving that damn thing on my hand.
Lee glares daggers at me, muttering under his breath, “Follow my lead. It’s perfect.”
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