The challenge they were speaking of had been to build little enclosures on the beach on one of the smaller deserted islands. We were told we had to sleep in them for the night (we didn’t really, it was all for the cameras) and we were led to a cornucopia of supplies on the sand. We were told to make a run for it, all at the same time, and grab whatever we could. The fastest of us ended up with useful things like tarpaulins for the enclosure, portable stoves and canned food, while the slowest were left with crappy items like mini flashlights.
Hayley had infamously lost the challenge for herself and her husband Simon when she went storming off after Emily accidentally tripped and fell forward during the mad dash, knocking her over and tearing out her hair extensions. Mom told me that the viewers had responded to Hayley’s tantrum by creating hilarious memes and GIFs of her screaming and storming off, and the only reason the viewers hadn’t voted them off after that behavior was because another couple happened to be boring enough to lose on the polls that week.
While the cameras captured the two women going at each other across the dinner table, Shayla caught my eye and winked, shaking with silent laughter. I smiled and nodded back, glad that some other people on the show realized how stupid and trashy it all was. It wasn’t just me and Dec.
Suddenly a strange twinge in my stomach made the smile slide right off my face, and Shayla leaned over. “Hey, you okay?” she whispered.
Dec turned his attention to me as well, concern flashing in his eyes.
I nodded. “Yeah, I just feel a little…” Stabbing pain bit at my insides, and I abruptly stood up as nausea suddenly washed over me. “I think I ate something bad.”
I missed the rest of the dinner party and all its drama, because I ended up crouched in the bathroom for the next two hours instead, vomiting and clutching at my stomach. Shayla and Dec took care of me, alternating between rubbing my back and bringing me glass after glass of water, and when I felt like I was finally done throwing up, I looked weakly up at the two of them. “Thank you,” I said, accepting some chewing gum from Shayla to mask the awful acrid taste in my mouth. “I think it was the salmon.”
“Shit. Glad I didn’t have any.” Shayla shuddered. “I think you should go outside and get some fresh air. Might make you feel better. I’ll go tell the producers where you are.”
“And I’ll go grab some more water,” Dec added, rubbing my back. His touch alone made fireworks explode inside me, despite how ill I still felt. “I’ll meet you on the deck.”
I headed up the stairs and onto the main deck, dragging my feet as I went. God, I hadn’t felt this sick in ages. Not since I had a horrible stomach flu on a vacation to Bali when I was about thirteen.
It was dark outside now, and the moon was high in the sky. The inky black water surrounding the yacht shimmered beautifully from the light, and as I leaned over the deck railing and took several deep breaths, I didn’t feel afraid of the ocean at all. I still felt too damn nauseated to worry about anything else.
“How you feelin’, Livvy?”
I turned around with a shudder at the grating sound of Andrew’s voice behind me. I thought he’d decided to leave me alone over the last couple of weeks, but it seemed he was back.
“Not now, Andrew. Go scheme with someone else,” I managed to get out before suddenly retching over the edge. Apparently I wasn’t quite done throwing up.
“I’d rather scheme with you,” he replied. “You and your hubby are still pretty popular. I told ya, we could help each other out.”
“I’m not forming some winner’s alliance with you, okay? I thought I made that clear.”
He stepped closer. “And I thought I made it clear that I won’t take no for an answer. You should’ve taken that seriously. Maybe then I wouldn’t have had to teach you a lesson.”
He motioned toward my stomach with his hand. I widened my eyes. “You…you did this?” I spluttered. “You made me sick?”
“Wasn’t hard to slip a little something in your food when they were bringing all the orders out. Maybe now you’ll take me seriously.”
I shrank back, suddenly all too aware of the deep, dark ocean only feet away from me. I was afraid again. I was so close to the railing, and Andrew had already pushed me into a railing once when he confronted me a couple of weeks ago. How far would he go to make his point of bullying me into submission? If he was willing to poison my food, then he was likely capable of far worse.
He took a step closer, a nasty glint in his eyes.
It looked like I was about to find out just how far he’d go to make me do as he said.
Chapter Sixteen
Dec
I stepped outside to find Liv, only to see her standing by the railing with Andrew advancing on her. That slimy prick. He was probably hitting on her, just like he had the other week when I caught him sleazing onto her down by the beach. Anger began to simmer deep in my belly, and I stalked up the white steps that led to where they were standing. As my fake wife, Liv wasn’t really ‘mine’ per se, but she was still mine to protect. I told her I’d do anything to keep her safe.
I damn well meant it.
“Hey! What’s going on?” I asked as I drew towards the two of them. The closer I got, the more it looked like Andrew was actually threatening Liv, not hitting on her.
Andrew drew back and gave me a genial smile. “Just asking if she’s okay, that’s all.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Sure didn’t look like it. Step away from her.”
“Calm down, man. I think you had a bit too much to drink at dinner.” He guffawed, then slapped me on the back. “See ya round, Dec.”
As soon as he was gone, I strode right over to Liv and slid my arm around her waist, holding her steady. She was pale, and her legs looked like they might give out at any moment. “Was he really just asking how you are?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Liv, I want to take care of you. But you’ve gotta tell me everything in order for me to do that. What’s going on with you and that douchebag?”
She bit her lip, then let out a shaky sigh. “Remember the other week, when you ran into us near the beach?”
“Yeah. I got the impression he was cracking onto you.”
Liv shook her head. “It wasn’t really like that. All I told you that day was that he was making it clear what a slimy dickwad he is. I didn’t want to worry you by telling you everything, because I thought he was all bark and no bite.”
I stiffened. “Tell me everything.”
“That day, he asked me to do some dodgy stuff with him. For the show. He thinks it’d create an advantage for us, and him and Yvonne too. Launch us into the finals. Anyway, I said no. He pushed me. Not hard. It only hurt because I happened to hit the railing on the side of the path.”
I gritted my teeth as my anger turned to rage. “He pushed you? That son of a…”
“Wait, just listen,” she begged me. “He just told me it was him who made me sick. He put something in my food earlier. That’s why I’ve been vomiting. He did it to make some sort of point about how I should’ve listened to him and done what he said.”
Her words stoked the fire of my wrath. “I’ll kill him. I’ll kill that fucking basta—”
“No!” she pleaded, grabbing the front of my shirt. “Dec, if you hurt him, you’ll make it worse. You could get in trouble. And I know how much you need the money for your sister. If you cause trouble on Mom’s show and end up getting sued by Andrew for beating him up, then that might somehow invalidate whatever contract you have with her.”
I gritted my teeth. She had a point. But still, I wasn’t going to let that fucking asshole get away with hurting her and threatening her. No way.
“I won’t hurt him,” I promised. “But I’m still gonna talk to him. You go back inside and sit with Shayla, okay?”
She looked up at me with big fearful eyes. “Okay,” she said quietly.
“Go on, baby girl.”
She trudged down the steps and went inside. I followed, but
I went in a different direction once I was inside—there was something I needed to grab from our room. When I had my little case of cigars in my hand (they were something I usually kept around if I ever felt the need to celebrate), I headed back outside and found Andrew. He was standing with his fake wife Yvonne, looking at the shimmery night sea.
“Hey, man,” I said, pasting on an embarrassed grin. “Listen, I just wanted to say sorry for what happened back there. I overreacted. You’re right, I did drink a bit much earlier.”
He eyed me suspiciously. “Right. Well, thanks for the apology, I guess.”
I held up the cigars. “Peace offering?” I leaned in. “I hear you have some sort of plan you think could help us get to the finale. Liv isn’t keen, as you’ve probably realized—fucking women, eh?—but I’d like to hear about it.”
Andrew nodded as a slow grin spread across his face. Idiot. “Won’t say no to one of those,” he said.
I handed him a cigar, my own fake grin still firmly in place. “Can’t smoke up here,” I said, gesturing to a nearby sign. “But we can on the dive deck down below. You can tell me your plan there.”
“Sure. Yvonne, I’ll meet you inside,” he said, patting Yvonne on the ass.
She stepped away, and Andrew and I headed down a few flights of stairs till we reached the outside dive deck. It was lit up with a string of fairy lights, and I kicked my shoes off and sat at the steps which led down into the water. “Nice night,” I said, pulling out my lighter for the cigar.
They say people tend to subconsciously mimic the behavior of those around them. In this case, that was true. Andrew followed me over to the edge and sat down as well, dangling his feet in the water. “Sure is,” he said. “Water’s a bit chilly, but still…”
Before he could say another word, I grabbed him by his collar and shoved him face down into the water. I wasn’t going to drown him; hell no. I promised Liv I wouldn’t hurt him.
But I didn’t promise that I wouldn’t scare him.
I let him come up for air, holding him by his hair now. He spat out water and cried out. “What the fuck?” he said, voice choked up. “Help!”
“No one can hear you down here. No one’s coming to help you,” I said. “So here’s what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna leave Liv the fuck alone.”
“I didn’t do anything to her. She’s a lying bitch. Whatever she told you—”
I submerged his head again, sneering as I watched him struggle. He was no match for my strength, the weedy little prick. “Sorry, didn’t quite catch that,” I said, pulling him back up a few seconds later. “Did you say you promise to leave her alone? Or do I need to drown you and tell everyone you fell in?”
He was panting now, and his arms were covered in goosebumps. He was right—the water was chilly at this time of night. “Yes!” he said. “I’ll leave her alone.”
I smiled. “That’s what I like to hear. Now, you go near Liv ever again, or say just one word to her, I’ll get you. And it won’t be so easy for you then. Got it?”
He nodded shakily. “Got it.”
I watched him dash back up the stairs to the middle deck, and I smiled and shook my head. He’d been so easy to fuck with. Of course I wasn’t actually going to drown the dude, but he didn’t need to know that. He couldn’t tell anyone what happened, either, without making himself look bad. And for Liv’s sake, I hadn’t hurt a hair on his head.
The smile faded from my lips as a tall, curvaceous shape emerged from the shadows on the stairs. Shit. Someone had been watching us.
My pulse doubled as I realized it was Isobel. She was a real ice queen, and Liv had told me many a time that she was this season’s main ‘bitch’. We hadn’t interacted much in our time on the show, but from what I’d seen, Liv wasn’t exactly wrong. Isobel seemed cold, calculating and domineering in everything I’d seen of her so far.
Half of me expected her to run away and tell the producers what I’d done, get me kicked off the show. That would certainly benefit her. The other half thought she might try to blackmail me by threatening to tell people what I did unless I volunteered to leave the show. Either way, I was sure I was gone.
She looked down at me with a blank expression for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. “That prick deserved it,” she said lightly.
Then she turned and walked away.
Chapter Seventeen
Olivia
“How’s my beautiful young wife feeling today?”
I sleepily opened one eye to see Dec standing over my bed with a breakfast tray. When I smelled the croissants, bacon, eggs and fried tomato, I sat bolt upright. After the last couple of days of sickness, I was finally feeling better, and my appetite had returned in full force.
“I feel way better now,” I said, reaching for one of the croissants.
Dec grinned. “Glad to hear. Hey, slow down. You’ll give yourself indigestion.”
I crammed the rest of the buttery croissant in my mouth. “Worth it,” I managed to get out through my chewing.
“You might not be saying that when you turn thirty and your metabolism slows down.”
I laughed. “You’re closer to forty than thirty, and you still look great.”
“That’s because I work out.” Dec jokingly flexed his biceps, then lifted up his shirt to show off his abs like he was in a bodybuilding competition.
I rolled my eyes. “Stop showing off.”
“You should be proud to have such a sexy fake husband.”
“Yes, and such a modest one, too,” I said, picking up a slice of bacon. “What’s the plan for today? Don’t tell me the producers are making us go scuba diving or something. I don’t feel like being eaten by a giant squid.”
“I don’t know, actually. They said we have to meet up on the middle deck at ten A.M., but that’s all.”
I finished my piece of bacon, then yawned and stretched. God, it felt so good to be better. Due to my sickness, I’d missed out on most of the mega-yacht group activities over the last two days. The producers made me attend the dinner party last night, just so the cameras could capture me being there, but that was all I’d done. I hadn’t been able to eat a bite, let alone laugh at the catfights that erupted. At least Andrew was leaving me alone, though. I wasn’t sure what Dec said to him the other night, but the guy literally shied away from me now. He didn’t have any cuts and bruises on him, so I knew Dec had abided by my wishes and not done anything to hurt him. He sure had affected him somehow, though.
“You can have the shower first,” Dec said, stealing the last piece of bacon from my tray.
I grumbled and left the tray to him while I got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. By five to ten, Dec and I were both ready to go, and we trudged out of our double room below decks and headed up to the middle deck of the yacht. All the other contestants were there already. The show host, Chase, was getting bronzer brushed over his cheekbones, and when the makeup girl was done, he shooed her away and waved to the main camera operator. “I’m ready,” he called out. “You guys all ready too?”
We all nodded and murmured ‘yes’, and after a senior producer called a few things out, filming began for the day.
“Welcome back to our special High Seas double episode!” Chase said, flashing his blindingly white grin at the camera. Any more whitening product and his teeth might actually glow in the dark. “We only have one more group activity on this amazing yacht, and that is—”
A horn suddenly blew, and the mega-yacht ground to a halt. I didn’t even know yachts could do that, although I guess this wasn’t exactly a regular yacht. It was about a hundred times the size of a regular one.
“Cut!” yelled a producer. I noticed the cameras kept rolling, though. Assholes. They’d capture anything if they thought it spelled ‘drama’.
“What’s going on?” Chase asked, looking annoyed. “I’ve already had my makeup done twice today, I’m not going to—”
He was cut off as the yacht suddenly and violently tipped to the
left. It righted itself again, but that didn’t stop pandemonium from breaking out.
“Oh my god, we’re going to die!” shrieked Hayley. “It’s like Titanic!”
Dec put his arm around my shoulders, holding me tight. “What’s going on?” I asked. I knew it was probably just something small, but my pulse was beginning to race nonetheless. I didn’t like being out on the ocean like this, and the thought of something happening out here was literally one of my worst fears.
“I don’t know.” Dec frowned and glanced around. “I’m sure they’ll tell us in a minute. But don’t worry, Liv. Nothing will happen to you.”
“Could you go and ask the producers what happened?” I said, looking over at them. They were huddled in a corner talking to one of the yacht workers, who’d just come up to the middle deck.
Dec shook his head. “I don’t want to leave you alone right now.”
“I’ll be okay. Like you said, nothing will happen,” I said. My voice was a little shaky, but simply having Dec around reassured me enough to put on a brave face.
He squeezed my hand. “Okay. I’ll be back in a minute.”
He pushed his way through a gaggle of Snob Brigade members who were still babbling about the Apocalypse or whatever it was they thought was happening right now. Christ, I thought I was dramatic when it came to the ocean, but Hayley could probably win an Oscar for her performance right now.
Everything will be okay. Everything will be okay. I took deep breaths and repeated the mantra over and over in my head as I waited for Dec to return.
I was wrong, though. Before he could even reach them to ask what was happening, the yacht worker who’d come up to talk to the producers cleared his throat to silence everyone. “I’m going to need you all to stay as calm as possible,” he said. “There are enough inflatable rafts to get everyone off safely, and—”
Someone cut him off. “Get everyone off? Why?”
He hesitated, then spoke up again. “We’ve hit something,” he said. “We’re sinking.”
Husband For Hire Page 35
