Connie grabbed Mary’s picture and moved it to the other board, offering Ally the red marker. “Care to do the honors?”
“Oh no. I’ll leave all the X’ing to you, boss.”
Without a second’s hesitation, she crossed out Mary. “Good, that takes care of that bitch. If I’d known you could get a woman mad that fast I would have put her back in your group last week.”
“Trouble?”
“Even Rene said she was a psycho bitch. I’ve been looking for a way to ax her since day one so thanks for that.”
“As I said, it’s my superpower.”
“Is that why Erin’s so pissed at you?”
Ally colored, but didn’t answer. What could she say? We made love, and I professed my affection, and it upset her enough that she hadn’t said a word to her since? What she needed to gain her forgiveness she wasn’t sure. Ally’s lack of comprehension was a recurring theme with all her relationships. Of course, she had never felt like this for anyone else. Still, it was how things went for her when it came to women. It was probably the only reason she and KC had never gotten together. They respected each other too much to fuck it up with sex.
“Okay, so you’re not talking either.” Connie stood with her arms crossed. “Well, you just did me a biggie, another of several, so I won’t beat you up, but I have it on good authority there might have been a spark between you two, but if you’re not interested…”
“Who said there was…a spark?”
“Oh no. I’m not tattling. The point here is I need to know who you plan on eliminating tonight, and I need to know if there’s a chance you want time to turn things around with Erin.”
“Why?”
“Oh Ally, Why, why, why? That’s not the right question, and you know it. Stop acting obtuse. It doesn’t suit you. Now tell me, is there something between you two?”
“No.” It was a simple statement, and the truth of it renewed the ache she had been trying to ignore.
Connie sighed, but didn’t give up. “Okay. Let me put it this way. Would you have liked there to be something between you?”
Ally couldn’t answer. If she said no she would be lying, if she said yes, Connie wouldn’t let up until she had every torrid detail.
“Sit!” Connie ordered. She might be eighteen years younger than her cousin, but she was the director, and she was clearly in charge. “I see we’ll have to do this the hard way. So, let me tell you what I know. One, you jumped in the Ottawa River rapids when no one else did. Two, you hung on to the woman as if your life depended on it. Three, you pulled out all your fancy survival skills to care for her until rescuers could reach you. Four, you retired to a tent alone, where I have it on good authority you made love for most of the night. Five, and this is the one I can’t figure out, you stormed from that tent in the early dawn, and the two of you haven’t shared as much as a single word since. And six!” She was really on a roll counting off her evidence. “You two still can’t keep your eyes off each other, even if you can’t be alone in the same room.”
Ally sat silently brooding. What could she say? How could she explain? When Connie’s stink eye started to burn, she pushed past the shame to try. “Connie, I… She… It…”
“Oh my God! You’re in love with her!” She started pacing around the room, her clear glee the opposite of what Ally had expected. “This is perfect, just perfect.” She was talking more to herself than Allyson. Grabbing a handheld radio from the table, she called for a PA to ask Pam to join them in the office. “Ally, this is friggin’ perfect. Oh man! Never in a million years would I figure you would be the one to fall, this is amazing!” she sang out.
Not amused by Connie’s ecstasy, Ally had to toss some water on this fire before it truly got out of control. “Ah, Con, I think you’re forgetting something. It doesn’t matter how I feel if the woman hates me. Fuck. They all hate me.”
Stopped in her tracks, Connie backtracked to where she was sitting. “Al, I know you must be hurt, but I don’t think you see the big picture. Yes, she’s upset about something, but from where I’m sitting she’s still plenty interested in you. We’ve still got time to turn this around. All you have to do is pick her to be one of your final three. Whatever went wrong, you’ll have time to talk about it, maybe even get past whatever the problem is.”
“Right. I can see it now. I’ll call her name, and she’ll walk right by me again. Let’s face it. Even if she is interested in me, which I’m sure she isn’t, but let’s say she is, how can I compete with Pam? Fuck it. Even I would pick Pam over me.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about that this time. Please Al, just trust me on this and tell me you’ll pick her.”
“Pick who?” Pam asked as she walked in.
Connie smiled like the big bad wolf. “Ally was just telling me that she wants to pick Erin to be in her final three.”
Pam soured on the spot. “No damn way! Erin’s in my final three, and that’s it. End of discussion.”
“Pam, come on! You know you aren’t interested in her, and I think there’s a chance there could be something real between these two.”
“Real?” Pam chortled her disbelief. “Please, that would never happen. Besides, I already said I need Erin so no deal.”
“Stop it!” Connie warned. “You’re being a brat.”
Ally didn’t know what was going on, but she had caught a look between the sisters. “I’m sorry Pam. I didn’t know you were attracted to her.”
Pam threw back her head as if she would laugh uncontrollably.
Ally was sure this was one of her stage theatrics for the courtroom and wondered why she was suddenly getting the treatment. She listened and watched as guarded words and looks flew back and forth between the sisters. “Will someone tell me what’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Connie insisted, but neither she or Pam would look her in the face.
“Are you in love with her?” she asked Pam, sincerely hoping the answer would be no. The response she got was nothing she would have imagined. Pam started to laugh.
“God damn it, Pam!” Connie warned again. “Enough!”
“Forget it. Look Con, the jig is up. You might as well tell her, or I will.”
“Tell me what?” Ally was afraid to hear the answer. Were Pam and Erin lovers? Were they involved before the show even began?
Grabbing her older sister by the arm, Connie looked desperate to put an end to whatever was going on, but Pam would have none of it. Shaking off her grip, she turned her anger on Ally. “You can’t have Erin because she isn’t a contestant. She’s my assistant, you dumb ass, and here to keep me informed of what the other women are saying and thinking. So no. You can’t have her. You can’t touch her, and more than anything, there is no way I’ll let a smart girl like her get mixed up with the likes of you.”
Ally’s face, hot red, looked as if Pam had slapped her. The shock, the confusion, it all came tumbling down on her. If she hadn’t already been seated, she would have fallen down. Like a goalie who’d taken one too many head shots, she stood, wavering slightly, then pushed out of the room and straight out the front door. If she could have run, she would have and kept on going. Instead, she stumbled down the stone steps, almost into the shrubs, falling to her knees. She threw up the tea and the few bits of fruit she’d managed to get down, then followed with dry heaves. She heaved again then got to her feet and tried to run. Stumbling, she fell, crawled, stood again, stumbled and fell over and over until she reached the Huey. She was in no shape to fly but could take refuge with the only female who had never let her down.
Crawling into the back of the helicopter, she curled up on the cold steel floor and cried, just cried.
Chapter Eighteen
Erin knew she had to talk to Ally, needed to desperately. She needed to apologize, needed to explain, but first and foremost, Ally needed to know the truth. Yes, she liked her, was attracted to her, could even admit she had feelings, deep, deeper than she could understand, but that didn’t
change why she was here. If they were to have a chance, regardless of this stupid show, she needed her to hear the truth of why she was here, and now, before the truth slipped out. It would be just like Pam to let her cover slip if she thought she could use it to her advantage. She didn’t think she would do it vindictively, but like she was a shark in court, once that competitive edge crept in there was no telling how she would react.
Erin had been waiting on the patio with everyone else, ignoring Pam’s parade of “Oh, look at me,” and waiting for Ally to show. When she did, she was pleased to see there wasn’t a crowd of women vying to be at her side the way they fluttered to Pam. It also broke her heart. Ally was just as much the catch as Pam, maybe more so. She was certain she knew enough about Allyson now, not just from the stories she’d heard but from her own experience with the woman to know she wasn’t the type to step out on her partner. Pam, on the other hand, didn’t exactly have a great record. She knew Pam was zeroing in on two or three women but a proposal, if it happened—she doubted it would ever culminate in a wedding much less a long and happy marriage. It just wasn’t in her DNA.
When Ally finally showed, she knew immediately she was tired and hurt. I did that. She needed to find a quiet moment where she could approach Ally and ask for a few minutes to talk. Watching Mary cock her leg as if she wanted to piss all over her prize and claim Ally as all hers—it had made her cringe, but she wanted to applaud the way Ally handled her. She couldn’t guess what she said, but at least the woman had scurried off. She had started to walk in that direction when Pam hooked her arm.
“Not in the mood to swim?”
“Maybe later. Once I’ve digested my breakfast.”
“Oh sweetie, you should be like me and skip the whole damn thing. It does wonders for your figure.”
Startled by the comment, she was clueless to understand it. Was her boss saying she was fat? And what if she was, which she wasn’t. She was healthy and fit and the exact right size for a woman of her height and age. Not like some of the walking skeletons fawning over Pam for an ounce of her attention. Before she could think of what to say, a commotion on the other side of the patio brought the world to a stop.
Mary was back and had, for who knows what reason, thrown a full cup of coffee over Ally’s head. Or had she been aiming for her? The long unbroken line of obscenities that followed brought the attention of all the women, the camera crew, and the director. Suddenly Connie and her helpers clamped onto Mary and began hauling her out. That didn’t stop the litany of accusations flowing from her angry mouth. Oh, Ally! At that moment, her heart broke for her lover and friend. Lover? That word stuck in her mind, and it was all she could do not to run to her side. For once she was thankful for Teresa and Bobby Ann. Bobby Ann especially. She had a feeling that woman could fight the devil herself and come out without a scratch.
When things began to settle, and Pam resumed presiding over her court, she knew she had to make her way over. She caught Ally’s eye a few times, but for some reason felt she had to wait for her to signal it was all right to join them. Before she could make her intention clear, Connie was back and had hooked Allyson by the arm and pulled her from the patio. Stunned that anyone would pin this on Ally, especially the intrepid Connie Coen-Parker, all she could hope was that the whole thing was for effect and it did have the women speculating to beat the band.
With her chance to talk gone, she decided to join Teresa and Bobby Ann. She had a feeling these two would be the ones rewarded with final selection by Ally, if for no other reason than their willingness to stand guard with her. Walking across the patio, another thing dawned on her: she wanted to be the third in that group, wanted to have time with Ally. Even if it was divided with those other two good women, at least it would give them the time to learn more about one another if it didn’t provide the time she craved to explore what they had started.
Erin had just reached the two women sitting in loungers when a PA asked Pam to join Connie in the production office.
“There goes our second queen,” Bobby Ann said, as Erin reached them. “Hey, Erin! Want to join the crazy club?”
“Will there be any more flying coffee cups?”
“Not from us, but if it’s important to you, I’ll see what we can do.”
“Uh, no. I’m good, but that was something.”
Teresa, always the quiet observer, smiled her welcome. “Always room for a normal person,” she said.
“Tell me about it,” Bobby Ann added, pulling her lounger aside to make room for Erin. “Might as well park it. You and I can sit here and gab or watch the Pam Show.”
“Nothing there to interest you, Teresa?”
She smiled, but it was Bobby Ann who answered. “T’s writing a novel. She’ll bury herself in her work in about ten seconds. So that leaves you and me to figure out what’s going on.”
“Well, my guess, one of the PAs is helping Mary pack her bags, and another has called a cab.”
“For sure, her ass is outta here and none too soon. What I can’t believe is that Rene actually picked her to stay past the first elimination.”
Erin nodded, settling into the deck chair Ally had vacated, asking Teresa, “You’re writing a novel? That sounds so exciting and hard.”
She nodded, pulling out the notebook she carried religiously in her oversized bag.
“It’s top secret,” Bobby Ann explained. “Me, I’ve got money on a romance featuring a strong female lead who charms all the women then leaves their hearts broken.” She nodded toward the other group of women who had been buzzing around Pam and now looked lost without her.
“Okay. Bobby Ann, I have to ask. You’re not like any of those social climbing wannabes. Teresa, you too for that matter. Why would you sign up for this circus?”
“As our writer-in-residence is busy penning her opus, I’ll answer for us both. Teresa needed time away from her work to finish her manuscript and a month of hanging out at a posh castle and getting free food and booze was a lot cheaper than a writer’s retreat. As for me, I guess I did it for a lark. Actually, a few friends challenged me, and I love me a challenge. Truthfully, I didn’t expect to last this long. How about you?”
“Pretty much the same. My boss kind of twisted my arm,” Erin said, sticking to what was the truth.
“I hear, yeah. So, I can see you’re not interested in Ms. Perfect Pamela. Or have I read you all wrong?”
Erin couldn’t help the smile, “Guilty as charged,” she admitted, then thought to ask, “What gave me away?”
Bobby Ann smiled, letting her know she was okay with what she was about to share. “I’ve got this feeling you would rather be over here at the nerd table. Hanging with the cool kids doesn’t seem to be rockin’ your world.”
There was no denying the charge. “Ally seems so…I don’t know, normal doesn’t sound right.”
“I know what you mean. Can I ask another question?”
“Why not. Might as well go right down the rabbit hole.”
Bobby Ann laughed at that. “I like you, Erin. I have a feeling you’re good people, so I’ll lay it out for you. I like Ally. I like her a lot.”
She could feel a challenge coming on, and her heart began to hurt more than it already did.
“T here likes Ally a lot too, but not nearly as much as she likes that damn book she’s writing. Me, I love the woman, but I wouldn’t walk down the aisle with her. Now her business partner, that KC woman! If I could get my hands on her, I’d never let go. I know that’s terrible to say, but it is what it is.”
Erin was stunned. Here were the only two women who showed an interest in Ally and neither was truly interested in her romantically. “So, why the show? I mean, it looks to the world like you two can’t wait to get your hands on her.”
“Ally’s fun, and she’s nice, way nicer than that lot over there. I guess I’m feeling a little protective and T, well, look at her. Head into whatever it is she’s writing. Ally respects that and she’s cool with her real objectiv
e. I have a feelin’ we’ll all be friends for years to come. Now my question is, what are you going to do?”
“Is this the protective part of you kicking in, or are you just worried Ally’s third pick will be her Yoko, and break up the band?”
Bobby Ann laughed. “I knew I liked you! Come on. Let’s leave T to work on her script while we grab another coffee and see if we can pick up any gossip from the crew on what exactly is going on with all the Parker women holed up in the office.”
Erin followed Bobby Ann, relieved and just as curious as her to know what Pam, Ally, and Connie were discussing that required them to close themselves in for as long as they had.
Chapter Nineteen
No one had seen hide nor hair of Pam or Ally all day. Now gathered in the ballroom, set to record the final elimination ceremony, the women seemed on edge. The whole place did. The crew, Connie, even Tommy Proulx looked nervous, and the man did this sort of thing for a living. Just like all the earlier eliminations, they were grouped to the side and all done out in designer dresses and a few suits. The camera crew shot something called B Roll while Tommy and Connie stood well off to the other side of the room discussing who knew what. Finally, the camera crew moved to the place they had been for the other ceremonies and told Connie they were ready. Except there were no queens present. Erin could only assume Connie wanted them to make an entrance. She knew Pam would love that, love the attention. Ally? Not so much.
It was another twenty minutes of standing around and wondering what to do before they heard the tell-tale sound of a helicopter landing, and it was coming down on the back lawn, maybe right on the patio. Curious, most of the women, who had been enjoying the champagne, took the opportunity to move to the closed French doors. This landing explained why the doors were closed. If they had been open, the whirlwind caused by the machine would have ruined a lot of perfectly coifed hair. Walking to one of the French doors with Teresa and Bobby Ann at her side, Erin was surprised to see the network traffic helicopter land, the big emblazoned Channel One Traffic unmistakable on the side.
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