You can’t do that.
The voice in my head sounds a lot like Aunt Jo. I need her stern reminder. I need to remember what happened the last time I mixed business and pleasure. I need to remember my parents, who I need to support. All those things matter a lot more than some fleeting attraction I’m feeling to Holland.
I let go of Daisy, and she gives my shoulder a squeeze. “It’ll all work out,” she says.
I nod, wishing I had her confidence. I take the steps two at a time and let myself into my room. I shut the secret staircase door behind me and lean against it. I give myself one minute to stay there. Man, do I wish I could curl up in my neatly made bed and sleep for the rest of the day.
But then I catch sight of my pale, make-up free face in the mirror above the chest, and that kicks me into gear. Checking the clock, I know I don’t have time for a full shower. I jog to the dresser and find something casual but clean to wear, deciding to go with joggers and tennis shoes and a cropped pullover. This way, I can wear a baseball cap and have it look intentional, not like I’m covering up greasy hair.
I kick off the clothes I’ve been wearing since yesterday morning and hustle to put myself together. I’m swiping on a quick layer of lip gloss when there’s a knock on my door.
“Mallory!” Jennah’s voice rings out. “You up?”
“We’ve come to summon you downstairs.” That’s Zelda. “Holland’s here!” Her voice pitches higher, and the two women giggle.
“Be right there.” I toss my lip gloss on the dresser and cross the room to the door, tugging it open.
“Hi!” Zelda and Jennah chorus.
Cece steps forward and hooks me up to a mic pac. She motions for the cameraman to get into better position when she’s done. “Alright, ladies, carry on.”
I nod, summoning my most cheerful expression. “Let me grab some lip balm and tissues,” I tell Zelda and Jennah. I cross to the bedside table to collect my things.
When I turn around, both women are scrutinizing my room. I glance around. The clothes I kicked off are in a heap at the foot of my made bed, and my cell phone is resting on the corner of the mattress, not hidden under the pillows where I usually stow it. My pulse starts to race as I step in front of it, grabbing the clothes and tossing them on the bed to cover up my phone, before turning to the women with a forced smile. “All set.”
They step back and fix smiles on their faces. If I had to bet, it’s because of the cameraman capturing our every movement. I’m immediately tense. I didn’t miss that aspect of things when I was holed up at Holland’s, and I didn’t realize what a luxury it was to go an entire day without being mic’d up.
Jennah and Zelda are both wearing short dresses that, in my humble opinion, look entirely out of place for an early morning rendezvous with Holland, but I have to admit they look gorgeous and put together. I glance down at my athleisure and shrug. “You ladies put me to shame.”
“You look great,” Jennah oozes, grabbing for my hand. The cameras are rolling behind her, and she smiles sweetly as she pulls me out into the hallway. Jennah doesn’t actually like me. She and Michelle were the two most concerned with my working relationship with Holland from the get go. I’m sure she still sees me as competition. I tell myself to stop being so jaded as I think about how this is all for show.
I pull the door closed behind me as the two women link their arms with mine. “How’re you feeling?” Zelda asks.
“Better today,” I admit.
“You didn’t miss much yesterday,” Jennah says. “Holland sent Belle home.”
“Yeah,” I say absently, and when their two heads immediately swivel in my direction, I realize my mistake.
“How did you know that?” Gone is Jennah’s sweet smile. She narrows her gaze at me. This is more the behavior I’d expect from her, sadly. Zelda looks confused.
Dang it.
All that alligator crawling and the car situation where I ended up in Holland’s lap—a moment I am actively tryingnotto dwell on—is going to be for nothing if I blow my own cover by not thinking before I speak.
“What? Oh. No. I didn’t.” I clear my throat. “I meant, oh yeah? Like a question.”
“Oh,” Zelda says after a second. Of the two women, I feel like she’s more likely to give me the benefit of the doubt. We bonded on our mini-golf date. “Well, anyway. It makes sense, right? She was a little over the top for him, don’t you think?”
“She was super nice,” I defend. Because for all Belle’s faults, she knew who she was, and she was that entirely. I don’t know that I could say the same.
Both girls roll their eyes at me. “Look at you, acting all neutral,” Jennah says, and now her voice is dripping with condescension. “You can be honest. Belle was a trip.”
I shrug noncommittally, and I’m so grateful to have made it to the hearth room. The rest of the women are standing in a small circle, talking to Holland. Mindy Sue and Britt are facing the staircase, near the fireplace, and they wave me over. My heart pinches with affection and relief at the sight of them. They don’t hold my working relationship with Holland against me, and they’ve turned out to be good friends over the past few days. I wish they had been the ones to come and get me this morning.
I wonder how that was decided. Vivian is standing in the corner, and I feel her eyes on me as the three of us head towardthe fireplace. Something tells me she had something to do with Jennah and Zelda’s assignment.
“You’re upright.” Mindy Sue leans in and gives me a hug.
