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The grin sticks around as I shower. Even knowing I must look like a dope doesn’t make it go away. The good mood carries me all the way back to the competition grounds, where we’re gearing up for the final judging and award ceremony. The competition has gone smoothly for the most part, with any hiccups occurring strictly behind the scenes. I’d set up Google alerts, and as far as I could tell, no tabloids were reporting any scandals, real or imagined. There’s been a few speculative pieces on the drama between Cooper and me, but apparently most places decided to go with covering the event itself.
As wins go, this is a big one.
There’s still some work to do today, but by and large my job here is done. So long as Cooper doesn’t burn the place down, we should be home free.
Cooper.
Shit.
That might be the only part of last night I’d forgotten about—that crazy story Bailey told me the first time we—
“What’s up, Drew? You feeling okay?” asks one of the techies.
“I’m okay, thanks…Grayson.” I fish his name out of my memory, having seen him in the office a few times with my friend James. Grayson gives me a thumbs-up, his dimples flashing for a moment before he turns his attention back to his phone.
I’ll have to sort out that mess later. For now, we’ve got a competition to close.
My earpiece comes to life. “Hicks,” says a woman’s voice. “Drew Hicks, are you here yet?”
“Right here, Kenna,” I say in response.
“You’re needed backstage in five minutes,” says Kenna.
“Be right there.”
I thank my lucky stars there’s too much activity backstage today for me to be left alone with Cooper Lawson. Every nerve I have feels raw and exposed today. Given our history of communicating—that weird moment in the stage inventory closet aside—it’s best if we don’t have to talk to each other right now. I think he’d agree with me, though I catch some side-eye from him as I run down the checklist for the final ceremony.
I peek around the curtain, spotting Bailey in the third row next to her new friend, Evie. The crowd beyond the finalists is thick, better than we could have hoped for, considering all the vendors will be shutting down within the hour.
“Right,” says Kenna Burch in person this time, standing somewhere behind me. “First Cooper does his thing, then we’ll present the judges. Let the judges do a rundown of the scoring process, then Mr. Greeley will announce the final five.”
“Piece of cake,” says Grayson, taking the box of equipment from Kenna. “Quit stressing, Burch.”
“It is literally my job to stress over this, March,” snaps Kenna. I do a double take, because Kenna rarely snaps at anyone. “What’s your role here again?”
Grayson just grins at her, his dimples popping. “Whatever you want it to be, Miz Burch.”
“And on that note,” I say, stepping between them to draw Kenna’s attention away from killing the guy. Grayson clearly has no sense of self-preservation. “I think it’s time to start the countdown clock.”
Kenna takes a deep breath and checks her own clipboard. “You’re right, Drew. Let’s get this show on the road.” She taps her earpiece to speak and a few seconds later we hear the crowd start cheering, counting down along with the clock on the big screens.
“Ready?” I ask Kenna.
“Showtime,” she says. She checks her watch, even as the curtain rises and Cooper Lawson takes the stage.
Bailey made the final five. I can’t believe it.
She’s a great home cook and all and I never doubted her ability to compete. But through some trick of scoring, and that business she managed in the first round with the soup, somehow she pulled it off.
I’m so damn proud of her I could burst.
It’ll have to keep, though. We’ve still got interviews, photo shoots, and tear-down this afternoon before gearing up to film on location. I’ll be there as part of the crew, but responsibility for the next phase all belongs to a team somewhere above my pay grade.
“Congratulations, Drew,” says Kenna. I return her hug.
“Same to you,” I tell her, pulling back. Her beaming smile matches mine. “I can’t believe we pulled it off.”
“I can,” she says, waving me off. “You worked your ass off for this week. And frankly, so did I.”
