“We know all this,” Amalia said, in her customary brusque tone.
“Exactly,” Bobbi added. “So why have you called us in here to discuss it?”
“We’d like to offer Max and Sadie both immunity during double elimination,” Penny said. Sadie waited to feel better, but didn’t. Because there was another “but.” She just knew it.
“But...”There it was.“You’d have to agree to pair up. To continue the competition as a duo. As Saxie.”
Sadie felt a wave of nausea almost overtake her. She looked away from Penny, directly into Max’s eyes. He looked just as disgusted as she felt.
Sadie braced herself for one more “but.”
“But, you have to understand... What’s being offered to you is unheard of. And, some might say, not exactly fair. The rules are being changed for you two, and the consequence is—”
Consequence?Now when Sadie’s eyes met Max’s they shared a twin look of alarm. They hadn’t done anything wrong, so why were they getting a consequence?
“—that if you don’t agree to stay on as”—Penny cleared her throat, as if she realized how ridiculous it was—“asSaxie... one of you has to leave.”
“What? So soon?” Sadie’s voice sounded strangled. These weren’t the rules!
“Now, hey,” Cruz drawled. “This seems a bit arbitrary. Sadie is a talent in her own right—”
“As is Max,” Bobbi chimed in, her voice tight.
“Right, right, they both are. None of this seems quite fair, really.”
“Cruz,” Penny said. “You of all people know we have some work to do when it comes to ratings. And surely you’ve seen the online furor. Saxie is what our viewers want.”
Cruz shot Sadie a helpless look. “Yes, ma’am. I understand. Sometimes you just have to give the people what they want.”
While Sadie was disappointed there didn’t seem to be anything anyone could do about this pairing she was facing with Max, she was grateful to Cruz for at least trying to go to bat for her—and for saying she was talented. She watched as Cruz rubbed his hand across his eyes for a moment, like he was very tired—and recalled he was having issues with his chain of restaurants, Cruz’s Catfish. It was nice of him to be concerned about her, when he clearly had problems of his own.
“We do realize this is an unusual arrangement,” Penny went on. “But we have a separate contract with Max Brody. And it stipulates that he is not to be eliminated until the final round.” She glanced at Sadie. “This is the kind of privileged information you signed an NDA not to reveal, don’t forget,” she said. Sadie couldn’t do anything but nod as Penny continued, her intense gaze holding Sadie’s. “The reality is that if you don’t agree to continue on together, it is very likelyyou’llbe the one sent home, Sadie.”
Sadie had gone through so many emotions in the pastminute she felt like she had whiplash—and the place her heart settled on was frustration. The odds were stacked against her. She was not a Brody, and didn’t have some magical contract. So all she could do was sit here and do what she was told.
But it was all just so unfair.
She felt a tear making its way down her cheek. Sadie had vowed that if she ever got voted offStarmakershe was not going to cry—but this was before she had realized she had less of a chance of winning than some of the other contestants, simply because of who she was.Life’s not fair, Sadie. You already know this.She lifted her chin, squared her shoulders—and saw that Max was watching her closely.
She had expected to see him looking self-satisfied—but he didn’t. He looked into her eyes for a long moment and it felt like time stopped, like they were the only people in the room. It felt the way it did when they sang together. Her heart was still racing, but for a different reason now.
“Fine,” Max said, breaking her gaze and standing up from the table. “We’ll perform together as”—he swallowed repeatedly, trying to get it out—“as Saxie. Is that all you wanted to talk about?”
Before anyone could answer, Max strode out of the boardroom, and Bobbi followed in his path. Out in the hall, Sadie could hear Landon’s voice, asking Max if he needed anything.
“Thank you,” Sadie said to no one in particular, feeling out of her depth.
“You’re welcome, doll,” Cruz replied, with another one of those kind, concerned smiles. But Sadie couldn’t bring herself to return it as Amalia led her from the room. Her mood sank even further when she saw Max and Bobbi waiting for them inthe hallway. Bobbi had her arm linked through Max’s and was holding tight, as if he might take off running down the hall otherwise. And Max’s scowl was even deeper than usual.
“Come on, you two,” Bobbi said to Sadie and Amalia. “Let’s go find somewhere to have that chat we discussed.” She shot Amalia a meaningful look, then led the way further down the hall.
Once they found an empty meeting room, Amalia closed the door behind them and stood by Sadie’s side.
“Okay, here goes,” Bobbi began. “We feel that if you two really lean into this pair-up—as in, convince the world you’re in love, act like a couple on setandin public—you’ll be America’s sweethearts in no time.”
Sadie glanced at Max and saw his brow furrow.
“How are we supposed to do that, we don’t even—” She had been about to conclude withlike each otherbut was halted midsentence by Amalia’s not-so-subtle elbow nudge.
