AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I laughed. “So you admit you think I’m hot?”
I got a smack on the shoulder for that one, but she was laughing, too, as she took my arm and steered me toward the front and center of the balcony. “Don’t twist my words, Garrett.”
Then, to my disappointment, she changed the subject. “Here’s how it’s going to go: I’ve divided the contestants into three groups of four. You can see Willow separating them now.” She pointed down to the platform where the women stood. Willow was in her element, looking perfectly content to be bossing people around again. “The point is for them to face both physical and mental challenges, but they might not realize that we’ll be looking out for subtle clues about how they handle every element of the competition. I’m hoping some will stand out as natural leaders and prove their abilities to work as a team as well as showing their brains and athletic abilities.”
I nodded. “Good thinking.” It wasn’t just good; it was excellent. It was clear Jess had thought this through.
“Thanks. I want you to get a good feel for their true personalities, and I hope this competition will highlight them.”
“I’m excited to see what you’ve put together,” I told her. I was more curious to see how her mind worked than I was interested in the women, but she wouldn’t appreciate that. She wanted me to pay attention to the women, so I’d do my best.
“Welcome to the first competition of the Contention.” Willow’s voice boomed through the speakers lining the screens as she paced in front of the contestants. “You have been divided into three teams, and each team has received an envelope with a clue. One team at a time, you will open your envelopes and begin your scavenger hunt. Each team will be timed. While your rankings will not determine who goes home today—that will be based on a variety of factors—one woman from the team with the shortest time will earn a one-on-one date with Garrett.”
I glanced at Jessica. “You didn’t tell me that part.”
She shushed me, gesturing to the seats at the front. “Sit down and pay attention.”
It wasn’t really a surprise. I just wanted an excuse to give her a hard time. I did as she asked, but waited until she sat before I took the seat beside her. “Why aren’t you down there with Willow?”
“I wanted to discuss everything with you as it was happening. I told you, I’ve got your back here, Garrett. I want to help you find the right mate.”
I grimaced at the word, but nodded my thanks. I didn’t want her to think I was ungrateful, because I did appreciate her help. I just didn’t want to be doing it in the first place.
After giving a few more instructions, Willow said, “Okay, ladies, those are the rules. I will now randomly select the team that goes first, and the other two teams will accompany me into a room within the house where you will wait until your turn.” She reached into a glass jar that contained two pieces of paper.
I leaned in close to Jessica, getting a whiff of her rose and vanilla scent as I murmured, “Pen and paper? You like doing things the old-fashioned way, don’t you?”
She cut her eyes toward me. “There’s no way to cheat this way.”
There were plenty of ways, but I wouldn’t tell her that and rain on her parade. I was thoroughly impressed with the thought that had gone into this.
Willow’s voice echoed over the grounds as she declared, “Ashley, Casey, Elizabeth, and Holly. Your team is up first.”
As Willow’s assistant led the other two teams back into the house, the camera crew began streaming, one focused on each team member so that each appeared individually in the center of their own screen. Jessica was right—everything that happened would be captured, and we’d be able to review anything we needed to.
“Nice touch with the camera crew,” I said. “I don’t remember each person having their own cameraman last time around.”
“Yeah,” she replied, shifting in her seat to look at me. “It won’t work for all the competitions, but since this is less cutthroat—in most ways—it should be helpful to really get a good idea what each woman is up to.”
“Okay, are you ready?” Willow asked.
The four women nodded, and Willow opened the envelope. “Your first question will involve both knowledge and creative thinking. You are to list the names of each pack within the North American territory, but there’s a catch. You must find an object from anywhere on the estate that adequately represents each pack, and the judge must be able to decipher the pack from the object with no other clues. All twenty packs must be represented differently. Good luck. Your time begins now.”
With that, the competition was on. I watched for a moment as the four women conversed, their words not quite loud enough for the cameras to pick up. Casey ground her teeth together at something Elizabeth said, shaking her head adamantly and crossing her arms. The two women argued for a moment then Elizabeth said something to Holly and Ashley, and the three of them looked at Casey expectantly.
“We’ll be able to hear this conversation later if we need to,” Jessica whispered, her shoulder brushing my arm as she leaned forward, her gaze focused on what was happening below.
A moment later, Casey walked away by herself, her voice loud and clear as she said, “I’ll do it myself, then.”
The other three looked at each other then shrugged, jogging off in the opposite direction. The cameras followed them all, and I leaned back in my seat. “This might take a while.”
“Perhaps. They should figure it out fairly quickly if they’ve been paying attention in class. We’ve placed some items around the grounds,” Jessica said.
“If you hadn’t come up with the question, would you know the answer?” I teased her, grinning widely as I stretched my arms out on the backs of chairs to each side of me.
Jessica’s hair brushed over my hand when she turned to me. Her mouth dropped open, her expression indignant. “Are you kidding me? Of course.”
“Prove it.”
