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“I think what people are really interested in is how she became Bibi le Bonnet, where she went after she left Montana and before she arrived in Colorado.”
I wanted to ask more questions, but that was exactly what my mom wanted. What did she know? I hated this so much. Mom had sharpened her claws when it came to Bjorn, but I didn’t dream that she would ever dare to take on Bibi.
I wouldn’t let it happen. Bibi was so genuine and pure and wanted the best for everyone.
Because Bibi always had my back. And I was sneaking around on her.
“You can stop here,” I said.
“Here? We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
“Yes, it’s perfect.” This wasn’t how I’d imagined this. I’d been thinking of doing this long before tonight, I just hadn’t had the guts to pull it off. The plan was to find a safe place to put this. But there was no way Mom didn’t know I had it, and the vibration was getting to be too much.
I just needed it to be gone.
I could barely see where I was going. The moon was a waning crescent, and my phone flashlight didn’t offer much light. I had to move fast, catching myself as I stumbled on the path.
Maybe I should just take the blasted thing back to HQ.
No. I was in too deep now, and I really wanted to know what things would be like between Bjorn and me when we weren’t under its spell.
Just one date, I promised.
I needed it to be gone, and as I dropped it into the abyss, I promised myself I’d make this up to everyone.
ChapterTen
Bibi
Something was off this morning, and I could not for the life of me put a manicured finger on what. I cleaned up from last night as I drank my green tea, which I thought went much better than expected. The production team had held their collective breath to see what Marissa and Bjorn would do when asked to play nice with each other.
Now if I could just get Marissa to stop blaming her attraction to him on that stupid Hudaknocker. The thing had given me the heebie-jeebies the moment Wendy pulled it out of her bag. And I had to admit, the energy was different around here since she found it. But I refused to let it have that much power over me orThe Mating Game.
Good morning, sleepyhead.I texted. I had a feeling Marissa probably didn’t put her phone on silent at night, so I would put everything in one message. I also didn’t expect her to be the type to sleep in, but sometimes, a break in the routine was all the body needed to cue exhaustion mode. She’d been working nonstop on Wendy and Gabe’s episode and deserved some rest.I’m headed to Hugo’s house to talk to Bjorn. Stephanie will be here soon to shoot a lifestyle segment with you. Let me know if you need anything, and I will see you tonight.
One last look at the house before I grabbed my travel mug and headed out. Maybe things just seemed different because I had a new roommate.
I found Bjorn on the rowing machine in Hugo’s workout room.
“At least I have one early bird on this episode,” I said as I put my bag down.
“I keep thinking about what I would be doing if I were working on the show right now. Feeling a little lost without it.” He pulled his hair out of the man bun and shook it out.
“That’s why I’m having you film today’s interview on some of your equipment. The viewers seem to prefer it for our more candid segments anyway. Maybe you can keep working out while we chat?” The viewers certainly wouldn’t mind that.
“Entertainment is changing.” He already had his stuff set up, and all he had to do was hit record. I did appreciate an overachiever. “I think that’s one of the reasons Suzanne is so focused on screwing withThe Mating Gameand me. She’d rather blame her troubles on us than admit that people don’t want fake anymore.”
“She seems to be having quite the renaissance since she came to Sunset Springs.” I rolled my eyes. Asking Marissa to cut ties with her mother was unreasonable, but I really wanted Suzanne Marlowe to find another story to cover.
“Of course she is. Have you looked at the footage? She’s totally ripping us off. She’s doing a ton of stuff live, using phone footage. Once this story dries up, she’s fucked.”
“I forgot that bears can be so blunt.” I sat carefully on the exercise bike, thankful I’d gone with a pantsuit today. It was tiger-striped. Even though Gabe’s episode was over, I wasn’t done with the cat prints yet. “Yes, I agree she is capitalizing on our hard work. We should take it as a compliment that our content is worth co-opting. But I’d rather talk to you about your pack than Suzanne Marlowe.”
“I’d rather talk about anything than Suzanne Marlowe.” Bjorn chuckled and let go of the handle as he finished his latest set on the rowing machine.
“Did you see anywhere that looked like it might accommodate a bear pack while we were on the helicopter ride last night?”
“Possibly, depending on how long the snow lasts up there. The ecosystem would take getting used to. But I wouldn’t mind taking a closer look at a few of those places once it’s safe to get up there.”
