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I almost choked on my coffee.
A gasp echoed in the hallway. “Did I do something wrong?” Hannah asked.
“No! Not at all. It’s just that…we had a…situation come up last night, and we’ll need to push the start of your episode back a bit if that’s okay with you,” Bibi said.
Situation, huh? First I’d heard of it. Maybe I’d get away with my bad behavior after all.
“Sure.” Hannah didn’t sound so bubbly anymore. “What should I do in the meantime? I quit my job to come here, and I’m just hanging out at the chalet. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful. But I’m not used to having so much free time. I’m afraid I’ll get myself in trouble.”
“Impossible,” Bibi said. “I have an idea. What if we made you part of production? We could have you film segments with our past contestants and maybe give updates on what the Werewives are up to?”
I had no idea when we’d fit that into our schedule. And wait. What did Bibi have up her sleeve if we weren’t starting Hannah’s episode? I scrolled through the calendar on my phone, looking for a change in the schedule that I’d missed.
I’d been way too distracted lately and needed to get back on my A-game. Or Marissa Marlowe would be the least of my problems.
“Oh, I would love that so much! It will be so fun. We can get questions from the forums and make it interactive.” Hannah was a fan before she’d won a contest to star in her episode ofThe Mating Game. Thankfully, she’d turned out to be cool, but the arrangement was one ingredient away from a recipe for disaster.
“That’s a wonderful idea. Why don’t you head back to the chalet and start making some notes about segments you’d like to do? One of the production assistants can take you there.”
“I’m on it. Thank you so much. I won’t let you down.”
The silence that followed Hannah’s excitement filled me with dread.
“One fire taken care of this morning,” Bibi said softly, I assumed to herself. “Now for the bear.”
Fuck. Not only had I been downgraded tothe bear, but that apology I’d been working on between edits had also suddenly become a jumbled mess in my head. If she asked me about what happened with Marissa, I had no idea what I’d tell her.
The truth was dangerous, and I couldn’t lose this job. A resume with two unfortunate exits would not bode well for me getting another job in the industry.
I jumped when she knocked on the door.
“May I come in?” she asked.
“Of course.”
Bibi sat on the edge of the desk. Didn’t matter that the cameras wouldn’t roll today. She was as fabulous as ever in a sparkly blue jumpsuit and matching bobbed wig. “Mating ceremonies make me feel some sort of way, don’t you agree?”
I groaned but couldn’t turn back to the computer before a stupid grin spread over my face.
Tell her, my bear urged. I’d been avoiding him all morning too. There was no way what happened last night with Marissa could go any further.
We were coworkers.
Her family was awful.
And she hated me.
But the petite human had a way of drawing me in. Marissa had caught me watching her way too many times. She’d give me a sly smile, smug, like she knew what I was thinking, and then go about her business.
Bibi quirked a brow, and damn if she didn’t know she had me right where she wanted me. I needed to work on my poker face.
“On your reel, you feature a lot of nature footage. That’s why I thought you’d be perfect forThe Mating Game.Your resume did listThe Scoop with Suzannebut neglected to mention thatyouwere the alleged downfall of one of the biggest celebrity gossip shows on the planet. That’s a pretty impressive accomplishment.”
She knew. Of course, she did. She knew everything. “Suzanne never met an anonymous source she didn’t like. The problem started when she realized they weren’t loyal to her, and she wasn’t getting the exclusive scoop. So Suzanne had to up the ante and started paying these sources to plant bogus evidence. She was breaking up marriages and destroying careers. Once I knew what was going on, I couldn’t let her keep doing it. So I gave her a taste of her own medicine.”
“That was very brave of you. I like to think I’d do the same thing in your position,” Bibi said. “But why would someone who loves shooting nature footage want to work on another reality show?”
“Obviously, I came to work with you, Beebs.” I winked at her.
