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“We have a contract,” Jack reminded them.
My father stood. “Which you’ve been changing at your whim with your addendums, solely to manipulate my son. And I have a very good lawyer too.”
“This is crazy!” Kipton said. “I’m the host of the show. I have a contract of my own. Jack, you can’t just pull me from my duties and expect me to join the girls out of the blue.”
“You both know how Travis is. He’ll find a way, and he’s not going to budge on this. Kipton, did you read your contract carefully? Or have a lawyer look at it?”
Her entire body went rigid.
Holy hell…had she not read the contract?
Turning her to face me, I asked, “Kip, tell me you had a lawyer look over the contract before you signed.”
Her eyes filled with tears, and she gave a slow shake. “I need this money to help my parents, Hunter. They could lose everything if I don’t do this show. Nothing in the contract would’ve changed my mind.”
I clutched at my hair and cursed. I knew Kipton was doing the show for the money, she never hid that fact. But I didn’t know her parents’ circumstances were so dire.
Hugging herself with her arms, Kipton turned to Jack. “What does my contract state?”
Jack closed his eyes. It was clear he wasn’t enjoying this any more than the rest of us. When he opened them, he looked at Kipton. “That the show has the option to let you go at any time, without cause, and without obligation to pay your salary, since the contractual obligations would be incomplete.”
Kipton’s eyes widened in shock.
I balled my fists together and was ready to pound Jack’s face. My father and Uncle Dirk must have seen my anger growing because they both walked over. When my father put his hand on my arm, he said, “Hunter, take a breath.”
“There isn’t any other way around this where Travis doesn’t act like an asshole?” Uncle Dirk asked.
Jack just stood there. He had just as much say on the show as Travis. He could play the innocent part all he wanted, but he could go against Travis if he wanted to.
When literally everyone in the room started arguing with Jack, Rose held her hands up and shouted, “Okay, everyone, calm the hell down—and hear me out.”
My mother laughed and looked at my father. “Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
KIPTON
My head spun, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to scream or cry. When Rose yelled at everyone to calm down, all I wanted to do was fall into Hunter’s arms.
“Oh great. This should be good. If you have an idea, I’d love to hear it,” Jack said, rolling his eyes at Rose.
Rose shot him a dirty look. “Kipton can still be the host. It was the audience’s decision to send Kipton and Hunter on a date. Well…so what? Send them on a date and give the viewers what they want. But Travis needs to realize half those viewers are tuning in for Kipton alone. Look at the comments, Jack. They love her. They also love that she’s hosting the show. Pull her, and you’ll have a ton of pissed-off viewers. This could just be another part of your stupid experiment since you’re so fond of changing the rules every other day. If you can throw in paid actresses, you can let the audience choose the host for a date. Who even cares when the rules are constantly changing?”
“And if the audience wants them to go on a second date?” Jack asked.
Rose shrugged. “Then send them on another date.”
“I’m the host, though,” I argued. “I can’t host my own damn dates.”
“Who says? They’re making up the rules as they go along now, so why not? Have a guest host when you and Hunter go on a date. Or hell, play host right up until the date starts. Have fun with it.”
“Have fun with it?” I asked, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“Yes!” Rose said with so much exasperation in her voice, I couldn’t help but giggle. “Girl, you’re the host whom everyone adores. So much so, they voted you into the damn dating pool! Don’t let Travis turn this into something bad or dramatic or conniving. Go on the damn date, have a fantastic time, and kiss the living shit out of each other. Let the viewers see there’s really something between you.” She glanced at Hunter. “If they truly want this to be a dating experiment, then show everyone what it’s really like when you date someone you feel a genuine connection with.”
Jack nodded and stepped closer to Rose. “As much as it pains me to agree with her, she’s right. That’s what the show is supposed to be about. Finding someone you connect with. Go on the date and just…be yourselves. Once the audience sees the chemistry between you two, they’ll go mad for it.” He turned to Hunter. “And, Hunter, then you can swipe left on however many girls you want.”
“But, to keep it interesting, I think you need to keep Kimber.”
