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“Nothing’s going to happen to you out there,” Gabe reassures me. “I have a ton of experience in the wilderness.”
“So, I’m not going to get eaten by bears?” I joke.
“Well… there’s always a possibility,” Gabe quips back as the others snort.
“I think there’s a clause for that in the contract,” Bennet adds, nudging me playfully.
“I wouldn’t be surprised in the least,” I reply.
We head back into the meeting room, and the conversation fully comes to a halt, the others clearly talking about us.
“Are there cameras in the cabin?” Forrest asks.
“Only in the common areas,” Jessie replies quickly. “Not in the bathrooms or bedrooms, obviously.”
Forrest makes a disbelieving sound, but he doesn’t comment.
“I’ll need to get my business affairs in order,” Gabe informs them.
Jessie is unimpressed by his condition. “You should have done that before you even came in front of the cameras.”
“Should’ve, would’ve, could’ve,” Gabe replies nonchalantly. “But didn’t. Youshould’vetold us most of the filming would take place outside of LA.”
Jessie grunts aloud. “How long do you need?”
I fiddle with my hands under the table as Gabe chews on the remainder of his muffin, pondering her question thoughtfully.
“Gabriel!” Jessie barks.
He swallows. “A day,” he decides, and I smirk lightly, realizing that he’s just toying with them. Once again, I feel aspark of appreciation for his insolence. He really doesn’t care, and I admire that.
“Fine.” Jessie glances at her superiors, who don’t appear amused by our command of the upcoming events. Or rather, Gabe’s command. Bennet, Forrest, and I are happy to let the billionaire brewmaster handle negotiations.
“I expect everyone back here on Monday morning at eight a.m. You’ll leave your vehicles at the studio and fly up to the cabin together. That’s where you’ll be staying for the next month, all right?”
She waits for all of us to mutter our collective agreement before dismissing us, but as we head out the door, I begin to have second thoughts again.
A whole month in the middle of nowhere with three complete strangers. Is that really a good idea?
I sneak a peek at Forrest, then Gabe, and finally Bennet as they head toward the exit.
At least I couldn’t have asked for hotter company. At least it was going to be a very interesting month ahead.
Yes. The very first thing I have to do when I’m alone is text Chris. She’ll know exactly what to do. And I know what she’ll say: Go. Don’t be stupid.
CHAPTER 7
Gabe
Iam almost an hour and a half late arriving on Monday morning, irritating not only Jessie, but my castmates, too.
“I said eight o’clock,” Jessie snaps, tapping her cell phone angrily. “You’ve set us behind now. Do you have any idea how much this costs us?”
I’m unbothered until I see the look of disappointment on Stella’s face. A sweeping sense of contrition overcomes me, and I bow my head genially.
“I got caught up with work,” I reply. “Are we doing this or what?”
Forrest says something I can’t hear under his breath, and Bennet is customarily quiet as we head out of the studio, the cameras already rolling.
