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Geraldine looked up from her computer and nodded. “Will she be needing another appointment?” she asked.
“Yes,” Camille said, not meeting her eye. “But off the books. I have a feeling I’ll have several more sessions with her. That is one angry woman, but I think I can help her.”
“Speaking of angry,” Geraldine said. “I shooed Doug Weatherly away. Told him I was going to call the police if he didn’t stop loitering outside the office. He was not happy.”
“Well, there’s a lot of that going around lately,” Camille said, noticing with irritation the fresh bouquet of red salvia sitting atop Geraldine’s desk. “No signature?” she asked, knowing they were from Travis Wingo.
“No signature,” Geraldine confirmed, handing Camille the small card that accompanied the bouquet.
Camille retreated back to her office and closed the door to think. She looked down at the card and the two words written there. Forever Mine. She needed to do something about Wingo. Things were getting out of hand.
SIXTEEN
THE CONFIDANTE
Camille took in the sight in front of them thinking she might be in a fever dream. It appeared as if Armageddon had come to Napa and someone had built some sort of twisted playground atop a razed field.
A slight breeze was blowing, stirring up small dervishes of dusty clouds. Camille was so tired from the night before and the caffeine jolt from her latte hadn’t kicked in yet. After losing the race through the hedge maze, she lurched back to her room, stumbled to bed, and fell into the deepest sleep she’d ever encountered. If it hadn’t been for the Iowa mom’s penlight or whatever she was holding, she would still be lost in the maze.
“It’s an obstacle course,” Samuel said. “I’ve done these before—it’s like a Tough Mudder. They’re brutal.”
The tract of land was a sea of black dirt the size of two football fields. Above them, drones swept across the sky. Atop the field was a wall that rose three stories high, a mud pit, dozens of rubber tires, long steel beams, and, in the distance, what looked like bull’s-eye targets. Samuel was right, they were going to be running an obstacle course. Camille also spotted what looked like a guard lookout. The towering cylindrical column had the all-too-familiar One Lucky Winner logo painted across it and sat off to the side of the course. An ideal vantage point for aerial camera shots.
Camille’s eyes returned to the climbing wall and her stomach dropped. She was in excellent shape but might not be able to keep up with Samuel in the physical challenges. She had thought that after the hedge maze there were going to be puzzles and other competitions that didn’t include being able to outrun her opponents.
At least she had stumbled across one of the Game Changers at breakfast. Camille had been the first one to the great hall. Sitting amid the bagels, pastries, and fruit, tucked beneath the top linen napkin, was an envelope. Camille looked around to see if anyone was watching her, and seeing no one, she slipped the envelope into her pocket. Moving to a quiet corner of the room, Camille opened the envelope.
Congratulations! You’ve discovered a crucial Game Changer. Memorize the four sentences below and in the presence of the cameras, work each statement into conversation with your fellow competitors.
Her stomach dropped in disappointment. She had been expecting some kind of earth-shattering advantage for the next challenge, but none of the statements made sense. Or rather, they didn’t seem to mean anything. They were just simple, ordinary, everyday sentences.
“Good morning, Luckies,” Fern called out, pulling Camille away from her thoughts. “Please join me.”
In a single-file line, with the senator in the lead, the group followed the cobblestone path and came to a stop at the bottom of the dais. Atop the raised platform flanked by columns, Fern stood, wearing a beautiful white dress adorned with decorative crystal panels, a low-cut neckline, and a voluminous bubble skirt that fell just below her knees. Camille was impressed—the young woman had style and an impressive wardrobe budget. Her eyes fell to Fern’s shoes. Pristine white tennis shoes. That was certainly a bold choice, Camille thought, but something itched at the back of her brain. She kept feeling like she’d met Fern somewhere before, somewhere outside of the game.
Fern clasped her hands in front of her and smiled down on them. “Welcome to day two of your quest to become our one lucky winner. I trust you had a good night’s sleep.”
Everyone nodded, including Camille, though she felt like she hadn’t rested at all.
Camille looked around, spotting Alfonso sitting in a director’s chair off to the side of the course, legs crossed. For a director, he was certainly hands-off. Camille supposed that was the nature of reality TV—roll the cameras and see what unfolded.
“You won the Super Clue last night, Maire,” Fern said. “Tell us—how important was it that you won that first challenge?”
“It was extremely important. I was lucky,” Maire said. “I happened to get to the clue first, but I know I’m going to have to give it my all to win the other challenges. I know I can do it.”
Before she could stop it, a bubble of laughter rose from Camille’s chest. Maire sounded so innocent, but the way she made it through the maze last night made it clear that Maire was no Girl Scout.
“And, Camille.” Fern turned her attention to Camille and the laugh died on her lips. “What is your strategy going into today’s competition?”
“You know, Fern,” Camille began. “Ten million dollars is on the line so there is only one strategy. To win every single challenge moving forward, and that’s what I intend to do.” Camille was relieved to hear the confidence in her voice. She almost believed herself. “And I’m going to make sure I find the next Game Changer before anyone else.”
Fern nodded as if satisfied by the response. “Ah, yes, the elusive Game Changers. Would anyone like to share what they’ve found?”
Camille cut a glance to Ned. Everyone knew he had found one the night before. Uncharacteristically, Ned decided to stay quiet on the subject, simply giving them a closed-lip smile. Camille studied the others. Had someone else found one? Camille looked around and noticed Maire’s uncomfortable body language, how she stared resolutely at the ground. Camille would have to keep an eye on her.
“Well, then,” Fern said. “I’m sure those Game Changers will be revealed soon enough. Let’s get down to the business at hand. As you can see, today’s challenge is an obstacle course. But this is no ordinary course. There are little surprises scattered throughout.”
“What? Like Tasers? Maybe shotguns this time?” Samuel whispered. Camille chuckled, but was wondering the same thing. She liked Samuel. He was a competitor but less guarded than Maire, less obnoxious than Ned, and less, well, senator-like than the senator.
