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Jessie enters first, and I exhale to see Forrest and then Bennet on her heels. Both men flash me a quick grin before taking their seats as the producers, and then the irritating director, file inside.
“We’re waiting on Gabe,” Jessie complains, glancing at her cell. “Give him five, and if he’s not here, we’ll get started.”
“I’m here,” Gabe announces, ambling into the boardroom, and then he winks at me. He nods at his counterparts and snatches a muffin out of the tray before flopping into one of the high-back leather chairs. “Some of us have businesses to run, remember?” He pops a piece between his full lips and chews before asking the very question on my mind. “What’s this all about?”
A part of me admires his cockiness. I wish I shared his confidence. I also don’t appreciate this “drop-everything-on-a-whim” mentality that the show deems appropriate.
But as he said, he has a business to run.
“You have a contract to fulfill,” Jessie scolds him, but Gabe is fixated on me, his golden-green eyes focusing on my exasperated face.
“Good morning, Stella,” he chirps.
His charisma is infectious; I catch myself returning his smile, almost against my will. I can’t help but remember the way he plucked me out of the parking lot that first day and hauled me away in his helicopter, just because he could. How can anyone stay mad at Gabe?
I sink onto one of the chairs and wait for someone to take the lead, eager to know what’s going on.
“Should we get started?” Roy grumbles. “I have other things to do today.”
“Yes, please,” Bennet concedes. “So do I.”
“We’ve found a permanent location to shoot this season since last season’s house is out,” Jessie takes over, eying the network officials as if silently willing them to stay quiet.
The men release a collective sigh, but I can’t help but tense. There’s something in Jessie’s expression I don’t like, although I can’t put my finger on it.
“Finally,” Forrest sighs. “It took you long enough. Where is it?”
“We’re going with a little bit of a less traditional route this time,” Jessie answers evasively, enhancing my doubt.
Forrest sits forward, his eyes narrowing, Bennet following suit.
“As long as we’re all in one place, who cares?” Gabe grumbles. “I’m not going forward with this show if the day-to-day location is up in the air. You’re not meeting your end of my contract. This back and forth is a giant pain in the ass.”
“Well, that’s not entirely true. Your contract states?—”
“Where is it?” Forrest asks again, this time more firmly, cutting Jessie off, as if he now feels the same weirdness that I do.
Jessie purposefully avoids the actor’s steadfast stare, and she swivels her head to look at me. “Do you do any camping, Stella?”
The random question throws me off. “What?” I reply slowly.
“You know, outdoorsy stuff. Camping, hiking, hunting, fishing?—”
My face turns incredulous. “Uh, no. That’s not really my… thing.”
“I can teach her,” Gabriel promises, settling back. “Is that where you’re setting us up? In a yurt?”
I’m horrified at the thought, but to my relief, Jessie chortles. “No, of course not. It’s much more modern than that. But it is in the mountains and away from civilization.”
“What?!” Forrest, Bennet, and I cry in unison, sitting forward, so we’re almost on top of the table.
“Don’t panic,” Jessie urges, plastering that placating expression on her face that I’m growing to despise.
“There will be outings, obviously,” one of the producers intercedes. “You won’t be stuck in the cabin.”
“And it is lovely,” Jessie adds, shooting the producer a warning look. “It’s got a sauna, a pool, a fully stocked bar. It’s a vacation home, not some dump in the middle of nowhere.”
“Is there Wi-Fi?” Gabe demands. “I need to check in with my business. I can’t be cut off, obviously.”
