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“That’s not what I was going to say,” he grumbles. “I was going to ask if she has tried to talk to you.”
I clap him on the back. “Nope. We haven’t had a chance to talk, because of the busy schedule and constant cameras in our faces.”
We continue through the woods. “If we’re going to keep this up, we’re going to need to be careful,” Bennet says thoughtfully. “The last thing we need is Roy learning about it.”
“Do you think we should tell Forrest?”
Bennet pauses and ponders the question. “I don’t know,” he replies honestly.
“It might be better to keep it to ourselves for now. He doesn’t need a menage-a-quatre aired online. It won’t be good for his career.”
Bennet appears genuinely stunned. “Do you think that Stella’s hooking up with Forrest, too?”
I shrug again. “We can ask him and find out.”
He’s clearly digesting the information, but he doesn’t appear jealous. More like trying to sort it out.
“While we’re out here,” I say, changing the topic a bit. “I don’t know how many more days I can spend sitting around staring at fires and soaking in the hot tub between dates. I need to find something else to do.” Bennet regards me blankly, and I elaborate. “You work with your hands some, right?” I say. “I noticed that you don’t have total trust fund manicured paws.”
Bennet glances at his palms as if seeing them for the first time, but before he can respond, loud voices echo through the woods toward us.
“I’m telling you, we got lost! For real!”
“Bullshit!”
Bennet and I exchange a look, a spark of annoyance shooting up my spine as I recognize the director’s voice reverberating through the trees. What the hell is Roy doing here today? I hadn’t seen him that morning.
Bennet and I head toward the commotion as Forrest’s words join the argument. “She’s not lying, Roy. We took a wrong turn on the ATV. Your guys have GPS?—”
“Stay out of this, Forrest, unless you want to be fired, too.”
I push through a thick of bushes and find myself in front of Forrest and Stella. She’s pale and shaking, her hands tucked under her armpits to hide her upset, but her disposition is crystal clear to me. Her anxiety has overtaken her face.
“What’s going on?” I demand, stepping forward as Bennet trails in behind me.
The director glances at me and scoffs. “How are you even here? This isn’t your date. Go back to the cabin.”
“No,” I say flatly, looking at Forrest and Stella. “What happened?”
“We got lost—” Stella starts to say, but Roy cuts her off.
“Horseshit. You took off. Again. I warned you what would happen if you continued doing that. Now go back to the cabin and pack your stuff. You’re going home.”
Tears of frustration fill Stella’s eyes, and I can plainly see that she’s telling the truth. There has been some kind of misunderstanding, even if Roy doesn’t want to listen. She slides off the ATV from behind Forrest and begins walking toward the cabin, looking down sullenly at the ground.
“No, stop!” I order her, but the director whips around to confront me.
“You stay out of this, or you’re going, too.”
“Fine by me,” I retort, strolling toward Stella. “Come on, Stella. I’ll help you pack, and then we can pack up my stuff.”
Forrest jumps into action “If they’re going, I’m out, too. I signed on to work with Stella, not some random find halfway through the month.”
“Now, wait a second,” Roy screeches, his face paling as we march toward the cabin.
I silently will Bennet to follow, but I don’t have to think about it too hard. He’s already trailing after us. He doesn’t need to say a word; his meaning is undeniable. We’re all leaving if Roy is firing Stella.
“You have contracts,” Roy shouts out after us.
