Page 28 of The Final Rose

Since Summer’s speculations of how the show works don’t exactly make good TV, I steer her away from it. “Why do you think Mackenzie said what she said?”

“Jealousy.” Summer replies promptly. When I point in the camera’s direction, she licks her lips and tries again. “I think Mackenzie is jealous.”

“Mackenzie is trying to get us scared,” Isla says in her solo interview, half an hour after I’m finished with Summer. “She wants to see everyone on their toes. The glory of being selected for the first group date didn’t last long enough.”

“The other girls think she’s jealous. Were you jealous when you weren’t invited to the first group date?” I ask.

Isla shrugs with her small shoulder. “We all want an opportunity to get to know Sebastian. But I really don’t think fighting is the solution.”

She clearly doesn’t understand how reality TV works. I nod anyway because, at this point, I’m beyond tired. At least I got the nice girls’ interview. Anya is dealing with Mackenzie and Emily right now, and while I wish I was a bug in that room, I’m happy to be spared.

“You look tired,” Vera tells me while she’s being mic-ed.

I huff a laugh. “Thanks. You look gorgeous.”

“I mean, the dark shadows under your eyes completely work for you. You go, girl.” She plays and I laugh for the first time since this mess started.

Not that I don’t love a good drama, but Mackenzie could’ve waited until the morning to spread lies. I've been in the mansion since dawn, the twenty-four-hour mark is approaching. I’m tired and in need of a shower, but I also get that sometimes, things like this happen. Sometimes, we can’t leave interviews for the next day.

Once Vera is ready to go, I start. “Tell me what was happening in the room when the girls were in the pool hang.”

Vera wrinkles her nose. “Are we calling it that?”

I blow a raspberry and raise one hand. I gave up fighting it.

Shaking her head, Vera starts. “From the moment the group date was announced, Mackenzie thought she was going to be included. She was showing her two-piece to Emily and said she couldn’t wait to hang with Sebastian by the pool. When they sent the names, I thought it was obvious. We had our date already and now it was the opportunity for the other girls to connect with Sebastian, but Mackenzie was really annoyed by that. She made--”

She stops herself mid-sentence. I frown. I like interviews with Vera because she’s always the voice of reason. She tells us how it is, making my job much easier, especially when I need to perform through the night.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“She made a few comments about Grace’s body and why she shouldn’t be in a bikini.”

I close my mouth in a line. I’m not going to say thatThe Final Roseis inclusive, because it’s not. The show has a long way to go until it shows regular bodies on TV, but it has improved immensely since the first season. Grace is cute as a button, short, blond, and perky. She’s our southern belle, who likes horseback riding and has the nicest accent. She has the body to do the activities she’s interested in.

Good for her.I hate Mackenzie.

I hate that every season we need to have a villain and she's fitting too well into the role. I hate that she talks like that about the other women, even if it's good television. I'm done with people like that.

Vera frowns, releasing a long breath. “I don’t want to talk about that. I don’t want to expose Grace like that. She heard what Mackenzie said. She can say something if she wants.”

I nod, getting what she’s asking. Vera is always happy about retelling everything that happens with scientific precision, but we need to be careful with comments about someone’s body.Vera doesn’t want to victimize Grace, and I get it. Against myThe Final Rosetraining, I nod, promising I won’t push the subject.

Once we are done, she hugs and thanks me, but I'm not too sure what I am being thanked for.

And then I interview Grace, who simply skims through Mackenzie’s comments, showing she’s not interested in giving the woman extra screen time. Mostly Grace is upset that Mackenzie and Emily are trying to spoil everyone’s fun. Grace is easy-going like that.

I leave the interview room when the sun is peeking in the horizon. I can’t believe I finished all the interviews, I think as I close my eyes and sag my body to the wall. I managed to be supportive, connect with the girls, and stay away from Sebastian.

I groan as thoughts about him enter my mind.

After Anya talked to me, I promised to show her my commitment. I came back the next morning with laser focus. A machine called Callie Sosa.

Mackenzie’s big mouth was great for my plans. It kept me occupied, my focus on the girls and the girls only.

Head in the game, Callie!

I watch the morning crew arrive, and the night cameramen go. I stay in a little trance, deciding if I should push for another couple of hours on the set until I crash, or just throw the towel now.

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