Page 27 of The Final Rose

I shrug. “This time around seems to be more set in the way.”

Anya tsks. “Funny, because I think exactly the opposite. Other bachelors come here with an ulterior motive. They have noproblem judging the girls by their looks, but Riggs? He’s a wild card.”

“He’s an English aristocrat. There’s nothing wild about him.” I snicker.

“He doesn’t play by the rules, and you know it.” I turn my face away from her, refusing to reply, so she keeps going. “Now, more than ever, we need to keep the reins and steer to the right side.Dating Blindis breathing over our necks.”

I turn to her again.Dating Blindis the other dating reality TV show. But there, the contestants know nothing about each other before meeting. Started in Ireland but took the world by storm. Our tagline is thatThe Final Roseisthe show here to change how you see love. Well, that’s no longer true.

“You know we are just a bad season away from cancellation.” Anya actually says. “Every show is always half a season from cancellation. Nowadays, people want immediate results. If it doesn’t go viral, it doesn’t shock or turn hella messy, people don’t care about it.”

“I thought that’s why it was so good to get someone like Sebastian.” I find my voice.

“Prince Charming is a good start. But you know one person doesn’t make a season.”

I move uncomfortably. “I know, Anya. I don’t understand why we are having this conversation.”

“We are having this conversation because your head is not in the game. Each season you become laser-focused. You know them inside out; you nudge them in the direction you want. You make those lines better than the writing staff.”

I feel my cheeks burn and I thank God it’s dark, so she doesn’t see it. I used to prim under Anya’s compliments. They were few and far between, but now, all I want is for her to stop talking.

“I want you glued to Vera and Kirsten. I want you to make those girls the Princesses to that Prince Charming.”

The order is so direct; I do not know how I’m able to croak another sentence after. But as I do, I know it’s a mistake.

“If it’s not them? If he likes Summer, Vivian, hell, even Mackenzie?”

Her eyes narrow. “Then you make him see the light.”

She turns around, but I stay. With a last look over her shoulder, she says, “You better be back to normal by the time you’re on that plane to London.”

8.

Callie

“It makes no sense,anyway. It’s not like Mackenzie knows what really happened.”

I rub my temple, nodding my head. Before I have a chance to say anything, Summer continues. “There’s nothing to it. People wouldn’t bring us here just to be judged that way. It’s about what Sebastian wants, and he gave no–”

“Can you just calmly tell me what happened?” I ask, pointing to the camera.

I’m with Summer for a solo interview for the last twenty minutes, but she’s talking a mile a minute and we can’t use any of it if she doesn’t start making sense ASAP.

I breathe deep in, signaling she should follow my lead. With her mouth clamped shut like it’s an effort, she does. I smile and then roll my finger forward, telling her she can start.

Hopefully, this time, she will start from the beginning.

“Well, last night after we came back from the pool hang, Mackenzie was doing her makeup and talking loudly with Emily about some of her theories. She was saying the girls who weren’t invited to the first group date were included in the pool hang so Sebastian could decide who he was eliminating next.”

I wish she would stop calling it “the pool hang”. But Mackenzie isn’t completely wrong. She missed the part that every date can seal the deal. It wasn’t exclusively the pool hang. Damn, now she got me calling that, too.

After the mini-golf date, Sebastian still wanted to get to know the other girls. It’s hard for him apparently, as he can’t stop complaining. But not every date inThe Final Rosewill be super cute. There are thirsty women out there and we have to make a show for them, too.

So, we took Sebastian’s shirt off and sent him to the pool with a few girls, including Summer. Once everyone returned to their rooms, instead of asking how it went, Mackenzie staged a conversation with Emily where she shared theories about the elimination process.

That’s how I ended up here this late at night. I have to get the interviews before everyone has a chance to sleep on it and realize Mackenzie is simply talking out of her ass.

“If I was going to believe her, I’d have to accept that he has a favorite since day one! This is not how it works!”

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