Page 46 of The Final Rose

Dave barks a laugh, coughing right after. I tsk, tilting my head right. “Dave, you told me you’re going to quit.”

Dave waves me off. “Anya is arriving soon. You better meet her quickly. She’s angry.”

I chance to look back at the screen, regretting straight away when it's Sebastian’s impossible blues frozen and staring at me. I gulp and turn to Dave. “Is she upset he’s not going for Vera?”

Dave's eyebrows disappear through his hairline. “Because he eliminated her.”

My spine went straight. “Vera?”

I never missed an elimination. I left a very unhappy Anya in London, but I convinced myself it was for the best. How did things get so crazy in so little time?

Twenty-four hours ago, his lips were on mine. Twenty-four hours ago, Vera and Abby were in the lead and the only hiccup we had was trying to convince him not to eliminate Mackenzie too quickly.

How the hell in twenty-four hours did he decide to spare Mackenzie and go for Vera?

“Kid,” Dave shakes his head, taking me back to the moment. “He eliminated Isla.”

I’m marching out of the room before I even understand where my feet are taking me. I pound the perfect wooden floors and stare at the front, ignoring the elegant floral wallpaper and the arched doorways.

Fuming, I’m almost outside when my radio beeps and I hear Anya’s voice saying only one word:“Callie.”

Of course, it’s my name she calls the second I’m at range. I open the front door as the headlights of three cars come to the front lawn gravel. I turn my radio off as Anya exits the first car; her face looks like murder.

“Did you know?”

“Dave told me just now,” I reply, ignoring the insinuation that I’d know about Sebastian’s plans.

“He keeps changing the script.” Anya heads to the house and I follow her steps. “The elimination came from nowhere. His date with Mackenzie was terrible. I knew while it was happening, we had no way to keep her. Not without making him look like a jerk.”

She curses in Polish under her breath. After years of working under Anya, I know Polish enough to understand none of the words she just used are pretty. The double doors open like she’s Moses, and then we are in the house. The crew respects Anya. They know even though Jeff is the director and Adam the showrunner, Anya is the shark you should fear.

Executives trust her to bring the money, make the season profitable, and keep the lights on. The respect of the crew she earned because she never stops. This is her world, and we all know how to read her expressions at this point.

Tonight, the ferocity in her eyes, and the set of her jaw make my hand tremble.

We move to the back of the house, to the small office I left minutes ago, but Dave is nowhere to be found. Smart man. But the footage of Isla and Sebastian still on pause on screen and I have to move my eyes to the floral walls to avoid looking at his lips on her.

“ThisI can handle.” Anya points to the screen. “Eligibles coming off script, contestants becoming a favorite suddenly.”

“He eliminated Isla,” I say in my calming voice. “So, we are back to Vera.” There has to be an upside to this.

Anya brings her hand to her waist. “We’ll need to chop his date with Mackenzie to death because I can’t justify keeping her.”

I’m about to ask if it’s that bad, but the usual players arrive, silencing me. Jeff, Devi, and then Adam, followed by Nessa. With a soft click, Nessa closes the door.

Adam watches Anya with an arched brow. “It’s not that bad.”

Another Polish curse. It’s one of those days.

“I don’t like to be scrambling around. I don’t like improvising.”

“It’s reality TV.” Devi makes the mistake of pointing out.

The look Anya spares him burns even me on the other side of the room.

“Can someone explain to me what happened out there?” I ask, massaging my temple.

“Well, you haven’t explained why you needed to be here earlier than everyone else.” Anya fires back, pointing her finger at me.”

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