I shouted goodbye to my mother and followed my boyfriend to the Jeep.
As I clicked my seat belt in place, Gale thrust his phone in my face. “PS. My dad adopted a stray. In case you’ve been missing someone.”
On the screen was a picture of Oil Slick, curled up in Merrison’s lap as he snoozed in his reading chair. She looked perfectly at home.
“That traitor. No way. She’s my cat.”
“Well, she showed up two days ago and never left. Dad claimed her.”
“I’m not surprised. She’s a sucker for snuggles and wet food. Give her both, you’ll have a friend for life. I can’t believe she wandered that far.”
“Probably looking for you one day.”
We made it to Oklahoma City with time to spare and met the rest of the group in the affluent lobby of CineVision Entertainment. They congregated on the swanky couches, chatting and laughing before heading upstairs for our appointment. It was a contrast from the first time we’d been in the building, scowling and sneering at one another from across the room.
I left Gale with the group as I raced to the same bathroom where we’d first met back in March. My damn mother and her damn insistence that I drink thirty-two ounces of water before leaving the house was a test of bladder control.
Finished at the urinal, I scrubbed my hands and plowed through the door, on a mission to get back to my friends and Gale so we could head up for our official viewing.
I ran smack into Olivia, who waited in the hallway.
“Good grief, woman. What the hell? The ladies’ room is on the other side of the lobby.”
“I know. I was waiting for you.”
“What’s up?”
“Before we go up and Charles presses the whole competition angle and tries to pit us against one another even though the cameras are off, I wanted to say that I’ve had a lot of fun this season. More than I expected. You taught me more than I expected.”
I flinched at the compliment.
“Yeah, don’t get a big head. You’re a good chaser, Devereaux, and I was honored to be able to learn from you. I figured working with more than four or five people would be a headache and overkill, but I was wrong. We found a dynamic that worked for us. We blended our teams well.”
“Definitely. I had fun too. We’re stronger together, and I’m not going to lie, I hate the idea of us being broken apart next season.”
“I agree.” Olivia shifted her weight and glanced down the hall toward the lobby. “Your team deserves to be on the show. Between Jazz’s piss-poor attitude and Gale practically begging the audience to vote him off, we don’t stand a chance.”
“Can I be honest?”
She waited, so I continued.
“Twisted Fates is finished. This show is going to birth a new, blended team comprised of your people and mine.”
“No.”
“Yes. I don’t know who the five will be, but it will be a mix. Elliott’s work and life schedule won’t work for a show. He knows it, and Charles knows it. We’ve already written him off, and he’s okay with it. He’s got another kid coming in a few months, and he doesn’t have time for this type of hobby, never mind a show. That alone leaves an opening, but to be honest. You, me, Lex, Noah, Roe, Maggie, and Vern… We’re all worthy of a spot. No one more than another. I have no idea how it will play out, but I wish we could stick together as a team of seven. Eight, if I could convince Gale to ride, and with his photography gig opening doors, it’s plausible.”
“Charles has set it up to rig the votes. Come on, Oz. You aren’t that stupid.”
“Yeah, maybe. He has preferences.”
“You.”
“Me, but that doesn’t mean shit when it comes to voting. It’s anyone’s game, Windrow. I wish the win could belong to us all.”
“Me too.” Olivia studied me for a long moment. “No hard feelings?”
“None at all.”