Was this some kind of a joke?
Marissa wasn’t about to let William Graff ruin her chances making a real go of Yes, Cheese. Nor was she going to split fifty thousand dollars with him. As soon as Samesh finished announcing teams, she would march up to the stage and demand a new partner. She didn’t care if she had to beg, borrow, cheat, steal—whatever it took—to get him to assign someone else, anyone else other than William Graff.
Suddenly, her feet weren’t cold anymore. Nor were her hands or cheeks. Heat radiated from every pore. Her heart rate spiked.
This was her worst nightmare.
She half-expected to see a camera thrust in her face. Was this a prank? Was William Graff doing some sort of a social media challenge—hanging with the lowly commoners in town?
Samesh called the last team and then directed participants where to pick up their race packets. “Happy holidays and happy hunting.” He returned the mic to its stand.
This was her chance. Marissa practically sprinted to the stage.
A small line of people was already waiting to get a moment with him.
Great. Other teams were already solving their first clue, getting a head start, while she was stuck trying to plead her case for a new partner assignment.
“Do you know how to download the app?” a woman in line in front of her asked, tapping random buttons on her flip phone.
She reminded Marissa of her grandmother. Any visit to her grandparents’ house resulted in Marissa giving them tutorials on phone basics, like how to turn off the flashlight app. Marissa liked sharing her tech skills with her grandparents and finding new ways to connect with them.
“I can take a look,” Marissa said to the woman, keeping one eye on the stage.
“Oh, thank you.” She smiled with relief. “You’re not waiting for tech support?”
“No. I’m hoping to change partners.” Marissa installed the app and showed the woman how to enter her team name and see the first clue.
When she finished, it was her turn to speak with Samesh.
“How can I help?” he asked, kneeling and smiling with kind eyes.
“I’m hoping to change my team.” She dragged her teeth along her bottom lip. “Actually, no, I have to change my team.”
He frowned and clicked something on his iPad. “I’m sorry, but the teams are locked.”
“Isn’t there any way I can just swap partners?” Marissa’s eyes began to tear. She blinked hard.
Samesh shook his head apologetically. “Unfortunately, no. I’m so sorry. I could have done a team swap earlier, but now that the hunt is officially on, we can’t make any changes.”
Marissa hung her head and blew out a breath. “Really?”
“Is there a specific problem with your team?” He studied his iPad.
“Uh.” Marissa hesitated. “I don’t think my partner and I will be a good match.”
Samesh looked around. “Where is your partner?”
Marissa had purposely not attempted to look for William, but she realized it was odd that he wasn’t around. The crowd had thinned. Most teams had already gathered in huddles and were reviewing their race packets. Maybe it had been a joke after all. There was no way William Graff would stoop so low as to participate in a community scavenger hunt.
“I don’t know,” she said to Samesh. “What do I do if he doesn’t show?”
“Well.” Samesh twisted his lips as he thought. “Teams have twenty-four hours to complete the first challenge. If your partner hasn’t checked in by then, we could try to find a replacement for you, or you could recruit a friend, but you’d be a day behind.”
“Right.” Marissa could tell there wasn’t anything else he could do for her, so she moved to the side to let the next person in line have their turn. Her cheeks felt hot, like they’d been scorched by the sun.
Did the Universe have something against her?
William Graff. Why?
