Tessa hurries to the television and shuts it off.
Arthur, who poured himself a scotch while I was yammering on, sighs. “He obviously did it on purpose. He’s clearly using you to get ahead.”
“You don’t know that, Arthur,” Tessa says.
“Sure I do. Heleft herto deal with the fallout from the show,” he says. “And do you really think it’s a coincidence that he’s gone at the exact moment she’s discovering he secretly recorded her every word?”
I chew on my thumbnail. “I mean, it could have been a mistake, right? Maybe he just did it the one time and didn’t even know he did?”
Arthur rolls his eyes. “Give me a break. You don’t think he knows how to work a G0Pro?”
“No,” Tessa says, shaking her head. “You’re wrong. He invited Arabella to meet him in Thailand. If she were there, he’d have to face her in person.”
“But I wouldn’t be watching,” I say, my heart pounding in my ears.
“What?” she asks.
“I’d be out climbing right now and I’d have missed the entire episode.”
“But other people you know would fill you in on it,” Tessa says. “My mum, for example. She’s definitely glued to her telly right now.”
Arthur walks over and puts his hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Arabella, but it’s too convenient. He leaves the audio on, gets you to admit to hating your life, makes you sound like a total idiot, and makes himself sound like the ultimate boyfriend material. I know you have strong feelings for him, but it’s time you put your guard up before you get hurt. He’s not to be trusted.”
“Arthur!” Tessa starts, but the look on my face stops her.
“He may be right,” I say, forcing out the words, even though I hate myself for thinking them. “I mean, it all seemed so real, but it’s true. He did leave, didn’t he?”
Tears prick my eyes, but I blink them back inside.
“Oh, sweetie,” Tessa says, rushing over to me.
I hold up one hand, not wanting to fall apart in front of my brother. “Thanks, but I’m fine. I’ll go back to my place so I can try to get a hold of Will.”
“Good. Give him a piece of your mind,” Arthur says. “And then hand him over to me. I’ll go up one side and down the other. He’s going to wish he never met you.”
“Or,” Tessa says, giving Arthur an urgent look, “You calmly ask him if he knows how this may have happened. You need to leave room for the possibility that this isn’t his fault.”
“Do I?” I ask, turning toward the door.
“No,” Arthur says at the same time Tessa says, “Yes.”
When the door shuts behind me, I close my eyes and let out a long breath. The shitstorm I’ve unleashed is going to be unbearable and it looks like I’ll have to face it alone.
16
Impatient Directors, Starving Supermodels, and Phone Calls You Never Want to Get…
Will
“Okay,Will, stop there and go back down,” Giorgio, the director, calls into the megaphone. “We’re going to need you to do that again so we can get the drone to circle counter-clockwise this time.”
Seriously? I just had to redo the entire climb so the drone could go clockwise, and to be honest, I’m getting more than a little annoyed at this point. It’s about a thousand degrees out, I’ve been up and down this cliff-face more times than I can count on both hands (mainly because my fingers are cramping up too badly to use them for counting), and I’m thirsty as hell. Oh, and Giorgio insisted I climb without a shirt which is inadvisable for several reasons including, but not limited to, scraping the bejeezus out of your skin and/or risk of sunburn. The worst bit is that, directly under me, the calm, crystal blue sea beckons me with the promise of refreshment, only I can’t let go and jump in on account of all the recording equipment strapped to me. “The whole thing or just the last twenty feet?” I ask, glad that I’m mic’d up so I don’t have to shout.
“Un secondo,” he says.
Sure. No problem. I’ll just hang out here against this cliff in the blistering sun while you review the footage.
I glance down at Lara and Kenneth, who seem totally oblivious to what’s going on. They came along for the fun on the first ascent, then spent an hour or so canoodling in the water and are now sipping cold drinks under the pop-up tent for the crew. And I know, I’m getting paid for this, and I am grateful—really, I am. But I’m also tired and worried because of how I left things with Arabella. Even though she’s been supportive of me taking this opportunity, I’m pretty sure Kenneth and I are stretching her patience with this second stop on our globe-hopping commercial shoot. And I have a niggling feeling that the longer I’m gone, the worse it’ll be for our relationship. The truth is, I let her down, even if I did do it for the right reasons. And that’s the very last thing I ever wanted to do.
