“I’m on my way.”
Launching myself out of my chair, I jog out of the building and jump in my golf cart. Throwing it in reverse, I back out, then pop the cart into drive and zip down the path like a bat out of hell. You know, if bats could drive golf carts.
My phone pings and I see a text from Vincent.What the fuck is this I’m hearing about us having run out of booze?!
I quickly record a message to him and hit send.I can fix everything. Don’t worry.
Vincent:If there’s one thing I’m going to do, it’s worry.
I park haphazardly at the main lobby building, then take the steps two at a time. The receptionists must know what’s going on because they’re whispering to each other. When they see me, they break apart with guilty expressions. I rush through the doors to the main office area and stop short when I see who’s here.
Harrison, Libby, Rosy, Fidel, Carolina, Vincent, and oh yeah, Theo, are huddled in a circle. I hear Theo say, “Jaquell would never delete an email without actioning it first.”
“So it had to be Nora,” Carolina says.
“It must have happened when we were stranded at Eden. She asked Rosy to tell her sister to send the email for her,” Theo says, giving Rosy a pointed look.
“Which I did,” she tells him. “The second we got off the radio call.”
“She didn’t send it,” I say, cutting into the conversation, my heart pounding. “I just checked my email and it’s still sitting in the drafts folder.”
All eyes turn to me, including Oakley’s. She’s been sitting at her desk, intently listening to the entire thing since I got here.Why does she have to be here for this? Anyone but her.
Oh God, this is so, so bad. I have never wanted to disappear as badly as I do at this moment. Poof, gone. Transported into some alternate universe where, the minute I got back from Eden, I checked to make sure Kat had sent the bloody email.
“Seriously?” Vincent asks. “And you didn’t think to check to make sure it was sent?”
“I amsosorry, but I can—”
He holds up a hand. “We’re supposed to be on our way to Eden as we speak, but you know what’s difficult to set up without booze? A bar!”
Do not cry, Nora. Whatever you do, do not cry. You can still salvage this.
“Honestly, Harrison,” Carolina says. “This is beyond incompetent. Theo literally couldn’t have made it easier for your team.”
“It’s a huge mistake, for sure,” Harrison says, glancing at me without a hint of his normal happiness. “But I’ll take care of it.”
“It’s going to cost a small fortune to buy everything at retail,” Libby says, staring at the order form in her hand.
“Yes, it will,” Harrison says. “But we’ve got no choice. We can’t very well allow ourselves to run out of liquor.”
“Imagine the reviews,” Rosy says,tsking.
“Forget your reviews,” Vincent snaps. “We can’t exactly hold the bartending world finals without it either.”
“Okay, Vincent, there’s no need to get nasty about it,” Theo tells him. “Nora screwed up, but we don’t need to beat a dead horse.”
Oh God, I’m a dead horse, and they probablyallwant to beat me right now.
“A dead horse?” Vincent asks, his voice climbing two octaves. “We’re supposed to start filming in two hours!”
Do something, Nora. Anything!“Wait! If you give me the list of what you need at Eden, I’ll go to town right now. I’m sure I can get everything out to the island by the time the contestants have collected all the herbs and fruits.”
“I think you’ve done enough,” Carolina tells me with a sniff. “We need someone who knows how to complete a simple task.”
Do not cry. Not in front of these people. Not while Oakley is here. Do not…Shit, I’m crying. And blinking is not holding back the tears. They’re just flowing out of my damn eyes like the world’s tiniest rivers. Libby glares at Carolina and wraps an arm around my shoulders.
I manage to squeak out, “I’m okay. It’s just lack of sleep. But I’m going to pull myself together and fix this. Everything will be fine, I promise.”
