Rock Star: The Contest (Book 2 of a Bad Boy Romance) by Kate Ward

Obviously she had come up to the cottage to see Chase herself. Whether that was to get an advantage in the contest or something much more personal, was to be determined. Though I had a strong gut feeling that it could have been both.
    Word had been getting around that Leann was trying to sabotage the efforts of others. Several contestants who had already been eliminated were said to have had great voices and presence on stage. And yet the day they were eliminated, we had noticed they had acted as if they had a cold or hadn’t warmed up their vocals.
    I was pretty sure that Leann was behind it. Though I couldn’t prove it. It wasn’t uncommon to find another contestant trying to outwit others or cause problems to get them kicked off a show. I’d seen it on Big Brother , The Bachelor and many other shows. It was amazing how catty women could get when faced with the risk of losing.
    If she wanted to get me kicked off, she now had even more proof. However, Chase had said that she didn’t have proof. It was her word against ours. That was probably why she hadn’t said anything. At least yet.
    “OK, guys, we need to get you all into position. Now remember that we don’t have a lot of time here. This early morning mist isn’t going to last. It’s perfect right now.”
    They hadn’t even given us time to go through a rehearsal of where we would stand or how we would act. A coordinator had stepped in and gone through it in the space of about five minutes. Most of us just nodded and gave a deer in the headlights look.
    It was meant to be kind of like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” They had used the hundred people who had won as zombies. Makeup artists had been working on them and using masks to get them ready. It was the weirdest thing I had ever seen. Country rock and zombies went together like oil and water. But you just went with it.
    They did it in one shot. I was surprised that they had so much confidence in us. Though Chase said it wasn’t that. They were on a limited budget and were giving the suits what they wanted. It was raw, pretty crap according to him, but it would pass.
    Once it was all wrapped up, people got a chance to hang with us and speak to the judges. It was kind of neat and for a short while I had started to forget about yesterday night until Leann approached me.
    “I think you and I should speak.”
    “Go ahead.”
    “Not here, up at the cottage.”
    “Why?”
    “I think you know why.”
    “When?”
    “This afternoon. Say, four?”
    I nodded. She turned on her heels and I could see a smirk on her face. After we were done I headed back to the café. Chase said he would swing by, he wanted to come along but that wasn’t going to happen.

    * * *
    “ Y ou do know she is going to blackmail us?” I asked him.
    “Of course, all the bitchy ones do.”
    “And you’re fine with that?”
    “No. But this isn’t my first rodeo of having a woman try and take me for money or have me fired from an event.”
    “So what am I meant to say?”
    He paced back and forth.
    “Hear her out. You don’t have to agree to anything she says, but don’t give her the impression that she isn’t going to get what she wants. We need a little time to think this through. Once we know what she’s up to, I may be able to pull some strings and get her kicked off the show.”
    “That’s not good, Chase.”
    “Well, it’s she goes, or we do. Do you really think she is going to stand by and not use this?”
    I shrugged.
    Chase left soon after a late lunch. Sophie and Spike were handling the shop when I came down. I had shared what had taken place with Sophie and she balled her fists.
    “Do you want me to go up there and pummel her?”
    I laughed. Sophie had always been one of those girls who acted first and thought later. Growing up she had never taken shit from anyone. Though her family was pretty well off, she was like the black sheep of their family. Always getting into mischief and having run-ins with the law.