Lost Without You (7 page)

“Better,” he said, handing her back the empty bottle. “You wouldn't happen to have a towel handy would you, baby?”

“Here you go,” Chip said, throwing a towel in Rick's direction. It landed across his face. Chip didn't seem to care as he grabbed Zoe's arm and steered her away from the team's cooking area. “If you'll excuse Zoe, she has other teams to film before we run out of cooking time.”

Zoe pulled her arm back out from Chip's grip and stopped behind a particularly thick cluster of trees.

“What are you doing?” she demanded.

“I was serious. There's only ten minutes left and you still haven't checked in with the last team.”

“I have plenty of time. It takes two seconds to ask ‘whatcha cooking in there?' so I want to know what the hell that was really about. You threw a towel in Rick's face for no reason.”

Chip tried unsuccessfully to hide a smirk. “What? He asked for a towel. It's not my problem he can't catch. Besides, I needed to get you to do your job and stop hanging out with the contestants like they're your best friends. That's all.”

“Really? It didn't have anything to do with the fact that Rick was flirting with me again? While shirtless.”

The edge of Chip's jaw bulged then relaxed as he plastered the fakest smile she'd ever seen on his face. “Nope. I hadn't even noticed. Was he shirtless? Huh. Interesting that you feel the need to bring it up.”

She eyed him for a moment and wondered if it was worth her time and effort to call him out on that blatant pile of bullshit he'd just spewed. He glanced at his watch, again motioning for her to head over to the last team. She glanced over too. They were getting out their plates and organizing them on the ground near their fire. If she didn't hurry, she really would miss her opportunity to speak with them before the cooking segment was done.

Confronting Chip on why he was acting so strange would have to wait until they were done filming and on their way back to camp.

“Fine. Let's get this over with.”

Chip held in a laugh as Zoe obviously tried not to gag on the food the teams had put in front of her. Her attempts at tasting the first few plates had been much more convincing. Now he was worried that she might actually get sick on camera. Good thing he could edit that out if needed.

He couldn't blame her really. Only so much could be done with leaves and berries found in the wild. Although the fish Rick's team cooked smelled damned good and the other teams seemed to enjoy the dish as well.

Too bad. He would have loved something to take Rick's opinion of himself down a peg or two. Hopefully the first elimination challenge would be too much for his team. That was the one that really mattered, not this silly food challenge.

“That was … interesting,” Zoe said, taking a big drink of water from her third bottle.

He didn't want to be the one to tell her that she should cut back on the liquids a little. She probably wasn't going to like it much when she realized how far away from base camp she was. She'd like it even less when her only option for a bathroom was “this bush or that one” along the trail on the way back.

“Okay,” Zoe said standing from her makeshift table of a fallen log. “Now that we've had a chance to taste all of the dishes, it's time to vote for your top two favorites and your least favorite. Then we'll tally the votes and see who wins and who loses. Everyone write your votes down on the paper provided and then return them to me.”

The teams sectioned off into their cooking areas to decide on their votes in private. While they did, Chip joined Zoe. “You did great tasting all that food. I was a little worried we might have to censor some sickness in editing but you really powered through it.”

“Yeah, thanks for the wonderful competition today.” She rubbed her hand across her stomach as if it was sore from the food. It probably was. “Remind me to cook you dinner sometime as payback.”

Dinner with Zoe? Hell, yes. Sign me up.

“I'll find a way to suffer through your cooking, I'm sure. How about tonight?”

“I was only kidding. I can't cook, even to torture you.”

I wasn't kidding.

Chip kicked at the dirt with the toe of his shoe, suddenly feeling nervous. “Well, then I'll cook for you and you can tell me if my food is torture or not.”

He held her gaze. She didn't accept his offer but she also didn't turn him down. He would take that as a yes, since the twinkle in her eye gave away her interest in him even if her lack of verbal skills didn't.

“So, you ready to announce the winners? Any questions about how it works before we film this last segment and head back to base camp?” Best to change the subject before she found her voice and told him no to dinner.

“Actually, I have no idea how I'm going to do this.”

“Why? It shouldn't be much different than what you have been doing.”

“True, but normally I don't have to remember all of their names. Now I have to call out twenty people by name and I only know about four of them. I'm screwed.”

Zoe looked genuinely concerned and nervous. More so than he'd ever seen her before. His thoughts of getting Zoe to have dinner with him disappeared and the only thing he cared about was how to make her feel better in this situation. He didn't like seeing her uncomfortable or worried. It bothered him. Deeply.

“Wait right here one minute,” he said, walking away. Finding the sound equipment backpack, he searched through it until he located the things he needed. Then he returned back to Zoe.

“Did you tally the votes?” he asked, setting his new things down on the ground beside her so he could unravel the cords and sort out the pieces he needed.

“Yep. I have the order of the winners, but I still can't remember all their names. What am I going to do? Call over Team Dating Couples instead of calling for them by name? I'm going to look like a total idiot on national television.” She sighed.

She looked down at him and he was struck by the expression of fear on her face. Looking less than her best really was an issue for her, even if her physical appearance was flawless. Well, he wasn't going to let that happen today.

Chip put his hand on her knee, rubbing it. Her shoulders drooped slightly and the creases across her brow lessened.

“I promise you will never look like anything less than the amazing woman I know you are while you're on my show.” He smiled and she returned it.

She placed her hand on top of his and squeezed. A rush of affection filled him. He wasn't lusting for her, though of course he always felt attracted to her physically. It was impossible not to. But in that moment he simply wanted to make sure she felt safe with him and with the show. He never wanted her to question his motives. More than anything, he wanted her to trust him since it seemed like trust wasn't something she gave over easily.

He grabbed an earpiece attached to a neutral colored cord and reached up, gently fitting it to her ear. He tucked the cord under her hair at the back of her neck and handed her the attached battery pack and belt for her to secure around her waist.

“What's all this for? I'm already mic'd for sound.”

“True, but in a second I'm going to be mic'd too — but my audio will only be for you.” He attached his own battery pack and mic then switched it on. “Can you hear me?”

“Of course I can, I'm sitting a foot away.”

He laughed. “No, smartass. In your ear. Can you hear me through your earpiece?”

She shook her head, looking panicked again. “It's not working.”

“May I check it?” he asked, motioning to the battery pack already fastened around her waist.

She nodded.

He slipped his hands under the black box at the small of her back, his hand brushing against her skin. Skin so soft and warm, he would have loved nothing more than to slide his hands up her back, massaging away her tension. Instead he focused on the task and immediately found the problem. She'd forgotten to turn it on.

“That should do it,” he said, forcing his hands out from under her shirt.

“Oh,” she said, excitement filling her voice. “I heard you that time.”

“Great. Now all you have to do is read your cue cards as usual. When it gets to the part where you call the teams to announce the winners of the challenge, I'll say the names into your earpiece and you can repeat them. You won't have to worry about forgetting any of their names.”

“You're the best.” Zoe reached out, squeezing his hand tightly before letting him go again. “Thank you.”

The happiness and confidence in her attitude was all the thanks he needed. Of course, feeling her hand on his wasn't too bad either.

“My pleasure.” Chip quickly jotted down the winners then went to his post alongside the action.

The teams took their places in front of Zoe as they waited to find out their ranking in the challenge. He took the opportunity to speak to Zoe one last time before they started filming again.

“You're going to do fine. Just relax. I've got you.” He spoke quietly into his mic, not wanting to startle her since she still wouldn't be used to having his voice in her ear.

She kept her gaze straight ahead as if waiting for the signal for filming to start. He watched her shoulders rise and fall with each of her deep breaths. She was so professional and focused. It was amazing this wasn't her full-time gig. Her confidence on camera was awe-inspiring. He might be the brains behind the scenes, but he'd never have the guts to be on camera like she was. She constantly surprised and amazed him.

“One last thing before I give the signal,” he whispered into the mic. “You are absolutely breathtaking.”

She glanced toward him, a mix of emotion playing on her face, but when her gaze met his, she smiled.

He gave the signal for the cameras to start filming.

• • •

Zoe tucked her earpiece back into the sound equipment bag and zipped it closed. Now she had to wait for Chip to finish giving his notes to camera crews as they changed shifts, then they could head back to base camp.

She watched as he gave his recommendation for the shots he wanted the cameramen to focus on getting while at camp as well as what they already had enough footage of for right now. She liked seeing him do his job. He was very good at what he did. He had a real knack for getting people to do exactly what he wanted and to the best of their abilities. Sure, he could be a little harsh with people once in a while, but it was all because he wanted to make the best show he possibly could.

And she also knew from having seen him work with other film crews before, that while he may be harsh and demanding during filming, he rewarded people for their hard work afterwards. With the success of the last show, she'd heard the crew had all been given bonuses for working so hard.

Knowing he could be firm when he needed to be but also kind enough to reward others for their hard work was really something she admired about him. Often she felt as if she didn't have the people skills to do what he did, which was why she'd been so surprised he'd put her in this hosting role. She wasn't exactly what someone would call a “people person.” But she was trying to be for him. For the show.

Maybe even a little bit for herself, if she was being completely honest.

It might be a nice change of pace to be the heroine for once instead of always the villain. Have viewers fall in love with her, not send her hate mail.

She watched as the teams went through their boxes of winnings. The team with the least amount of votes — the dating couples — had received the smallest reward box. In it they'd found rice and beans. Not very tasty, but it would help them have enough energy to keep competing and at least they wouldn't starve.

The other teams who'd placed in the middle — the all-girls team, the rowing team, and the team of doctors — had all received progressively larger boxes, filled with a bigger selection of foods. Rick's team was the winner and their box was the largest. When they opened it, she'd been surprised to see how much variety was inside. Not only had there been rice and beans, but also a few canned goods, spices, coffee supplies, and even a little fresh fruit. That team would be set for a while if they used the supplies carefully.

Of course, they also had the heaviest box of goods to carry back to their camp. Their reward wasn't without its punishment. Good thing they had Rick and Roger on the team to carry the majority of the bulky, heavy items. Some of the other teams might have struggled more if they'd won that reward box.

“Ready to go?” Chip asked, coming up beside her.

They started off down the path that would take them away from the team camps and back to base camp, walking silently for the first half of the trip.

When she couldn't take the silence anymore, she said the thing that had been on her mind since the challenge. “Thanks for the earpiece earlier. You really saved me back there. And for everything you said too. It — um, meant a lot to me.”

He nodded without saying anything, making her wonder if he'd meant it when he'd said she was breathtaking or if he'd only said it to make her feel better in the moment. An ache in her chest proved how much she hoped he'd meant it, which was weird since she was trying so hard to ignore the spark of feelings she felt toward him.

“I'm sure you said it to be nice so I'd feel more comfortable, but I appreciate it nonetheless. I mean — ” She coughed, her throat feeling parched even after all the water she'd drank today. “Not that I wouldn't have been able to do my job without you saying that stuff to me … well, the names I actually did need. It was that … other thing … that I didn't need. But not that I didn't like it.”

Shit.

Why couldn't she say what she'd planned in her head beforehand, instead of rambling on like a complete moron?