Last Cuts Are The Deepest

Round Five. Seven Five Contestants Remain. Appearance Fee: $30,000.

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One away.

Jules was one more eliminated bachelor away from reaching the fifty thousand dollar appearance fee he’d been promised. But with the people who’d just walked out the door he was starting to worry.

Craig taking himself out of the running was unexpected. In a game like this, being the honest man was a sure ticket to the end. But here it seemed a double-edged sword; whatever was going on with Diane must have been enough.

Tyrone wasn’t supposed to be gone yet. He was never going to win. Not when he’d done so little to push the envelope. But Jules had expected him to make the next round over Christian's goon squad.

With those two gone, Jules was confident he’d make it. Ryan and Christian were shoo-ins. Then it would be whichever of Parker and Zach she preferred. He should be elated.

But nothing had been going to plan since that day on the beach. Not since he’d declared he would date Kristina so hard she couldn’t help but fall in love with him. Why would it start now?

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Ryan was trying not to scream at everyone in the room.

She’d been called into the producer’s office, only to find Christian walking out of the room with a smile. Ever since their encounter at her one-on-one date with Kristina, she’d been careful not to be left alone in the same room as him. Not just for fear of what else he might try, but because she thought she might slug him in the face for what he’d done.

Bruce was busying typing away on his tablet. He gestured for Ryan to take a seat and kept moving things around for another few seconds before he finally spoke.

“I heard some things went down before your date with Kristina.”

Ryan’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah. Christian and his little posse tried to sabotage me. That feels like it’s against the rules.”

“It’s not.” Bruce swiped some things around on his tablet again. Was… was he playing an idle game on his tablet? “There's nothing against it. We’ll make it an official part of the game if we get picked up for a second season. But let’s talk about what’s not within the rules.”

Ryan quickly started understanding why Christian had such a stupid smile on his face.

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Lunch was a meager one today.

The production staff had cut back on purchasing food since there were few contestants left. Which meant it was a lot easier to run out of the good stuff. If the trash bin was any clue, Christian and his flunkies had graduated to denying Jules a decent meal. Today’s meal was instant ramen with the seasoning packet replaced by what was left of the spaghetti sauce.

He was blowing steam off of his abomination when he heard the commotion. Ryan sped past the kitchen, escorted by several members of what looked like the security staff. Jules had never seen the security team move that fast. Or carry people’s belongings.

Oh no.

Jules chased after them, spilling his hot spaghetti sauced ramen over himself as he came skidding to a stop at the front door. The security team was tossing Ryan’s gear outside, cracking the suitcase open and flinging her clothes everywhere. Then they started pushing her outside with it over her curse-filled protests.

“Oh my god.”

Jules thought he’d said that for a moment, but no. Diane had ended up next to him and saw the team push Ryan to the ground and close the door on her. The two looked at each other and without saying another word stepped outside after Ryan.

“Those – stupid – moronic – I oughta…” Ryan was at her wits’ end. She was on the ground, desperately trying to stuff her belongings back into her suitcase. Her head shot up and looked at the new arrivals. “What?!”

Jules went first. “What the hell is going on?”

“I’ve been ejected.” Ryan went back to trying to pack her bags. “Christian and the blowjob brothers decided it would be funny to claim I punched him off-camera when they tried to sabotage my date with Kristina. And because they said it was off-camera, it was three guys’ words against mine.” She gnashed her teeth and punched her suitcase. “Can one of you call me a cab? I can’t find my phone.”

Diane brought hers out and started to dial, only stopping when she saw the spaghetti sauce on Jules’s shirt. “Maybe we order some pizza first.”

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Jules and Diane finished helping Ryan repack her bags by the time the pizza guy arrived. They rested the pizza boxes on top of Ryan’s things and took a seat on the front lawn.

“I freaking knew they wouldn’t let a woman win this show,” said Ryan between bites of meat lovers’. “Such garbage.”

Diane was still shocked at Ryan’s removal. “Kristina did like you. Does. She might respect you more for thinking you fought for yourself.”

“The good guys have been taking a lot of Ls. Warren. Tyrone. Craig. Me.” Ryan cracked open a big bottle of soda and took a swig. “You’re the last one left standing, Jules.”

That horror that he’d felt when he learned Craig and Tyrone were gone came back with a vengeance. He shared a quiet glance with Diane, whose poker face was non-existent. They both knew.

There was no harm in telling the truth. “About that.”

The color drained from Ryan’s face. “No. You?! You’re here for the money too? Then why do you and Christian hate each other so much?”

“Because Christian is an asshole!” exclaimed Jules. “And I wasn’t in it for the million. I joined because I thought there was a chance I’d make a deep run and earn enough in appearance fees to pay off my student loans.”

Ryan’s eyes narrowed. “Congratulations. You got exactly what you wanted.”

Jules took a deep breath. This couldn’t be as bad as he feared, could it? “Diane. What happens if Kristina picks someone who’s in it for the money at the end?”

Diane stared at her slice of extra cheese. “They’ll make her look like an idiot."

That was something Jules hadn’t considered this whole time. Because surely, one of these morons would worm their way into that slab of beef’s heart.

With a clear look of shock on his face, Jules realized he might be that moron. Kristina was going to be humiliated on national television and it was all his fault. His throat suddenly felt like the world’s driest desert.

He grabbed the big bottle of soda and desperately tried to quench his thirst. With nearly half the bottle guzzled, Jules held down a terrific burp and turned to Diane. Then he said something that he never thought he’d say.

“She doesn’t deserve that.”