Page 12 of Witch You Would
That person was the happy customer service personality I used at work every day, so that shouldn’t be too hard. I hoped.
We shot the shit until I pulled up in front of a giant concrete warehouse that looked like every other warehouse around it,down to the spelled graffiti art shimmering and shifting along one wall. The parking lot and all the streets were packed withcars, a catering truck, and multiple trailers. A few people carrying plastic bins walked past me like they had places to be,others leaned against the wall or chatted, others were glued to their phones.
An earpiece-wearing, tablet-wielding man in a navy polo shirt with a hexafoil logo checked my ID and pronounced me allowedto be there, then a valet handed me a ticket and drove away in my ancient sedan, probably to another lot or garage somewhere.I realized I’d left my coffee cup in the car, so that was going to smell great in two weeks. Too late now.
Or not. I could still rush back to Espinosa’s and pretend this was all a dream.
No! I’d made it this far, and I wouldn’t give up. If I could just get partnered with Charlotte Sharp, even if we lost, I knewmy whole life would change.
I got a grip on myself and my luggage and opened the door.
A weirdly normal office waiting room greeted me. Cream-colored walls with generic abstract artwork, chocolate-brown chairs,lighter brown carpet tiles on the floor. A reception desk in the corner with a fake orchid and a phone. Nothing else.
It was also freezing. I tried not to shiver.
A woman stepped through a door in the far wall. She also had a navy polo shirt, an earpiece, and a tablet. The corporate uniform,I guess?
“Penelope Delmar?” she asked.
“That’s me,” I replied, maximum cheerful.
“I’m Rachel, production manager.” She tapped and swiped on the tablet. “Did you read today’s schedule?”
Only like ten times. Twenty, max. “We’re doing individual interviews, meeting the hosts and judges, then meeting our celebritypartners?”
“Correct. Pair interviews after that. Lunch should be around one, dinner around six, then we have a night shoot at anotherlocation before we wrap.”
“Quadruple cafecito day, got it.” I hesitated, then asked casually, “Do you know who we’re being partnered with?”
“It’s a surprise for you.” Tap, tap, swipe, tap. “Remember, before we start filming, I’ll be collecting everyone’s cell phones,tablets, and computers. Per the terms of your NDA, you’ll get your personal items back temporarily on day six, but under nocircumstances are you permitted to share any information regarding the status of the competition. Emergency protocols arein your handbook. Your social media accounts are also being monitored, so don’t try anything cute.”
“Don’t want the lawyer ninjas coming after me,” I joked.
She flashed a fake smile as she spoke into a microphone clippedto her collar, presumably attached to the walkie-talkie on her hip. “Little Manny! Front desk.”
Little Manny bounced in. He looked younger than me, with thick green glasses and short black hair. Instead of a polo, he worea hoodie over a black T-shirt and jeans.
“Take Penelope to the greenroom,” Rachel said. “The rest of the contestants should be coming from the hotel soon.”
Little Manny held the door for me. We crossed a big, open area with one lonely cubicle that hadn’t been ripped out. Alongthe walls were separate offices with empty nameplates on their doors, except one with an LED sign that was turned off.
“I should have brought a jacket,” I said, rubbing my arms. “I didn’t realize it would be so cold.”
“Yeah, they keep it like sixty-five in here,” Little Manny said.
The store was always seventy-eight degrees. I didn’t have to worry about winning; I was going to die of hypothermia. I picturedmyself blue-skinned and covered in icicles like the guy in that horror movie with the ghost hotel. And I was catastrophizingagain.
“Is there a Big Manny?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Little Manny replied. “And Just Manny.”
“So many Mannys.”
Little Manny pushed his glasses up. “That’s why we have different names.”
“Right. So Big Manny, Little Manny, and Manny?”
“Not Manny, ‘Just Manny.’”
