The Bachelor

Chapter 15

“No,” she answered. Yes, of course she thought he told her—at first. But seeing his reaction earlier, she was certain he didn’t. “No, I think he wouldn’t do that,” she repeated silently. And then she groaned. How could things turn upside down? She was the one who was supposed to be angry at him, and now she felt like she needed to apologize. She knew he knew that she thought he told Chloe and somehow, she knew he was hurt by it. She saw it in his eyes.

And he was angry too.

“What’s wrong?” Pauline asked.

“Nothing, I think I need to go out and be alone for a while,” she sat up and climbed out of bed.

“Are you sure you’re fine?”

“Yes, I am,” she lied once again. “I’ll be back before dinner.”

 *****

She was under her usual tree, just sitting there, when Jack Carter’s voice spoke up.

“Why didn’t you tell me you’re J. Green?” he asked, his face shadowed by the sun behind him.

Julianne looked up and smiled. “I didn’t think it was necessary,” she answered.

“The hell it is!” Jack cried. “I could have given you the job in an instant!”

“Then why didn’t you?”

“Because I was thinking I needed you to fill a more important slot in this stupid show. But if you had told me you’re J. Green, I would have knelt down on the floor to ask you to accept the writing job.”

She scoffed. “No, you wouldn’t have.”

“Yeah, maybe,” he sighed and grinned. “So, what is someone like J. Green doing here?”

“I want that job, I told you that,” she scooted as he sat down beside her.

“What for? You have an amazing career writing amazing stories,” he pointed out.

“I wanted to do some research and expand my knowledge about television and stuff.”

“For your next novel,” he stated matter-of-factly.

She nodded.

“I can get you out of this show if you want,” he offered.

She snapped her head towards him, “You will?”

“Of course. I know you can be a lot of help for my next project. If you want, I can make another contract. You can say no the next Rose Ceremony if ever Zachary picks you again.”

That was a really tempting offer, she thought. And she wanted to grab it. “No, I don’t think that’s necessary,” she shook her head.

Jack looked shocked. “You don’t want to get out of here?”

“Of course I want to. But...” her voice trailed off. She didn’t know why she said no. “I have a deal with Zach. He’s going to let me go after the top four.”

“What does that really mean?”

“I will be in the top four, but after that, I will be going home. I won’t stay for the top three. That’s what our deal is,” she explained.

“I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but I smell something else. He obviously likes you and you…you are getting a little fond of him, I can tell,” he grinned at her.

Julianne snorted, “You’re wrong. Zach is annoying as hell and I will never like someone like him. He’s a player and he only wants me because he can’t get me that easily.”