She gave Bill her best stare. ‘So, just out of interest, what would the insurance company say if both your doctors bailed?’
A slow smile started to spread over Nathan’s face. He knew exactly what she was doing.
‘What do you mean?’ snapped Bill.
She shrugged and started cutting up her bacon and eggs. ‘I’m just asking a question, Bill. I’m pretty sure you can’t have this production without your medical team in place. After yesterday, I think you’ll find Nathan and I aren’t prepared to negotiate on anything.’ She popped a piece of bacon in her mouth. ‘You either listen to us or you don’t.’
She was so matter-of-fact about it. Probably because she wasn’t prepared to negotiate. Employees, including herself, had been put at risk yesterday. They’d already identified a few celebrities who couldn’t take part in certain challenges. She didn’t even know the schedule for today. But, no matter how many years had passed, if Nathan knew enough to get angry about it, that was good enough for her.
Bill stood up abruptly, knocking the table and sloshing some of her coffee over the side of the cup. ‘Fine. I’ll change it back to the original plan.’
Nathan watched Bill as he stormed across the large cabin and slammed the door behind him. None of the crew even batted an eyelid. This obviously wasn’t news to them.
Rachel mopped up her coffee with a napkin. Now it was just the two of them her earlier bravado was vanishing. She was thinking about his arm on her shoulders last night and the way he’d just sat and held her until she’d composed herself. When she’d finally taken a deep breath and felt calm, he’d just given a little nod and stood up and strolled off into the sunset.
She’d no idea where he’d gone. But it had given her a chance to go back to the shared cabin, have a quick wash and change and hide in her room. She’d lain there for hours until she’d eventually heard the click of the door.
But she was a fool. He hadn’t come to speak to her. And she should be grateful. Her initial reaction to him earlier had been pure and utter shock. She’d more or less said she couldn’t work with him, which wasn’t true. He’d just been the last person she’d expected to see.
Nathan’s breakfast plate was empty, as was his coffee cup, and he picked them up. ‘I’ve heard that filming last night varied from boring to very boring. I think they were trying to spice things up today at one of the challenges and I’m not sure I trust Bill not to still try. Are you happy to come along to the filming?’
She nodded as she glanced at the now congealed egg on her plate. Her appetite had definitely left her.
He stood up. ‘I’ve also put up a notice saying we’ll have a surgery every morning for an hour for the crew. Anyone with any difficulties. I take it you don’t have a problem with that?’
She gulped. She was an experienced medical physician. Why did the thought of general practice fill her with fear? ‘That should be fine.’ No way did she want to express any concerns around Nathan. He’d already seen her wobble last night. That was already once too many.
‘Good,’ he said. ‘We start in ten minutes.’
He walked out ahead of her as she scrambled to pick up her tray and she felt a flash of annoyance. Ratbag. This was something they actually should have sat down and discussed together. He wasn’t senior to her. They were both here as doctors. She could almost bet if she were any other person he would have discussed this with her first.
A few of the crew were waiting when she arrived. Thankfully, there was nothing too difficult to diagnose. A few chesty crackles, another inhaler for someone and an emergency supply of blood pressure tablets for someone who’d misplaced their own.
An hour later, Ron arrived in a Jeep to pick up her and Nathan and take them to the first challenge on the other side of the island.
‘Challenge has been changed,’ were Ron’s first words.
‘What a surprise,’ said Nathan. ‘What to?’
‘The underground scramble.’ Ron kept driving while Rachel exchanged a glance with Nathan. The underground scramble was not a challenge she’d want to do. She searched her brain. Several of the celebrities suffered from claustrophobia and would have to be exempt from scrambling through the dark underground tunnels filled with a variety of creatures.
‘What about Diamond?’ she asked. ‘I think there’s too big a risk of infection.’
‘I agree. I’ll tell the producer she’s ineligible.’
‘Shouldn’t that have been decided before the public voted?’
Ron looked over his shoulder. ‘Don’t worry about it. Vote’s already decided that Darius will be doing the challenge. Diamond’s safe.’
Nathan’s eyes fixed hard on her as her stomach flipped over. A man who’d just undergone a bout of chemotherapy shouldn’t be dragging himself through dirty, water-filled tunnels with a variety of biting creatures and insects. But she already knew what he’d say.
‘I’ll need to speak to Darius before he starts,’ she murmured.
Ron laughed. ‘Don’t think you’ll have a chance. They’ll announce live on TV it’s him and do the challenge immediately afterwards. You won’t have time to talk.’
‘But I need time. He’ll get a safety briefing, won’t he? I’ll make time then.’
Nathan’s gaze narrowed. ‘What’s wrong? Doesn’t he like the dark? If he can’t do a challenge shouldn’t I know about it?’
She pushed back her retort. Nathan was right. It was already a bugbear that Darius was her ex. The fact that his medical details hadn’t been released to Nathan was obviously annoying him. It wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t her choice.
But she was being paid to do a job. And she wouldn’t be doing a good job if she didn’t warn Darius of the risks to his health—whether he listened or not.
‘He can do the challenge—and I’m sure he will. I just need to discuss some underlying issues with him.’
Nathan folded his arms across his chest and fixed his gaze back on the road ahead. The jungle foliage was beginning to thin as they reached the hollowed out tunnels at the other side of the island.
All of the celebrities were perched on a bench, talking to the hosts. Rachel jumped from the Jeep and made her way quickly to the entrance of the caves. ‘How deep are they and what’s in them?’ she asked one of the nearby crew.
He guided her over to the side, where some TV screens were set up, showing the cameras with infrared filters that were positioned in the man-made tunnels. She grimaced at the sight of scampering creatures. ‘Anything that bites and could break the skin?’
One of the rangers nodded. ‘Just about everything.’
Rachel squeezed her eyes closed and pushed her way past the hosts, grabbing hold of Darius’s arm. She was making an executive decision. This whole thing was fake anyway. She was pretty sure the only thing that was real was the viewers’ votes.
‘What’s wrong, Rachel?’ Darius’s brow creased as he glanced to make sure no one could overhear them.
‘I don’t think you should do this challenge,’ she said quickly. ‘There’s a strong possibility of getting cuts, bites or scrapes. Any break to the skin is a risk of infection and your immunity will already be low right now. There’s no telling what the infection risks are from the unknown creatures or the dirty water.’
Darius shot her his famous soap star smile as he realised what her