Read Online For the Love of Cake by Erin Dutton - Free Book Online

irrational urge to defend her team. Their performance this afternoon didn’t merit the effort. “Who would you send home?”
    “Looking at both challenges?”
    “Sure.”
    Wayne considered the question for an uncomfortably long moment. Maya’s stomach twisted nervously. “Damien and Shannon are your weakest links. But I think she edged him out this time.”
    Jacques nodded in agreement.
    “That’s what I figured.” She relaxed a bit. She didn’t want to send Shannon home today.
    “Okay, guys, I’m going to bring them in.” Hugh leaned against the edge of the counter and met Maya’s eyes. “Since this is your first time doing this, let me go over a couple of things. These guys can talk it through with you, but we want you to make the final announcement. I know you all probably already know what you want to do. But we want you to play it up. Talk to them, see if you can make them fight it out a little. It makes for good drama that way.”
    He didn’t wait for her answer before he headed back to the lounge, presumably to brief the contestants on how the first elimination would go—where to stand, what they should do once Maya announced the chef they would be sending home.
    Hugh led the chefs into the room and they stood in a line in front of the mentors. Maya leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, and gave them her best look of disappointment. Alice fidgeted. Hugh turned control over to Eric, who gave a practiced speech for the cameras about the elimination process, providing essentially the same information Hugh had just given the chefs for the viewers.
    “You all earned a place on the show, but today, we’re not really sure why,” Jacques said as soon as Eric handed control to the judges. “As a team you worked horribly together.”
    “Your inability to come together on a design put you behind from the start, and you never recovered.” Wayne eyed each of them individually. “Unfortunately we can send only one chef home, so three of you get a pass this week. But don’t walk out of here triumphant, because none of you should be proud to be standing here right now.”
    Shannon searched the three mentors’ faces, wondering what the odds were that she would stay another day. She’d joked with Jori about being booted from the show and crawling back to her job, but she’d actually thought she’d last at least a little longer. She found no answers in Jacques’ stony expression. Wayne, too, seemed to be putting up a tough front. And Maya was looking at everyone but her. Oh God, could she really be going home today?
    “Lucia.” Maya paused until Lucia stepped forward. “You’re safe and going on to the next show.”
    Lucia nodded, a small smile of relief touching her lips as she backed up several steps, then turned and hurried from the room.
    “Alice, you’re also safe.”
    “Thank you so much. I—” Alice caught Maya’s stern look and cut off whatever she was about to say.
    “Damien, Shannon, you’re both up for elimination.” Maya met Shannon’s eyes only briefly before she looked at the other mentors.
    Shannon couldn’t keep from watching Maya. Though Maya’s hands were tucked under the table in front of her, the rhythmic flexing of her bicep muscles seemed to indicate a nervous gesture, such as clenching and unclenching her fists. The three mentors began detailing the strengths and weaknesses each of them had shown during the two challenges. Shannon forced her racing mind to absorb the words, hoping maybe later she could make sense of them.
    “Shannon.” She flinched when Maya barked her name. Had she missed a question? “Why should you stay instead of Damien?”
    She nodded and purposefully straightened her posture. “I’m not ready to leave.” Damien’s expression reflected the same desperation that stirred inside of her. None of them wanted to leave. If she hoped to convince the mentors to keep her, she had to do better than that. She took a deep breath and made eye