Chapter 11
KADENCE
Four fucking hours. Four. This ‘casual brunch’ was supposed to be a quick meal. ‘An hour, babe. That’s at max.’ How did an hour multiply and expand into including pictures?! I don’t know whether to be more pissed off at their unplanned outing or the fact he really expected me to just come running the moment they were finished playing together.
Stepping onto the back patio, I let my eyes land on Henley who is stretched out on one of the white patio lounge chairs with a script in her lap.
Slowly approaching, I cradle my laptop to my chest and ask, “Mind if I work out here too?”
“Of course not,” she replies, discarding the object onto a messy pile beside her chair. “Just be aware my agent has apparently lost his mind and you may overhear me call to threaten his job a time or…twelve.”
I settle in the chair next to hers. “Project hunting not going well?”
Henley tosses me a sarcastic look over the rim of her white sunglasses.
“What’s the problem?”
“So far, they either want me to play the next Kate Beckinsale in an Underworld like universe, the black Lora Croft in a Tomb Raider rip off, or the homewrecker in this Oscar bait piece of shit.”
Henley hates Oscar bait movies. You know…the ones with overly emotional storylines that often either directly involve racism or sexism or indirectly slip in some of those undertones. Time and time again we’ve heard her go off on a tangent about how it’s acceptable in a role she’s chosen as long as the role wasn’t taken to simply add a stupid statue to her shelf. No…. She hasn’t won one yet. She’d have to have a slightly different attitude about films in order to let herself be cast in one that had a chance at being nominated.
“I’m not sure I wanna be in a franchise again.” Henley pulls another script into her lap. “Ever.”
Blaming that on how the last one led to a fall out with her twin.
“More importantly, I wanna be excited about my next project. I wanna feel that spark. I wanna read the script and be prepared to tear my life apart in order to get the role. Is that so wrong?” Her face tilts towards me. “Is that asking too fucking much from the business I have given everything to?”
I try to offer her a soothing smile.
“Subject change,” she announces, realizing she’s rambled too much in her opinion. “What about you? What are you working on?”
“Easy shit.”
“Elaborate.”
Curling my legs beside me, I lean against the arm rest. “You know that Netflix show Unbreakable?”
“The one where Devon Griffin plays a sexy as fuck MMA fighter who is clearly in love with his secretly hot as fuck best friend played by the highly underrated Kay Mallard?”
“That’d be the one.”
“Did you hear they just got renewed for two more seasons?! Two.”
“Which explains why we’re creating new limited edition covers with the cast on them. The series and author are represented by our company and the studio is demanding we push out these covers as part of a marketing campaign. Creating the covers doesn’t exactly require my Einstein level of design, but treading through shot after shot after shot trying to find the ones that convey the same messages as the originals do is taxing.”
Henley nods her understanding. “How many?”
“Thirteen.”
“Fuck….”
We share a snicker. “They’re easy though. Almost mindless really. Plus, the author is so laid back that there’s a high probability she’ll not only love whatever design I put together but fight for it to be the one the studio agrees with.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. This whole little project has a good payout, but more importantly is a great boost for my career.”
My best friend smirks proudly. “First came love. Then comes career….Looks like you’re going to need to rework that plan of yours now that your goals are being met early.”
Are they though? Because last time I checked the plan was to get married and start a family. Not fall in love and fight for my boyfriend’s attention.
As if Henley can read my thoughts, she asks, “Are you meeting Levi for dinner tonight?”
“I was thinking we could do dinner instead.”
Hm? Oh yeah. I fucking lied earlier, though when she agrees to eat with me, it then stops being one. See. I’m clever.
Henley gives me a suspicious stare. “What’d the pretty boy do this time?”
“Nothing.”
“How is it out of all of us you are the only one who still hasn’t learned to lie better?”
Why does that have to be one of my life skills?
“Where is he right now?”
I divert my attention to my laptop I have yet to turn on. “Most likely still with his new co-star.”
“Wait, I thought that was just supposed to be brunch.”
Under my breath I mutter, “So did I….”
The sound of clicking summons my attention back to Henley. Her manicured nails are oscillating between typing and scrolling on her cell phone.
I know exactly what she’s doing….
After listening to a few judgmental hums and watching her lips repeatedly purse, I quietly question, “Should I be worried?”
“No. Levi’s chased you too hard to let a pretty face fuck it up.”
“So she is pretty?”
Of course I didn’t look her up! Levi refused to tell me her name, I’m pretty sure for that reason. What he didn’t suspect or was too sex high to consider was the fact my best friend works in the same industry he does and can find that shit out with minimal effort.
Henley flashes me the photo she pulled up. “She’s not ugly.”
I take a long, skeptical stare of the girl next door cute brunette. “Great.”
“Look Kady, you’re gonna have to suck some of this shit up. Put on your big girl panties and prepare to deal with a new level of nightmares. You’re dating an actor. A highly adored, highly sought after actor. You’re gonna have to deal with him in the limelight and the fairly attractive co-stars that often come with it. You’re gonna have to fucking live and breathe the mantra that tabloids live to sell lies because it makes them more money. You’re gonna have to really trust what comes out of Levi’s mouth if you expect what you have to last, and most importantly you’re gonna have to miracle grow a bit more confidence in yourself.” The last line strikes me unapologetically. “You’re a catch, Kady. Like a real one. And you know it. You’ve always known it. It’s the reason you make men work hard to get a date with you. You know you’re worth it, even if dating someone as popular as Levi has momentarily made you insecure about it.”
Fuck, it really has.
“Levi may be pretty, but he’s not completely stupid. This shit with Lynn today was strictly business I’m sure. So, you need to climb down off your bitch stick and relax. Remember your boyfriend loves you and has earned some credit in the bank of Kadence.”
Can’t believe she said bitch stick in a serious fashion.
“I’ll make you a deal. We can grab dinner for free at Cox and Lox since they’ve been begging me to come by, but afterwards you show up on your man’s door step and remind him why he should be grateful he has you to come home to.”
The wink at the end of her suggestion successfully sends a smirk my lips. “Deal.”
This is going to be a huge adjustment. I know that. I understand that even if I keep forgetting it. Dating is difficult enough without adding unpleasant facts like many actors fall for one another while working together or leave their spouses to pursue the passion they felt on screen. Maybe I should rewrite my five-year plan to include something about building more trust? I know Levi originally said more fun, but this seems a bit more crucial in order to keep him on it, don’t you think?