Chapter Twenty
They stood off to the side of the truck while the breeder unloaded the miniature horses. If they got back the other two, then their head count would reach the whooping number of five.
“These little bastards are so cool,” Wes said next to him.
“Feel free to play with them once they’re unloaded.”
“I’m a grown-ass man, why would I play with ponies?” Wes grunted. “Just kidding, I’m totally going play with them.” He smiled. “Do they have names?”
Levi walked him closer to the paddock where his team supervised the introduction of the horses to the farm. “Nah, I’m going to let Cayden do it.”
“She bought into this place when she was a teenager, right?”
“Yeah, about thirteen years ago.” Levi unlatched the fence for them to go into the run.
“She invested in my tech firm right after college … for her, not me. I’m a drop out.”
They tentatively approached the horses. Skittish little buggers, Levi signaled for Wes to slow down his gait. “Hold on … you developed one of the most popular tech companies this century and you don’t have a degree?”
“College really wasn’t teaching me anything new. Cayden was my biggest asset. If it wasn’t for her, I would be working at the Genius Bar.”
Levi chuckled at the thought of Wes wasting his talents in retail. “How did you meet your fiancée … Deny, is that it?”
“Wait a minute.” Wes stood from his crouching position. “You’ve never heard of Deny Flicker?”
Levi shook his head. He couldn’t even picture a pop star named Deny anything.
“‘Lick, Lick, Lick Me’? ‘We’re Going Down South’? Or ‘Hallelujah Your Mouth’?”
“Never heard of one of those, but I’m sensing a theme.”
The tech guru’s face screwed up in thought. “It sounded worse coming out of my mouth. I can’t believe I didn’t notice how filthy my fiancée’s songs are.” Wes seemed seriously confused by the whole turn in the conversation.
Sneaking closer to the horses before they took off, Levi managed to catch the slow one. “Look at it this way … it could be a compliment.” He kept the little guy calm for Wes to pet him.
“No wonder my parents were worried about meeting her.” Wes hugged the animal’s mane and kissed his muzzle. “This place is great, at least they’ll approve of it. Besides, this is Cayden’s fault … she introduced me to Deny at a party.”
“Not really surprised.” Levi laughed. “She seems to have a knack for that.”
“Tawdry matchmaking?”
“Knowing what people need.” Reaching over, Levi grabbed the female horse for Wes.
“They’re so cute. How much for them?” Wes asked.
“I’m guessing you canceled a really big shindig to come to the sticks for a small and intimate ceremony. You probably have enough to deal with.”
“True. And don’t forget about whatever murder Cayden is roping us into.”
“You know about that?” Levi stood, surprised she told him.
“Sure. Deny’s been helping her forever. I popped in on one of their all-nighters. Trust me, dealing with one of those geniuses is hard … but both?” He shrugged. “They managed to scam me into a few sleuthing assists.”
Levi figured the help Cayden got from the tech expert may have not been completely legal.
The horse nuzzled Wes’s face and snorted. “Okay, this one is definitely going home with me. Name your price, man.”
****
The wedding party booked out the whole top floor. Cayden didn’t bother to knock. She could hear the chaos from the hallway. Turning the knob to the resort’s most palatial suite, she stepped in. Hair, makeup, and clothes were everywhere. While the bride-to-be sat at the vanity close to tears, the stylists ran around the room with no real sense of purpose.
“Hey, everyone, can I get a minute alone with Deny?”
“Uh, uh,” the hairstylist said, waving his curling iron in her direction. “No one, but no one tells us what to do except the diva.” The rest of the room agreed with various forms of sucking teeth and eyes rolls.
“Get out!” Deny’s snapped, forcing her employees to scatter. “Just get the hell out, all of you.”
Cayden waited for the room to clear as the impending tears finally fell down the star’s face. Best friends since they were kids, she could read her moods without words.
Deny pushed off her purple wig and sobbed. Mixed with Egyptian and Ethiopian, Deny’s exotic features made her stand out from the usual pop stars.
Cayden crossed to her and immediately began to unbraid her curly blondish hair.
“He’s going to leave me, it’s just a matter of time.”
“Why the hell did you sell rights to your wedding pictures?” The small and casual affair had turned into a three-ring circus. Often Cayden would talk Deny off the ledge, but too wrapped up with her own crap this time, she couldn’t save her from the fall.
“I didn’t, it was my publicist, Stella. She contractually obligated me to all of this. Seriously, Cayden, I’m on the hook for millions.”
“What the hell?” Cayden stopped mid braid to stare at her in the mirror. “Did you tell Wes?”
“No. I thought I could handle it, but…” She hiccupped in full panic mood. “Stella said she can get me out of this mess, but I have to sign my soul over to Trouble Records for another album, and I just want to— Argh! She conned me into firing Rubin, my manager, and I don’t know what to do.”
As Deny was wracked with sobs, Cayden could no longer make out her words. She hurried to finish her braids before the next crying fit started.
Deny and her brother were Cayden’s only childhood friends. During the summer months, the three of them were inseparable, but that would always end with each fresh school year. They were boarding school brats and she couldn’t wait for summer to roll around again to be with them. September always came fast. While other children filled their days with school, Cayden got stuck with the well-over-sixty gang her grandfather hung with.
The twins’ annual reprieve from dealing with the oldies became the reason Cayden wanted to attend Chesterfield in the first place. The girls promised to attend college together and that was exactly what they did. The salacious pop star majored in psychology while Cayden received a B.A. in Sociology and Finance.
“Let me get this straight… Stella has constructed a deal where you will be out of millions if you don’t make another pop record?”
“If I have to sing one more dirty song!” Deny screamed. She dropped her head down on the brass vanity and sobbed.
“Seriously?” she muttered.
Raised by her wealthy grandparents, Deny promised to go to school for something reputable. However, the minute they passed away, Deny set out to became a star. Perhaps not the one with that Rolling Stone type catalogue. Instead, she got labeled with that Rihanna kind of vibe everyone loved.
“I’m this strange feminist icon where I own my sexuality and can show my tits.”
Cayden choked back her smart comment and let her friend finish whining.
“Wes is the best thing that’s ever happened to me and he thinks I’m being a raging diva. Now I want out.”
“Of the wedding?”
“No, my career! Come on, Cayden, pay attention?” Mascara streaked her lovely face. “I want to be a housewife. Geesh, I feel like I’m talking to one of the record company stooges.”
The good girl in Cayden resisted throat-punching her best friend.
“Look, don’t take offense, but you’re being one hell of a dramatic whore.”
“Huh?” Deny said, shocked someone dared to talk back to her.
“Really, sweetie, you graduated with honors.” She whipped out her phone from her sweater pocked. “Get it together.”
“Cayden?”
While Deny sat slack-jawed, Cayden’s fingers flew over the keyboard. “Who had exclusives to your wedding photos?”
“People,” she squeaked.
“What about television rights?”
“Um, I’m not sure…”
“And who owns your employees phones, you or Stella?”
“Well, I do, duh.”
Cayden glared at her until the pop princess had the good sense to glance away.
“Fluff your hair and fix your face.”
Appropriately afraid, it seemed, Deny hurried to do what Cayden demanded.
Cayden dialed her office. “Hey,” she greeted Gil.
“I haven’t heard from you in a while.” He sounded pissed.
“In two secs, I’m going to forward over some info. Do me a favor and make sure Wes Richards’s lawyers get it.”
“Will do. Hey, if you got a second I’d love to talk to you about—”
“Sorry, Gil, I have to go.” She hung up on her CEO before Wes walked into the bridal suite room. “Deny has something to tell you.”
“Good or bad?” the good-looking nerd asked.
“I’m sure you know the answer to that.” Cayden slipped away to allow the two lovebirds to hash it out.
The tech guru called her a month ago, worried. Knowing Deny since childhood, Cayden could only imagine what could be the problem. Even if the couple decided to postpone the wedding, her friend would undoubtedly be on the hook for millions.