Power (The Keatyn Chronicles Book 9) (12 page)

Me:
 
No, but I’ll pay well.
 

Coffee Kyle:
 
Sounds like I'm packing my bags now.
 

Me:
 
Fly into San Francisco. The event is at a vineyard in Sonoma County.
 

Coffee Kyle:
 
Are you being serious? You said you were drunkish.
 

Me:
 
I’m serious.

Coffee Kyle:
 
I'm-hanging-up-my-apron-and-telling-them-I-quit kind of serious?

Me:
 
Why don't you hang up your apron, tell them you need a two week leave of absence, and see if you even like it here.

Coffee Kyle:
 
You're awesome :) I’ll be there Monday.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10TH

Vanessa’s Estate - Holmby Hills

VANESSA

I wake up, grab my phone off my nightstand, and see a text from Tyler with a link to an article about last night’s party.
 

The Golden Ticket: Part Deaux.

Rumors are floating around that it was none other than Jennifer's ex, rocker Parker Hudson, who sold photos of the night in Vegas to the press.
 

When I asked Jennifer about it at the Purity Party, the actress, who sipped on sparkling Voss water all night, said Parker behaved exactly as expected.

For those of you who don’t speak polite snark, she was saying that he was an ass and she fully expected him to do exactly what he did.
 

I'd say that pretty much confirms that even though Jennifer's stripper meme will live on forever, she's embracing it as part of this new role.
 

We're told the movie has been fast tracked and that pre-production has already begun.
 

And now what you’ve been waiting for, the skinny on the party:

Jennifer looked amazing in a slinky red slip dress and white faux fur wrap. She was escorted into the party by not one, not two, not three, but four hot men. All in black. Jake Worth, who usually plays the perfect prince, shocked the hell out of us in his black Burberry motorcycle jacket, white henley, and black skinny jeans. We hear he’s going to play the bad boy. Sa-wooon.

Guy number two was Knox Daniels looking delectable in a perfectly cut black-on-black Prada suit. Yum. He arrived with none other than Keatyn Douglas. I never get tired of seeing the pair together. And although Keatyn was showing off her massive engagement ring, it’s pretty obvious, based on how close she stayed to Knox all night, that she and the winemaker will never make it down the aisle. She looked gorgeous, as usual, in a white jacquard Herve Leger bandage dress. But I’d like to be the first to go on record and say I’ve seen the girls in person and they have definitely been, shall we say, enhanced.
 

Guy number three was Captive Films CEO, Riley Johnson. Rather than wearing his usual suit and tie, Riley was in character as a sleazy photographer and dressed in a black velvet tuxedo. (Point to their stylist for that one.)

Guy number four was on my hit list. Riley’s sexy brother and new man in town, Dawson Johnson. Dawson was wearing a black three-piece suit with a chambray oxford and matching hankie square. While I tried my best to hunt him down, he was busy chasing after publicist Vanessa Flanning. In the dress she was wearing, I can understand why.
 

P.S.
 
On a side note, greeting us at the door was Avery Stevens, oldest daughter of Tommy Stevens and Abby Johnston. She was looking adorably angelic in a Marchesa baby doll dress. No word on if she’ll have a role in
Daddy’s Angel.

I look at another text. This one from Jennifer.
 

Jennifer:
 
I fired my publicist first thing this morning. I hope you will take me on as a client.

Me:
 
It would be my pleasure. Can you meet for lunch today to discuss?

Jennifer:
 
Sounds great. Thank you.

Another text pops up.
 

Dawson:
 
Did you see the article? We did good! And, just for the record, she was right. I was chasing after you. Although you apologized in the office, you still seemed sorta mad last night . . . Are you?
 

Am I still mad at him?
 

No.
 

Do I understand his wanting to spend time alone with his daughters?

Yes.

Am I still hurt?

Yes.

Does that piss me off?

Yes.

Me:
 
You’re right. We did good. I won’t be at Captive today. Have some other clients I need to deal with. I’ll see you Monday. Have a good weekend with your girls.

God, I’m such a bitch.

I wait for him to reply.
 

But he doesn’t.
 

And, honestly, I don’t blame him.

Trinity
movie set
- Studio City

KEATYN

“This weekend is gonna suck,” Knox says, plopping down in my dressing room.
 

“Not for me. I got the weekend off,” I say with a grin.

“Does that mean I’m off too?”

“Nope. They still want you in, but we did so well on our sex scenes we’re a few days ahead of schedule.”

“And then you’re getting married. Where are you going on your honeymoon?”
 

“I’m not sure. Aiden is planning it. Somewhere remote and tropical, I hope.”

“You’ll need the rest because as soon as you get back, it's off on our whirlwind of locations.”

“London, Paris, Prague, Dubai, and then New York. Then we’re done with
Trinity
forever.”

“Did you know they're talking about doing another one with the next generation?
Our
baby. Can you imagine? Promise me, no cameos unless we do them together.”

“Oh wow. I hadn’t heard that. But speaking of doing something together, I read your script.”

“And?”

“I'd love to do it with you if we could make a few tweaks.”

“What kind of tweaks?”
 

“Well, you have it set in New York. Was there a specific reason for that?”

“Uh, not really.”

“What if he meets her speed dating in San Francisco? Still a big city. And what if she works at a vineyard?”

“Are you suggesting we film it at your place?”

“Sort of. The people who own the land that butts up to ours are retiring and moving to Palm Springs. They asked Aiden if he'd be interested in buying their land. They plan to parcel it off and then sell their two houses separately. One is a quaint bed and breakfast that could be an adorable set. Near it are two very new and very large aluminum outbuildings. Much like the ones we’re filming in now.”

“Hmm. I like the idea. It'd certainly make for an easy commute for you.”

“Knox, at one point, you were talking about buying a place out there. A getaway. The other home is a beautiful Tuscan-style villa set on the top of a hill. It has a similar view to ours, all the way to the ocean. A sweet infinity pool. I think you’d love it.” I grin at him. “It’d make for an easy commute for you too.”

“Are you suggesting I buy it and we fund this project ourselves?”

“Yeah, I am. We can always do a deal later with Captive for distribution.”

“We'd stand to make more that way, wouldn't we?”
 

“If it performed well, yes. If not, we could lose a lot.”

“For sure. Okay. Wow. You've given me a lot to think about. Something about finishing
Trinity
makes me feel like a grown up now. Does that even make sense?”

“It does,” I say sadly, sitting down next to him and handing him an apple. “I sort of feel that way too. Like we’re graduating.”

“Yeah, that’s it. We’re graduating. On to the next great thing. And don’t worry, sugar, I’ll never forget that I was your first. It seems like yesterday.”

“You’re goofy. But you’re right. You were my
first
screen test.” I laugh at him. “It’s amazing that we’re even friends. You were such a jerk to me.”

“Naw, I just played a jerk.”

I give him a hug. He’s going to make me start crying with all this nostalgia, so I change the subject. “So, what does grown up Knox want to do with his life?”

“Truth?”
 

“Yes.”

“Don’t tell anyone, but I’d like to get married and start a family. We've both put our lives on hold for these movies. Me more so than you.”

“Are you thinking of settling down with Jennifer?”
 

“Uh, no. Maybe I could meet a cute little wine wench?”

“I don’t even know what that is.”

“Me either. I’ve never dated a normal girl.”

“You have dated your fair share of crazies.”

He swats me on the shoulder. “I meant normal as in not in the industry, not that they were crazy. I’m talking no models. No actresses. And definitely no makeup artists from the movie set. I will never date one of those again. What a flipping disaster that was. Part of me can’t wait for this movie to be over, just so I won’t have to look at her lying, cheating face every time I need powdered.” He gives me a smirk. “You know what, you might be right. She was crazy. I mean, who in their fucking right mind would cheat on Knox “The Sexiest Man Alive” Daniels?”

“No one, Knox.” I laugh. “No one. You know what? There are some normal people coming to the wedding. Quite a few of the women do work in the wine industry, although I would avoid the term
wine wench
.”

“I’m supposed to go to the wedding with Jennifer.”

“Have you had the talk yet?”

“No. I was going to last night, but after the Parker Hudson interview, she was so damn happy I couldn’t. Speaking of that, did you and Vanessa have anything to do with his sudden change of heart?”

I pull up a photo and show him my phone.
 

“Holy shit,” he says, as he turns the phone sideways and starts blowing it up. “Shouldn’t have done that.” He laughs and covers his eyes. “Where did you get this?”

“I have good friends.”

“Sander?”

“He is one such good friend.”

“I can’t believe you used to date him.”

“Are you kidding me? He was the perfect boyfriend; he loved to shop, knew designer labels better than I did, and never, ever looked at other women.”

“Fuck. You probably did love that. So it all makes sense now.” He kisses my cheek and looks at the photo again. “I’m sure glad we’re on the same side, sugar.”

Dawson’s beach house - Malibu

DAWSON

I twirl Harlow around on the beach then drop her into the sand as Ava skips through the water.

“What would you think about going over to the Santa Monica pier tonight? They have a Ferris wheel and music and lots of fun places to have dinner.”

“Is Vanessa coming with us?” Harlow asks as we walk back toward the house.

“No. I thought you’d want to be alone with Daddy. Just the three of us.”

“We think it would be more fun if she came with us,” Ava agrees. The girls stand next to each other, arm in arm, smiling up at me.
 

“Well, since it’s a rarity that you both agree on something, I guess I should give her a call.” As I grab my phone off the stairs, I catch them high-fiving each other behind my back.

“What was that all about?” I ask, crossing my arms in front of me and giving them my sternest look.

“Um, nothing,” Ava says, unconvincingly.

“Girls, don’t lie to me.”

“Uncle Cam promised us money if we could get you to spend time with her,” Harlow admits.

“How much?”

“Twenty dollars,” Ava says softly.

“Each!” Harlow exclaims, only to be punched in the arm by her sister.

“You can never keep a secret,” Ava says to her.

“Tell you what,” I say, stepping between them. “I’ll give you each twenty dollars right now if you’ll sit down and talk to me honestly about Vanessa. Do you really want her to come with us?”

Ava grabs my hand and pulls me down on the step next to her. “It’s okay with us if you have a girlfriend.”

“Yeah, you’re not getting any younger, Daddy,” Harlow says, plopping down on my lap.

“And she’s really pretty,” Ava adds.

“And nice,” Harlow says. “She rubbed my face while that silly Knox told us a bedtime story. And Grandma says you are getting old. And someday we will go off to college and you will be alone. We don’t want you to be lonely, Daddy.”

“I was married to your mom for a long time. And I didn’t know how you would feel about me dating someone.”