A Richer Shade of Gold

I

Xavier raised his brows before curling his fingers into his palms and dropping his arms to his sides. "Mm," Xavier hummed, "I hope you're not this sour for the rest of the day."

—

Much to Xavier's distaste, Kendall's sour mood had just increased from that point on, making her extremely irritating and frustrating to be around. But Xavier stuck with her nevertheless. He'd been by her side for the past fifteen years, what's a mere day of sourness going to do? Nothing.

He had learned to cope with Kendall's behaviour and it wasn't like it was terrible and absolutely unbearable but everyone had their days and unfortunately, today was one of them for Kendall.

"I can't believe that promiscuous tart deceived my father, he now actually believes he's in love." Kendall huffed as she opened the front seat door of her black Audi, she shuffled into her seat and flung her beige Hermes handbag onto the backseat.

"Now, now, Kendall, that's no way to talk about your future stepmother." Xavier fake scolded as he too shuffled into the car. "I wonder if she'll go with Marchesa or Vera Wang for her dress. Oh! Pronovias wouldn't be a bad option but they're not based in New York and Clarissa's about supporting the locals right?"

"Shut up, Xavier," Kendall said bitterly as she violently pulled out of the car park of Ridgeman Prep. Kendall was in no mood to return home to her poor excuse of a father and an even poorer excuse of a woman and thus, she drove to her favourite coffee shop; Queen Bean. If the quality of coffee there didn't win her over, the name obviously would have. She had been there so many times that all the employees and managers knew who she was; she was more than a regular. If she wasn't at home, she was probably there. There was even a quiet corner booth reserved for her when she had homework she wanted to do outside of the school library or home. 

The moment Kendall walked through the door of Queen Bean, Jace, the blonde barista behind the counter immediately grinned and greeted her. "Hey, K! What's been happening?"

"An atrocity has befallen the Emeretta household," Kendall told him dramatically.

"She's being melodramatic." Xavier chimed in, following behind her and towards the counter where Kendall already stood. Queen Bean was one of the only places she felt like she could ease up and not cloak up in a facade. 

"Mm, sounds intense," Jace said, turning his back to the duo to finish up an order.

"It's not intense, just extremely annoying." Kendall sighed.

Jace turned around and gave another customer their order before turning to Kendall, a boyish smile plastered on his face, "It can't be that bad, K, loosen up a little."

"Daddy is marrying Clarissa." Kendall deadpanned.

"Holy shit," Jace exclaimed, earning a disapproving look from the customer he had just served, "I thought Clarissa was just gonna be like the rest."

"So did I but obviously not. You should've heard the sickening speech my dad gave to me this morning on how he thinks that she's really the one." Kendall cringed at the memory of her walking down the stairs this morning and being hit with the news. 

Jace offered her a sympathetic smile. "At least her face looks natural enough?" When Kendall blankly stared at him he shrugged, "She's not an eyesore like the last one...what was her name? Not sure, but her face held more plastic than a plastic lunch container."

Xavier snickered and muttered something about how accurate Jace was. Jace was a close family friend of Kendall's and although he was two years older and already in college, they still stayed friends. In high school, Jace was a part of Kendall's group of friends. His parents were also family friends and fellow business partners. "But enough about that, how's things been here?"

"Yeah, same as it's always been. Oh, we're hiring some people but that's about as exciting as it gets 'round here."

"So does that mean you'll be training the newbies?"

"I hope not." Jace sighed, "I've got enough on my plate."

"I know the feeling." Kendall gave him a smile.

"But yeah, I'm always here so feel free to visit." Jace said before nodding at Xavier, throwing a cheeky grin his way, "You too, sweetcheeks."

"Thanks, but I'm not the one who's about to welcome a stepmother into the family." Xavier chuckled.

"Trust me, there will be no welcoming," Kendall mumbled. 

"Very true," Jace agreed, "now, what can I get you losers?"

"Surprise me," Kendall told him, waving her hand.

"I'll have an iced coffee with two shots," Xavier ordered his usual.

"Comin' right up," Jace said before Xavier went to sit at a table by the window. Kendall went to join him when she stopped and turned on the spot.

"I can drop you home today if you like."

"I finish in like forty minutes and yeah that'll be great Kendall, thanks." Usually, Jace rode his skateboard down to work. His house was too close to drive but too far away to walk comfortably and while he could easily walk due to how fit he was from all the basketball he played, he'd prefer hopping on his skateboard and going for a ride on it instead.

"God, we've known each other how long? There's no need to thank me." Kendall waved a hand dismissively before joining Xavier at the table.

"So," Kendall started as she sat down opposite Xavier, her eyes twinkling with mischief, "Ideas? Let me hear them."

"An idiom—a personal favourite of mine." Xavier smirked, "Two words; red herring."

/

Alrighty, I've started publishing this book! It was an impulse decision made not five minutes ago but oh well!

Hope you liked it.

Gab xx