A Richer Shade of Gold
Chapter Eighteen
November 28th rolled around faster than Kendall had anticipated. This was it. The day that, in a way, decided Kendall's future. The day that sealed her father and Clarissa's future. The only day that Kendall needed to run smoothly and flawlessly. Kendall, Xavier, Olivia and the Archers landed in Sydney yesterday along with the bride and groom. Kendall, Olivia and Xavier had been running around making sure that everything was perfect for the wedding. Kendall had kept the deal with her father from the knowledge of her friends, thinking it was for the best that no one knew.
Silver, white, periwinkle, white roses and dresses of blue and purple.
"No, I ordered a white rug, not a dark grey." Kendall sighed, putting her hands on her hips.
"I'm sorry, Miss Emeretta, we don't have white, only black or dark grey." The wedding planner, Carol, said.
Kendall rubbed her temples, trying to think of a fitting solution, "Can we get rid of the rug and have nothing?"
"I'm afraid that if the bride is wearing heels, it will be hazardous to walk on the hardwood floor of the boat without any sort of grip."
"Are you kidding?" Kendall snipped as Olivia appeared beside her.
"What's wrong?" She asked, eyebrows furrowed at Kendall's frustrated composure.
"The rug doesn't match the colour scheme and we can't have no rug."
"Is there another boat we can hire, with carpet or something?" Olivia asked.
Kendall looked at Carol expectantly and she nodded hesitantly, "Yes, but that boat is larger and costs a lot more..."
Kendall threw her a bewildered look and raised her hands, "Do we look like people short of money?"
"No, Miss Emeretta, I was only saying—"
Kendall raised a hand to stop the wedding planner's rambling, "You can go rebook the boat now."
Once the lady nodded, turned and walked away hurriedly, Olivia gave Kendall a smile, "A little harsh, K?"
Kendall waved a hand dismissively, "I just need this to be perfect." She told her best friend.
"Why? I thought you loathed Clarissa."
"I don't particularly like her but it's for my father's happiness." Kendall said, the white lie rolling off her tongue easily. Once Kendall brushed off the topic, the two got back to double checking everything and before they knew it, everything was done and dusted. Everything was in place. Olivia suggested that the three best friends go out and explore Sydney and that they did. And since they finished the final preparations so early in the day, the three had four hours to kill before they would have to prepare for the event itself. The trio visited Chinatown and compared it to the one they had back home in New York, they walked down Pitt street and watched the hopeful buskers, they walked around the Opera House and had lunch on the Harbour. It was a nice, relaxing day for Kendall. It was much needed too. She needed a break from school and Wesley and the damn wedding. And it was nice to spend it with her three best friends somewhere unfamiliar.
Once the trio got back to the House of Emeretta Hotel, they all went their separate ways to get ready for the wedding. Once Kendall took a shower and finished her makeup, she slipped into her royal blue floor-length dress. When Kendall put her classic black heels on, she was glad that her dress had two slits that went up mid-thigh, making it much easier to walk in. Kendall texted Olivia and Xavier and told them that she was leaving when she got into the elevator. When she reached the lobby, Wesley was sitting down on one of the couches, a glass of water, Kendall hoped, in his hand. Kendall was still getting used to his shorter hair and although his longer hair suited him better, short hair wasn't that devastating on him.
"Ah, you're here." He said when she walked over to him.
"Come on," Kendall gestured for him to get up, "I'm already borderline running late."
Wesley finished his drink before standing up and straightening his navy suit. Kendall didn't wait for him and walked out the lobby door, getting into the taxi that was already waiting for her. Kendall noticed that in Sydney, there weren't that many taxis that you could just hail. Sometimes, there were none so to ensure getting to your destination on time, you would have to call prior to when you leave. Back in New York, hailing a cab was like breathing. Or even in somewhere like Bangkok, the roads were always covered in brightly coloured taxis. And the only time you would struggle to hail one down is when there's traffic and someone up the road snatches it before you.
The ride to the harbour was silent, save for the radio and the driver coughing every few minutes or so. Upon arriving to where the boat was docked, Kendall paid the driver and the pair got out, looking extremely out of place in their expensive blue outfits that clashed with each other. Much like their personalities. They only caught a few stares from people who were walking by, albeit on their afternoon runs or home pursuits.
"You get up to anything today?" Kendall asked Wesley as an attempt to break the long silence when the two made their way onto the boat.
"Yeah, made a stop to Bondi Beach. I didn't stay long though, that place is more people than beach." Wesley shuddered, "And there were these cameras filming the lifeguards. I asked someone and they said it was for this show called Bondi Rescue."
Kendall laughed at Wesley's flummoxed expression. "And so you left?"
"Well, yes. If a beach has a show filmed on it called Bondi Rescue, where all that happens on it is people being saved then that pretty much tells me all I need to know about the safety of that beach." Wesley replied. "I went to another beach instead but I haven't the slightest clue where. It was extremely secluded and quiet though, which was divine."
"Sounds nice." Kendall nodded as the boat wavered slightly. Kendall let out a small groan, "Who thought this was a good idea?"
"Your father."
"Thanks for that, I don't think I could've answered that on my own." Kendall said sarcastically as her and Wesley walked into where the wedding was set up. Kendall imagined the larger boat to have more rooms but it just had one large room and the boat deck. She assumed there was also one floor down from the wedding room as there were stairs leading down. Kendall assumed the food would be prepared there.
Wesley opened his mouth to say something else when Kendall's phone rang. "Saved by the bell." Wesley muttered quietly, an element of humour in his voice.
"I have to take this." Kendall said to Wesley. "Sorry."
"Go ahead, come find me when you resolve the issue at hand." Wesley said, his lips curling up into a smirk as he winked before heading in the opposite direction.
Kendall frowned, watching Wesley's broad back as he strode away at a comfortable pace before answering her phone, "Hello?"
"Kendall," Clarissa's voice rang distressfully, "everything's a mess. I don't know what happened."
"What?"
"I-I, I just—"
"For God's sake, Clarissa, stop blubbering and tell me what the hell happened."
"It's like a real Bride Wars!" Clarissa cried, "Except my hair is fucking green!"
"How the hell did your hair get dyed green?" Kendall asked angrily, "Your hair is an auburn shade!"
"I don't know! I was getting it highlighted and I don't know!" Clarissa said, sounding like a mess.
Kendall sighed and felt the urge to run a hand through her hair but stopped herself, not wanting to ruin her hair-do. "Where are you?" Clarissa answered, giving Kendall the address of the hair salon she was at and Kendall hung up, informing Clarissa that she would be there shortly. Clarissa was due to walk down the aisle in a mere two and a half hours.
Kendall left the boat and started walking. There were no taxis around. "Of course." Kendall muttered bitterly as she rushed down the street, alone and with her sanity hanging by a thin thread.
-
Clarissa looked like exactly how she sounded on the phone; a stammering mess. Kendall arrived at the salon with an extremely unimpressed expression upon her face. She hadn't bothered with her poker face this time. She wanted everyone to know that she wasn't going to be messing around. Clarissa's hair seemed normal except for the fact that she had trashy grass green strips weaved throughout it. Kendall couldn't help but contort her face into one of disgust as she internally cringed at the sight of it.
"It's a disaster, isn't it?" Clarissa cried, turning away from the mirror to face Kendall.
"I'm not going to sugar-coat it." Kendall told her future step-mother, "It looks like you asked a five-year-old to give you a makeover with cheap dye from a dollar store."
Clarissa nodded and turned her attention to the female hair stylist to her left. "How do we fix it?"
The sheepish stylist gave her a tiny smile, "Well, you can come back tomorrow and the hair will be ready to work with then."
Kendall narrowed her eyes at the stylist who momentarily glanced at Kendall before training her eyes on the floor. "And if the wedding is today?" She asked in a steady but vicious tone.
The stylist opened her mouth slightly as a look of shock and horror washed over her face. Before she could utter a word, Clarissa started sobbing again. Kendall rolled her eyes before dragging the stylist to the corner furthest away from the hysterical bride.
Kendall looked the stylist straight in the eye, "Who paid you to do this?"
The stylist feebly shook her head, "No-one, it was an hones—"
Kendall let out a dry chuckle, "No idiot makes an honest mistake like that. Incompetent things like that only happen in movies." The stylist nodded but nothing left her thin lips. "Now, you can either tell me who told you to mess with a bride on her wedding day and I'll write you a check for three thousand dollars or you can say nothing and I'll make sure that by tomorrow, this pathetic salon is closed down."
"I didn't see anyone." She said, "It was through the phone."
"Is that it?" Kendall scoffed. "Was it a boy? Girl? Age bracket? Any accent? Tone?"
"It was a guy, probably around your age. American." Kendall let out a breath and nodded. She couldn't believe it. How could he do this to her?
Kendall wrote the woman a check of three thousand dollars and told her to fix the mess she had caused. In the end, Kendall suggest to tie Clarissa's hair up in a fancy up-to and for Clarissa to wear a veil to help conceal whatever colour was threatening to show. As Clarissa was getting her hair redone and the preparation for her wedding was set in motion again, Kendall went out looking for a suitable veil. On her way to the nearest wedding store, she rang a number and waited for the call to be picked up.
"Hello?"
"How could you?" Kendall asked in a repugnant tone.
"What? I don't understand what I've done, K."
"Xavier, I told you that we weren't going to go through with the tampering! I thought I made it clear."
"Kendall—"
"Xavier, you don't understand! I nearly lost my future because you couldn't listen!" Kendall raised the tone of her voice. "Now, I'm out here on the streets of Sydney alone, trying to fix this mess up!"
Kendall could hear Xavier let out an annoyed sigh on the other end of the call, "I know your father is re-marrying, Kendall, but I don't think that's going to affect you and your entire future."
"But it is," Kendall said, her voice strained. "I made a deal with my father and if this wedding is perfect, I get Cambridge. Don't you know how important that is to me?"
"Kendall, I didn't k—"
"You know what, Xavier? Save it. I don't care. All that matters now is that I sort this out." Kendall told him hastily before cutting the call off, ridding Xavier the chance of spluttering out excuses.
/
First off sorry for the late update, I've been a little caught up and uninspired lately. And secondly, I honestly thought there was a photo of Wesley's face claim with really short (buzzcut-ish) hair but this was the best I could find. Kendall's is the same as on her character aesthetic from the very first part of this book (the photo will be down here anyways in case no one remembered it that well). Just to clarify, Kendall didn't have bangs at the start of the book and her hair was quite long but upon Wesley and her attacking each other with scissors, she had to adjust it to suit the mess Wesley made. :)
** Also this face claim for Wesley isn't the exact one in my head. To be honest there is no one that fits Wesley because he is such a strong face in my imagination and he is sort of a mix/mashup of a lot of features that I have seen before on other guys so no one will perfectly match my internal image of Wesley. Sam Way is probably the closest though.
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