Chapter 15
Kenzie
The crowd was insane, so many vehicles in the parking lot that I was shocked we’d found a parking spot.
“Come on,” Char said loudly over the din of the crowd as soon as we walked in. It was technically still dinnertime, yet customers already seemed rowdy. I took a deep breath, some of the heightened tension beginning to ease. “How about a seat at the bar?”
“Sounds fine.” While there were a few happening spots in Billings, David had never enjoyed going to bars or nightclubs, so I’d learned to become a homebody. I’d been missing out.
The building was huge, one side a traditional restaurant serving what some considered the best food in town, the other side a traditional bar complete with a stage for performers.
Neon signs were everywhere, many depicting brands of beer while others highlighted the reason people came to Missoula. The outdoors. The rivers and lakes, the mountains and peaks. And the lush forests.
Char found two barstools and was already busy flirting with a couple of guys hanging out near us.
My bestie shook her head as she settled in.
She’d turned into more of a wild child in both her dress and attitude.
Tonight she was a stunner in the skimpiest red dress I’d ever seen.
In comparison, I felt frumpy around her, but jeans and boots had always been my go-to comfort wear.
As soon as I arrived home, the suit would come off and I’d slip into my comfy jeans and a baggy sweater or sweatshirt.
“What are you drinking tonight?”
“Just wine.” It had been a difficult twenty-four hours, one huge blur.
She pulled a face. “I thought you had a rough meeting with your father.”
I sighed as I sat down. It was good to be away from the ranch for a little while.
“Gah. I hate that man. The meeting was exactly as I expected. My father blowing smoke in my face. Telling me half the story and then expecting that I’d cave into his demands, which are to get him out of hot water.
” I’d done a cursory check on the various contracts.
From what I’d been able to tell, most appeared perfectly legal.
However, he’d gone way over budget, had missed both construction and city deadlines, and it would appear my brother’s assessment had been correct.
Balloon payments were due.
What I didn’t know at this point was how broken the relationship was with the city council or how that would affect the project. In situations of this nature, there were still several ‘old boy’ methods of doing business where promises were made and deals agreed upon with a handshake.
And a slip of a few thousand bucks here and there.
After blowing strands of hair from my face, I continued. “Then he proceeded to tell me Axe wasn’t good enough for me after he saved my fucking life!” I hadn’t realized my voice had increased by several decibels until the bartender’s eyes opened wide. “Bastard,” I muttered to finish.
“Wow. You need hard liquor. Hey, Mark, a couple dirty vodka martinis over here,” she commanded to the cute-looking man bartender who was thinking I was a lunatic.
“A dirty martini?” I was more than thankful to get away from the situation and try to relax. Especially since what my mother had told me remained in the forefront of my mind. The anger I’d experienced the afternoon before lingered as well. Why the fuck did my father hate Axe so much? Why?
“Have you ever had one?” Char pressed.
“Well, no, but I’m not much of vodka drinker.”
My bestie winked. “Don’t knock it until you try it, baby. Live a little. We haven’t gotten together in almost two years. Time to party down.”
“We’re not twenty-one any longer, but you’re driving.
” At least for now. Thankfully, I’d been able to borrow one of the work trucks my father owned.
Poor Bertha had already been found by the sheriff’s department.
Insurance would total it, but obtaining the money would take a couple of weeks if not longer.
At least I’d managed to grab my suitcases from the cab.
My waterlogged computer would need to be replaced and like my truck, my laptop had been with me since my days in college.
“Don’t worry, sugar. I’ll get you home and we’re not that much older. Still in our prime. Although did you beg Daddy to let you stay over?” She used her cutesy voice from the past, which brought a smile.
“My father is far too busy to notice that I’m missing.” No, I wasn’t twenty-one any longer, now old enough to know when my father was likely running a scam. “Plus, I’m staying at the ranch house.”
“What? Don’t your parents own a huge house?”
“Yeah, but the last thing I need is to constantly run into my father. He can be far too oppressive.”
“That man really pissed you off.”
“You have no idea.”
“Come stay with me.”
“I might. I just need to get a handle on whether I’m doing this. There would be so much work to do. Plus, I’m still worried my father is in way over his head.”
“Are you honestly considering your father’s idea?”
“Ugh.” I dropped my head into my hands. Seconds later, the drinks were slid onto festive cocktail napkins in front of us and I had to fight with myself to keep from consuming every drop in one swallow. “I don’t know. It’s a crazy idea.”
“Yeah, and the timing is very tight. A couple months to make a tribute rodeo event happen? That’s crazy. Although, I have to admit the idea is brilliant. As long as you could get a few rodeo stars to show up and not the ones in their eighties either.”
Sadly, it was one of my father’s better ideas, although unless he managed to get the rodeo riders to give their time and expertise for free, the event would still be extremely expensive. Thousands of tickets would need to be sold. “I don’t know if I can trust him either.”
“Well, you told him you’d think about it, so try and relax for tonight. Have a little fun. Get laid. Oh, wait, you already did that.”
“You little bitch.” I’d very much missed our friendship.
I’d all but laughed in his face when Daddy dearest had presented the idea.
Maybe more out of shock than anything else.
When he’d sent over the documents I’d asked for, he also provided a highly detailed list of planned events.
According to him, the tribute event would incorporate various rodeo champions, both recent stars and ones from the past. They’d perform in a stylized competition more like the choreography of wrestlers.
What I continued to ask myself was why would anyone want to come out of retirement for one event?
The stars still on the circuit might enjoy the extra press, but that would be a stretch.
However, if it could be pulled off, the notoriety provided to the stadium and Sterling Enterprises would be phenomenal.
“Try forty-two days. My father already picked a new date.”
“Wow. That would take a miracle to put together. Please tell me he’s not advertising the event already. Is he?” Char’s eyes opened wide.
“Not from what he said or I could find, other than a teaser on social media to judge interest.”
“And?”
“People are interested.”
Char grinned. “You know the ladies and hot cowboys.”
“Yeah, I know. I swear to God, if my father tries to railroad me into taking this position, temporary or not, I will leave town and he’ll never see me again.”
Her grin turned evil. “You could milk him for all he’s worth. Two months working with him for a year’s salary.”
“At this point, I’d be working for free. Out of the goodness of my heart.”
“Well, you are the decent one of the two of us.”
We laughed, listening to the heady drumbeat and the craziness of the customers. Both the music and the crowd were eclectic, Ziggy’s definitely the place to be.
“I can’t believe you just found out about what your father has been doing,” Char muttered, leaning over.
“You forget. Dad and I were barely on speaking terms.”
“For a big corporation like your father’s, doesn’t he have attorneys on staff or at least use one of the big firms?”
I took another sip, realizing the drink was going down way too easily. “Well, it would appear that Bartholomew Sterling fired not one but three local attorneys already.”
“Wow. Three?” Char laughed. “He’s tough.”
“Yeah, my mother said he told them they didn’t hold a candle to me.” Whether or not that was true, the words were nice to hear. But I knew my father’s tactics. He would use anything to get me to stay and work for him.
“Well,” she said as she pulled the skewer of olives into her fingers, plucking one with her teeth from the pointy end. “You do know a hot commodity.”
“Meaning?”
“The Bronco Bully? A regular hero in this town. And he’s one hot papa.”
Why did I feel a twinge of jealousy?
“One hot papa who would rather walk a river of lava than help my father out. You know they hate each other.” Granted, she had a point.
If I could get Axe on board, then I could drop his name when trying to get other stars to agree.
At least my father had thought of the resort.
While I hadn’t seen the spot except in a few photographs Wade had presented, the location appeared renovated and was already making some money with reservations.
The location could be used to house the athletes.
And what in the hell was I thinking? Helping my father? Was I completely out of my mind? I had to be. There was no way I could convince a bunch of people to come for an exposition event.
I took another sip, trying to relax. At least I had a decent change of clothes, a new wardrobe, and a new phone. Getting everything back to Axe would give me an excuse to see him. If he allowed it.
“I can’t believe you’re with that hot cowboy finally,” she said before tugging off another olive. Suddenly, she couldn’t look me in the eye. “I know how you felt about him before, but you just got out of a relationship. Right?”