“Are you okay?” her sister whispered.
“Feeling a little nauseated.” She jerked her head toward the couple and stuck her tongue out, making a gagging sound.
Meg covered her mouth, stifling the urge to laugh.
Robert shot them an annoyed look over his shoulder before resuming his conversation with Cheyenne.
The bartender returned and set the drinks in front of them. “Enjoy.”
“Thanks.” Abby took a tentative sip of the steamy concoction. “This is tasty.”
“It’s our most popular drink this time of the year.” The bartender turned away to help another customer.
The sisters grew quiet, struggling to eavesdrop on the couple next to them. As luck would have it, the bar was packed. Loud voices echoed, making it nearly impossible to listen in. Despite their best efforts, they were only able to hear snippets of their conversation.
The bartender returned. “Another round?”
Abby glanced at the clock. It was almost ten. She stifled a yawn. “Unfortunately, I have to work in the morning.”
“Ditto for me.” Meg scooped up her purse and gloves. “What do we owe you?”
“This one is on the house,” he said. “Tell your folks I said ‘hi.’”
“Thank you. Will do.” Abby left a five-dollar bill for a tip and started to climb down when she noticed Cheyenne sliding off her barstool. She said something in a quiet voice and strutted toward the back, where the restrooms were located.
Robert watched her walk away. As soon as she was gone, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and tapped the screen.
Abby nudged her sister, frantically motioning toward him.
As nonchalantly as possible, Meg inched closer until she was almost back to back with Robert. He held the phone to his ear and began talking.
“Hey, Barbetz here. I’m still in the boondocks. Yeah, the island. I talked to my ex. It’s cool. She’ll do the deal. We won’t have to worry about Flynn.”
A moment of silence ensued.
“I’ll be heading to New York in the morning. You meeting me there?” Robert rattled off an address. “No. I’m only in town to celebrate New Year’s and then I’m flying back to LA.”
He lowered his voice, but not so low Abby and Meg couldn’t hear. “I've got a hot one on my radar.”
Another brief silence ensued.
“She’s green, never done any acting or runways, but she’s a real looker,” Robert said. “Her name is Cheyenne Clifton. I invited her to fly to LA in a couple of weeks to make the rounds, meet a few studio execs, along with some other movers and shakers. I could be wrong, but my gut tells me she’ll be bigger than Harlow Wynn ever dreamed of.”
The conversation abruptly ended when Cheyenne returned.
Abby followed Meg out of the bar, waiting until they were on the sidewalk. “Did you hear the jerk telling someone Cheyenne was going to be a bigger star than Harlow?”
“He’s got to be kidding,” Meg said. “Clearly, he doesn’t know Cheyenne. Wait until they spend some time together and she shows him her true colors.”
“I can see her list of demands now.” Abby licked her finger and ticked off an imaginary list. “Darling…bring me my caviarand pearl spoon,” she mocked in a falsetto voice. “While you’re at it, I’ll take a Rolls Royce and a twenty-carat diamond. I give him a week, two tops, before he’s ready to put her on a plane back home.”
“Right?” Meg pursed her lips. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to tell Harlow what he said at this late hour. She’ll be awake all night thinking about it.”
“You’re right. Let’s see if the others want to meet for breakfast and then we’ll break the news.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Meg sent a group text, making the excuse that it was late and they needed to head home, asking if they could all meet early the next morning to discuss their findings.
Texts flew back and forth, fast and furious, with the Mackies all agreeing to meet at a downtown diner at seven the next morning.
