Page 130 of Guilty Pleasures

‘The industry is really tough at the minute. It’s one of the reasons I’m off to New York tomorrow: a showdown with my dad about the company’s bottom line.’

‘Profits are down?’

He nodded and moved over to the bed, slowly telling her of his annus horribilis; defections, redundancies and loss of morale. How he was under pressure from New York – and his father – to continue with more cost-cutting to keep profits stable. And of his feeling of isolation, and of how he felt he was a lone voice championing the music.

‘Because it’s suddenly all about the money.’

‘But it seems to me …’ Emma hesitated before she spoke, out of her commercial comfort zone, but eager to help if she could. ‘It seems to me that you need to invest not cut corners. Your industry relies on talent. Creatives, the artists, don’t care about the bottom line, they care about companies caring about them.’

Rob looked at her curiously. ‘So what do you suggest?’

‘You’re not a money-man Rob, you’re passionate about music. Ste knows it and I bet the industry knows it. Hollander should become the company that champions the artist, encouraging creativity, investing heavily in new talent, not cutting back on it. Perhaps you need to decentralize the company; form new semi-independent labels for new talent, hothouses if you like. Because if you can get back your reputation as the company who loves the art not the profit, chances are you’ll attract the best new talent and a decent proportion of the established talent. Think about it; you say disgruntled bands are leaving other labels, well they’ve got to go somewhere. Incentivize them to sign to you. In bad times, good companies with good management can profit. It’s like the clever property developers buying up all the great land in a recession. CD sales may be down, but now’s the time to invest to increase your market share. Besides, from a purely business point of view, a shift from CDs to downloads is surely a good thing because there are no production or distribution costs involved. All you have to do is pay the artists and the shareholders – and I bet they’ll both like that idea.’

She sat back and took a breath. Rob just gazed at her.

‘You’re incredible,’ he said quietly.

The atmosphere in the room had suddenly changed. Emma shifted awkwardly on the edge of the bed, wishing she had the sexual confidence to know what to do next. In every other aspect of her life she knew how to lead, but now she felt as if she was floundering out of her depth; she was afraid to take the next step.

‘Just ignore me. I don’t know anything about the music industry.’

‘Just like you didn’t know anything abut the fashion industry and now you have one of the hottest luxury goods labels in Europe.’

‘Now I’m embarrassed.’

He paused and looked softly at her. ‘You do know I’ve spent most of this year trying to impress you?’

Emma laughed quietly. Compliments made her nervous, especially when they came from someone she’d spent all afternoon thinking about.

‘Believe me, I was never the girl that boys wanted to impress.’

‘Well, I was never the boy who kept getting turned down.’

Emma laughed again. ‘I’ve never turned you down.’

Their eyes locked across the bed and Emma forced herself not to look away. A nagging voice told her to leave the room now, she couldn’t trust him; he was a womanizer and a rogue. OK, so he was sexy and fun and kind but all she would be was just another notch on his bedpost. But still…

Oh, let yourself be happy, she cursed herself.

Rob stood up and began to walk around the bed towards her. Emma let him come. He put his hand out and took her fingers, pulling her in until their lips met in a soft, gentle kiss, growing deeper in intensity until she was aware of nothing else except the warmth of his body against her and a flood of delirious happiness washing over her. His hand slipped under her cashmere sweater to caress the curve of her back. She lifted her arms so he could slip the garment off, wet lust stirring between her thighs. He lowered his head to kiss the soft skin of her shoulder, before unhooking her bra so her breasts sprang free. He cupped one, caressing her hard nipple with his tongue as she almost laughed out loud in pleasure at his expert, exquisite touch. She unzipped his jeans while he hastily removed his navy cotton sweater. Sinking onto the bed they moved more urgently, touching and kissing each other, their need rising.

‘You’re so beautiful,’ he murmured, his hot breath against her neck. For once she didn’t challenge him, happy to let him peel off the rest of her clothes until they were both naked. As his lips went down on her, she almost flinched at his touch, and when she thought she could take no more he drew his firm body on top of her, savouring the moment as he slid himself into her, parting her thighs wider and wider. She came before he did, biting his shoulder as the sweet violent pulse tore through her body. He followed a few seconds later, collapsing on her, a smile of satisfaction on his lips and she lay back in his arms exhausted, surprised and contented. It was Rob who spoke first. ‘What the hell took us so long?’ he laughed.

Emma woke slowly. Weak sunlight forced its way through cracks in the shutters and for a moment she had absolutely no idea where she was. Turning, she could feel a warm body breathing gently beside her and the events of the previous night flooded back.

‘Good morning,’ said Rob, his voice all croaky with sleep.

Anxiety flooded over her as she waited for his next move. Would he move away from her or shuffle closer in? She examined his face, waiting to see the flicker of regret. But there was none. ‘What a night,’ he said.

‘Not every night you have to land a helicopter in a blowing gale.’

‘That’s not what I’m talking about,’ he said with a lazy smile.

He pulled her into the crook of his arm and she was flooded with relief, lying there as he kissed her hair.

‘How cold do you think that bathroom is?’

‘Very. Maybe we need some more of that hot cider.’