Page 163 of Guilty Pleasures

‘Well, this year, Miss Bailey, you are going to have a party. After all, it is your thirtieth. You need to push the boat out.’

‘Oh, Rob,’ she groaned.

‘I won’t take no for an answer. We’ll have a party at the house: leave it to me to sort everything out.’

‘Yeah, great,’ she grinned. ‘Coke, hookers. Happy birthday, Emma.’

Rob didn’t smile.

‘Hey, maybe you could let me be nice to you every once in a while.’

‘Oh, I’m not being ungrateful, Rob. I’m just not, you know, the party sort of person.’

‘You did OK at the shop launch.’

‘That was different. That was for the shop, not for me. I don’t like attention in that way and I just don’t think there’s anything much to celebrate.’

‘Why not?’

‘Someone tried to kill me, Rob. I know they did.’

‘But who? Your family? They have no reason to want you dead.’

‘They have every reason,’ she said, remembering the conversation at the Christmas Eve dinner. ‘They want me out of the way so they can either sell the company or float it. I don’t trust anyone, Rob,’ she said quietly. ‘No one at all.’

57

‘Georgia Kennedy! I don’t believe it. How? Tell me!’ said Jeremy Pike, rushing into Cassandra’s office almost breathless with excitement. It was the first working day of the New Year and Cassandra had only just taken her coat off. She was inwardly delighted at the reaction to Georgia Kennedy on Rive’s February cover, having seen the looks of wonder on the faces of her staff as she passed through the outer office.

‘Everybody has been after Georgia Kennedy for years, everybody. Come on, how did you do it? Spill!’

She suspected Jeremy was irritated to have been excluded from Rive’s little editorial secret, but for now he was hiding it well. Cassandra enjoyed her moment. Lightly tanned from Gstaad, wearing a winter-white, one-shouldered dress that would have looked over-dressed on anyone but her she looked and felt like the most powerful magazine editor on earth. ‘My lips are sealed, Jeremy, even for you,’ she smiled.

David Stern came in behind Jeremy, grinning.

‘I went into Victoria Station’s WH Smith this morning and they were all sold out.’

‘Yes, and Sky news have phoned three times,’ added Jeremy excitedly. ‘The Evening Standard, the Times. Everyone wants to interview you about the piece.’

‘And they will. In time,’ nodded Cassandra. ‘But for now, it’s all ours.’

‘What’s Glenda had to say about it?’

Cassandra’s smile was sphinx-like. She knew she had that confrontation to look forward to as soon as New York woke up. Glenda would be incandescent with rage that Cassandra had gone back on their deal to run Georgia Kennedy on the March cover of both US and UK Rive. Cassandra’s bold decision to run it a month early against her wishes meant that Glenda had been well and truly trumped, despite her supposed power and influence. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer girl, thought Cassandra.

‘Nothing yet, but I’m sure she’ll be sporting about it,’ she said. ‘Now, Jeremy, can you round up the 10 a.m. meeting? Obviously there’s plenty to discuss.’

‘Like the takeover of Alliance?’ said David, raising one eyebrow. As the buy-out had happened on the penultimate day of business before Christmas many members of staff hadn’t been briefed about the news.

‘It’s good news all round,’ said Cassandra breezily. ‘Girard-Lambert are a huge company and they’re prepared to invest heavily in Rive. With this cover and Girard-Lambert’s muscle behind us, I’d say that this is the start of something wonderful.’

Lianne popped her head round the door.

‘I have Pierre Desseau on the phone for you. Says he wants to meet for lunch.’

Cassandra almost purred with contentment. It was the start of something wonderful.

Pierre was already sitting at their table at the Ivy when Cassandra walked in, his skiing tan set off by the crisp blue of his shirt. Under normal circumstances, Pierre might have been Cassandra’s type, but since Max had come into her life she had no desire for other men, however powerful. She sat down and took a menu from the waiter and allowed him to pour some mineral water into a glass.