Page 187 of Guilty Pleasures

Rob was already at the table when she got there; he looked anxious but that could not distract from his sexiness. She observed him for one moment, self-assured, masculine and handsome in a crisp blue shirt and jeans. For the first time since Max, Cassandra felt a shot of lust curl in her groin.

He shook her hand before she sat down.

‘This is a pleasant surprise,’ said Cassandra her lips curling into her sexiest smile. She had seen his eyes flick up and down her body as she approached the table and knew he couldn’t help but be attracted to her.

‘How are you feeling?’

‘Better for seeing you.’

Rob averted his eyes from the table and summoned the sommelier.

‘I assume you’ve heard about Emma?’

Cassandra nodded.

‘This can’t be good for business,’ she said, taking a menu from the waiter.

‘I think that’s probably the last thing on her mind at the moment.’

‘The business is never the last thing on Emma’s mind,’ she replied with a small smile. ‘Anyway, all this publicity with her arrest might not be a bad thing. No publicity is bad publicity. This is the biggest fashion crime story since Maurizio Gucci got gunned down outside his house in ’95. Everybody must know the name Milford now.’

She ordered her food and folded her slender tanned arms in front of her.

‘What did you want to speak to me about?’

For a second she thought of the quiet, studious girl on the steps of Les Fleurs all those years ago; it was laughable that the same person could be a killer.

She took a sip of the excellent Bordeaux that Rob had ordered.

‘I used to think that people would kill for my job. But seeing as I don’t have it any more it seems inconceivable that anyone would want me dead. So yes, I think it’s unlikely that Emma set fire to the Stables to harm me. The likeliest explanation is that it was simply pranksters.’

‘Did you see anything that night?’

‘Rob, darling,’ she said laughing slowly. ‘Who do you think you are – Jonathan Hart? ’

‘Cassandra, please,’ he said, fixing her with his most charming, persuasive stare.

She gave a little sigh. ‘I’ve told the police everything. I was a little drunk, fell asleep and heard nothing until I woke up and the whole place was on fire. I wasn’t exactly taking notes.’

‘Who knew you were at the Stables?’

Cassandra shrugged. ‘The guy who drove me there. Unless someone else saw me.’

‘What do you think happened, Cassandra?’

She couldn’t deny she’d given it a lot of thought. Cassandra was desperate to find out what had happened; after all, she was a victim whether it was intentional or otherwise. More importantly, she was naturally manipulative and scheming. In her own experience, accidents did happen, but more often than not things happened for a reason.

‘You know Roger is desperate to sell Milford and Emma is adamant she won’t get rid of the company.’

She paused, remembering what she had heard on the steps of the chalet in Gstaad.

‘I think there’s another business Roger wants to invest in.’ She was loath to say any more. After all, she was closer to her uncle than to Emma. ‘I heard him talking at Christmas. He needed the money quite quickly.’

‘Emma doesn’t exactly trust Roger either.’

‘Have you ever thought there might be a third option?’ said Cassandra, enjoying the fact that she had Rob’s full attention. ‘Someone wanted to kill me, but frame Emma.’

Cassandra thought about the many nights she had spent planning her empire with Max. Max had obtained a copy of Milford’s Articles of Association and had gone through it with a fine tooth-comb to equip himself with all the facts. She still had a copy of the Articles somewhere in her apartment.