Page 62 of Guilty Pleasures

Cameron took a sip of her water.

‘Well, I don’t want to say anything about your family …’

‘No, please tell me,’ said Emma, looking worried. ‘As I said, they already hate me.’

‘Well,’ said Cameron slowly, ‘I would say it does rather look like she wants you to fail.’

‘But I don’t understand. Why …’

‘I’m only speculating here, but with my consultant’s hat on, I’d say it was a fire sale strategy. Cassandra wants the company to go under so she can pick it up for a song.’

For a moment, Emma just gaped at her friend.

‘That bitch!’ she said finally. ‘And after I went to her on bended knee to ask for her help! How could she? And who else has she been telling these rumours to?’

‘Probably everyone,’ said Cameron dryly.

Understatement of the decade thought Emma to herself, anger bubbling in her stomach.

‘So who are you getting to do your shop refit? Peter Marino?’

‘Who’s he?’

‘Emma!’ scolded Cameron. ‘He’s only the best commercial interiors guy in the business! He does all the best shop designs: Donna Karan, Chanel, Fendi…’

‘Well, in that case, we couldn’t afford him.’

Cameron gave a small smile.

‘So when are you reinstating womenswear?’

‘There was a clothing line a few years ago but it got axed. Do you think we should do it quickly?’

‘Well, you don’t want to be an accessories company forever,’ said Cameron switching into professional mode. ‘The mark-up in handbags is huge and I think you’re absolutely right moving your accessories into premium luxury, but to make real money you need to branch out into more mass market areas: perfume, cosmetics, diffusion ranges, maybe even a home range. But for that you need to position yourself as a fashion house as quickly as possible. A ready-to-wear line helps give your company identity.’

Emma felt a flutter of panic.

‘I was going to leave it a few seasons before we introduced womenswear.’

Cameron shrugged as she stabbed an anchovy.

‘Perhaps, but as you’re not introducing them – you’re reinstating them I don’t think you have to wait that long.’

The waiter came to clear away their plates and Cameron watched her friend’s gaze linger on him.

They both cracked up giggling the moment he had left.

‘Gorgeous,’ smiled Emma.

‘Gay,’ replied Cameron.

‘How do you know? You don’t know him.’

‘Oh honey, he has to be, no straight man was ever that pretty,’ said Cameron watching his behind disappear into the kitchen.

‘So how is he?’

Emma blurted out the question she’d been dying to broach ever since Cameron had told her she was flying in from Boston. Cameron was the only person at Price Donahue who knew about Emma’s relationship with Mark. They’d even gone out once with Cameron and her banker boyfriend Billy. Mark had claimed to be so uncomfortable with the duplicity they had never done it again.