Page 90 of Guilty Pleasures

‘Marriage just isn’t a compelling enough idea for me. I don’t need companionship; every minute of my day is full and I barely have time to see my own daughter. I get enough sex. I’m financially independent. I only have time to be alone.’

‘So if you don’t want a husband, what is it you want?’

She knelt on the sheets, facing him.

‘I want to be fashion’s biggest name,’ she said frankly.

He looked at her seriously.

‘And how do you intend to do that?’

She took a deep breath before she told him. No one knew the true extent of Cassandra’s ambitions. She admitted little to Giles and nothing to Ruby, Astrid or her mother but she felt as if she could open up to Max as he was a separate, secret pocket of her life, hidden from the world. Besides, she knew Max would understand – his ambitions were as fierce as hers.

‘For a long time I thought I was going to inherit a luxury goods company,’ she began slowly. ‘I thought that would be my base.’

‘The company was Milford and it went to

your cousin Emma Bailey,’ said Max.

‘How do you know?’

‘I keep up,’ he said with a small smile.

‘I was promised it and I will have it,’ she said flatly. She paused, then she told him everything. How she had warned Claude Lasner not to touch the company so that Emma could not get a big-name designer in place. How she had threatened photographers and art directors not to work with them, banned Milford products from Rive, whispered among the big retail buyers that the new Milford range was a dud. She didn’t want the company to get off the starting blocks and while she killed time she was going to become the US editor of Rive.

Max was smiling as she recounted her back-stabbing and double-dealing and it irked her enormously.

‘What’s so funny?’ she snapped, totally unused to someone not only challenging her, but mocking her.

‘Darling, I know you think you’ve been running this clever campaign of industrial espionage, but all you’ve been doing is taking pot-shots. And not very effective ones at that,’ said Max.

‘Pot-shots!’ said Cassandra, widening her eyes.

‘Let me guess,’ said Max, running his hand up and down his firm belly. ‘You went to see the banks to find out if you could borrow the money to buy out Emma, yes? They refused because you have no retail or real business experience. Yes, you understand publishing better than anyone in the business, but that isn’t particularly relevant to running a luxury goods company, no matter how famous a journalist you are. So you thought laterally: if you continue to undermine Milford with your considerable influence, maybe in twelve months the company will be worthless and then Emma will want to sell. As editor of US Rive you’ll have a bigger global pull, the banks might take notice and back you this time. But wait! You’re worried. You might be next in line but you might have to wait years to get the job. And what if Emma surprised everyone and made a success of the company. Then you can never afford it.’

Cassandra sat looking at him, her eyes glowing with fury. She had exposed herself to him, she had trusted him and he’d made her plan seem so amateur and haphazard that her cheeks stung hot with ridicule. The hurt she was feeling was because his assessment was so devastatingly accurate.

‘Get out,’ she said quietly, unable to stop her voice quavering.

‘No,’ said Max, having the confidence not to move an inch. ‘Forget Milford. What do you really want, Cass?’

She got off the bed and started pacing around before she spoke.

‘To build a Cassandra brand. And Milford would be the perfect base to build from.’

‘But that ship has sailed for the moment,’ said Max brutally. ‘What are you going to do now? And similarly, what would becoming editor of US Rive achieve? Make you a tiny bit more famous than you already are? It’s a blind alley. You should forget that too.’

Cassandra went to the window and leant against it. She felt weak with frustration.

‘What then? Forget my whole career?’ she said sarcastically.

‘You should be building up your brand, not Rive’s.’

‘Well, I have the Cassandra Grand: On Style book coming out in September.’

‘Fantastic!’ said Max. ‘Now you’re thinking about you. This time next year you want your name to stand for a whole lifestyle. Like Kelly Hoppen, Donna Karan, Martha Stewart, Donna Hay. They all say something. Start thinking about what Cassandra Grand stands for, not Rive. Rive is yesterday’s news, a stepping stone to a real career.’

‘So do you think I should start a fashion line?’ she said, suddenly feeling excitement growing in her belly.