Page 130 of Original Sin

‘Have they reported about Vue yet?’ she asked innocently.

Wendell looked at her with surprise. ‘And how would you know about that?’

She walked over to him and stroked the back of his neck. ‘Knowledge is power, darling,’ she smiled coquettishly.

His eyes trailed across to her bare breasts as he reached out for her, but she nimbly stepped out of his reach, scooping up her knickers and sliding into her dress. She did not want him distracted when they were talking business. She sat opposite Wendell, pouring herself a glass of water and feeling the autumn sun on her face.

‘I want to buy Skin Plus from the family,’ she said without preamble.

A small smile crept onto her lover’s lips. ‘And do Meredith and William know this?’ he asked.

‘Not yet,’ she replied, shaking her freshly highlighted bob.

‘Be careful, Liz. This is family now.’

‘No, Wendell, this is business,’ she said firmly. She looked at him, waiting for a reaction. ‘So what do you think?’

Wendell wiped his mouth with a napkin.

‘I think that you should be CEO of Asgill’s because I think that you could turn the company around. And I think you probably will be one day. So I don’t think you should try and buy Skin Plus out of spite simply because your family aren’t giving you the recognition you deserve.’

Liz smiled. ‘Oh, I’m past spite. I’m talking to you as a businesswoman who sees something with enormous potential, who wants to be in total charge of realizing that potential.’

Wendell gave a low, slow laugh. ‘You are very sexy when you’re angry.’

Under the table, Liz curled her hand into a fist. ‘Why don’t you try taking this conversation fucking seriously?’

There was a long, stagnant pause.

‘Why are you mentioning this to me?’ said Wendell finally.

‘Because you are an investor and you know I am a good bet,’ said Liz. ‘Plus you have no interests in the cosmetic industry, but you do have complementary businesses: airport outlets, media, pharmaceuticals. Diversification is always a good idea in tough times.’

Wendell viewed her sceptically. ‘I don’t need to remind you that Meredith and William will soon be my family too. It might not be such a good idea to upset them quite so soon.’

Liz waved a hand dismissively. ‘It won’t be a problem, not if I handle it in the right way. And if you didn’t want to disclose your involvement, I’m sure you have plenty of covert investment vehicles you could use.’

Wendell shook his head, chuckling. ‘You’re persuasive, you know that? And I should know, I hear seventy per cent bullshit most of the day.’

‘So. Are you interested?’

‘Get a business plan over to me by Monday,’ he said coolly. ‘Maybe we’ll talk. No promises.’

‘I’ll courier it round to your office first thing tomorrow morning.’

‘You’re good,’ he said smiling.

‘I know.’

‘Come here.’

She walked to the other side of the table and pulled back his chair. Slipping open his white towelling robe, she ran her hands across his chest hair, sank to her knees, and got to work.

CHAPTER FORTY–FOUR

Book launch parties are traditionally quite low–key affairs – usually a few drinks in a bookstore followed by a short speech to the assembled sales team about ‘distribution channels’ and ‘retail footfall’. The launch for Portico, however, was the literary equivalent of a red–carpet premiere. Held at a private club on Fifty–Third Street, Yellow Door had converted the entire top floor into a Victorian magician’s den, complete with scarlet drapes, strange oriental cabinets, and an ornate cage of flapping doves. Outside photographers swamped the street, desperate for shots of Brooke and David together, not to mention the high–profile guest list the party had managed to attract. Half of New York’s A–list seemed to be here with their children for the hottest kids’ book since Harry Potter. The atmosphere inside the club–room was just as electric. Even the most hard–to–please critics had been lining up to congratulate Brooke and her MD, Edward Walker, on this ‘startling debut’.

Everything had come together like a dream, thought Brooke, unable to wipe the broad grin off her face. Two days earlier she had received a phone call from Janice Douglas, the head of development for Unicorn Studios, whom Brooke and Eileen had met in LA three weeks earlier. Unicorn had duly bought the options to Portico for a high six–figure sum, but Brooke didn’t expect much more, as studios were notorious for purchasing options and then sitting on them. So she had nearly fallen off her chair when she’d heard that the head of the studio had almost immediately green–lighted the project, with principal photography due to commence in the spring. Eileen had burst into tears when Brooke had called her with the news.