Page 23 of Original Sin

‘Well on that subject, I’ve just had an interesting insight into the family. It’s given me a greater idea of the challenges of the role.’

‘Really? Who from?’

‘Charles Devine.’

Meredith laughed gaily. ‘Dear old Charles. How on earth did he get an invitation? He’s not terribly fashionable these days, contrary to what he thinks. What nonsense has he been telling you?’

‘He told me about Olivia Martin,’ said Tess, looking straight at Meredith.

There was a minute’s pause as Meredith blinked and swallowed.

‘What about her?’ she asked.

‘About her death.’

Meredith’s expression clouded over.

‘Charles Devine is just a silly busybody,’ she said with force. ‘He’s Manhattan’s biggest gossip. Half of what he says is a figment of his imagination. He … ’

Then Meredith seemed to stop herself, closing her eyes in an effort of self–control.

‘Whatever he has said to you … ’

‘I have to know everything, Meredith,’ interrupted Tess. ‘I can’t help you if you don’t tell me everything. And I mean everything.’

Meredith took a sip of champagne, and touched her arm to escort her into a quiet alcove. ‘Forgive me, but I was not keen to tell you about private matters affecting my family when you haven’t even taken the job,’ she s

aid, looking around to make sure no one was listening.

‘Why were there rumours about Olivia and Howard?’

Meredith laughed coldly. ‘When a beautiful starlet and a rich businessman are friends, there will always be rumours.’

‘And what do you think happened the night of your wedding?’ Tess felt stronger now she was on familiar ground – probing, getting to the bottom of the story. She was even beginning to enjoy herself.

Meredith looked at her and saw she wouldn’t let it drop. She sighed.

‘I honestly don’t know what happened. I believe that Olivia was depressed, but I barely knew her; we had only met her a couple of times before the wedding. She was only there because she was an ambassador of the Asgill lipstick range. If she is dead – and that was never proved – of course it’s a tragedy. It was certainly a black cloud over our entire wedding, so you can understand me wanting Brooke’s big day to be perfect.’

Tess looked at her thoughtfully. ‘I thought this job was just to get me off the Globe and out of London,’ she said honestly.

‘No, I can see why you might think that, but there is a job to be done here Tess. My family needs protecting and I think you could be good at it.’

She looked across the crowd. Brooke and David were standing on the staircase, having their picture taken and laughing.

‘Look at how happy Brooke and David are. A perfect president and first lady, don’t you think? That’s what’s at stake here, Tess, not just the reputation of the family. It’s bigger than that.’

Tess took a sip of champagne and carefully plated the flute on the table beside her. Dom was nowhere to be seen. Not that he would affect her decision anyway.

‘I’ll take it,’ she said simply.

Meredith’s face broke into a warm smile. She took Tess’s hand in both of hers.

‘I knew you’d come to the right decision,’ she said. ‘Resign from the Globe on Monday and you can start as soon as you can get here. There’s plenty of work to be done. And Tess? Welcome to the family.’

CHAPTER FIVE

The Asgill Cosmetics conference room was an impressive place. The silk wallpaper, the shelves full of industry awards, and the Chippendale chairs lined along the long walnut table all reeked of corporate success. Should anyone be in any doubt as to the company’s place in the world, the floor–to–ceiling windows looked out onto the bustle of Manhattan, a city full of grateful customers. But, despite the grandeur of the surroundings, anyone attending an actual meeting in the conference room could detect that all was not well. Only a decade ago, Asgill’s had been one of the top ten cosmetics companies in America. Not as big as the giants such as L’Oréal or Maybelline, but within striking distance of Max Factor and Cover Girl. Today, though, Asgill Cosmetics was in trouble, a situation that had developed not suddenly but over a protracted period of time; a state of affairs that at least one member of the board found totally unacceptable. Liz Asgill was already seated at the far end of the table as the rest of the executive board filed into the room, and she watched the general managers of the individual brands shuffle to their seats with barely concealed contempt. From their grey faces and dour expressions, Liz felt sure that their reports would be filled with nothing but bad news.