Page 146 of Private Lives

‘Helen Pierce,’ she said, putting out her hand. ‘I’m an attorney with Donovan Pierce, a legal firm in London.’

Deena looked from Helen to Mark and back again.

‘The Balon case,’ she said. A statement, not a question. She turned and waved at her friends, calling, ‘I’ll just be a minute, save me a burger, okay?’

Raising his eyebrows, Mark excused himself and, slipping her shoes off, Helen followed Deena on to the sand.

‘So I take it you’re not surprised to see me?’ she asked.

‘Spencer has told every member of staff, past and present, not to speak about the case, so yes, I was kinda thinking you’d be in touch.’

‘Why’s that?’

Deena gave a low laugh. ‘Because that Jonathon Balon feature was my idea.’

The waves were roaring on to the shore and a cool breeze whipped Deena’s burnished hair across her face.

‘I’m not sure it’s worth my while to talk to you.’

Helen knew instantly what she was getting at. Everything was about money out here. She smiled.

‘Do you want me to have to call you as a witness? I could easily force you to give testimony.’

Deena stopped and faced her.

‘In a foreign trial?’ she said. ‘With a week to go? I don’t think so.’

Helen was surprised at the girl’s knowledge. She was a hustler, a deal-maker.

‘Well I’m sure we can come to some agreement,’ she said.

‘It depends what you’re offering me.’

‘It depends what you’re telling me,’ replied Helen.

Deena turned to look out to sea.

‘The magazine got this new commissioning editor,’ she began. ‘Joanne Green. Beautiful, ambitious, but she was an out-oftowner, had no connections at all in the city.’

She glanced at Helen.

‘Look, she got the job I wanted, but I figured she was better as a friend than an enemy, so I took her under my wing. We went to parties, and I introduced her to people. I thought that way I’d get more of my stories in the magazine. But I was wrong – at first, anyway.’

She paused.

‘Jo wasn’t a real decision-maker at the magazine; that was Elizabeth Krantz, the features editor. I’d never got on with Lizzie; I think she resented that I got invited to more parties than she did, so she took great delight in knocking back my features ideas again and again and again. Until . . .’

‘Until what?’ asked Helen.

‘Until Jo started sleeping with Spencer.’

Helen felt her eyes widen, and Deena smiled. ‘Suddenly it was easy for Jo to overrule Lizzie about editorial. Suddenly I was getting my stuff in the magazine.’

‘And this was when you pitched the idea of the Jonathon Balon story?’

Deena nodded.

‘My boyfriend at the time told me about this billionaire Brit and his property empire, which was built on his connections with London gangsters. It sounded a great story – it is a great story. So I pitched it to Jo, but she said it wasn’t international enough.’