Guilty Pleasures

‘Fuck our legal department,’ said Cassandra mildly.

Greg held up a hand to bring the sparring match to an end.

‘OK. So how do you suggest we proceed?’ He was pointedly asking Cassandra. Jason had already been dispensed with.

‘Let me with deal with it,’ she said confidently. ‘I have already phoned my friend at Schillings to fire off a letter to “Phoebe’s people”,’ she mocked Jason’s words. ‘And I will personally call all the major advertisers once we have the EPOS figures for the first week of sales.’

Greg seemed to be satisfied.

‘Cassandra,’ said Greg, his eyes unreadable. ‘Just be careful.’

Cassandra smiled politely, knowing she was back in control, then looked at Jason who had the look of a wounded animal.

‘Now if you’ll excuse me I have a magazine to edit.’

She closed the glass door behind her and walked down the corridor, imagining with relish the pain Jason Tostvig was about to be put through. That bastard! She had been wrong to think he was harmless; it had almost been a costly slip. She had been right about one thing though; he was stupid – stupid enough to cross her. Cassandra stalked back into the same bathroom she had left only twenty minutes before and leant on the sink, taking in deep breaths. She reached up to curl her eyelashes and saw that her hands were shaking. Pulp the issue indeed! For all her reputation, Cassandra knew something like that wouldn’t just be a black mark; it could be the loose thread which might start the whole thing unravelling. Even Diana Vreeland for all her brilliance and international reputation was ultimately dispensed with. That’s what fashion was all about – dispensability.

For a second she felt a wave of profound doubt: the person on top of the mountain was on the thinnest ridge and had the longest way to fall. She suddenly turned and ran into the nearest stall and threw up. When the spasms had passed, she wiped her mouth carefully and, checking no one had been in the bathroom to see her shame, walked back towards her office, her head held high.

There was no turning back. She had so many balls up in the air, so much at stake; she couldn’t afford to let up for a moment. Fashion was a game of poker: all about bluff and re-bluff, not who had the strongest hand. Cassandra had all her chips in the middle of the table, she couldn’t back out now. As she turned the corner to her office, she saw Jason Tostvig coming out of Greg Barbera’s office, his head bowed, his tie undone. Cassandra smiled. She would deal with him later.

11 (#ulink_4471fc8f-5003-5b07-a38c-7ca1ce60e8a6)

‘How are you bearing up?’

Roger popped a slice of tender Welsh lamb into his mouth and pulled a face.

‘I can’t say I’ve been delighted by the events of the last few weeks,’ he replied sourly. Roger and William Billington were sitting in the dining room of Mark’s Club, the establishment Mayfair restaurant where Roger had been coming since he was old enough to sign a cheque. William had been Milford’s banker for more than twenty-five years, a role he had inherited from his father before him, but the two men were more than just business associates, and in fact Roger had dated William’s sister for a while before he’d mistakenly double-booked her with a feisty deb one New Year’s Eve. The resulting catfight was still fondly remembered by both men. Roger and William’s relationship was based on something much more solid: a shared love of fine wines, food and money. Once a month they met up socially, taking it in turns to buy each other lunch in the best restaurants around London.

‘Did you and Saul have a falling out?’

‘Not at all,’ said Roger, looking surprised. ‘In fact the whole family is in shock. Saul hadn’t even seen the girl in the last three years, she was something of a black sheep to tell the truth. Never used to involve herself in family affairs, never summered with us at the house in Provence – not since she was a girl, anyway. Never joined us for Christmas in Gstaad. Strange girl; very closed off, I’d say.’

William chewed a mouthful of his steak thoughtfully.

‘However, I heard that she’s removed you from your position – a bit of a sideways move?’

Roger barked a hollow laugh.

‘It’s so transparent, isn’t it? Some trick they’ve taught her at that management firm she was with no doubt. Make your mark, fire a few people, especially people more capable than yourself, who might make you look bad.’

‘Hmm …’ said William.

‘More wine sir?’ asked the sommelier, appearing at Roger’s side.

Roger nodded, tapping the top of his glass.

‘And she’s replaced you with whom?’ asked William.

Roger laughed cynically, wiping the corner of his mouth with a napkin.

‘Ah, you haven’t heard? Some 26-year-old with no fashion college background and no track record bar some lowly position in a tacky Hollywood accessories company.’

William winced. ‘Oh dear.’

‘Indeed.’ He scoffed, ‘I’d almost understand it if she’d have got in a heavyweight designer, someone from Hermès or Bottega Veneta perhaps, but she’s treating it as some sort of game. Trashed the entire new collection for no apparent reason, wasted thousands in the process. Now she has all these grand ambitions for expansion. I still have a 20 per cent stake in this company, William, and frankly I’m worried my shareholdings aren’t going to be worth the paper they are written on by Christmas.’