Winner Takes All

by Katie Price

  ‘He made spag bol for tea and we’re about to catch up on The Walking Dead. Bliss! Aren’t you supposed to be at some fancy club tonight in the name of research?’

  ‘Nah, not ’til the weekend. Clubs won’t be busy on a Wednesday. Anyway, I think we’ve got our final fifteen. I might be able to just let my hair down rather than prowl for women! Are you still going to see Mum and Dad this weekend with Lila?’

  ‘I’m supposed to be but she’s gone AWOL again. Haven’t heard from her since last week. Have you? Honestly, that girl. You know she got fired again?’

  ‘Bloody hell, not again.’ Jas sighed. It had to be the fifth time in six months that her little sister had left a job, either of her own accord or at her boss’s insistence.

  ‘What’s the matter with her?’

  ‘Lacks direction,’ sniffed Meg. ‘You know this. And you’re the one down there in London supposed to be keeping an eye on her.’

  Jas frowned. It would be easier to herd a bus full of schoolkids on a trip than it would be to keep up with Lila’s escapades.

  ‘I know as much as you do, Meg. She hasn’t picked up her phone all week but I know she’s alive because she’s been posting on Facebook though I’ve no idea where she is, who she’s with or what she’s doing. I’ll try her now.’

  ‘All right, honey. Keep me posted. Love you.’

  ‘Love you.’

  Jas took another sip of wine and listened as Lila’s phone rang out. Flipping on the TV to her favourite guilty pleasure, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, she threw her phone down on the other end of the sofa.

  She couldn’t help feeling slightly annoyed with Meg. Why should Jas be the one to ‘keep an eye’ on Lila? Meg was the eldest, the one with the quiet life and steady husband up in Manchester. She should be the one keeping tabs on their rogue little sister. Didn’t Meg realise Jas had her own problems? The small matter of a divorce for one thing, a prime-time show to produce for another.

  As Khloé Kardashian argued with Kris Jenner about the latest party they were planning, Jas started to analyse her life. By her twenty-ninth birthday she’d be a divorcee. That’s if Richard ever agreed to the divorce.

  And, as if dating in London wasn’t hard enough already, now she was going to be seen as damaged goods. Though, she had to admit, she still received plenty of attention everywhere she went. Jas was five foot seven with long, shapely legs, a small waist, glowing skin, dark eyes with naturally long lashes and a wardrobe to die for. Not to mention a high-flying job in TV, her own property in London, a close family and an active, glamorous social life. But unsurprisingly, the divorce was making her feel tense and unsettled. Jas sighed deeply. She always tried to look on the positive side of life but lately it was proving to be more and more difficult. She’d started to question herself. Was she so upbeat because people expected her to be? Jas had to be the fun-loving sister for sensible Meg and the reliable big sister for Lila, as well as ambitious, tenacious and successful at work. But right now she was finding it exhausting keeping up on all these fronts. Her disastrous marriage to Richard had made her doubt herself. After all, could she trust her own judgement if she’d married someone like him?

  When it came to relationships, Jas hadn’t been single for longer than a year since she was twenty. When she’d decided to dump Richard for good she was excited by the thought of being free again, but now she just felt alone. And – though she’d never admit this to anyone – scared that she always would be.

  Chapter 4

  The next morning Jas yawned her way out of bed, determined to shake off last night’s gloomy mood. It was a bright, beautiful day. After a treacherous winter that had seen record low temperatures and heavy snow, and then a pitiful spring, it was now a beautiful summer with a record heatwave. And it was Thursday, almost the weekend! Tomorrow she and Monica were hitting a few clubs. Seriously, what did Jas have to complain about?

  She arrived at Channel 6’s vast building in London Bridge dressed in loafers and a white maxi dress. Her blonde hair, straightened that morning, hung loose. She stopped to take a selfie in the sunshine, carefully positioning the camera so it showed just her outfit and not her face. Jas liked showing off her clothes but wanted to remain somewhat behind the scenes.

  She worked on the sixth floor in the ‘entertainment hub’. The office was entirely open-plan and she sat in a corner at a bank of desks with other producers and researchers, facing an incredible view of the River Thames.

  ‘Just in time,’ said Monica, placing a steaming skinny latte on Jas’s desk a minute after she’d sat down and flipped her iMac on. ‘Burrell wants to see you in his office. Now.’

  Jas looked at her watch and groaned. ‘It’s not even ten and already I’m getting a bollocking? What now?’

  Monica simply shrugged.

  Jas walked across the floor. The blinds were up in Harry’s office so she could see him deep in conversation with someone with their back to Jas. That someone had short, cropped hair and broad shoulders. Jas was staring so intently she almost walked right into the door.

  ‘Ah, Whiteley. Come in.’ Harry beckoned Jas inside and nodded to the man in front of his desk. ‘This is Luke Hawkins from the twelfth floor.’

  The man stood up and extended his hand, giving Jas a warm smile. He was gorgeous. Dark green eyes – or were they hazel? – cropped strawberry-blond hair, a touch of stubble around a strong jawline plus six feet of solid muscle. It was like Chris Pratt had come to life and was standing in front of her!

  ‘Hi, good to meet you,’ said Luke, shaking Jas’s hand. Oooh – and a northern boy, she thought appreciatively, though she couldn’t instantly make out where exactly he was from.

  ‘Hi,’ she replied, hoping that she was showing off a dazzling smile and not a goofy grin. Then she remembered. ‘Twelfth … the legal department?’

  ‘’Fraid so.’ Luke smiled at her.

  ‘Right, you’ve met now. Sit, Jasmine. We’re down to the final girls, yes?’

  ‘Almost. There’s someone else I found last night – Charlotte Truss. We need her in. She’s a sweetheart. Big smile, great look. She’s perfect within the mix. I’ll get her to come in for an interview as soon as possible. Then we’ve got a few more interviews next week, but we’re getting close.’

  ‘Provided they all check out, legally, and sign the relevant documentation,’ put in Luke. ‘I’ll need to do basic background checks, just to make sure there are no alarming criminal records or red flags we need to be aware of. We’ll ask them to sign consent forms, of course. There will be a lot for them to read with all the terms and conditions of taking part, so we should aim to get the documentation out as soon as possible so they have a couple of weeks to read and return.’

  ‘Not a problem,’ replied Jas coolly, already picturing her line-up of beautiful women looking disarmingly glamorous against the gorgeous, dramatic backdrop of the Ibizan hills. Her mind veered off to the opening scene where Dylan would meet his lucky ladies. She wondered if she should have them all lined up for when he arrived on the scene, or whether he should meet them one by one. Perhaps there could be a party on the first night and he gets to meet them all then, dressed up in their finery? Harry jolted Jas away from her thoughts.

  ‘I’ve got another meeting in ten minutes so, Jasmine, have the final names, pictures and biographies ready to present to me at one p.m.,’ he said, bluntly. ‘Then you two can iron out all the legalities. How’s the Ibiza place looking?’

  ‘Booked, deposit paid and ready to start filming when we get there,’ replied Jas. ‘We’ve had official approval to film out and about on the island and Monica is sorting work visas for the crew. It’s all under control, Harry.’

  ‘Excellent. Now, bugger off both of you.’

  ‘Nice chap, isn’t he?’ laughed Luke when they were safely out of the lion’s den.

  ‘Ah, he’s not so bad.’ Jas smiled. ‘So, you’ve just started here then?’

  ‘I’ve worked at the channel for a couple of y
ears but I’ve been over in news. When David left they asked me to help out the entertainment section of the legal department for a bit. Makes a nice change from the Prime Minister’s office threatening to sue us every other week because of some allegedly scandalous story we’ve reported.’

  Jas smiled, instantly warming to this man. ‘I’m afraid you might not find things any easier down here. Only last week some nutter threatened to sue me if I didn’t put her in Mr Right. There are some crazy people out there and most of them are desperate to be on telly!’

  Luke laughed softly. ‘That’s what makes it interesting though, right?’

  At that moment Monica appeared, wide-eyed at the sight of Jas talking to this handsome new face. ‘Jas? All okay with the boss?’

  ‘Yep, all good, he just wanted an update on where we were.’

  Monica cleared her throat and side-glanced at Luke as if to say, ‘Who on earth is that?’

  ‘And to meet our new lawyer,’ Jas continued. ‘Monica Bright, this is Luke Hawkins. He’s taken over from David on twelfth and is going to make sure we don’t get sued or jailed.’

  ‘Nice to meet you.’ Luke smiled, stretching out his hand to Jas’s assistant.

  Monica shook it, taking her time and fluttering her eyelashes. ‘Very nice to meet you, Luke.’

  Jas could barely stop herself from laughing.

  Luke clearly clocked on to the flirting but was either too polite or too embarrassed to do anything but look down with a sheepish smile. He turned to Jas. ‘Anyway, I’ve got a conference call but let me know when Harry has approved your names so far and I’ll do all the boring legal bits. I’ve got a fair bit to get through before birthday drinks for someone from news later at the pub across the road.’

  ‘Oh, Sue Leonard?’ Monica jumped in.

  ‘That’s the one.’

  ‘Lovely Sue,’ enthused Monica. Sue was a senior editor at Channel 6 but Jas, Monica and their team barely knew her. ‘A few of us from entertainment might pop over. Especially now we know you’re going to be there. What better way to get to know our new lawyer?’

  ‘Great,’ replied Luke. ‘In that case I look forward to seeing you both later.’ He gave Jas a quick nod and headed for the lifts.

  Jas turned to her friend, laughing. ‘What are you like? Especially now we know you’re going to be there.’ She said the last sentence in a baby voice.

  ‘My God, if I was single, I’d have my tongue down his throat in seconds.’

  ‘Lovely image,’ dead-panned Jas. She walked back to her desk, Monica in hot pursuit. ‘And by the way, we barely know Sue.’

  ‘Everyone knows Sue. She’s part of the furniture of Channel 6. And she did invite us. There’s money behind the bar for the first couple of hours too, I hear.’

  ‘She invited everyone. Harry’s not actually expecting us to go.’

  Monica raised her eyebrows. ‘We’re going. And you’re going to make an impression on that hot lawyer.’

  Jas shrugged. What else was she going to do tonight? ‘Sure, why not? Try not to pounce on Luke straight away though, eh?’

  ‘No promises.’ Monica winked at her and sashayed over to her desk. Jas turned to her computer, mentally reviewing Luke’s last words to her. I look forward to seeing you later. Was he flirting with her? Then again, wasn’t that seeing you both later? She brushed aside the thought as she concentrated on her work, but secretly was pleased she was wearing her favourite dress.

  The rest of the day was full on. Jas fielded calls and emails from prospective contestants, had her weekly content-planning meeting for the department in which everyone was expected to come up with fresh ideas, went through the list of candidates yet again with Harry, had a conference call with the owners of the Villa Valencia in Ibiza and arranged for Meg to courier down some glamorous dresses from her boutique. Jas figured she could get some of the girls to wear them on the show, plus steal a few outfits for herself of course. The perks of having a sister in fashion retail!

  At 6 p.m. on the dot, Monica demanded they head over to the pub, having already applied a sultry smoky eye in preparation. Jas had retouched her own fresh make-up look with an extra coating of mascara and a slick of a red Tom Ford lipstick, making her green eyes pop.

  Fuller’s was packed and Monica and Jas, the only representatives from the entertainment department, seemed to bring a dose of glamour to a room full of black and beige outfits. Floor six was a medley of bright colours and designer jeans, but the news team were always required to wear plain suits.

  After some brief small talk with Sue and quick hellos to the people they knew, Monica nodded towards the bar where trays of white and red wine, beer and orange juice stood ready. ‘Come on, let’s grab a freebie before they run out.’

  ‘Ah, you beat me to it,’ Jas heard a voice say behind her as she and Monica took the last remaining glasses of red wine from the tray. She turned to see Luke smiling at her and motioning towards the bar.

  ‘Oops, sorry. Is red wine your drink, too? Here, take this one and I’ll have white.’

  But Luke held up his hands in refusal. ‘You got that Pinot Noir fair and square. I’ll grab a beer.’

  Jas smiled back. ‘More like the cheapest house red they’ve got.’ She moved aside to let him reach for a beer and, as she did, was jostled against his chest by the crowd, getting a feel of his firm muscular build and a waft of a delicious musky aftershave. Monica was talking to someone else but saw the collision and winked at Jas who instantly looked away, hoping Luke didn’t see.

  ‘Sorry,’ she said hastily. ‘I didn’t spill my drink on you, did I?’

  ‘All good.’ He smiled at her. ‘But, why don’t we move down the bar where there’s a bit more space?’ He stood back to let Jas go first and they huddled together in a quieter spot where they were able to lean against a wall.

  ‘How’s your day been?’ he asked.

  ‘Oh, you know, busy as usual. It’s getting more exciting, though, the closer we get to Ibiza. I just want to make sure everything is perfect.’ Even while she was speaking, Jas was mentally going over her to-do list for tomorrow. Scene-play meeting, 10 a.m., budget meeting, 11 a.m….

  ‘Well, you seem to be doing a terrific job so far. Burrell was raving about you this morning before you came into his office.’

  ‘Really? Makes a nice change from him barking orders at me!’

  ‘Nah, I think he’s got a soft spot for you. And why shouldn’t he? This was all your idea. He reckons it’s going to be huge.’

  ‘Well, it’s a big team effort. I couldn’t do it without Monica. She’s amazing at budgets, problem-solving and logistics, whereas I’ve got more of a background in showbiz and reality TV. We make a great team.’

  ‘She seems a lot of fun,’ laughed Luke. ‘And speak of the devil.’

  Monica sidled up to the couple. ‘I got stuck talking to Barry from accounts. Hello, Luke! What are you two gossiping about?’

  ‘I was just saying what a fantastic job you’re both doing on the show,’ he said. ‘There are whispers going round about how efficient you both are and that everyone is expecting this to be one of the channel’s most popular shows. Burrell told me before Jas came in this morning that you’re both doing a fantastic job.’

  Jas was shocked to hear that their cranky boss would be so complimentary about them, especially to a man he’d just met, but Luke seemed so genuine. Normally compliments embarrassed Jas but she allowed herself to feel proud for once.

  Monica wasn’t quite so subtle. ‘Well, we’ve worked our arses off, haven’t we, Jas? Lots of late nights. And I suppose you two will be working very closely together, what with all the legal bits and bobs to sort through. Will your wife mind you staying late at work so often, Luke?’

  Jas shot her friend a look and Luke scratched his head. ‘Er, no, I’m not married.’

  ‘Your girlfriend, then?’ Monica was on a roll. At this blatant probing Jas felt she had to jump in.

  ‘Mon, I don’t think Luke
wants to be interrogated about his personal life before he’s finished his first beer of the evening.’ She was mortified but still curious as to what his response would be.

  ‘Um, nope. No girlfriend. Or boyfriend if that’s what you were going to ask next. Anything else you want to get out of the way now? Star sign? History of mental illness?’

  ‘Yes, and your blood type,’ deadpanned Monica.

  ‘Okay. Capricorn, no to the mental illness – that I know of anyway – and, actually, I have no idea what my blood type is so I’ll have to get back to you on that.’

  ‘Please, don’t encourage her,’ laughed Jas.

  ‘I’m just getting to know the newest recruit to the Mr Right team,’ replied Monica in her own defence. ‘And where’s that accent from, Luke?’

  ‘Oh, to be fair, I was wondering that too,’ said Jas.

  ‘I was born in Cheshire. What about you? Let me guess … Leeds?’

  ‘Not quite. Just outside Manchester.’

  ‘Look at you two, so much in common already,’ teased Monica. At that, she was hugged by someone else she knew and distracted by the lively conversation that broke out, leaving Jas and Luke alone again.

  ‘Sorry about her.’

  ‘Don’t be, she’s great. So, is your family still up north?’

  ‘Yep. Mum and Dad live in the house I grew up in. My elder sister Meg and her husband live about ten minutes away, and my little sister Lila lives down here.’

  ‘Middle child?’

  ‘Mm-hmm. Three girls. You gotta feel sorry for my dad, living with four women!’

  ‘Ha! Me too. The middle of three, I mean. An elder brother and younger sister.’

  ‘Do they still live in Cheshire?’

  Luke shook his head and motioned to the bartender. ‘Another drink?’

  Jas looked around. Monica was over on the other side of the pub now, deep in conversation with Harry. ‘Yes, please.’

  Luke handed Jas a large glass of wine before taking a sip of his own beer. ‘I lived up north until I was fourteen then my dad got a job in Hove near Brighton so we all moved down south.’