MADE IN ESSEX

by Laura Ziepe

  ‘Cupcake,’ Lisa replied.

  ‘Princess Cupcake,’ Kelly corrected her hastily.

  ‘Cute,’ Adele smiled. ‘I’m calling mine Buddy. He’ll keep me company in my new amazing flat my dad bought me. You girls have to come over soon. It’s stunning. Huge. We’ll go out for the night and have drinks before at mine. Where are you girls living now? Not at home with your parents still, surely?’ Adele smirked.

  ‘Me and Kelly are, yes,’ Jade answered indignantly. ‘At least this way we can save money as luckily our parents don’t charge us too much rent.’

  Adele looked as though she’d tasted something bitter. ‘Your parents make you pay rent?’

  Jade and Kelly nodded.

  ‘Oh right,’ Adele remarked, raising her eyebrows in disbelief. ‘My dad has taken care of everything for me, luckily. He’s bought me all new furniture too. What about you?’ she asked, her eyes flicking to Lisa.

  ‘I’m moving in with a friend,’ Lisa replied, ‘and will be paying my own rent and buying my own furniture. I could never just sponge off my parents without contributing, even if it was an option. No offence,’ Lisa grinned caustically.

  ‘None taken,’ Adele retorted, with one of her fake smiles that Jade knew so well.

  ‘Anyway Adele, nice seeing you. We really better hurry up though, we’ve loads to buy,’ Kelly said, as she turned and picked up a tiny white frilly dress.

  ‘Okay girls, have fun shopping. I’ll add you on Facebook and we can go out soon, yeah?’

  ‘Yeah, though I don’t go on my Facebook much,’ Jade lied.

  ‘No problem. Give me your phone, babe,’ Adele demanded, holding out her hand.

  ‘Why?’ Jade said, trying to think of a good reason why she wouldn’t have it on her without it looking too obvious.

  ‘I’ll put my number in,’ Adele told her firmly.

  Seeing no way out, Jade passed her the phone and Adele put her number in and called it so she had Jade’s number on her own. How annoying? Jade thought, hoping she wouldn’t keep texting and calling. Why couldn’t she just get the picture? They didn’t, and would never like Adele; she was bad news.

  ‘Cheers, hun,’ Adele turned to leave, ‘oh, and Kelly?’

  ‘Yes?’ Kelly replied, warily.

  ‘I really wouldn’t go for that white dress for Cupcake. It’ll do nothing for her figure,’ Adele remarked and then waved dismissively and left.

  *

  Later on that day Jade and Kelly were on their way to the meeting with Tony.

  ‘I still can’t believe that Adele suggested our gorgeous little Cupcake was podgy,’ Kelly huffed moodily, shaking her head; her thick, blonde, freshly blow-dried luscious waves bouncing. It was all they had spoken about since it had happened. They’d said goodbye to Lisa, who was also furious with Adele’s remark, and then Jade and Kelly had had their hair done. It was so nice to simply sit there while someone made your hair look amazing. Jade’s long blonde hair extensions were quite hard to handle, and she’d got into the habit of having them blow dried whenever she could. It was worth the money in her opinion.

  ‘I know,’ Jade said for the umpteenth time, ‘it’s ridiculous. As if a puppy could be fat. She’s just jell.’

  ‘Who does she think she is? Coming over to us like we’re best mates. She even took your number! The cheek of it. I can’t bear her! And I never hate anyone. But picking on little Cupcake, well,’ Kelly shook her head violently, ‘that’s just taking things to another level.’

  ‘Let’s not waste any more time talking about her,’ Jade said, slightly bored with going over the same thing. ‘We need to get our business heads on now.’

  ‘Yes, you’re right,’ Kelly said, much to Jade’s contentment. ‘But I just can’t believe she called her fat!’

  Jade sighed. Why oh why did they have to bump into Adele today?

  Ten minutes later they were in Tony’s office in his home in Abridge.

  ‘Hi girls,’ he greeted them with a warm smile.

  ‘You alright, babe?’ Kelly said.

  Jade smiled and took one of the seats beside the computer.

  ‘How’s it all going then?’ Tony enquired, his hazel eyes sparkling. He ran his hand through his jet black hair, which Jade noticed had a few grey strands. ‘Got the bikinis made yet?’

  ‘I’ve made a few,’ Kelly explained. ‘But don’t worry, Tone, I’ll get them done in no time. You should see me on the sewing machine! I’m a whizz kid,’ she giggled.

  Jade nodded in agreement. ‘She’s really good. I’ll be helping out too,’ she told him.

  ‘Great. It would be good to get some images of the bikinis sooner rather than later,’ Tony advised. ‘We want to get the website up and running as soon as possible and obviously we’ll need the images so people can see what you have to offer. So I suppose you’ll need to get a photo shoot done.’

  Jade jotted it down in her red notebook and when Tony spotted her doing so he suggested some photographers they could contact that weren’t too expensive.

  ‘Thanks, that’s a great help,’ Jade smiled graciously as she took their phone numbers.

  She was so pleased that they were using Tony. Not only was he great at designing websites, but a really nice, helpful person too. He genuinely wanted the girls to make a success of their business and thought their idea was fantastic. She was still shocked at Sam’s remark about worrying about the two of them though. Yes, Tony was fairly attractive with his dark hair and strong jaw line, but even if Jade had been single, he was far too old for her and had a four-year-old daughter from a previous relationship. Sam had absolutely nothing to worry about.

  ‘Will you be modelling the bikinis yourself?’ Tony asked Jade with a half-smile.

  Jade felt herself blush. ‘As if! No, we’ll be getting other people to model for us.’

  Tony nodded as he rubbed the stubble on his jaw. ‘I’m sure you’d look just as good in them,’ he said, catching Jade’s eye and making her turn away uncomfortably. Tony changed the subject. ‘Okay, so I’ve already started Vajazzle My Bikini’s Facebook and Twitter page. You just need images to put on now, as well as getting people to like your page on Facebook and followers on Twitter of course.’

  ‘Thanks, hun,’ Kelly beamed as she plaited her hair.

  ‘In the meantime,’ Jade suggested, ‘let’s just use the photos of us in our bikinis in Marbs, which we designed.’

  ‘Good idea,’ Tony said. ‘I’ll go make us tea while you two add some images and start suggesting friends to like your page.’

  The girls added a few photos where they both agreed they looked nice and then started requesting friends to like their page.

  ‘Oh look,’ Kelly said excitedly a few minutes later, ‘we already have three likes on Facebook!’

  Jade’s heart melted when she saw one of them was Sam; he was so sweet and supportive. How lucky she was to have him.

  ‘Three likes already, well done,’ Tony smiled. ‘Okay, now I’ll show you the three designs I have for the homepage,’ Tony said, handing them a mug of tea each.

  The designs appeared on the screen on the computer. Kelly’s face lit up when she saw the last one. It had a black background with big pink glittery letters saying ‘Vajazzle My Bikini’. It had stars which moved across the screen and looked magical. Sample images of bikinis flashed on repeat and not only did it look extremely user friendly, but impressive too.

  ‘A hundred per cent the last one!’ Kelly said, ‘I just love it! Every swimwear website will be so jell of us!’

  ‘Yes, I agree,’ Jade said cheerfully. ‘The last one is perfect.’

  ‘Thought you were going to say that,’ Tony said with an amused smile.

  An hour and a half later Tony told them he was going away for two weeks.

  ‘It’s vital I show you the back end of the website tonight and teach you how to use it so you can get started,’ he said.

  Jade looked at her Michael Kors watch. It was six forty-five already. ‘Ho
w long will it take?’ she asked, dreading the answer.

  ‘To show you the whole thing so you understand?’ Tony thought for a few seconds. ‘Maybe two hours? Two and a half tops?’

  Kelly and Jade looked at each other, thinking the same thing: they both had plans.

  ‘Only one of you needs to stay,’ he added quickly when he saw their concerned expressions.

  ‘Babe, I’ll stay,’ Kelly offered kindly, ‘I’ll learn the computer stuff easy-peasy, honestly.’

  Kelly started pressing the computer screen, while Jade and Tony sat there, baffled.

  ‘Kelly, what are you doing? It’s not a touch screen!’

  Kelly started to giggle, ‘I thought I was using my iPhone for a minute! Need to get my brain into gear.’

  Jade stifled a giggle. It was sweet that Kelly had offered, but she could hardly even use her own laptop and always needed help with the simplest things, like how to turn it on! She even remembered the time Kelly had complained her laptop was stuck and wouldn’t open, not realising she had it the wrong way round when she was trying to lift the screen up. She doubted she’d ever have any clue about technical stuff. She knew Kelly hated computers and offices, one of the reasons she’d become a beautician.

  Jade took a deep breath. ‘Kelly, it’s lovely of you to offer, but I’ll stay and learn it.’

  ‘After seeing you do that, Kelly, I’d have to agree.’ Tony laughed. ‘I promise I’ll be as quick as possible, Jade.’

  Kelly nodded, knowing that was definitely the most sensible thing to do. ‘If you’re sure, Jade? I’ll stay too if you like?’

  ‘It’s fine; it only needs one of us. Honestly, you go.’

  ‘I’m sorry I can’t make it another day,’ Tony said, looking guilty, ‘it’s just I really think you should get it up and running ASAP.’

  ‘That’s okay,’ Jade said lightly, secretly worrying about letting Sam down again. ‘I’m going to drop Kelly off and then quickly drive to Sam’s and tell him I can’t make tonight. Would it be okay if I came back in about forty minutes?’ she asked Tony.

  ‘Perfect,’ Tony said, rubbing his hands together and getting out of his seat.

  After dropping Kelly off home to get ready to go out with Billy, Jade pulled into Sam’s drive. For the first time since they’d been a couple she actually felt a little nervous about his response.

  ‘Hi,’ he grinned, opening the front door and kissing her.

  ‘Bad news,’ Jade said as she walked into his bedroom and sat on his bed.

  Sam’s smile vanished. ‘You can’t come?’ he guessed, looking disappointed and making her feel terrible.

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ Jade said, ‘I’ll be done in a few hours and can meet you after if you like? I could co—’

  Sam interrupted her. ‘I’ve already bought the tickets for the cinema and booked a meal. Is there no way you can get out of it?’ he asked, unable to control his irritable tone.

  Jade shook her head, bit her lip and looked at the floor. ‘Tony is going on holiday for two weeks so it has to be done tonight.’

  Sam nodded, looking even more unimpressed now she’d mentioned his name. ‘Right.’

  ‘I can meet you after?’ Jade asked hopefully.

  ‘Don’t worry about it,’ Sam said curtly, looking away. ‘My mates are going to Sugar Hut tonight and I blew them off because I wanted to see you, but I’ll tell them my plans have changed. There’s no point in you rushing around for me when you have work to do.’

  Jade nodded, knowing he was angry. ‘Tomorrow?’

  Sam raised his shoulders. ‘I have a football match late afternoon and then I said I’d help my cousin move out.’

  ‘I can help you?’ she offered, desperate to make it up to him somehow.

  There was a long pause. ‘No, it’s going to be lifting loads of heavy things. Thanks anyway though.’

  Jade felt awkward. He was being slightly cold towards her and it hurt. She felt like he wanted her to leave. Sam was never like this normally; he was always so affectionate and loving. ‘Are we okay?’ she asked, her voice slightly shaky.

  He nodded and cleared his throat. ‘Fine.’

  ‘Okay, well I’d better be getting back to Tony,’ Jade told him, standing up and swinging her bag over her shoulder.

  ‘Of course,’ he said blankly, opening his bedroom door with an unreadable expression.

  Jade sighed sadly. ‘Speak to you soon then. Have a nice night.’

  As Jade left Sam’s flat, she felt unsettled. Was her business ruining her relationship?

  CHAPTER 3

  Adele was bored as she waited for her nails to dry. She grabbed her laptop from the dressing table and switched it on. As she waited for it to come alive, she thought about what had happened that day. She couldn’t believe she’d bumped into Kelly and Jade at last. She hadn’t seen them since Marbella and had been dying to go out with them on a night out. She’d been gutted when she realised she didn’t get their numbers after the holiday, even if things didn’t end on the best note. They always looked like they had fun when they went out and she knew they lived close to her, so it would be perfect to use them for that reason. She’d wanted to send them both a friend request on Facebook, but had worried that they wouldn’t accept it because of what had happened in Marbella. Surely they were over her stealing their junk from the market to sew on their swimwear? Adele couldn’t handle the thought of them rejecting her friend request, she was far too proud for that, so in the end she had stopped herself. Kelly, Jade and Lisa had all looked like such good friends today; Adele wanted to be included in their plans and go out for girly nights, lunches and shopping trips. They were nauseatingly pretty though; could she really handle being around them all the time and having to fight for attention? She cursed herself for thinking that way. Of course she could – she was easily as attractive as them, if not more so. She’d heard that Jade was going out with Sam now. She absolutely hated the thought of them together and could kick herself that her plan to split them up in Marbella hadn’t worked. Oh well, Jade was welcome to her sloppy seconds, Adele thought nastily. She’d already been there, done that and got the t-shirt.

  She was going to Sugar Hut tonight with an old friend from school called Donna. They’d become really close recently and Adele loved going out with her because Donna was a bit on the heavy side, which meant she ended up stealing all the limelight. Donna did everything she said too and Adele loved it that she always got to pick where they went out. Adele liked being in control; she had to be, in fact. They were friends at school, but had lost contact when Donna went to college and then off to university.

  Adele had contacted Donna after her mum had bumped into Donna’s mum and told her Donna worked for Mulberry in the head office. Why couldn’t Adele land an amazing job like that? She didn’t even want to think about the discounts she must get, which Donna was very tight-lipped about. Some people just had it so lucky. So what if Donna had a degree in fashion and marketing? She didn’t exactly look the part, being a size sixteen (though secretly Adele thought she looked more like a size eighteen and that maybe she was lying). Adele would be much better suited to a fun job like that, and it angered her that sometimes life was just so unfair. She was hoping Donna could get her in the company somehow, but so far she’d been nothing but useless, saying some crap about how she couldn’t and she’d have to go through the normal hiring process. Whatever! Everyone knew that if you knew someone in a company they could always manage to get you in somehow and put in a good word. Adele hadn’t really worked since Marbella, she realised as she stretched her legs out on the bed. She’d done the odd couple of shifts in her mum’s boutique in Ongar, but apart from that, nothing. She was getting slightly bored, she had to admit. Money was never an issue, her dad made sure of that, but she did feel the need to do something with her life, other than going shopping, getting her hair done and just sitting around and looking pretty. She wondered if she should try modelling or acting or something interesting like that
and told herself she’d look into it on Monday.

  Maybe she should text Jade and ask her to come out tonight? See if Kelly and that other Lisa girl wanted to come too? It was sometimes a bit boring being with just Donna and Adele imagined it would be much more fun with a group of them. She took her phone from her dressing gown pocket.

  Hey babe. How are you? Fancy coming out tonight? I’ve got a table with champers? On me of course Xx

  The reply came back almost instantly.

  Busy, sorry x

  Is that it? Adele thought, infuriated. No, ‘I’m fine thanks’, ‘how are you?’ or ‘thanks for the offer’. There was no need to be so short; it was just plain rude! Who did Jade think she was, treating her like unwanted rubbish?

  Adele logged into her Facebook account miserably for a browse. Donna would be round soon and she’d have to start on her hair. She noticed that one of her friends had ‘liked’ a company called Vajazzle My Bikini. Intrigued, she clicked on it and when the image of Jade and Kelly appeared on her screen, Adele couldn’t believe her eyes. So they had decided to make their customised swimwear into a business had they? She looked at the company information and read that they were making special and unique swimwear, perfect for pool parties. She assumed it had just been a little hobby when they were away, but they were actually taking it further! She felt a wave of anger and jealousy wash over her. Why hadn’t she done that? Adele would love to have her own business and make swimwear! She’d wasted so much time doing nothing, when she could have been creating her own business and getting there before those two airheads. At the bottom of their company information something caught her eye. It said ‘website coming soon’. So they didn’t have a website yet then? Maybe she could do the same thing and get there first? Adele’s heart beat faster as ideas raced around in her mind. She needed to speak to her dad who owned a very successful property development business; he’d be able to help her and put her in touch with the right people. Picking up her phone, she called him.