by Ilana Fox
Mia stared at him. Suddenly, through all the tender glances and softly spoken words, Mia could see the glint of steel in Joshua’s eyes. She was back on familiar territory, but it unnerved her.
‘And if I want to put the magazine’s interests first rather than your personal ones …?’ Mia asked.
‘Then I shall fire you.’ Joshua had nearly finished his plate of food, and he curled up his mouth in amusement. ‘You have to remember, darling, that not only do I own the magazine, but I also own you. And if you won’t have a relationship with me I will see to it that not only do you not work on a Garnet magazine ever again, but that every other publishing company knows that you are such a power-hungry bitch that you forged an email from Madeline and sent it to the Media Guardian to get her sacked.’
Mia went white. She had no idea that Joshua had known she was behind that.
‘It suited me at the time because Madeline was a lame duck who couldn’t run the magazine or get pregnant to save her fucking life, but if you’re not going to play fair then neither am I.’
Joshua finished his meal and looked at Mia’s nearly untouched plate.
‘Not hungry, darling?’ he said, in his gentle, caring-boyfriend voice. Mia shook her head. ‘Then why don’t we go back to your flat? I have a proposition I would like to discuss with you. I had rather hoped we would be able to talk about it in here, but I can see that this restaurant is making you grouchy. I’d much prefer you were in comfortable surroundings before I ask you the most important question of your life.’
Mia held Joshua’s gaze for what felt like minutes. Yet once more he had taunted her with the threat that if she crossed him she would never be able to work in the magazine business in the UK again, and it made her seethe. The last time Joshua had spoken to her like that she’d run away to Florida – but this time, well … Mia wasn’t a little girl any more, and she wasn’t going to let him think he could treat her like that again.
Joshua offered Mia his arm, and as she took it she looked up at him and gave him a dazzling smile. Joshua interpreted it as Mia guessing that he was about to propose, and as he led Mia out of Claridge’s foyer he felt the small Asprey box in his jacket pocket. He knew that Mia was only making a scene about giving up work because he hadn’t offered her a ring, and now that he was about to he could see Mia’s silly tantrum about wanting to work full-time fading away. If she was a good girl, he thought, he would let her be a consultant on Gloss. Why, she could be editor-at-large for as long as she wanted provided she got pregnant. He shot Mia a tender smile, and was relieved to see her smiling back at him.
As her Jimmy Choos clicked against the black and white tiled floor of the foyer, Mia realised that for the past few years her life had been like a game of chess. She had plotted and planned so much that with every step forward and back she had let herself get caught up in the tactics of playing rather than concentrating on winning the game itself. Mia pulled her soft grey cashmere shrug over her shoulders to keep herself warm, and as she did so she realised she had almost forgotten her aim – to take down the king and acquire control of the board. Mia smiled to herself as they crossed the foyer and walked into the crisp night air. It was the right moment, she thought, to tell Joshua exactly who he had fallen in love with.
Chapter Twenty
Joshua was going to go nuclear, Mia thought, as she sashayed seductively across her living-room to hand him a whisky. As she leant down to pass him the Tiffany cut-crystal tumbler, she caught sight of herself in the darkness of her floor-to-ceiling window. She paused slightly as she once again acknowledged just how beautiful she was. Her long limbs were lightly tanned, her make-up was as fresh as it had been when she’d applied it earlier in the evening, and her cheeks were flushed with anticipation.
Mia smiled softly at Joshua and then walked over to the antique mirror to scrutinise herself properly. Yes, she was stunning, but there was something about her reflection that made her feel uncomfortable: she was too perfect. Mia remembered how she used to look, and rather than disliking the memory of her former appearance, she was haunted by an image of a happier, more carefree girl. As much as she loved her Balenciaga gown, the Cartier garnet and diamond necklace that sparkled against her neck, and her expensive gold-spun highlights, she’d have been happier in jeans and a sloppy T-shirt. She wanted to be herself again.
Across the river Big Ben began to chime midnight, and Mia suppressed a tiny smile. It was so apt. This was the moment when Cinderella turned from the mysterious woman who stole Prince Charming’s heart back into the put-upon scullery maid, and Mia was about to do the same.
In the mirror Mia could see Joshua walking over to her with a fond expression on his face, and as he turned round he produced a small Asprey jewellery box and got down on one knee. Mia tried not to look pleased. Joshua really believed that she would accept his proposal and give up running Gloss magazine.
‘Mia Blackwood,’ he announced theatrically in his booming voice, ‘will you marry me?’
It was one of those chick-flick moments that Joshua was so keen on, and as if on cue he flipped the lid on the box to expose the largest pink princess-cut diamond Mia had ever seen. She tried not to laugh. She’d always known that Joshua traded in magazine clichés, but this was ridiculously over the top, even for him. His divorce hadn’t even come through yet.
‘Oh, Josh,’ Mia said with a sigh, glancing at the platinum ring with minimal interest. ‘What if I told you that at midnight I turn from being the beautiful princess into one of the ugly sisters? Would you still love me then?’ Mia scrutinised Joshua’s face while keeping hers as emotionless as possible. She sounded like she was in a play, but she knew it fitted the situation perfectly.
Joshua laughed patronisingly, and scooped Mia up into his arms.
‘You and your fairy stories,’ he said, kissing Mia’s nose affectionately. Mia slithered from his grip in a quiet rage and took a deep breath. She was going in for the kill.
‘Joshua, I’m serious.’ Mia’s eyes glinted with steely determination. ‘You sit in your gilded office and think you know everyone and everything, but how much do you really know about me? I’m willing to bet you haven’t a clue about the secret in my past.’
Joshua burst out laughing. ‘“Secret in your past”? Why the melodrama, darling, and what on earth are you talking about?’ Joshua took Mia’s hands in his and smiled. ‘Did you once make a porn movie in Hollywood when you were helping your brother start his career? Might I have seen it?’ Joshua’s tone was light, but Mia knew he was worried. He couldn’t have a wife with any skeletons in her closet. ‘Because I’d rather like to watch you having sex … especially considering you’ve been making me wait all this time.’
Mia’s green eyes narrowed and her voice turned to ice. ‘Don’t be stupid,’ she snapped, and Joshua stopped laughing as he saw how serious the beautiful woman in front of him was. ‘Take a closer look at me, Josh,’ she said with slight menace in her tone. ‘Don’t you remember me? Because after all this time I never forgot you.’
Mia took a deep breath, and as the memories of her childhood, her time as Joshua’s PA, the pain of the surgery in Miami and, finally, winning Editor of the Year consumed her, she knew it was time to say those cruel little words that would crush him.
‘I’m Joanne Hill, sweetheart.’ Mia’s voice broke and suddenly her icy tones sounded bitter. ‘You know … the fat girl who was so desperate to write for one of your magazines that she let you bully her when she worked as your PA? You remember who I am, don’t you? I think your exact words when you sacked me were that you’d make sure nobody else would employ me, and that I should “stop eating and hope that I rot into something more attractive”.’
Mia let out a little laugh as she realised her voice had taken on the cold tones she had heard Joshua use so often in meetings, and as she stared at her boss she was pleased to note he was pale.
‘So no, Mr Garnet, I don’t think I will marry you. Unless, that is, you still want to marry me.�
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Joshua let the small velvet box fall to the floor. His white face suddenly gleamed with a fine layer of perspiration, and Mia marvelled at how panicked he looked. She had never seen Joshua as anything but calm and collected, and she realised, with pleasure, that she had finally got to him. Game, set and match, she thought triumphantly.
‘You’re lying,’ Joshua spluttered, as he forced himself to look at the woman who he had thought was going to produce the Garnet heir. ‘You’re Gable Blackwood’s little sister, not that fat bitch who used to be my PA.’
Mia laughed cruelly. ‘You don’t sound so sure,’ she said, taunting him.
‘Is this some fucking joke?’ He took Mia’s arms roughly, pulling her closely towards him so he could stare at her face. Mia could smell the whisky on his breath and she was glad it hadn’t dulled his reaction to her announcement. ‘There’s no way you’re Joanne Hill,’ he finally announced, and Mia heard the tension in his voice. ‘She could never have turned into a woman like you.’
Mia removed his hands from her arms and took a step backwards, pleased that Garnet Publishing had thought to put panic buttons in every room of the flat. Even though she was sure Joshua wasn’t going to do anything to hurt her, she had never seen him so agitated, so angry. Mia took a deep breath and resolved to lower the imaginary guillotine even closer to his neck.
‘Look at my eyes, Joshua,’ she said softly. ‘Look deep into them and tell me they’re different to the ones that would have haunted you if only you had some morals. Don’t you remember them? Don’t you recall how they used to look at you adoringly right up until you told me I was worthless? How they turned to hate when you refused to give me a chance?’
Joshua stared at Mia for what felt like hours, and just as she began to feel worried about what he would do next he gave her a twisted, acidic smile. Through his narrowed eyes he picked out some of Joanne’s features on Mia’s face, and even though he could barely believe it, he could see traces of the girl who had formerly been his PA. Although Joanne had thinned down, Joshua could see that the shape of her face was the same, and that her nose – although slimmer – was roughly the same shape as he remembered. But it was Mia’s eyes that disturbed him the most. As she looked directly at him, he wondered how he had ever failed to see that they were the same murky green that used to irritate him, especially when Jo had dared to look him in the eye as he chastised her. He couldn’t believe that he had fallen so hard for Mia that he had never noticed that her raw sex appeal barely hid the same characteristics of his mousy PA. Joshua felt his whole body tense up in fury.
Joshua stared at Mia with the iciest glare she had ever seen, and finally, he spoke. ‘So it’s true,’ he spat angrily. ‘Well, Joanne, top marks for reinventing yourself. But I’m curious – what did you do to raise the money for surgery? Whore your body to men who like to fuck fat girls?’
Mia laughed. Nothing he could say would ever hurt her again.
‘You paid for it, darling. Olivia Windsor thanks you from the bottom of her cold, black heart. It’s just as well you didn’t believe me when I told you I was writing for Gloss using that pseudonym, or I’d have needed to take out a loan. But am I to take it that the engagement is off? It’s a pity because I would have liked to give birth to your treasured little Garnet heirs. It would have given me great pleasure to see dumpy little versions of Joanne Hill running your magazine company – the greatest revenge ever.’
Joshua crossed his arms against his chest defensively, and Mia could see that her words stung.
‘You think you’re so clever, don’t you, Joanne,’ Joshua said harshly, and Mia grinned at him. She was on a high from revealing her secret, and Joshua knew it. ‘But with one little phone call to my friends at the Guardian, I can ruin you. I can tell the journalists exactly what you told me, and within twenty-four hours they will have gathered enough research on you – medical records, birth certificates, bank accounts – to have an exclusive front-page story that will shock the world. I can see the headline now: “Mia Blackwood Committed ID Fraud for Petty Revenge.” Sounds good, don’t you think?’
‘Hardly,’ Mia laughed. Not only was she thousands of steps ahead of him, but she also loved every minute of seeing Joshua scrabble about desperately for some ammunition. His threats didn’t scare her, and nor did his mock-up of a headline. ‘Stick to the day job, Joshie. Although it’s lucky you’re a publisher and not a sub-editor, isn’t it? If you were a junior sub on Gloss I’d have sacked you for coming up with a crap headline like that.’
Joshua took his tiny black mobile phone from his pocket and flipped it open.
‘Keep laughing, Joanne, because as soon as I dial the number you’re history.’
Mia sighed dramatically, and walked over to her glass coffee table. On top of the sparkling surface lay some proofs of a magazine, and it was only when Mia handed them to Joshua that he realised that they weren’t for Gloss.
‘A four-page spread in the next Vanity Fair about how I changed my image and name to make it in the shallow world of magazines,’ Mia explained, as Joshua’s fingers gripped the inky proofs tightly in anger. ‘Gable – who isn’t really my brother, although I’m sure you’ve realised that by now, darling – gives his insight into why he pretended to be related to me, and Jessie, the journalist who did the piece, cleverly weaves my life story in with the horrid reality of the cosmetic surgery I undertook. I must say, it’s a great article. You might want to consider Jessie as a freelance for Gloss.’
Mia leant over the proofs, brushing her breast against Joshua’s arm, and pointed out some of the photos. ‘Look, here’s me at my last day at school – don’t I look miserable? – and here’s some photos from a shoot I did a couple of weeks ago. It’s a bit like playing spot the difference, isn’t it?’ she said, conversationally. ‘Only it’s more “guess what work Jo had done on her body and where”.’ Joshua looked up from the proofs with such rage that Mia suddenly wondered if she was going too far.
‘You fucking bitch,’ Joshua said to her abrasively, and even though she was slightly scared, Mia gave Joshua another brilliant grin.
‘The magazine is out next week, but I wanted to tell you about it myself before someone at the printers leaked the story to the News of the World. If you like you can keep these proofs. I don’t need them any more,’ Mia said, but straight away Joshua ripped them up and let the pieces of shiny paper drop to the floor. He glared at her for the longest time, and then, quite without warning, a smile spread on his face, and Joshua suddenly looked pleased with himself.
‘There’s still the matter of the fraudulent email that you sent to the Media Guardian – the one that resulted in my having to sack Madeline,’ Joshua said, slowly walking around the room. She hadn’t considered that, he thought, triumphantly. He was going to nail the bitch if it was the last thing he did. When Mia didn’t speak instantly Joshua spun round, and was surprised to see Mia still looked calm.
‘Ah, yes. That,’ Mia said matter of factly. ‘Well, that’s covered too, I’m afraid. I’ve spoken to Madeline and she knows all about it. She was a bit shocked at first, I have to admit, but when I explained why I had to do it she eventually came round. She even admitted that if the roles had been reversed she’d have considered doing it too. We had quite a little reunion, you know,’ Mia said, her voice taking on an amused tone. ‘And what surprised me most of all was how little Madeline knew about you and your sham of a marriage. But don’t you worry – I filled her in on the gaps.’
Joshua narrowed his eyes. She was bluffing, he thought. She had to be. ‘You “filled her in”? Really, Joanne, I do sometimes forget that you’re just a kid. You can be so tiresome when you’re trying to be dramatic. Spit it out.’
Mia took a deep breath. ‘Fine. I told Madeline that you only married her so you could control Garnet Publishing,’ Mia said, raising her eyebrows and watching Joshua’s lack of expression with interest. His face remained poker-straight from years of business experience. ‘She didn’t bel
ieve me at first, but once I told her everything I knew about you, she realised just how naïve she had been. The truth hurt, but she needed to understand just why you discarded her like a piece of shit. I mean, she always knew you had an eye for the ladies – which was why she asked me to be your PA in the first place – but she really didn’t think you were so stupid to start having affairs again.’ Mia watched Joshua’s eyes widen. ‘When Madeline came round to the fact that I was telling the truth, she told me more about you and your home life. I never knew, Joshua, that your father really believed that Madeline was mentally ill. And I certainly didn’t realise that for the whole time you were married, your father believed you were faithful to your wife. Really,’ Mia continued, with a wink, ‘I’d have thought that it would be a Garnet tradition to have mistresses, but it sounds as though your father is quite the moral, family man. I wonder how he would feel if his former beloved daughter-in-law phoned him up to tell him that not only was she sent to a clinic when she was actually mentally fit, but also that his son had an awful lot of affairs when he was supposed to be concentrating on producing heirs and building the family business up.’
Joshua scowled. ‘You have no proof,’ he said, crossing his arms and walking around the room again.
‘Wrong again, darling,’ Mia said. ‘When I was your PA I had access to your email in-box. Well, I very cleverly made copies of all your emails to Marina, as well as to Jasmine, Natasha and Serena, and not only that, I took the liberty of photocopying your diary one night, too.’ Mia laughed quietly to herself as Joshua stopped pacing and stood deadly still. ‘All those nights you made me work late really paid off.’
‘The media wouldn’t dare to run any of these stories,’ Joshua said angrily. ‘Rupert Murdoch is a good friend of mine, and as for the Barclay brothers and Lord Rothermere—’
Mia interrupted him. ‘But stories like this sell, Joshie. You and I both know that. Can you imagine opening the Sun and seeing Debbie in some tarty red lingerie? If she was offered a couple of quid she’d do it in a second – it would be her big break and before you knew it she would be a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother, crying her eyes out about how badly she’s been treated. Or how about a hand-wringing piece in the Guardian about how bosses always take advantage of their employees? This is a story that even the most discreet of newspaper proprietors wouldn’t worry about running. Especially if you add in the fact that you got your perfectly sane wife sent to a private hospital just to get her out of your life.’
