by Clare Ashton
‘Was she with you all night?’ Rafe snapped.
‘No. She’s a big girl. She went to the loo by herself and I didn’t escort her home. I’m not going to report on her every move. You have to trust her.’
Rafe shifted his weight from foot to foot, distressed. Pia could see his whole body wound with tension, his usual positive energy channelled into rage. He snatched his arm away from the woman and swung round.
‘For fuck’s sake!’ His face was red with frustration. He twisted from side to side, his arms flailing. He seemed to be searching for something to vent his anger upon and he halted when he spotted the metal waste paper bin. With angry energy he lashed out and kicked it unrestrained across the office. The bin crashed into the wall and clattered as it bounced away across the floor. The fury in his voice had troubled Pia enough, but seeing his buoyant vitality turn into such rage made her flinch away from the doorway. She shuffled back.
‘If I ever get my hands on the fucker…’ he shouted.
She backed away quicker, scuffing her heels on the carpet as she sped up along the corridor.
‘Hey, hey, careful.’ A soft conciliatory voice came from behind her. Warm arms enveloped her to cushion the collision. She twirled around knowing without a doubt who was behind her.
‘Hi,’ Cate said.
‘Morning.’ Pia sulked and talked down to her feet.
‘I’m sorry about yesterday.’
Pia continued to stare at her shoes. She realised that her bottom lip was protruding. She pursed her lips with resolve and peered up, determined to behave like a grown up.
Cate looked tired. Her eyes were dark and heavy as if from a long and troubled night. Was it Cate that Rafe had been angry with? Pia stared into her eyes. Whatever Rafe saw, Pia couldn’t see any duplicity there.
‘Are you OK?’ Cate breathed.
Pia nodded and tried to assume an unaffected appearance.
‘It’s a good job I bumped into you. I needed to warn you—’
‘Benitez-Smith! Gillespie!’ This time it was Ed’s voice that bellowed. ‘My office. Now!’
Cate raised her eyebrows and sucked air through her teeth. ‘Too late.’
Pia cowered and followed Cate to Ed’s lair. They sat in front of the desk and waited for Ed who stared out the window with fists on her hips. She swirled round.
‘Rumour has it,’ Ed shouted, ‘that at yesterday’s show, Elana Devanka was off her tits.’
A bolt of fear shot through Pia.
‘Rumour has it that she completely lost it, cried like a baby and wailed for a rat.’
Pia gripped her knees in an effort to keep them from shaking but the tension set off tremors through her whole body.
‘Rumour has it that she looked like a stick-thin raccoon that had been shat on by a vulture and mauled by a bear.’ Ed flicked her glare between them, her eyeballs protruding. ‘Now that sounds like a perfect news item for this shitty little mag. Don’t you think?’
Pia blushed and started to open her mouth.
‘And,’ Ed cut her off with her loudest shout yet, ‘rumour also has it that Elana Devanka was spirited away by a kind-hearted reporter and her friend from outer space.’
Pia found herself curling up and studying her hands in a way she hadn’t done since school. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Cate, serious but meeting Ed’s stare.
‘You two need to have a damned good article on my desk by close of business. Otherwise, I don’t care who you are or who you’ve fucked, your arses will be kicked off this magazine. Do I make myself clear?’
They both nodded in silence.
‘You’ve been about as fucking useful as a tampon for an eighty-year-old. Now piss off out of my sight.’ And Ed turned her back to them.
They wandered up the corridor. Whether Cate wiped her forehead out of stress or because of the heat Pia couldn’t tell. Pia was shaking, from eavesdropping on the angry Rafe and from Ed’s tirade. She breathed out trying to calm her nerves.
‘I’m sorry. This is my fault,’ Pia said.
Cate shook her head. ‘No it’s not. You didn’t need to persuade me. I didn’t have the heart to take advantage and ruin a model’s career either.’
‘Pity it’s sunk ours,’ Pia added. Her belly felt hollow from the blasts of ill temper she’d witnessed and at the thought of losing her job.
Cate shook her head irritated. ‘I can’t think in this heat.’ She wiped her brow again. ‘I thought the after-show party would be the best source of gossip, so I have no material for an article. I hadn’t started taking notes. Stupid. I was so stupid.’
‘But you were talking to everyone.’
‘Empty chit chat. Nothing of substance at all. Apart from the odd good friend.’ Cate breathed out long and hard. ‘How about you? What did you get?’
Pia coloured. ‘I haven’t checked yet. I wasn’t in the best mood last night.’
A flicker of discomfort twitched across Cate’s face. ‘I am sorry. I’m—’
At that moment another bout of ill-tempered conversation burst out of Ed’s office.
‘Come on,’ said Cate. ‘I’ve got other jobs I can fall back on. But I don’t think you have. How about we go through your photos and see if we can salvage something between us.’
Pia smiled, despite herself. ‘Shall we go somewhere a bit calmer and cooler?’
Cate nodded, stress still pinching her features.
Pia took them the length of Fleet Street, past the immoveable block and dome of St Paul’s and the financial centre of the city that baked in the morning heat. She stopped at Leon for two takeaway drinks of fresh lemon, mint and ginger and guided a perplexed Cate through the patchwork of old institutions and new office blocks.
‘Wait, you’ll see.’ Pia grinned.
They cut down a small unpromising road past a large bank and at the last moment they saw it: a small old church, St Dunstan’s in the East, nestled in between the office blocks. The building hadn’t been as lucky as St Paul’s in the Blitz and although the tower remained intact it was an empty shell with no roof or interior.
Pia led Cate through the black gates. They ducked in through the gap left by the burned church doors, the remaining archway now overgrown with Virginia creeper. Inside had been landscaped and planted into a serene garden. Cobbled pathways swept around the edges underneath hanging trees that shaded and cooled. A fountain trickled in the old nave of the ruin and the shell walls were wrapped in vines and wisteria. Spaces where stained glass windows had once shone multicoloured beams into the church were now a luminous green of sun-lit foliage.
They sat on the cool shaded grass by the walls and Cate gazed around. ‘It’s so quiet.’
The only other visitor was a man in a suit, taking a nap on a bench. It was difficult to believe they were in the middle of a world-class financial district.
Pia smiled. ‘It gets busier at lunchtime, when people bring their sandwiches, but it’s always quiet and calming. People unwind here.’
Pia could see Cate’s tension dissipate. She sipped her tangy lemon-mint drink and took in the peaceful atmosphere, her shoulders relaxing.
‘Trust you to know of somewhere secret and beautiful like this,’ Cate said.
Pia felt the warmth of the compliment and couldn’t help but be buoyed by it.
‘You can hear birds.’ Cate peered over to the fountain where two small sparrows with big attitudes were fighting about something important in the water. She sighed. ‘Oh this makes me want to move to the country.’
Pia nodded, feeling the same ache when presented with a small tempting morsel like this. ‘I know what you mean.’
‘Do you?’ Cate sounded surprised. ‘I took you for a consummate Londoner.’
Pia shrugged. I love it and I can’t think of many places more fascinating. There’s always something new or old and exciting round every corner. But I love the countryside too. My dad made sure of that.’ She laughed. ‘He used to take me walking in the South Downs whe
n I was little, and when I was a baby too. There are pictures of me as a large toddler in a homemade carrier on his back. He cut leg holes in his old army rucksack and lobbed me in.’
She beamed at Cate, elated by the memories.
‘You’re very fond of your dad aren’t you?’ Cate said, her head tilted to the side. ‘Do you miss him?’
‘Yes I do.’ Pia didn’t hide any of her melancholy. ‘He’s four years into his sentence, and it’s been very hard on mum. But even from inside a prison he’s still the best dad in the world.’
Cate smiled at her and looked away. ‘I never knew my father. I’m quite envious.’
Pia felt a twinge of sadness and also surprise that Cate found anything of her to envy. She yearned to ask Cate more about her family, past, anything and everything, but Cate’s gaze was removed and didn’t invite polite enquiry.
‘Come on,’ Cate said. ‘Let’s look at those photos.’
They were three pictures into the collection on her laptop when Pia remembered what a large proportion of them featured Cate. There was the empty catwalk with the design team administering last minute changes, with Cate in the foreground waving. Another of the arena filling before the show, crowds filing down aisles, with Cate beautiful in profile. Cate tapped through the pictures while a hot blush crept up Pia’s neck. She began to sweat. Cool droplets formed on her back and she swiped at her brow trying to hide her discomfort.
Cate didn’t seem to notice and Pia prayed that the later pictures had more variety. Pia sighed with relief at the pictures of excited anonymous guests filling the arena and then groaned when the sequence changed to a close-up of the renowned actress with Cate glowing by her side. Pia covered her eyes when the next photo showed Cate: a beautiful shot that caught her unguarded smile, and also her unguarded cleavage. Cate politely skipped over the image.
‘Oh, this is a very good one of her.’
Pia slid her finger to the side and peeped out. It was another close up of the actress. Her face was creased in mirth with, of course, Cate by her side wonderfully exposed.
‘If we crop it,’ Cate added, so deadpan that Pia blushed to her roots.
Pia closed her eyes and decided that listening to Cate flicking through the photos was torture enough. The laptop clicked for hundreds of photos, as tortuous as a dripping tap, all the while without comment from Cate. Then it stopped. All Pia could hear was the faintest breeze through the leaves above, argumentative sparrows and the hum of the city.
‘This is stunning,’ Cate whispered.
Pia slipped her hands away, hoping she hadn’t taken a shot that had zoomed all the way into Cate’s bra.
It was the photo she’d taken by instinct from the hip on the wide-angle lens. Aimed up at the ceiling, it showed the full-bodied models towering above the cat walk. They struck up into the bright, exploding stage lights like heroic statues and, around the edge, were silhouettes of the audience on their feet applauding and worshipping them.
Cate regarded her. ‘You’ve got good shots all the way through, but this one’s incredible.’
Pia felt sheepish at the praise. ‘It was a lucky shot. I took it without thinking.’
‘Rubbish. When I take a photo without thinking I get a blurred shot of my nostrils. This is an excellent shot, and if Ed doesn’t keep you on because of this she’s insane.’
‘Well, she is mad.’ Pia sighed.
Cate laughed. ‘Indeed. But you know what I mean.’ She stared back at the screen. ‘I think we can pull an article out of these. The triumph and adoration of nature’s wonderful variety—real models take the fashion show by storm. What do you think?’
Pia nodded and grinned.
She wandered the gardens while Cate sat cross-legged on the grass tapping the laptop. She looked younger sitting there, her shoes discarded on the grass and her bare feet tucked beneath her knees. Pia imagined that’s how she must have been as a student, studying in the gardens of Cambridge; a beautiful young woman in a simple summer dress with nothing as troublesome as a billionaire husband to complicate her life. A twinge of sadness pulled at her heart and Pia wished she could have met Cate back then.
Cate beckoned Pia over, eager to present her article. ‘Could you have a quick read? We’re running out of time.’
Pia sat down. She loved Cate’s turn of phrase, and the way she appealed to popular tastes while giving the article substance with her articulate insights. Pia felt embarrassed that Cate had asked her to comment on it, it was so beyond her skills.
‘What do you think?’ Cate asked, wringing her hands with impatience.
‘I think you’re a very good writer.’ Pia was now in awe of Cate more than ever before.
‘Do you think Ed will go for it?’
‘I don’t know. All I know is that I wish I could write like that.’
Cate hesitated. ‘That’s a lovely thing to say Pia.’
‘It’s true. I wouldn’t lie to you.’
‘Always honest,’ Cate said, a sad smile on her face. Her hand twitched, and for a moment, Pia thought she might lift her fingers to Pia’s cheek. They gazed at each other and Pia was lost in the face she’d first been entranced by in Kensington Gardens. The large eyes, the cheeks flushed rose, those soft full lips. The impulse to lean forward and kiss her was overpowering. She knew how she would taste, how her lips would feel slipping over hers.
Cate blinked, collecting herself, and pulled away. She gulped to clear her throat. ‘I’ll email it to Ed. With the photos.’ And she turned away.
-
When they returned to the office, they peeped round Ed’s door. Ed lifted a hand to silence them and continued to stare at her laptop. She was still wearing a frown when she leaned back in her chair.
‘Well ladies.’ Ed peered over her glasses. ‘You’ve earned yourselves a reprieve. Come and sit down.’
Pia grinned and Cate squeezed her knee as they sat down.
‘It’s not the scandalous article I was after, but an uplifting read is a good balance for all the other muck we’re putting in the first edition. Cate, this is the kind of thing I imagine you could write in your sleep, but Pia.’ Ed turned her severe gaze to her and for a moment she thought her reprieve was very short-lasting indeed. ‘That photo is magnificent. I’ve seen all the agency shots from yesterday and there’s nothing that touches it. Keep it up shortarse.’
Pia’s fright evaporated into elation and she beamed at Cate who gave her a warm smile in return.
‘Now,’ said Ed. ‘There’s something I want to try to test out the demographics. It’ll be interesting to see how many hits this gets with the online version. I have a very dear and old friend with an interesting story.’ She hesitated and glanced at Pia. ‘A chat with Cate is all that’s strictly necessary, but I have a feeling she’ll take a shine to shortarse here and be more forthcoming.’
‘Who is she?’ Cate asked.
‘That you’ll find out.’ Ed smirked.
Cate raised an eyebrow at Ed’s game. ‘Do we have to guess where she lives as well?’
Ed hacked up a laugh. ‘Ah, she’s a cunning old thing. As well a decent bit of cash she wants a nice simple brasserie lunch. By which she means a meal at the Savoy. So you’ll meet her there for lunch.’
Cate’s face changed in an instant. Her willing engagement in Ed’s game switched to mortification and the warmth vanished from the room.
‘Is there a problem with that?’ Ed said, detecting the change in atmosphere.
When Cate didn’t answer, Pia stuttered. ‘No, that’s great.’ She said it with not a milligram of enthusiasm.
‘Good. Enjoy it.’ Ed frowned. ‘And don’t get used to working lunches like this. I want you back on soggy sandwiches before you can say cheap marg on white sliced. Now don’t fuck up.’ Ed ushered them out.
Pia could feel Cate’s tension as they walked from the room. As soon as they were beyond ear-shot Pia turned to her.
‘I’ll see you there.’ Cate was brusque and cut her off
. She disappeared down the corridor, without another look or word, and Pia stared after her.
Chapter 14.
Pia sat in the garden beneath the artichoke and fennel plants. It was early morning but the sun had already burned off the dew. She could hear the district waking up, the crash of crates of bottles delivered to local stores, the rattle of metal shutters being rolled up from shop windows.
Pia stared at the mug of black coffee in her hands, watching the steam curl around the surface and dissipate in the warm air.
‘What you doing out here, mija?’ Her mother’s face appeared between two artichoke heads.
‘Hi Mama,’ Pia said, forlorn.
‘Oh dear.’ Her mother put on an exaggerated grieved expression. ‘It cannot be that bad.’ She ducked under the vegetation and squeezed her sizeable bottom beside Pia. ‘Come on. Tell your mama.’
‘Oh there’s nothing to tell.’
‘Puh.’ Her mother looked both unimpressed and unconvinced. ‘It’s this naughty chica, isn’t it?’
Pia sighed. The thought of lying to her mother made a fleeting appearance, but went whizzing by. She nodded.
‘What’s happened? Has she been bad to my Pia?’
‘No. No she hasn’t. In fact I don’t understand how she’s been treating me. That’s the problem.’ She peered at her mother. ‘One minute she’s my greatest ally, standing up for me in front of Ed, and the next she freezes on me.’
Her mother frowned. ‘How much time do you spend with this Cate, mija?’
‘Oh, not loads.’ She gave her mother a meek look. ‘I’ve been paired up with her for some assignments.’
‘Mmmhuh?’
‘She’s a brilliant writer and journalist. It’s very flattering that I’ve been assigned to her.’
‘And meanwhile she toys with you. Builds you up one moment and leaves you to fall the next.’
‘No. It’s not like that. She’s not a cruel person.’ Pia was desperate for her mother to understand Cate. ‘She… I… Just… I don’t know. Sometimes I think she likes me, as a friend, I mean someone good to work with, and then other times…’
