Read Online Can We Still Be Friends by Alexandra Shulman - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Alexandra Shulman
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near-certifiable alcoholic who handled many of London’s big launches and was masterminding the Kremlin bash.
‘Fitz, you and I go way back. We’ve got to work together on this, darling,’ Tania began. ‘It’s just not an option for both to open that evening.’ Her eyes rolled wildly, in a performance for her listening staff, silenced in anticipation of the outcome of the call.
‘Yes. Well. So have we lined up a great guest list. Of course we have, Fitz. What do you think I am? I didn’t fall off the back of the turnip truck yesterday. I’ve had the whole shebang in place for months now. We listed the date in the Restaurant Register. Don’t your people tell you anything?’ Cradling the phone in her neck, she pulled a cigarette from a packet on the desk, lit it and took a deep drag.
‘You don’t sound good, Fitz. Bit early for a drink, love, isn’t it? Maybe that’s what’s clouding your judgement?’ But Tania knew she had lost this round. She slammed the phone down.
‘He was always a rotten lay,’ she informed the room. ‘Who’s his special guest, then? Any of you lot know? I pay you to be eyes and ears, so I hope you’re not deaf, blind and dumb.’
‘Bryan Ferry? Maybe?’ Lee offered cautiously, aware that by handing over this titbit he was putting his head above the parapet.
‘Bryan Ferry? Christ. Where did you hear that?’
‘Someone mentioned it at Slum It In Style last night. But I didn’t know it was going to clash with Chelsea Bridge.’ Lee could feel the sympathetic eyes of the others on him. When Tania was like this,they had learnt it was wise to keep quiet. Even so, if Fitzherbert really had got Ferry, they were going to be under pressure to trump that. And it was only weeks away.
‘Lord help me. Now I’m getting my feedback from Slum It In Style. Maybe that’s why you’ve had a bit of a style bypass today,’ Tania tossed back, leaning over Lee. He could see the line of foundation that had gathered around the joint of her nose, the small clots of mascara at the end of her lashes. She could be a right bitch sometimes. Yet despite knowing that her last comment was a missile she could have hurled anywhere, Lee suddenly worried that, possibly, it was true: his T-shirt might be ripped in some of the wrong places.
It was war.
‘Get on the phone and track down Jennifer Beals and that guy who’s with her in
Flashdance
: they’re over here at the moment. Her agent owes me one big-time,’ Tania commanded.
Annie had just put the phone down when Jackson’s call came through. Expecting another celebrity’s PA explaining that their boss would be out of town, she had answered half-heartedly.
‘Annie? Hello, it’s Jackson. Can I persuade you to come and have a bite with me on Thursday?’
Annie felt her stomach lurch. It was always that way, the call coming just when you weren’t prepared. Should she pretend she was busy? Was Thursday, only three days away, too soon for her to be free?
‘The peaches … they were amazing … thanks.’
‘My pleasure. You had to cart all that stuff around for us. It was the least I could do. But, from my end, the meeting was certainly lucky.’ His voice was deep, inflected with the drawl of a public-school education.
‘Thursday … was it?’
‘Yes, Thursday. I thought we could meet at Zanzibar about eight thirty?’
‘Ah …’ What should she say? Something, though. She wassounding daft. ‘Lovely … thanks,’ she managed to get out. Annie replaced the receiver, glad that everybody else was too busy to have overheard her conversation. She went about the rest of the day hugging every word of the short call to herself.
Now the evening had arrived and the pleasure of anticipation was cut with nerves. She pulled a scoop-neck purple top out from the chaos of the bed and tried it on with a straight white skirt cinched in with a brown leather belt. It emphasized her figure, which managed to be simultaneously curvaceous and
‘Fitz, you and I go way back. We’ve got to work together on this, darling,’ Tania began. ‘It’s just not an option for both to open that evening.’ Her eyes rolled wildly, in a performance for her listening staff, silenced in anticipation of the outcome of the call.
‘Yes. Well. So have we lined up a great guest list. Of course we have, Fitz. What do you think I am? I didn’t fall off the back of the turnip truck yesterday. I’ve had the whole shebang in place for months now. We listed the date in the Restaurant Register. Don’t your people tell you anything?’ Cradling the phone in her neck, she pulled a cigarette from a packet on the desk, lit it and took a deep drag.
‘You don’t sound good, Fitz. Bit early for a drink, love, isn’t it? Maybe that’s what’s clouding your judgement?’ But Tania knew she had lost this round. She slammed the phone down.
‘He was always a rotten lay,’ she informed the room. ‘Who’s his special guest, then? Any of you lot know? I pay you to be eyes and ears, so I hope you’re not deaf, blind and dumb.’
‘Bryan Ferry? Maybe?’ Lee offered cautiously, aware that by handing over this titbit he was putting his head above the parapet.
‘Bryan Ferry? Christ. Where did you hear that?’
‘Someone mentioned it at Slum It In Style last night. But I didn’t know it was going to clash with Chelsea Bridge.’ Lee could feel the sympathetic eyes of the others on him. When Tania was like this,they had learnt it was wise to keep quiet. Even so, if Fitzherbert really had got Ferry, they were going to be under pressure to trump that. And it was only weeks away.
‘Lord help me. Now I’m getting my feedback from Slum It In Style. Maybe that’s why you’ve had a bit of a style bypass today,’ Tania tossed back, leaning over Lee. He could see the line of foundation that had gathered around the joint of her nose, the small clots of mascara at the end of her lashes. She could be a right bitch sometimes. Yet despite knowing that her last comment was a missile she could have hurled anywhere, Lee suddenly worried that, possibly, it was true: his T-shirt might be ripped in some of the wrong places.
It was war.
‘Get on the phone and track down Jennifer Beals and that guy who’s with her in
Flashdance
: they’re over here at the moment. Her agent owes me one big-time,’ Tania commanded.
Annie had just put the phone down when Jackson’s call came through. Expecting another celebrity’s PA explaining that their boss would be out of town, she had answered half-heartedly.
‘Annie? Hello, it’s Jackson. Can I persuade you to come and have a bite with me on Thursday?’
Annie felt her stomach lurch. It was always that way, the call coming just when you weren’t prepared. Should she pretend she was busy? Was Thursday, only three days away, too soon for her to be free?
‘The peaches … they were amazing … thanks.’
‘My pleasure. You had to cart all that stuff around for us. It was the least I could do. But, from my end, the meeting was certainly lucky.’ His voice was deep, inflected with the drawl of a public-school education.
‘Thursday … was it?’
‘Yes, Thursday. I thought we could meet at Zanzibar about eight thirty?’
‘Ah …’ What should she say? Something, though. She wassounding daft. ‘Lovely … thanks,’ she managed to get out. Annie replaced the receiver, glad that everybody else was too busy to have overheard her conversation. She went about the rest of the day hugging every word of the short call to herself.
Now the evening had arrived and the pleasure of anticipation was cut with nerves. She pulled a scoop-neck purple top out from the chaos of the bed and tried it on with a straight white skirt cinched in with a brown leather belt. It emphasized her figure, which managed to be simultaneously curvaceous and
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