Read Online Catwalk Criminal by Sarah Sky - Free Book Online Page B

have thrown most dressmakers. The idea came to me in a dream – a dress that would light up the world – and Chrissy turned it into a reality.”
    â€œI guess your fairy godmother’s in line for a nice big pay rise.” Christine winked at Jessica and pushed a row of thick gold bangles up her arm. “I’ve been a dressmaker since I left school and have never been asked to do something as crazy as this before. But when Ossa asks, we all jump as high as we can.”
    Ossa blew her a kiss. “Chrissy goes above and beyond anyone I’ve ever known. Not only does she bring my designs to life, she juggles my diary, helps me with model castings, calms me down when I’m close to losing it and generally keeps me sane.”
    â€œWell, that’s going a bit far.” Christine hooted with laughter. “I don’t think even I can make you completely sane, and I’m not sure anyone can stop you from losing your temper at least three times a day.”
    Ossa wagged a finger at her. “Now, now.”
    Jessica smiled as the pair walked away, still ribbing each other.
    Bryn clapped his hands. “OK, people. Let’s get this in the bag. We’ve still got the water shoot to go.” He tapped his foot impatiently as stylists dispersed and the crew made last-minute adjustments to the lighting.
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    â€œGreat. That’s beautiful. Now stare directly into the camera, Jessica, and look serene.”
    She cupped her face in her hands, trying to ignore the raised voices in the background. It was hard to appear composed when a screaming match had erupted on set a few minutes ago. Who was having an almighty meltdown? It was really unprofessional.
    â€œKeep it down back there!” Bryn yelled over his shoulder.
    Jessica caught a glimpse of Ossa jabbing a finger in Christine’s face. The photographer didn’t care that the designer was at the heart of the altercation.
    â€œFor God’s sake, we’ve got work to do,” Bryn shouted. “Take it outside!”
    An assistant cranked up the volume on the iPod before Ossa stormed off the set with a face as black as thunder. Jessica looked directly into the camera again. Why was he having a go at Christine? Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the dressmaker dab at her eyes with a tissue. After a couple of seconds, she disappeared out of sight. Jessica could still hear them arguing faintly in the background as the Ellie Goulding song faded out. Christine had admitted that the designer was demanding to work for and found it hard to keep his cool. That obviously wasn’t an exaggeration.
    But why was Ossa treating his “rock” so badly?
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    Half an hour later, the cover shoot had wrapped and it was apparent why Ossa and Christine were at each other’s throats. The wrong gowns had been brought for the water set and Ossa was spitting blood. He’d hand-picked a deep crimson number and a midnight blue dress for Jessica to wear as she dived on to a wet Mylar sheet. Instead, Christine had picked up two very similar dresses, with slightly different hem lengths and necklines.
    â€œIt’ll look virtually the same in the water shots,” Christine insisted as Jessica emerged from the changing area, wearing the midnight blue gown.
    â€œ Virtually isn’t good enough for me,” Ossa said through gritted teeth. “ I’ll know the dresses are different. I don’t know how you could be so careless. I put the correct dresses on the rails.”
    â€œThen someone else must have come along and swapped them,” Christine shot back.
    â€œThat’s impossible! Why would someone deliberately swap the dresses?”
    â€œEnough!” Bryn said, holding up his hand. “We’ve gone over this a hundred times. I’m happy with the outfits. We’ve only got the warehouse for a few more hours, so I suggest we all get on with this. Right, Jessica?”
    She nodded. To be