‘Hey, great sweater.’
A blonde woman with feline eyes stepped over to Sasha and touched the beading on her top.
‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘It’s my own label, actually.’
‘Really?’ asked the blonde appreciatively. ‘Where do you stock?’
‘Rivera, the store is in Ebury Street,’ said Sasha, handing her a business card.
‘Well I’ll definitely pop by,’ said the blonde, passing Sasha her own card. Lucinda Clarke. Director Image PR, it read.
‘You do publicity?’ said Sasha.
‘Talent publicity, yes.’
‘Who’s your client tonight?’
Lucinda smiled. ‘Kate, although she’s not here of course; she’s filming in Croatia of all places.’
Sasha immediately saw an opening. ‘I’m actually looking for a publicist for Rivera,’ she said as casually as she could, ‘although I don’t suppose you do corporate work?’
‘Honey, it’s my company.’ Lucinda laughed, touching Sasha’s arm. ‘We’ll take the work I say we take.’
‘Interesting,’ said Sasha, leading the woman towards the screening room. ‘In which case, I have a proposal for you.’
‘I can’t believe you’ve taken on another publicist,’ said Philip, storming his way into the small office above the Ebury Street store. Two weeks on from the By Midnight preview, the company’s fina
ncial woes had not improved. ‘Do I need to remind you we’re already paying for a very expensive publicist and that we have six months of their contract to run?’
‘Different sort of publicist,’ said Sasha, sitting down at her desk and spinning her Rolodex. ‘Not only is Lucinda going to get her clients into our clothes, she’s going to represent me.’
‘What on earth do you need a publicist for?’
Sasha just smiled inscrutably. She actually couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it before. While having every star in Hollywood wearing Rivera creations would be invaluable publicity, no one was a better ambassador for the brand than Sasha Sinclair herself.
‘You’re sure this PR bird can get Kate into the dress for tomorrow’s premiere?’ said Philip sceptically.
Sasha unzipped the clothes bag hanging on a rail and pulled out the dress Ben had created specifically for the star. It was a beautiful red silk sheath that wrinkled and shone in the light.
‘Yes, I’m sure,’ she said. ‘It was one of the conditions of Image PR getting our business, so stop worrying.’ She blew him a kiss, then picked up the phone and dialled Lucinda Clarke.
‘Darling, it’s Sasha at Rivera,’ she said briskly. ‘I was just wondering whether to bike Kate’s dress over to your office or to her hotel?’
There was a long, ominous pause down the receiver.
‘About that . . .’ said Lucinda slowly. ‘Kate’s LA manager wanted to know who the designer of her premiere dress was going to be. When I said Rivera, he had a typical LA hissy fit.’
Sasha felt her pulse quicken.‘I don’t understand what the problem is,’ she said.
‘This is LA, Sasha. He wants his client in a named designer. Armani or Gaultier, something like that. Yes, I know it’s narrow-minded and snobbish, but in Hollywood, management calls the shots.’
You double-crossing bitch, thought Sasha, but this was no time to let emotion get in the way.
‘Lucinda,’ she said coolly, ‘I thought we had an agreement.’
‘Darling, I’ve tried,’ protested the publicist.
Sasha took a tiny sip of her iced water. She was livid, but she knew she had to tread carefully. This was still her best chance of saving the label and Lucinda was one enemy she could not afford to make – even if she had just stitched her up.