by Carrie Duffy
‘You’re just jealous,’ Jenna rounded on her furiously, the anger rising in her chest. She’d rather die than admit that Sadie might be right.
‘Oh grow up, Jenna. You’re not in high school any more.’
‘It’s true. What is it you’re doing with your life now?’ Jenna sneered. ‘Stripping in Karl’s little group? Pathetic.’
‘Nick Taylor didn’t seem to think so …’ The words were out of her mouth before Sadie could stop them.
Jenna started. ‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’
Sadie shrugged. ‘I bumped into him earlier – literally, in fact. He’s a friendly guy, isn’t he?’
‘Screw you,’ Jenna swore. ‘You don’t know anything about him.’
‘True. But he seemed very interested in getting to know me. He suggested we hook up. He was pretty blatant about it in fact.’
‘Bullshit.’
‘Oh, change the fucking record. Why don’t you open your eyes for once, Jenna? You’re exactly like I remember – a spoilt little brat who believes the world revolves around her.’
‘Yeah? And you know what I remember about you? You’re a loser, Sadie. You’re jealous of me because you want what I have – my career, my boyfriend, my life. And you’ll never have it. Face it, you’re just not good enough.’
‘You’re wrong. I am good enough. I was better than you and you know it. And at least I can say that everything I’ve got is because I worked for it – not because I fucked my way there.’
Jenna drew herself up, standing tall on her heels. She looked pityingly at Sadie. ‘You’re deluded, you know that? Really messed up. You’re desperate to have what I’ve got and now you want my boyfriend. You probably threw yourself at him.’
‘Oh please,’ Sadie scoffed.
‘He probably thought you were desperate. I mean, do you even have a boyfriend?’
Sadie coloured – it was all the answer Jenna needed.
‘I didn’t think so,’ she crowed triumphantly. ‘I’ll let you into a little secret – men don’t like crazy-ass bunny boilers.’
Sadie let rip, all the frustration that she’d lived with for so long spilling out. ‘You know what? Your mother would be so proud of you, following in her footsteps like that. How did you end up working with Phoenix? Oh yeah, you slept with Ryan and Nick. When’s Zac’s turn, Jenna?’
‘Fuck you,’ Jenna spat.
They were inches apart, close enough for Jenna to see the cold fury in Sadie’s eyes. Suddenly Jenna’s mobile rang, shattering the tension.
‘Get out or I’m calling security,’ Jenna hissed.
‘Fine with me,’ Sadie shot back.
Jenna threw her a final look of disgust, then stalked across the room to grab her BlackBerry.
‘I’m not a liar, Jenna,’ Sadie warned ominously. ‘Remember that.’
Jenna ignored her, turning her back as she picked up her phone. ‘Hello?’
It took all of Sadie’s self-control not to tell Jenna to go fuck herself and walk straight out of the building, just forget about the whole show. But she had promised Karl. She knew how much tonight meant to him and, after the opportunities he’d given her, she was damned if she was going to be the one to mess it up. Let his precious Jenna be the one to throw her toys out of the pram.
Sadie turned to go, in her haste snagging her skirt on the edge of a clothes rail. ‘Shit,’ she swore. The material was caught around a small screw. Sadie tugged it hard. The skirt ripped, tearing the silk. Sadie was past caring – she just wanted to be out of there. Let wardrobe deal with it.
‘What?’ Jenna yelled suddenly. Sadie jumped. It was impossible not to overhear the conversation. ‘What do you mean it’s all gone? How can that happen?’ Even with her back to her, Sadie could tell Jenna was livid. ‘I don’t need this right now. I’m about to go on stage. Can’t you sort it out yourself?’
Sadie had heard enough. She made her way to the door, grasping the handle, when Jenna said something that made her stop dead.
‘That’s impossible. Put me through to him,’ Jenna demanded furiously. ‘I don’t care what fucking time it is over there, just get Paul Austin on the phone. Now.’
26
Sadie froze. Her heart rate tripled. Had Jenna just said …?
‘I don’t give a shit, just do it!’
Sadie tried to speak but her mouth felt dry, as if it was full of sand. ‘Paul Austin?’ she croaked.
Jenna glanced up. She looked startled, as though she had forgotten that Sadie was there. ‘I thought I told you to get out.’
Sadie’s eyes glittered dangerously. ‘Paul Austin of Willis & Bourne?’ Now she had Jenna’s attention.
‘You know him?’ Jenna whispered. The blood had drained from her face, and she eyed Sadie suspiciously. ‘Do you work with him? Is this some kind of set-up?’
Sadie snorted. ‘Don’t get carried away. All I know about him is that he’s a lying, cheating, piece of shit. Does that seem familiar?’
Jenna stared hard at Sadie. Then she raised the phone to her ear again. Sadie noticed her hands were shaking. ‘Call me as soon as you have news.’ Jenna hung up. ‘What do you know about him?’ she demanded.
‘I already told you,’ Sadie snapped, irritated by Jenna’s tone.
‘But how do you know him?’
‘None of your fucking business!’
Jenna paused, realizing that she needed to calm down if she was going to get Sadie on side. She let out a long, shaky breath. When she spoke again, her tone was gentler. ‘Look, Sadie, I’m in such a mess here. If you know anything – any information about Paul Austin – I’d really appreciate it if you could help me.’
Sadie remained silent, defiantly refusing to meet Jenna’s gaze.
‘Please.’ Jenna was close to tears. ‘I’m so sorry about what I said before, I didn’t mean—’
‘What do you want to know?’
‘Anything.’ Jenna leapt eagerly on Sadie’s words. ‘Anything you know about him, that you think I could—’
‘Why?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Why,’ Sadie repeated. ‘I don’t know what’ll be useful for you unless you tell me why you need to know about him.’
Jenna looked at her intently, wondering whether to trust her. She knew she had no option if she wanted her help.
‘He’s my investment manager,’ she explained awkwardly. ‘I’ve been giving him money. A lot of it.’
‘How much?’
‘I don’t know!’ Jenna looked panicked as she tried to calculate. There was the initial investment of half a million – the minimum Paul would accept. Then there had been further, regular transactions running into hundreds of thousands. ‘Around a couple of million – maybe more.’
‘Jesus,’ Sadie inhaled sharply.
‘I know. Oh fuck, I’ve been so stupid,’ Jenna wailed. She’d thought she was being so in control, so grown-up, trying to manage her money like this. Paul had been charming and intelligent; he seemed so trustworthy, she thought, furious at herself for being taken in like this. He’d sent her regular reports, long and detailed, full of figures, calculations and spreadsheets. If she was being honest, she’d never read them. She’d just believed him when he said her portfolio was doing well and asked for a further hundred grand to invest in Bulgarian property or whatever.
‘But he can’t just lose it, can he? I mean, surely you can’t just take someone’s money and give them nothing in return?’ She sounded desperate.
Sadie thought about it. She remembered his words, Whether they win or lose, I always win. She knew he took a fee out of every payment that was made to him, plus a percentage of the profits – if there were any. Sadie recalled ads in the papers, the microscopically printed caveat warning investors that the value of your shares can go down as well as up.
‘It doesn’t sound good,’ she admitted.
‘Shit,’ Jenna swore. ‘You’ve got to help me, Sadie. Did he take your money too?’
&nb
sp; ‘He was … I didn’t know him in a professional capacity,’ Sadie began carefully.
‘Then what …?’
‘We had a relationship.’
Jenna looked puzzled. She remembered a wedding ring, a photo of his kids. ‘I thought he was married.’
‘He is. It didn’t end well.’
‘Right,’ Jenna said lightly, and Sadie knew she’d just confirmed everything Jenna suspected about her.
‘It’s not what you think,’ she said quickly.
‘No?’ Jenna’s tone was mocking.
‘I’m not some slut, you know,’ Sadie defended herself hotly. ‘Some home-wrecker after another woman’s husband.’
‘I didn’t say that.’ Jenna’s expression implied that’s exactly what she’d thought.
‘Well, you know what?’ Sadie began fiercely. ‘I got what was coming to me. You asked how I know him – like I said, we had a relationship. We’d been seeing each other for a few months when he brought round another girl for a threesome – a prostitute, actually.’
Sadie saw the look on Jenna’s face, but carried on speaking. She knew if she stopped, she’d lose her nerve. ‘I went along with it because he wanted to. I was crazy about him and would have done anything for him. But he secretly filmed us – I didn’t know anything about it. He filmed us, and then he put the footage on the Internet for everyone to watch. My family could have seen that. It could have destroyed my career. But I guess that’s what I deserve, right? I guess that was just karma coming round to bite me on the ass,’ she finished furiously, her eyes stinging with tears.
‘My God,’ Jenna whispered, her mouth falling open in shock. ‘He really did that?’
‘Yes, he did,’ Sadie confirmed bitterly. ‘I’ve never seen him since and I hate that bastard more than you can possibly imagine.’
Sadie suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to confide in someone. She’d kept it to herself for so long – not even Carla had had the whole story. But now Jenna had first-hand experience of how this prick could screw you over.
‘What a sick bastard!’ Jenna burst out, outraged on Sadie’s behalf. ‘And you let him get away with it?’
‘What else could I do? I couldn’t get hold of him, didn’t have any way of contacting him. I just wanted to put it behind me and get on with my life – that’s why I moved out here.’
‘But why didn’t you tell anyone? You could have gone to the police or something …’
Sadie snorted. ‘Do you think anyone would have cared if I’d told my side of the story? You’ve met him. You know what he’s like – a pillar of the establishment, donates to all the right charities, beautiful wife, perfect family. I’d have been painted as some mistress with a grudge, trying to blacken his reputation because he ran back to his wife.’
‘So … what? You’re just going to forget about it?’
‘Of course not. I’m going to get my revenge. I just don’t know how – yet. But I will.’
‘You’ve got to make him pay,’ Jenna insisted. ‘He can’t get away with it.’
‘I know,’ Sadie agreed irritably. She didn’t need Little Miss Perfect telling her what she should be doing with her life.
Jenna suddenly grasped Sadie’s arm, her eyes wide. ‘Listen, I can help you. We can do this together.’
‘What do you mean?’ Sadie’s heart began to race; Jenna’s excitement was infectious.
‘I’ve got resources, contacts – a bloody worldwide platform! We can go to the press, tell them what he did to us. We can ruin his reputation.’
‘He’ll sue us for slander.’ Sadie shook her head. ‘We don’t have any proof.’
‘Then we’ll get some!’ Jenna exclaimed, her eyes sparkling. ‘He must be doing this to others – screwing them physically and financially. We just need to get evidence.’
Sadie’s mind was racing. Maybe this was the opportunity she had been waiting for. ‘How are we going to do this?’
Jenna paused for a second as she began pacing the room. ‘I can give you all the information I have – documents, letters, that sort of thing. I’ll get my lawyers to take a look – see if they can find evidence of anything illegal.’
‘I’d bet a hell of a lot that it’s not strictly kosher.’
‘That’s my instinct. Now, what about this company he works for?’
‘Willis & Bourne?’ Sadie shook her head. ‘No, he told me about them. They’re a big company – straight-up, spotless reputation.’
‘So whatever he’s doing, they don’t know about it,’ Jenna clarified. ‘Did he tell you anything else? Anything that might be helpful for us?’
‘I … I can’t remember,’ Sadie hesitated. ‘He used to brag about his work mainly. About how he made loads of money. And about how he had loads of contacts. He had clients in every field – journalism, law, music, TV …’
Jenna raised an eyebrow. ‘I’ll ask around. See what I can find. You should do the same. But we have to do this quietly. If he is doing anything he shouldn’t be—’
‘I know he is,’ Sadie interrupted.
‘Then if he thinks we’re onto him, he’ll try and cover it up.’
Both women were silent for a moment, lost in their own thoughts.
‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ Jenna asked, scrutinizing Sadie’s expression. ‘We’ve got to be prepared to work together.’
‘Sure,’ Sadie agreed coolly. ‘But it doesn’t make us friends, right?’
‘Right. This is purely business.’
‘Purely business,’ Sadie echoed. ‘Then I’m in. I don’t care how it happens. I want to see him taken down.’
‘Don’t worry. We’re gonna nail that son of a bitch,’ Jenna said grimly, her lips pressed together in a determined line.
The auditorium was plunged into total darkness and the crowd went crazy, screaming Jenna’s name. Dazzling laser beams swept across the stage, illuminating the spectacular set as the opening bars of the intro kicked in.
Backstage, Jenna’s heart was pounding. She estimated she had less than a minute before she made her entrance. The dancers ran on ahead of her, taking up their posit ions, as a stylist made last-minute adjustments to her costume, adding a little more body shimmer to her magnificent cleavage.
She took a quick gulp from a bottle of water – room temperature, to lubricate her vocal chords. Then someone handed her a microphone and she took a deep breath. This was it. She strode forward, bursting onto the stage in an explosion of sound and colour. The crowd erupted, and Jenna immediately felt all her nerves crystallize into adrenaline as she launched into ‘Feel It’, one of her best-known hits. She was relaxed and confident at the same time, dominant and powerful – this was truly where she belonged, and this was what she loved.
It had been too long since she’d done a live show, she realized. All the time spent recording in studios, on the publicity trail or in rehearsals – none of it compared to the buzz of an audience. She’d heard other performers say it, but it was true. There was no feeling in the world like being out there, connecting with the fans and feeding off their energy.
A camera zoomed into view, circling around her as she danced. Jenna played up to it, looking straight into the lens as she flirted with the audience at home. It was every man’s fantasy – Jenna Jonsson performing in your living room, dressed in little more than her underwear. Her skirt was so tiny that the slightest movement showed off the glorious curve of her butt – and that was exactly the plan. Her skin was golden and glowing, her body honed to perfection by the gruelling exercise regime she’d undertaken for the past few weeks. The Phoenix collaboration was the biggest opportunity of her career, and she hadn’t left anything to chance.
As the backing segued into ‘Sexual Rush’, Jenna caught a glimpse of Sadie. She was dancing closely with Juan, as he spun her around then lowered her sharply into a deep backward drop. She was doing well. Jenna felt a sneaking admiration for her – she was obviously very talented, very focused. And now they were allies, united
against Paul Austin. For the first time since her accountant’s phone call, when she’d felt that sickening jolt in her stomach, Jenna sensed that the situation wasn’t hopeless. She was ready for battle and believed they could win.
The song reached its climax and Jenna belted out the lyrics, punching the sky as she held her final position. Pyrotechnics exploded around her. She stood centre stage, her breath coming fast, chest rising and falling as she basked in the adulation.
‘I love you Vegas,’ Jenna shouted into the microphone, and was answered by deafening cheers. With a final wave at the crowd, she ran off stage into the darkness of the wings, where she was immediately surrounded by people wanting to congratulate her, a sea of unknown faces all desperate to get close. Then Nick emerged from the shadows, his drumsticks in his hand. Everyone parted to give them some space and he kissed her, long and hard, pulling her against him. He knew full well that everyone was watching and he revelled in it. He was claiming her; she was his girl.
‘You were amazing,’ Nick told her, his breath hot in her ear as he made himself heard above the ecstatic crowd.
Instinctively Jenna pulled away, remembering what Sadie had said about him. He suggested we hook up. Jenna couldn’t help but wonder if it was true. Oh, she hadn’t believed a word of it at first – had marked her down as yet another deluded fan. But after their conversation about Paul, she had seen another side to Sadie – open, candid and fiercely proud. And if she was telling the truth, Jenna couldn’t bear to consider what she’d said about her mother …
Nick was so keyed up he didn’t notice her chilly reaction. ‘See you later, baby.’ He winked suggestively, then ran onto the stage. Zac followed behind him, brushing past Jenna.
‘Have a great show,’ she yelled after him. Zac nodded in acknowledgement, but didn’t stop to speak.
Out of nowhere, Jenna’s dresser appeared with her costume for the Phoenix duet, and all thoughts of Sadie and Nick and Paul flew out of her head. There was no time to go back to her dressing room to change, so a screen was hastily erected around her. Not that she was prudish – hell no, she was proud of her body, and when you’d grown up doing competitions and photo shoots you learned not to be self-conscious about changing wherever you could. But these days there was always the risk of someone lurking with a camera phone. Five minutes later, and footage of a topless Jenna Jonsson could be all over YouTube. Gerry would have a heart attack.