A Face To Die For (27 page)

I studied his dark, rugged good looks. 'Of course! She and Allie did a marvellous job for me. What a coincidence. So what's brought you back to England, Oliver? Didn't you like Singapore? I can't say I did very much.'

He flashed me one of his ready smiles. 'Actually I loved it there, but my contract ran out. Simple as that.' Noting his cleft chin and chiselled nose I wondered how I could have missed noticing such a good-looking young man. But then at the time my mind had been so preoccupied with too many other things, not least the awful tropical heat.

Oliver Dickinson finally came up with some brilliant packaging ideas in a subtle deep green and gold; exactly fitting the image I wanted for the perfume. By this time he had been working with me for about two weeks and I was impressed with his eagerness to get the job right. He and his wife lived in the New Forest, but he seemed quite happy to stay in London during the week in Will's flat.

Luigi was in Italy for a while and over lunch with the pair of them one day I asked how he was coping commuting from Hampshire. 'Not too much of a drag, I hope, Oliver?'

'No problem, I get home at weekends. Jo is pretty understanding about it anyway, and thanks to my buddy here I’m able to stay with him.'

'Sure thing, glad of the company,' said Will, grinning.

'Good, then we must all get together sometime for dinner… Jo too, if she can make it.' I enjoyed the company of these two men, with their easy, lighthearted conversation. It always perked me up to spend time with them whenever Luigi was away.

That evening I was overjoyed to hear from Kate. She was back from America; Hollywood had not been what she’d expected after all. Apparently the movie she’d gone to test for never happened.

‘
I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow,’ she said, arranging to meet me for a coffee after work the next day.

*

'It seemed the financiers couldn't get enough money together in the end,' Kate said, stabbing the foam on her cappuccino with a spoon. She sounded crestfallen. 'Anyway, I did some TV network appearances and a little modelling, but nothing too exciting. So I'm back here on the circuit again. But I think I'm going to struggle for a bit.' She screwed up her nose. 'It’s amazing how quickly they forget a face!'

'That was my fear when I heard you'd gone. But I'm sure you'll soon be back in demand Kate. Anyway, don't forget I'll still want you for my next collection. There'll be some photographic work too.'

'Good. Incidentally, I hear you've found yourself a husband in my absence. By all accounts he's quite a dishy Italian!'

'Mmm, he is,' I said, smugly. 'Look, now you're back we really must keep in touch more.'

'I know. After that trip to Singapore I went through a bad patch and felt the urge to escape. That's really why I went to America. I just wish it had worked out that's all. But still, it proved quite an education one way and another...' She giggled as she went on to enlighten me with amusing tales about the casting couch routine, which, she assured me, really does go on within the Hollywood studio hierarchy.

When Luigi returned from Italy I mentioned an idea that had occurred to me whilst speaking to Kate.

'Luigi, what do you think about using one particular model girl as the face for all the
Silk Wrappings
promotions and advertising?' I told him about Kate, and what a beautiful and successful model she was. I showed him some photographic work she'd already done for me and after a little more persuasive discussion on my part he quite warmed to the idea.

'Yes, she is very beautiful. It is a good idea. Why not ask her? But you must arrange to have her under exclusive contract to you, Annabel. She must not advertise any other product while she is signed to you. It is to safeguard your own interests I say this. Do you think she would agree to these restrictions?'

I wasn't sure. On the other hand, becoming the face of
Silk Wrappings
could make her more famous than perhaps she'd ever been before. In any case, since her flop in the States, her career certainly needed some sort of boost.

By this time my infatuation for the model and any jealousy I may once have felt over her beauty and success had waned considerably, particularly in my current happily married state. However, this new idea involving Kate did instigate a few renewed feelings all over again. I secretly loved the thought of being in control of her success, which I certainly would be under these circumstances
if
she agreed.

Heavens, I'd never considered myself… even in the mildest sense, any sort of control freak. But now this darker side of my nature began to strangely excite me.

CHAPTER 21

Instantly realising the prestigious value of such a contract, Kate jumped at the chance to become the face of
Silk Wrappings
. Not only would it guarantee her top model status once more but a good income for at least the next two years.

Taking Luigi's advice, I asked Will to see that the main thrust of her initial two year contract, restricted her to working for no other designer but me. Also, whilst under contract, for which she would receive a generous six-figure fee, she must always wear Annabel Spencer or
Silk Wrappings
label products when making promotional appearances.

A sizable clothing allowance and free perfume products would be part of the deal. As ‘The
Silk Wrappings
Girl’, she would, of course, appear in all advertising and promotional items. In this way Kate's beautiful face would soon become synonymous with the label. Next, I commissioned Jake Sinclair to handle all the photography for me. He would work in collaboration with a highly recommended new PR company run by two young, eager, advertising whiz kids.

A campaign strategy to launch the perfume soon got under way with them and they assured me that by the time they'd worked their magic,
Silk Wrappings
would be on the Christmas list of just about every woman in the country. It was hugely exciting.

A beauty care range was planned to follow later. I'd tentatively negotiated a deal with a reputable laboratory in Slough who already made products for two other well-known beauty names. Kate would, of course, promote this too.

Luigi was brilliant throughout, aiding me behind the scenes with the initial business negotiating. All I had to do was legally ‘front’ the business.

Christmas launch packs of the perfume, together with a presentation gift of an emerald and gold shot silk scarf for the first two thousand bottles purchased, sold out in record time. To add to this, my elegant perfume bottle, along with its imaginative packaging, won an award in
Vogue
for best new fragrance product design. This boosted sales even more. I was thrilled to bits.

'When you consider that it's only available through selected outlets at present, this award is even more highly prized!' I said, to a delighted Oliver and Kate as we celebrated the success with bubbly in my office. The sales figures, collated from over the Christmas period, were fantastic.

'Too right it does!' said Oliver, downing his champagne. 'It's actually given me an enormous boost as well! Two companies have already offered me good jobs when this contract ends. I can't thank you enough, Annabel, for giving me this big chance.'

'Thank
you
Oliver, for your part in it. I'd say it's been a tremendous success all round! Special thanks, of course, go to you too Kate. Yours really has been a most important input. Wherever your face appears now, everyone will think of
Silk Wrappings
!'

'I know. Thank you so much for choosing me, Annabel.'

Oliver looked across at her, casting a distinctly intimate smile. For some time now I'd sensed a relationship of sorts was developing with these two. Today wasn't the first time I'd been aware of a reactionary spark passing between them.

More recently I'd heard that Oliver had ceased returning home to Hampshire at the weekends and it concerned me that it might mean his marriage was breaking up. If so, I felt sad about that. From what I could remember about his wife in Singapore, I'd liked her, but it explained now why he'd never invited her to London on the few occasions I'd asked him to. Watching them now I felt sure I was right. They were falling, or had even already fallen, madly in love and I felt uneasy at having been indirectly responsible.

Within a few weeks it was official. Oliver and his wife had parted and he and Kate were living together. They made a stunning couple, with pictures of them appearing in the press and all the glitzy magazines. We socialised together quite a lot now and it was with mixed feelings that I witnessed Oliver adoringly fawning over her and pandering to her every whim.

I wasn't altogether sure that she loved him as ardently, however. At times I wondered if she was capable of loving anyone more than she loved herself. She clearly had considerable power over him. But I sensed their relationship wasn't altogether rosy as it was often fraught with petulant rows. However, Kate assured me, 'We always make up by enjoying the most incredible sex together. It's awfully important to Oliver... in fact I can get him to forgive me anything for it.'

I raised my eyebrows questioningly. 'Anything?'

'Well, almost anything, he's an amazing lover! I'd no idea sex could be so good until we got together. Of course his wife obviously couldn't measure up on that score.'

Her superior, smug expression infuriated me. You bitch, I thought angrily. She couldn't care less about the break up of his marriage. The fact that she always referred to 'having sex' with Oliver, rather than ‘making love’, said a lot.

The more I got to know her, the more I began to realise what a complex and quite selfish woman she was. Recent months, working closely together, had allowed me the chance to discover many strange inconsistencies about her character.

I knew little about her background and I never asked, but I imagined she must have been very spoilt as a child. I knew she'd been an only child. Then there were other times when she would appear depressed and vulnerable. Worries about her modelling future indicated a deep insecurity, I thought. Perhaps her childhood hadn't been so happy after all? On these occasions I attempted to empathise and boost her confidence.

No two days were alike with Kate. As I learnt to manipulate her mood swings, we slowly developed a unique working relationship. In time she even appeared to look on me as a sort of saviour from all her ills. During these odd spells I made remarkable inroads into gaining her confidence. On one occasion in particular I learned the most shattering thing of all about her.

I'd often noticed that she would ignore things said to her and I always brushed it off as her way of staying aloof. Then one day, Luigi pointed out that she might possibly be hard of hearing.

'The way she tilts her head when she is concentrating on a conversation and the way she watches your mouth carefully at the same time reminds me exactly of my mother. She had been deaf in one ear from childhood,' he said. 'I think that might be her problem,
cara
.'

I wondered if he could be right? I'd already noticed the tilted head to the right. Also she certainly did appear to study your lips when you spoke to her. So one day I put it to the test, by sitting on her left and starting a serious conversation about the beauty care promotion photo shoots. She obviously couldn't hear me clearly and got up, manoeuvring herself into a seated position almost opposite me. This she did under the pretext of fetching another cigarette from her bag.

'Didn't you hear me properly before, Kate?' I asked pointedly. After all, I felt I had the right to know.

'No.' she hedged awkwardly, lighting her cigarette. 'I didn't quite get it all. What were you saying?'

'Are you deaf in your left ear?'

She seemed startled momentarily, and then she smiled wryly. 'So you've twigged! I wondered how long before someone would.'

I shrugged. 'It doesn't matter one way or the other to me.
Are
you severely hard of hearing in that ear?'

She nodded. 'It comes and goes. But I've been like it since birth. My mother had German measles when she was expecting me. That's the reason. It's only slightly impaired, but when I'm under any stress it's much worse. You won't tell anyone will you? I really don't want anyone else in the business knowing, if you don't mind. I've managed to keep it dark up to now.' She gazed at me with trouble eyes, and then she lowered them. 'In fact there's a lot about me that people don't know.'

She flicked her cigarette nervously into the ashtray, moving the ash about with the lit end.

'No problem, but if you ever want to talk about anything, I'm always here. And I promise anything you tell me will
always
be in strictest confidence. You have my word.'

She inhaled deeply. 'Thanks Annabel, I appreciate it. One of these days we'll get together for a proper girlie talk. It's been years since I was able to enjoy that.'

‘
I'd like that too. Anytime you feel like it, I'm here for you, okay?'