All That Glitters (28 page)

Ella blinked. She’d known, obviously, that Stacey was planning on going to all the spots that Johnny liked to hang out at – the clichéd Boujis, Chinawhite, Embassy and the Roof Gardens were his favourites – and after borrowing a designer outfit from Chastity and spending a fortune on soft drinks in these places, Stacey had eventually tracked him down.

‘How was he?’ Ella asked wryly. She couldn’t quite believe that her step-sister had managed to have a conversation with Johnny.

‘He’s very charming, isn’t he?’ Stacey remarked, as she wrapped her hands around a mug of hot chocolate that Chastity had passed to her. ‘Quite a smooth talker.’

‘So what happened?’ Chastity asked, and Stacey’s eyes grew bigger as she remembered the previous night.

‘Well, I was at the Roof Gardens doing a circuit of the place like I normally do, and I spotted him sitting in a corner with a—’ She broke off, and quickly looked at Ella.

‘It’s okay, you can say he was with a girl,’ Ella said calmly.

‘Um, yeah, so I spotted him with a set of twins. They were blonde and just the type of girl that goes after anyone on TV. You know, tight dresses, super-high heels, and loads of make-up. Anyway, I had a couple of drinks at the bar and got chatting to other people, but I kept on catching his eye – as if I was flirting with him, but also playing it cool.’

Ella couldn’t help but grin. ‘I remember you doing that the night we met Jay for the first time,’ she said.

‘Exactly. And it worked a treat then, didn’t it? So after an hour or two of this, I noticed Johnny slipping behind one of those gauze panels, and I decided to follow him. He cornered me by a loveseat, so we sat down and he drank a bottle of champagne.’

‘What did you drink?’ Ella asked. While Stacey was pregnant she obviously wasn’t going to touch alcohol.

‘I told him I’m a recovering addict and I don’t go near alcohol and drugs, and he very kindly got me some sparkling water,’ Stacey said. ‘He was extremely courteous when he found out.’

‘God, it sounds like it was easy to get talking and that he was a complete gentleman,’ Chastity said incredulously, and Stacey nodded.

‘I think it helped that I was in the most amazing dress in the world.’

‘What were you wearing?’ Ella asked curiously. Ordinarily she’d have chosen an outfit for Stacey to wear, but she’d left it to Chastity to decide – mainly because it felt odd finding an outfit that could help her step-sister seduce Johnny.

‘I was wearing a metallic, electric-blue silk mini dress by Versace!’ Stacey exclaimed in delight. ‘It was on the runway a few seasons ago, and Chastity had never even worn it. It has patent leather plating on it, and it looks kind of like a tiny dress made of armour. It’s seriously amazing, and it totally made me stand out against the pinks and reds of the Roof Gardens bar.’

‘Wow,’ Ella breathed. ‘I remember that dress from the shows. It’s incredible.’

‘It really is. I had no trouble at all getting any man’s attention – least of all Johnny’s.’

‘So what happened next?’ Ella asked.

‘We chatted for ages. I did the required thing of fake pretending I didn’t know who Johnny was, and he asked me all about myself. Like I said, he was very charming, and very attentive. His eyes never left my face. Or my tits.’

‘And did you say what we planned? That you’re just a party girl who’s still looking for the right career to come along?’ Chastity asked. Before Stacey had begun her assignment they’d spent hours painstakingly trying to work out what Stacey should say to Johnny when she eventually met him. They’d decided she should keep her name – if Johnny found out she wasn’t called Stacey he’d stop trusting her in a second – but they agreed she definitely wouldn’t be engaged, pregnant, or working as a personal trainer in a gym. She’d be carefree, single, and the sort of girl who didn’t have any money, but never seemed to go without.

‘Totally,’ Stacey said, ‘and he believed every word I said. Being a bit of a vacuous party girl meant I fitted in perfectly.’

‘Then what happened?’ Ella wondered. Had Johnny made a pass at her?

‘Then Johnny gave me his card, told me he’d be in Chinawhite tonight, and that he’d love to see me there. Which is why I’m in London again, and which is why I’m back here to raid Chastity’s wardrobe. I couldn’t wear the Versace number again, could I?’

‘Absolutely not,’ Ella said. If Stacey was going to wow Johnny she needed to look a million dollars. And luckily for her step-sister, Ella knew a thing or two about putting together a knockout outfit. It may have felt weird helping Stacey to seduce Johnny, but Ella knew that if she didn’t get closure eventually she’d always wonder what she’d done wrong.

‘Show us what you’ve got then, Chastity,’ Ella said as enthusiastically as she could.

As Stacey walked into the Temple Bar at Chinawhite, she felt everyone’s eyes on her – men were openly drooling, and women were shooting filthy looks in her direction. The Julien Macdonald lingerie-inspired silk-chiffon dress was sensational, there was no doubt about it, but Stacey had never looked or felt so naked. The top of the dress was effectively a flimsy black lace bra, and the blush and lace skirt swept across the top of her toned thighs. She was gorgeous, sexy, and just the right side of slutty. There was no way Johnny would be able to ignore her.

‘You made it,’ Stacey heard Johnny murmur in her ear, as she reached the bar. He’d already placed a possessive hand on her lower back, and she turned and air-kissed him like Chastity had taught her to – without making contact and with an expression of slight disdain. He stank of booze, and had clearly been drinking for hours.

‘I made it,’ Stacey replied. She watched Johnny’s gaze greedily trail across her body, and she tried not to shiver in distaste. Okay, so Johnny was good looking, but he was so sleazy. She couldn’t believe that Ella had fallen for him. Her step-sister had really lost the plot on this guy.

Johnny led Stacey through the dark room lit in reds and oranges to a discreet corner tucked away at the back. They sat close together on the velvet banquette, and without Johnny saying a word a bottle of champagne and an alcohol-free cocktail appeared on the carved wooden table closest to them. Stacey couldn’t fault the service, even if her company made her skin crawl.

‘Here’s to us,’ Johnny said, slurring slightly, and Stacey smiled sweetly. She had a feeling tonight was the night that he was going to spill the beans.

‘To us,’ she echoed, and as Johnny began talking –
at
her, rather than with her – she tried not to let her eyes glaze over. Johnny was on a high from presenting the edition of
Wonderland
that had gone out earlier, and he was telling her an anecdote about how his co-presenter – Ella’s replacement – had fluffed most of her lines that night.

‘I’ve seen the show,’ Stacey interjected, ‘and you and Daniella have great chemistry.’

Johnny raised an eyebrow. ‘I thought you said you didn’t recognise me when we met last night.’

Stacey paused, and then shot Johnny her cheekiest, flirtiest smile. ‘I didn’t recognise you,’ she said slowly, ‘because you’re so much better looking in the flesh.’

Johnny chuckled. ‘That’s true, of course,’ he said. ‘And yes, Daniella and I
do
have great chemistry on screen . . . which is marvellous when you consider she’s so bloody dumb and I can’t stand her.’

Stacey leaned in. ‘Really? You don’t like her? But everyone’s talking about whether you two are having a secret relationship,’ she improvised.

Johnny leant back against the crushed velvet of the banquette, and puffed out his chest. ‘Oh yeah? God it’s so tiresome to have people obsessed with my sex life,’ he said proudly, and then, as the thought occurred to him, he winked. ‘Or is it just you who’s wondering if I’m shagging Daniella?’

‘I’m so busted,’ Stacey breathed, doing her best impression of an airhead. ‘But what can I say? I think you’re really cool.’

Johnny nodded, as if he’d expected this. ‘I think you’re cool too,’ he said. ‘But I don’t sleep with my co-stars. I’ve learnt my lesson, trust me.’

Stacey feigned innocence. ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she remarked, and Johnny laughed.

‘It turns me on when girls play dumb, so keep doing it, sweetheart. We both know what I’m talking about. Or who I’m talking about, I should say.’

‘Ella Riding?’ Stacey asked, and Johnny nodded, before gulping back some champagne.

‘That’s right, Ella Riding.’

Stacey chewed on her lip. She’d been wondering how to bring up Ella without it looking too obvious, but Johnny had just done it for her. She had to tread softly though. She didn’t want to put him off.

‘Do you want to talk about it?’ she asked carefully, and Johnny shrugged easily.

‘Not much to talk about. She was hot and I couldn’t resist her.’ He knocked back another glass of champagne. ‘It wasn’t the proudest moment of my life, I must admit. Having an affair is exhilarating and madly passionate, but having it splashed across the front pages kind of puts a dampener on things.’

‘Danny and Ella split up after that, didn’t they?’ Stacey said. Her heart was racing, and despite her drink her mouth was dry. She desperately wanted Johnny to explain why he didn’t continue his relationship with her step-sister, but she knew there was no way she could ask him about it directly.

‘So I heard,’ Johnny said easily, and his eyes drunkenly travelled from Stacey’s heavily made-up face down to her cleavage. Stacey knew her tits were pregnant-impressive, but now was not the time for them to distract Johnny from their conversation. It was time to play hardball.

‘You looked so happy in those paparazzi pictures,’ Stacey said casually. ‘If you’re not involved with Daniella, well, maybe you and Ella could try again. Legitimately this time.’

Johnny swayed slightly in his seat, and didn’t answer Stacey for the longest time. She held her breath and wondered if she’d blown it.

‘You really fucking want me, don’t you?’ Johnny eventually slurred, as his eyes focused on Stacey’s tits again. ‘You think you’re being subtle, yet you couldn’t be more obvious if you tried.’

Damn. Stacey managed to keep her expression neutral, but inside she was furious. She’d been so close to finding out why Johnny had broken her step-sister’s heart, but Johnny’s ego and libido had thwarted her.

‘Any girl would want you,’ Stacey purred smoothly, frantically trying to work out how to get the conversation back on track.

Johnny brushed the compliment aside. ‘Tell me something I don’t know. But you know what, princess? I don’t sleep with people I meet in nightclubs. I’m not saying
you’d
do it, but there are so many girls out there looking to sleep with celebrities so they can do a kiss and tell in the papers.’

Stacey’s eyes widened. ‘I’d never do that!’ she exclaimed, and it was one of the first honest things she’d said to Johnny. ‘I’m not that kind of girl.’

Johnny didn’t speak for a moment as he assessed Stacey. His eyes drank in her pretty face, her gym-honed body, and her slutty dress, and he leaned in closely to her.

‘That’s a shame,’ he murmured, his breath sour with alcohol. ‘Because I thought you
were
that kind of girl.’

‘And then he told me that if I ever needed money I should give him a ring,’ Stacey concluded, as she filled Ella and Chastity in on the previous night.

Ella frowned. ‘I don’t understand,’ she said. ‘Was he suggesting that he’d pay you to sleep with him?’ Confusion was etched all over her face. She knew in her heart that Johnny didn’t use prostitutes, and because of that, what he’d said to Stacey didn’t make sense.

‘I don’t think so. Maybe he likes me and knows of a job I could do. Like being a hostess in one of those clubs.’ Stacey didn’t sound convinced, but she couldn’t work out what Johnny had meant either.

‘Maybe Johnny buys expensive gifts for the women he sleeps with,’ Chastity suggested, but Ella shook her head.

‘Johnny’s flash, but not like that. He just wouldn’t do that.’

Chastity sighed. ‘Well, there’s only one way to find out, and that’s to ring him in a couple of days.’

‘Not tomorrow?’ Stacey asked, and Chastity shook her head.

‘No. It will look too keen, and the last thing you want to do is come across as desperate. Let’s sit on it until the middle of next week and see what happens next.’

‘Sounds good to me,’ Stacey said, as she rubbed her eyes. She’d got back to the girls’ flat at six that morning, and was utterly exhausted. ‘Hopefully I’ll be able to convince him to spill the beans, and then you’ll have some closure, Ella.’

Ella nodded and wondered if they were really doing the right thing. The more they delved into Johnny’s life, the more uncomfortable she felt. Stacey had described Johnny as a completely different man from the one she’d fallen in love with, and the more Stacey talked about him the more a little voice in her head asked if she’d really ever known Johnny at all.

Who was Johnny Cooper, really? As much as she knew it would hurt, Ella knew she absolutely had to find out.

Chapter Nineteen

WHO’S BEHIND CRYSTAL’S TIPS?

Exclusive by
MATTHEW PARKER
, News Editor,
Daily World

NEW WEBSITE
YourHappyEverAfter.com
has got the whole country buzzing as people ask which former WAG is behind it.

We can reveal that
YourHappyEverAfter.com
, which provides advice to women on how to have a happy life without a MAN, is run by a WAG who wants to ‘make the world a better place’.

The website, which has been live for several weeks, has taken the UK by storm, and is one of the fastest growing websites in the country. Some of the anti-men tips include:

•
HOW
to find a good divorce lawyer;

•
WHAT
to do if you catch your fella in bed with another woman;

•
THE
best way to get over a bad relationship; and

•
HOW
to live a happy life without a husband.

Internet expert Milo Yiannopoulos said: ‘It’s not often a new website gets so much traffic, but
YourHappyEverAfter.com
is an instant hit because of the advice written by real women.’