The Making of Mia (14 page)

‘It seems it’s popular with some of your colleagues, too,’ William remarked casually. Jo looked up at him with a jolt, and
followed his eyes to where Debbie and Katherine were waving at her with smirks on their faces. They had cups of tea and a
shared plate of chips in front of them, and they
would clearly be making the chips last so they could watch Jo with her mysterious friend. Jo swore under her breath.

‘Er, did you actually want something stronger?’ Jo said to William, trying to ignore the girls, who were whispering to each
other while laughing at Jo’s discomfort. ‘There’s a great pub just down the road that Chris Evans and Billie Piper sometimes
go to …’

William looked around the café and stretched, casually brushing his denim-clad legs against hers. ‘This is perfect, and I’m
sick of pubs,’ he said. ‘I’d rather not spend my free time in one when I’ve managed to escape The Royal Oak.’ He ordered them
two cups of tea from a bleached-blonde waitress and leant back in his chair.

‘Are you sure …?’ Jo said, hoping she might be able to change his mind. She was worried about Debbie. She knew she was the
type of girl who wouldn’t hesitate to come over and make a bitchy comment or two.

William reached across the table and put his hand on Jo’s. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Debbie mimicking his
action to Katherine but for a sweet, sharp moment she didn’t care. Her whole body was suddenly on fire and nobody else mattered.
She blushed and took a sip of tea.

‘We’re OK in here, aren’t we?’ William said softly, leaning closer to Jo. ‘I don’t want to embarrass you in front of your
friends but we have so little time and I’d rather spend it sitting down chatting than walking around looking for somewhere
to go.’ He looked at Jo anxiously. ‘It’s good to see you, you know. Really good. I’ve missed you.’

Jo smiled at him, and decided not to tell him that Debbie and Katherine weren’t exactly her friends. Despite their thrilled
expressions at having something new to tease her about, Jo genuinely didn’t care what her colleagues were whispering to each
other. William’s familiar friendly face and relaxed manner were all Jo needed to block out their
audience, and she wondered if William had spent the last nine months pining for her like she had for him.

‘It’s good to see you, too. I’m sorry I’ve not been in touch,’ she began. ‘I wanted to talk to you so badly, but I’ve been
busy, and—’

William interrupted her. ‘You don’t need to apologise. When you left it was hard, I won’t deny it. I couldn’t stand not knowing
where you were, but I got used to it, and I eventually got over it.’ He gave a little laugh. ‘I mean, it’s not like we were
ever together, was it. We were just friends then and we’re still friends now. Right?’

Jo swallowed hard and concentrated on the chipped porcelain on her mug of tea. Jo had only ever had one true friend – Amelia
– and she certainly had never made her feel as William had done late at night in his bedroom. Hearing him say those words
was a massive, disappointing blow. ‘Right. So do you … do you have a girlfriend?’

William shrugged easily. ‘I’ve had a few, but nobody serious. Like I said, I had to get used to you not being around and life
had to go on. I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again. I certainly didn’t expect to bump into you in the street!’

‘No, nor did I.’ Jo didn’t know what to say and she felt like she could barely speak – the news that he had had girlfriends
ripped straight through her and physically hurt. She felt sick, and she pictured William in his bed with beautiful, toned
girls. She was torturing herself but she couldn’t help it.

‘And speaking of bumping into people, I saw your friend from school the other day – she was shopping in Winchester, and looking
a bit stressed about getting her degree results.’

Jo tried to look as normal as possible, and concentrated on ignoring her hurt. ‘Amelia! She’ll be fine. I spoke to her the
other day – she’s in line for a first, and from what she said she aced her finals.’

William grinned. ‘She seemed a bit strung out when I saw
her, said she was buying new outfits to take her mind off it. She showed me the tiniest pair of shorts ever – I think she
may have mixed up Miss Selfridge with a children’s shop.’

An irrational image of Amelia flirting with William shot into her head, and Jo downed the last of her tea so she wouldn’t
have to speak.

‘She was full of praise for you, though,’ William remarked. ‘Kept on telling me about how you’ve landed an amazing job on
one of the best magazines in the country … although she refused to tell me which one it was!’

Jo swallowed. ‘It’s called
Gloss
,’ she said, ‘and it’s one of those slick women’s magazines that feature articles about people’s relationships as well as,
you know, fashion pieces.’

William raised his eyebrows. ‘So you’re writing about the best way for a woman to achieve an orgasm while persuading men to
strip off for the centrefold?’

Jo blushed scarlet. ‘No, no, that’s
Cosmo
… I …’ Jo trailed off, not wanting to disappoint William by admitting she was only a PA. She swallowed. ‘I work alongside
the publisher – Joshua Garnet. I assist him on the business side of the magazine as well as providing him with an opinion
on editorial ideas. My portfolio has some of the latest ideas for our relaunch …’ Jo nodded down to her portfolio, and William
looked at it with interest.

‘May I?’ he said, gesturing down towards it, but Jo caught Debbie’s eye.

‘Best not. There are some staffers in here who don’t know about it, and, well, I’d hate for something to get leaked.’

William leant back in his chair and shot Jo another smile. ‘You know, I had reservations about you storming off to the big
city to get a job on a magazine, but you’ve really landed on your feet.’ Jo gave him a wide smile, and he continued. ‘It seems
like things have really worked out for both of us – you have your incredible career with
Gloss
, and I’m finally
getting somewhere with the book. You were right – it was worth not getting together after all.’

Jo felt her heart sink, but she forced herself to keep smiling. ‘No regrets, then?’ she said lightly, and William shook his
head.

‘Jo, I’ll always have regrets about not being with you, but what will be will be,’ he said softly, and once again he put his
hand on hers. Jo felt the electricity between them, and for a moment she wondered if she could pack in her job and go back
to Winchester with him. Why was she sticking around in a job that seemed like a dead end? Joshua Garnet clearly had no interest
in helping her develop her career, and she couldn’t see a way to make it as a journalist if she stayed there …

William removed his hand from Jo’s, and as soon as he did the spell was broken. Jo felt herself slump a little in her chair,
and as William looked at his watch she felt her eyes prickle with tears. There was no way she could give up on her dream,
and she had to let William go.

‘I hate to say it,’ he said, with genuine disappointment in his eyes, ‘but I’m going to have to make a move. Look, you must
give me your phone number. I’m not losing touch with you again.’

Jo blinked, and without thinking she scribbled her landline number on to an old receipt. As she handed it to him, William
stood up and pulled Jo towards him for a kiss on the cheek. Jo blushed, and as she looked away from him, embarrassed, her
eye caught Debbie’s, who was sitting at her table with an evil grin on her face.

‘I’ll phone you soon,’ William said, holding Jo’s hands in his before slowly letting them drop. ‘And Jo … happy birthday.’

Jo smiled in delight, and as she watched him walk down the road she felt carefree. Despite having meaningless girlfriends
he’d still remembered her birthday, and he wanted to stay in touch. She rushed into a lift in Garnet Tower, but just as the
mirrored doors began to shut, Debbie appeared and stuck her foot out so she could stand next to Jo. She waited until some
advertising sales guy got out on the fifth floor before speaking.

‘Well, well, well,’ she said nastily, and Jo tried to ignore her, hoping Debbie would take the hint that Jo wouldn’t rise
to the bait. ‘Who would have thought that Heifer Hill would have a boyfriend? And such a good-looking one at that!’

Jo focused on the front of the lift and watched the buttons light up as they rose higher up the dark red skyscraper.

‘Madeline Turner will be interested to hear that you have a boyfriend, you know,’ Debbie said, looking at herself in the mirrors
of the lift and preening her hair.

Jo turned to look at her sharply. She could ignore bitchy comments about her weight – she had done all her life – but she
couldn’t ignore this, not if Debbie was going to talk about her to the editor. ‘Madeline Turner doesn’t give a fuck about
my private life,’ Jo said, suddenly furious. She looked at Debbie and decided she didn’t have to play nice. ‘But then, at
least Madeline knows who I am. I’m not some nobody with no brain who spends her days typing up other people’s work.’

The doors to the lift opened and both girls got out. As Jo tried to walk away Debbie grabbed her by the arm.

‘Oh, she knows who I am, mark my words,’ Debbie hissed in a quiet voice, looking at Jo in surprise. She had no idea that Jo
could be so sharp. ‘But that’s to be expected, given that Joshie Garnet once came on to me.’ She looked Jo up and down and
smirked. ‘He likes blondes, you see, and he likes girls who look after themselves. Not like you. Although if you’ve managed
to score yourself such a hot boyfriend you may have some hidden talents that Joshua might like.’

Jo gritted her teeth. ‘I don’t care if Joshua finds me attractive or not. I wasn’t employed for that.’

Debbie laughed. ‘You can say that again! His wife only chose you to be his PA because you’re the ugliest secretary in the
building. She knew there was no chance of him putting his hands on you. Not like he did with me that evening when he cornered
me in the filing room.’ She shot Jo a triumphant look and grinned.

‘Oh, hadn’t you worked it out? Madeline Turner’s doing her best to make sure Joshua doesn’t fuck his assistant. They couldn’t
bear the risk or the scandal, especially since his last PA got pregnant.’

Suddenly it all made sense, and Jo felt the colour drain from her face. Debbie cackled.

‘Can you imagine? A bastard heir to the Garnet billions would never have done, and Harold Garnet would go crazy if he knew,
so they sacked the poor girl and gave her a “bonus” to keep quiet and get rid of it. But that’s beside the point. I’ll leave
you to think about this news,’ she said, walking backwards and taking in Jo’s expression. ‘Not that it’s news to anyone but
yourself, really. Have a good day now, you hear? I’ll send your love to the others in my office. They’ll be delighted to hear
you’re getting on so well.’

As Jo ran into the ladies’ lavatories she felt tears running down her face and she tripped on the cold, school-style tiles
before she shut herself into a cubicle, slamming the door behind her. It was like hiding her sobs from the school bullies
all over again. Through her tears she managed to lock the door, and she dropped her portfolio and handbag on the floor before
putting her head in her hands. How had she ever thought she was good enough to do this? She hadn’t even shone as a secretary,
and had only been picked to be Garnet’s PA because she was fat, ugly and no man wanted to go near her. Jo buried her hands
into her growing-out haircut and sobbed, letting self-pity wash over her and wondering if she could afford to leave this job,
if she had enough money in her bank account to walk out of Garnet Tower and never come back. Compared to the bullies at school
– who strutted around like teenage princesses – Debbie was nothing, a nobody with a head full of split ends, a wardrobe full
of clothes fit for a tart and the worst estuary accent she had ever heard. Jo grinned and felt the salty tears drip from her
cheeks on to her lips. She had survived Jemima and Dominique and she knew Debbie was no match for her. She wouldn’t allow
herself to cry any more.

Jo sniffed, and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands, seeing how the mascara left over from her meeting with
Joshua stained her skin black. Going back to her desk would be intolerable but she was determined not to do it with red eyes.
Thank God, she thought, nobody would see her in this state. She had to act like she didn’t care about Debbie’s revelations,
and she had to walk back into that editorial office not giving a fuck. Jo shuddered as she imagined how the girls on the editorial
team would react if they saw her looking like this. Jo unlocked the door so she could examine the damage in the mirror and
put her face back together again, but as she pushed the stone-coloured door open she saw Lucy, one of the girls from
Gloss
, looking at her curiously.

Jo baulked at the sight of her. She was super-slim, effortlessly beautiful and as polished as any model, with long light brown
hair, huge grey eyes and an outfit which cost more than everything in Jo’s wardrobe put together. There was something about
Lucy’s lack of haughtiness that meant that as much as she tried, Jo found she couldn’t instantly dislike her.

‘I just wanted to check you were all right,’ Lucy said, looking Jo up and down with concern. ‘I couldn’t help but overhear
you crying … I was in the cubicle next to you, and …’

Lucy looked from Jo to the toilet cubicles, and she went into one and pulled the toilet chain so that it flushed. ‘I didn’t
want to disturb you. Or make you feel embarrassed. But I have, haven’t I? I’m not very good in these situations, I’m sorry.’
Lucy started to turn red and Jo looked at her in amazement. She always thought the journalists on
Gloss
were unflappable ice-queens.

‘I’m not doing very well at this, am I? I’ll start again. Are you OK?’

Jo nodded and slowly walked to the sinks where she turned on the taps. Despite imagining a wealth of different situations
where she spoke to Lucy, or Araminta, or Lizzie, Jo had
never expected to be in a position like this. She washed her hands and then ran her fingers under her eyes, rubbing at the
panda-bear rings that had formed beneath them.