The Making of Mia (35 page)

‘But do you like the food?’ Joshua asked worriedly. Mia sighed.

‘Yes. It’s fine. But I’m not a fucking restaurant reviewer like Charles Campion, so please stop quizzing me,’ she snapped.
Joshua looked around the room quietly. Nobody, not even Madeline, dared to speak to him out of line, and Joshua’s eyes narrowed
before resuming their troubled expression. Mia was so busy glaring at the table that she missed the flash of Garnet supremacy
under the façade.

‘Mia,’ Joshua began, ‘is something wrong?’

A waiter served their main courses – baked baby sea bass with aubergine caviar, and fillet of monkfish wrapped in Parma ham
– and Mia took a deep breath. She was letting her real feelings ruin her performance, and she knew that she had to let Joshua
down gently. He was her boss, after all.

‘Look, I’ve been thinking,’ Mia began. ‘As much as I like you I don’t think I’m ready for a relationship, certainly not a
full-time one.’ She gave Joshua the sweetest smile she could, and ignored the lines of confusion that were appearing on his
forehead. ‘I want
Gloss
to win Magazine of the Year next year, and I owe it to the company to put the magazine first. I can’t do that if I’m involved
in a relationship, and working alongside you makes it so very difficult for me to concentrate in the office.’

Mia delicately began to slice up her monkfish. She didn’t dare look at Joshua’s expression, but she thought she had pitched
their ‘break-up’ well. Every man wanted to think he was so sexy that no woman could concentrate on anything but him.

‘Oh, darling, I had no idea you were finding it hard juggling everything. You should have said,’ Joshua said in a soft voice.
Mia looked up at him in surprise. ‘I know how much you like running
Gloss
, but I’m sure Lucy would be able to take over the magazine. You have to think about what’s important, and now that you’ve
won Editor of the Year – which, in my opinion, is better than Magazine of the Year – it might be time for you to concentrate
on other things.’

Mia balanced her knife and fork on her plate and watched
Joshua eat a large mouthful of sea bass. She couldn’t decide if he was being deliberately obtuse or if he simply had not heard
her correctly.

‘Joshua, I don’t want to give up
Gloss
. There’s so much more work that needs to be done on it – such as getting the website off the ground – and besides, I enjoy
it.’

Joshua grinned at her. ‘I know you do, but you’re my girlfriend now. And really, what’s more important at the end of the day?
A silly little job running a magazine, or being a wife and mother?’ Mia felt her temper bubbling under the surface. He was
maddening. If he thought she was going to become the second Mrs Joshua Garnet and give up her career to pop out mini-Joshuas
he had another thing coming.

‘Joshua, for fuck’s sake, I’m not even twenty-five yet. I’ve only just begun my career and I don’t intend to give the magazine
up,’ she hissed. She should never have put herself in this position, she thought.

Joshua laughed, and several people turned their heads to look at him. He spoke quietly. ‘Don’t forget, darling, that my family
owns
Gloss
. If you don’t think you can have a relationship with me while running the magazine I won’t hesitate in asking you to resign.
I have to put the magazine’s best interests first.’

Mia stared at him. Suddenly, through all the tender glances and softly spoken words, Mia could see the glint of steel in Joshua’s
eyes. She was back on familiar territory, but it unnerved her.

‘And if I want to put the magazine’s interests first rather than your personal ones …?’ Mia asked.

‘Then I shall fire you.’ Joshua had nearly finished his plate of food, and he curled up his mouth in amusement. ‘You have
to remember, darling, that not only do I own the magazine, but I also own you. And if you won’t have a relationship with me
I will see to it that not only do you not work on a
Garnet magazine ever again, but that every other publishing company knows that you are such a power-hungry bitch that you
forged an email from Madeline and sent it to the
Media Guardian
to get her sacked.’

Mia went white. She had no idea that Joshua had known she was behind that.

‘It suited me at the time because Madeline was a lame duck who couldn’t run the magazine or get pregnant to save her fucking
life, but if you’re not going to play fair then neither am I.’

Joshua finished his meal and looked at Mia’s nearly untouched plate.

‘Not hungry, darling?’ he said, in his gentle, caring-boyfriend voice. Mia shook her head. ‘Then why don’t we go back to your
flat? I have a proposition I would like to discuss with you. I had rather hoped we would be able to talk about it in here,
but I can see that this restaurant is making you grouchy. I’d much prefer you were in comfortable surroundings before I ask
you the most important question of your life.’

Mia held Joshua’s gaze for what felt like minutes. Yet once more he had taunted her with the threat that if she crossed him
she would never be able to work in the magazine business in the UK again, and it made her seethe. The last time Joshua had
spoken to her like that she’d run away to Florida – but this time, well … Mia wasn’t a little girl any more, and she wasn’t
going to let him think he could treat her like that again.

Joshua offered Mia his arm, and as she took it she looked up at him and gave him a dazzling smile. Joshua interpreted it as
Mia guessing that he was about to propose, and as he led Mia out of Claridge’s foyer he felt the small Asprey box in his jacket
pocket. He knew that Mia was only making a scene about giving up work because he hadn’t offered her a
ring, and now that he was about to he could see Mia’s silly tantrum about wanting to work full-time fading away. If she was
a good girl, he thought, he would let her be a consultant on
Gloss
. Why, she could be editor-at-large for as long as she wanted provided she got pregnant. He shot Mia a tender smile, and was
relieved to see her smiling back at him.

As her Jimmy Choos clicked against the black and white tiled floor of the foyer, Mia realised that for the past few years
her life had been like a game of chess. She had plotted and planned so much that with every step forward and back she had
let herself get caught up in the tactics of playing rather than concentrating on winning the game itself. Mia pulled her soft
grey cashmere shrug over her shoulders to keep herself warm, and as she did so she realised she had almost forgotten her aim
– to take down the king and acquire control of the board. Mia smiled to herself as they crossed the foyer and walked into
the crisp night air. It was the right moment, she thought, to tell Joshua exactly who he had fallen in love with.

Joshua was going to go nuclear, Mia thought, as she sashayed seductively across her living-room to hand him a whisky. As she
leant down to pass him the Tiffany cut-crystal tumbler, she caught sight of herself in the darkness of her floor-to-ceiling
window. She paused slightly as she once again acknowledged just how beautiful she was. Her long limbs were lightly tanned,
her make-up was as fresh as it had been when she’d applied it earlier in the evening, and her cheeks were flushed with anticipation.

Mia smiled softly at Joshua and then walked over to the antique mirror to scrutinise herself properly. Yes, she was stunning,
but there was something about her reflection that made her feel uncomfortable: she was too perfect. Mia remembered how she
used to look, and rather than disliking the memory of her former appearance, she was haunted by an image of a happier, more
carefree girl. As much as she loved her Balenciaga gown, the Cartier garnet and diamond necklace that sparkled against her
neck, and her expensive gold-spun highlights, she’d have been happier in jeans and a sloppy T-shirt. She wanted to be herself
again.

Across the river Big Ben began to chime midnight, and Mia suppressed a tiny smile. It was so apt. This was the moment when
Cinderella turned from the mysterious woman who stole Prince Charming’s heart back into the put-upon
scullery maid, and Mia was about to do the same.

In the mirror Mia could see Joshua walking over to her with a fond expression on his face, and as he turned round he produced
a small Asprey jewellery box and got down on one knee. Mia tried not to look pleased. Joshua really believed that she would
accept his proposal and give up running
Gloss
magazine.

‘Mia Blackwood,’ he announced theatrically in his booming voice, ‘will you marry me?’

It was one of those chick-flick moments that Joshua was so keen on, and as if on cue he flipped the lid on the box to expose
the largest pink princess-cut diamond Mia had ever seen. She tried not to laugh. She’d always known that Joshua traded in
magazine clichés, but this was ridiculously over the top, even for him. His divorce hadn’t even come through yet.

‘Oh, Josh,’ Mia said with a sigh, glancing at the platinum ring with minimal interest. ‘What if I told you that at midnight
I turn from being the beautiful princess into one of the ugly sisters? Would you still love me then?’ Mia scrutinised Joshua’s
face while keeping hers as emotionless as possible. She sounded like she was in a play, but she knew it fitted the situation
perfectly.

Joshua laughed patronisingly, and scooped Mia up into his arms.

‘You and your fairy stories,’ he said, kissing Mia’s nose affectionately. Mia slithered from his grip in a quiet rage and
took a deep breath. She was going in for the kill.

‘Joshua, I’m serious.’ Mia’s eyes glinted with steely determination. ‘You sit in your gilded office and think you know everyone
and everything, but how much do you really know about me? I’m willing to bet you haven’t a clue about the secret in my past.’

Joshua burst out laughing. ‘“Secret in your past”? Why
the melodrama, darling, and what on earth are you talking about?’ Joshua took Mia’s hands in his and smiled. ‘Did you once
make a porn movie in Hollywood when you were helping your brother start his career? Might I have seen it?’ Joshua’s tone was
light, but Mia knew he was worried. He couldn’t have a wife with any skeletons in her closet. ‘Because I’d rather like to
watch you having sex … especially considering you’ve been making me wait all this time.’

Mia’s green eyes narrowed and her voice turned to ice. ‘Don’t be stupid,’ she snapped, and Joshua stopped laughing as he saw
how serious the beautiful woman in front of him was. ‘Take a closer look at me, Josh,’ she said with slight menace in her
tone. ‘Don’t you remember me? Because after all this time I never forgot you.’

Mia took a deep breath, and as the memories of her childhood, her time as Joshua’s PA, the pain of the surgery in Miami and,
finally, winning Editor of the Year consumed her, she knew it was time to say those cruel little words that would crush him.

‘I’m Joanne Hill, sweetheart.’ Mia’s voice broke and suddenly her icy tones sounded bitter. ‘You know … the fat girl who was
so desperate to write for one of your magazines that she let you bully her when she worked as your PA? You remember who I
am, don’t you? I think your exact words when you sacked me were that you’d make sure nobody else would employ me, and that
I should “stop eating and hope that I rot into something more attractive”.’

Mia let out a little laugh as she realised her voice had taken on the cold tones she had heard Joshua use so often in meetings,
and as she stared at her boss she was pleased to note he was pale.

‘So no, Mr Garnet, I don’t think I will marry you. Unless, that is, you still want to marry me.’

Joshua let the small velvet box fall to the floor. His white
face suddenly gleamed with a fine layer of perspiration, and Mia marvelled at how panicked he looked. She had never seen Joshua
as anything but calm and collected, and she realised, with pleasure, that she had finally got to him. Game, set and match,
she thought triumphantly.

‘You’re lying,’ Joshua spluttered, as he forced himself to look at the woman who he had thought was going to produce the Garnet
heir. ‘You’re Gable Blackwood’s little sister, not that fat bitch who used to be my PA.’

Mia laughed cruelly. ‘You don’t sound so sure,’ she said, taunting him.

‘Is this some fucking joke?’ He took Mia’s arms roughly, pulling her closely towards him so he could stare at her face. Mia
could smell the whisky on his breath and she was glad it hadn’t dulled his reaction to her announcement. ‘There’s no way you’re
Joanne Hill,’ he finally announced, and Mia heard the tension in his voice. ‘She could never have turned into a woman like
you.’

Mia removed his hands from her arms and took a step backwards, pleased that Garnet Publishing had thought to put panic buttons
in every room of the flat. Even though she was sure Joshua wasn’t going to do anything to hurt her, she had never seen him
so agitated, so angry. Mia took a deep breath and resolved to lower the imaginary guillotine even closer to his neck.

‘Look at my eyes, Joshua,’ she said softly. ‘Look deep into them and tell me they’re different to the ones that would have
haunted you if only you had some morals. Don’t you remember them? Don’t you recall how they used to look at you adoringly
right up until you told me I was worthless? How they turned to hate when you refused to give me a chance?’

Joshua stared at Mia for what felt like hours, and just as she began to feel worried about what he would do next he
gave her a twisted, acidic smile. Through his narrowed eyes he picked out some of Joanne’s features on Mia’s face, and even
though he could barely believe it, he could see traces of the girl who had formerly been his PA. Although Joanne had thinned
down, Joshua could see that the shape of her face was the same, and that her nose – although slimmer – was roughly the same
shape as he remembered. But it was Mia’s eyes that disturbed him the most. As she looked directly at him, he wondered how
he had ever failed to see that they were the same murky green that used to irritate him, especially when Jo had dared to look
him in the eye as he chastised her. He couldn’t believe that he had fallen so hard for Mia that he had never noticed that
her raw sex appeal barely hid the same characteristics of his mousy PA. Joshua felt his whole body tense up in fury.