Two-Faced (27 page)

‘This is different.’ Snatching up the pile of newspapers that Sammy had brought with him, Kim shoved them under her nose. ‘Any weirdo could have grabbed you after seeing this lot!’

‘They only came out this morning,’ Mia reminded her, glancing at the picture on the front page of the
Mirror
. She’d seen them all already, having studied them in detail over breakfast in bed with Jay. But it gave her a buzz to see them again.

‘Let’s not dwell on that now,’ Sammy suggested, sensing that Kim was about to start ranting again – and he’d already had a good hour of it, so his ears needed a rest. ‘You’re back, and you’re obviously all right, so if we can just have a quick talk about where we go from here I’ll leave you in peace.’

Shuffling forward on the couch, he reached for his briefcase and took out a sheaf of papers.

‘I’ve had several enquiries since the show yesterday, but we’ll discuss them in a minute. First, I just want you to take a quick look at the contract that was faxed over from Prague. It’s six months away but they like to have these things signed and sealed well in advance so, if you’re happy with the terms, we should get that sent back a.s.a.p.’

‘You don’t usually ask if I’m happy with the terms,’ Mia reminded him.

‘You’re not usually in as much demand as you are right now,’ Sammy came back smoothly. ‘Which puts us in the rather fortunate position of being able to raise the fee-bar somewhat.’

‘It’s ’cos of the papers,’ Kim chipped in excitedly. ‘Sammy reckons he can pretty much dictate how much they’ve got to pay now your name’s getting known.’

‘I understood without you spelling it out, thank you very much,’ Mia said brusquely as she walked into the kitchen.

Close on her heels, Kim slammed the newspapers down onto the ledge. ‘Don’t you be copping attitude with me, lady! If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be where you are right now.’

‘I think you’ll find it’s my
face
that’s got me to where I am right now,’ Mia pointed out dismissively.

‘The face I grew in
here
,’ Kim reminded her, slapping a hand down on her own fat belly. ‘So don’t be making out like you popped out of nowhere and did this all by yourself.’

‘Well, I sure as hell didn’t get my looks from
you
,’ Mia said, snatching a bottle of water out of the fridge.

Mortified that Sammy was witnessing this display of rudeness, Kim followed her back into the other room. ‘I think you should apologise for making Sammy feel uncomfortable. And then you can apologise to
me
for talking to me like that.’

‘I don’t
think
so.’

Breathing in deeply in an attempt to control the anger which was making her body shake, Kim gritted her teeth. ‘You’re one ungrateful little cow at times, Mia! Me and Sammy have done our best, and now you’ve got the cheek to walk in here and make out like we’ve done nothing.’

‘You haven’t,’ Mia replied, with all the arrogance of one who believed that her ship had not only come in but was well and truly docked. ‘I’m the one who’s done all the work. All
you
had to do was get a bit of money together for my first pictures. And all he’s done –’ she pointed at Sammy ‘– is make a few phone calls and negotiate a few contracts. And you’ve
both
done very bloody nicely out of me for the past two years, so don’t say
I
’m ungrateful. Oh, and, seeing as we’re on the subject . . .’ She turned to face Sammy now. ‘You might as well know that I’ve decided to get a new agent.’

‘You
what
?’ Kim squawked. ‘Don’t talk rubbish, you stupid girl! You can’t just get rid of him.’

‘I can, and I am. And we haven’t got a contract, so there’s nothing you can do to stop me.’

Looking at her, Sammy saw the same glint of stubbornness in her eyes that had been there back when her mum had first dragged her into his office. He’d thought they had developed a pretty good rapport since then, and he’d certainly become more involved with her than he usually did with his models. She’d obviously been biding her time, waiting for her moment to break free. But while she’d undeniably caused a stir and earned herself some useful press coverage, without the correct guidance the opportunities which arose from it would potentially be wasted. This was when the serious work should begin; when they should put their heads together and decide how to build upon what could very easily turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Watching as they stared at each other – the thoughts that were racing through Sammy’s eyes unreadable, the determination in Mia’s all too clear – Kim felt as if her world was spinning out of control. If Mia dropped Sammy, her new agent would probably be one of those snotty bastards they’d met when they’d first started out – and there was no way they would want Kim around. But how could she allow herself to be pushed out of Mia’s life when Mia
was
her life?

Kim swallowed loudly, sounding as scared as she felt when she said, ‘She can’t really do this, can she, Sammy?’

Knowing that this would be more of a blow to her than it was to him, because he still had his other models to work with, Sammy sighed. ‘I’m afraid so, although I really wouldn’t advise it at this early stage.’ To Mia now, he added, ‘It’s your decision, but I think you should be very cautious, because it can be a pretty nasty business when you’re out there on your own.’

‘You
would
say that,’ Mia retorted smugly, taking his eagerness to hold onto her as an affirmation that he knew she was going to be huge and didn’t want to lose out. ‘But I wouldn’t be on my own. I’d have my new agent behind me.’

‘I’m saying this out of concern for you, not myself,’ Sammy assured her. ‘You’re young and relatively inexperienced, and there are people out there who would manipulate you for their own ends without giving it a second thought.’

Sighing, Mia shook her head. ‘Oh, Sammy, you’re so wrong. You only think I’m young because
you
’re so old, but you obviously haven’t noticed that I’m a
woman
now. And I’ve been working solidly for two years, so I’d hardly describe myself as inexperienced. But if that’s how you see me, then you’re leaving me with no option, because all you’re going to do is hold me back.’

‘I assure you that’s the last thing I’d
ever
want to do,’ Sammy told her sincerely, gathering his papers together. ‘But you’re old enough to make your own decisions, so I’ll respect whatever choice you make.’

Thanking him for his understanding, Mia eyed the contract. ‘Er, you can leave that. I’ll get my new agent to look it over.’

‘Sorry, it doesn’t work like that,’ Sammy told her, slotting the contract into his case. ‘It’s been drawn up naming me as your agent, so it can’t just be handed over to someone else.’

‘That’s not fair,’ Mia protested. ‘It’s me they’re booking, not the agent, so what difference does it make whose name’s on it?’

‘Nothing’s been signed, so you’re welcome to get your new representative to approach them about having a new one drawn up,’ Sammy said, getting to his feet now. ‘But don’t leave it too long, or they might fill your spot.’ Turning to Kim now, he held out his hand. ‘It’s been a pleasure, my dear, and you know where I am if you need me.’

Tears glistening in her eyes, Kim begged Mia to change her mind. ‘This isn’t right, not after everything he’s done for us.’

Annoyed with Sammy for refusing to hand the contract over, Mia sucked her teeth and looked away.

‘I don’t know what’s got into her,’ Kim wailed as she let Sammy out. ‘All I can think is that she must be knackered. She’ll bite your head off as soon as look at you when she’s tired, but she never means it.’

‘If she goes, she goes,’ Sammy said simply. ‘And that’s not to say I
want
her to, because I don’t. But there’s no point fretting about it. You just be proud that you have such a beautiful, strong-minded daughter, because I’m sure she’ll be fine – whatever she decides.’

Kim bit her lip to keep her tears at bay as Sammy climbed into his car. He’d been her closest friend for two years – well, maybe
friend
was too strong a word, because they’d hardly had what could be described as a personal relationship; but she’d spent more time chatting to him on the phone than she’d talked to anyone else in that entire time. And he seemed to genuinely like her, which was nice – even if it wasn’t as much as she’d once hoped for, because he’d never so much as looked at her as if he saw her as a woman and not just the mother of his little star.

Watching from the step as he drove away, she didn’t hear Pam’s front door opening. But Pam saw her.

Grinning nastily as she dropped a rubbish bag into the wheelie bin, she said, ‘I see your Mia’s taken to stripping now. You must be
so
proud.’

Eyes flashing, Kim snapped her head around. ‘Too right I’m proud. But for your information it’s not called stripping, it’s called modelling. And she’s so bloody good at it she’s on all the front pages today,
and
the phone’s been ringing off the hook with people begging to book her – so swivel on
that
, you jealous auld cow!’

‘I’m not the jealous one round here,’ Pam shot back – loudly, for the benefit of some neighbours from further down who’d come out onto their steps to listen. ‘
You
are, ’cos you just can’t accept that Eric and me are still together after he dumped you. But that just shows how pathetic you are.’

‘Is that right?’ Kim had a savage smile on her lips. ‘Well, if I want him so badly, how come I haven’t taken him back any of the times he’s come round begging for a second chance?’

‘Yeah, right,’ Pam scoffed, not believing a word of it. ‘Like he’d want
you
when he’s got
me
to look after him.’

‘And that makes you feel good, does it? Knowing he’s only with you ’cos you’re stupid enough to do his washing and cooking?’

‘And the rest. Don’t think he hasn’t told me how crap you were in bed.’

‘Couldn’t have been that bad, or he wouldn’t keep sneaking round whenever your back’s turned.’ Smirking when she saw the doubt flash through Pam’s eyes, Kim said, ‘If you don’t believe me, just watch when you’re supposed to be at bingo tonight.’

‘Meaning?’ Pam came up the path and stood in front of Kim with her fists on her hips.

‘
Meaning
,’ Kim lowered her face to within inches of her former friend’s, ‘that you’ll see for yourself if I’m lying. Only try and keep your gob buttoned, ’cos if you go telling him what I just said he ain’t gonna do it. My back gate – eight o’clock.’ Turning on her heel, she marched back into the house.

Watching through the window as Pam waved her arms about, yelling to whoever was listening that people like Kim and her slaggy daughter shouldn’t be allowed to live among decent folk, Mia demanded to know what the argument had been about.

‘Nowt for you to concern yourself with,’ Kim told her.

‘Anything to do with Eric concerns me,’ Mia retorted angrily. ‘And you’d better have been lying to Fat Slag about him sneaking in here behind her back.’

‘Excuse me, but this is
my
house,’ Kim reminded her indignantly. ‘And I’ll have whoever I want in!’

‘So you
have
been seeing him!’

‘No. He’s been sniffing round, but I’ve told him I’m not interested. Anyhow, it’s none of your business.’

‘Oh, I see, so you don’t think I should have a say what goes on here, but you still expect me to pay all the bills?’

‘
All
the bills?’ Kim repeated incredulously. ‘Don’t make me laugh! You haven’t given me nothing for weeks.’

‘Maybe not, but when I
do
pay up I hand over way more than that stupid cow ever has to,’ Mia shot back angrily.

‘Michelle only gets thirty quid a week.’

‘
So?
It’s her problem if she’s too lazy to get a job and earn proper money like me.’

‘Oh, just belt up and get off your flaming high horse,’ Kim yelled. ‘And quit trying to change the subject, ’cos I want to talk about that rubbish you just pulled on Sammy. I’ve never been so humiliated in my entire life. After everything he’s done, I don’t know how you’ve got the nerve to try and sack him like that!’

‘For your information, I was
advised
to.’

‘By who? Some snotty little tart of a model who thinks she knows it all?’

‘No, by Gloria Ford – the fashion-show organiser,
actually
.’ Watching as this information hit home, Mia gave her mother a smug smile. ‘Thought that would make you see things differently.’

Frowning, Kim sat down heavily. ‘She actually told you to get rid of Sammy?’

‘She said he’s small-time, and considering they only deal with the major agencies she didn’t know how he’d managed to get me onto the show in the first place.’

‘They’re not trying to get out of paying you, are they?’

‘No, they can’t do that.’

‘Thank God for that.’ Tapping her nails on the arm of her chair for several moments, thinking everything over and weighing up the options, Kim finally said, ‘I think you should stick with him. He mightn’t be as flash as some of the others but at least he cares, and you know you can trust him. That Gloria might not rate him, but someone on the committee obviously does or they wouldn’t have got you on the show as a favour to him, would they?’

Mia tutted softly and shook her head. ‘You’re a right one, you. You’d do anything to keep him around, wouldn’t you?’

‘Don’t be daft,’ Kim protested, blushing because she knew exactly what Mia was getting at. ‘I just think he’s a decent bloke, that’s all. And like they say, it’s better the devil you know.’

Mia narrowed her eyes thoughtfully and said, ‘I’ll make you a deal. I’ll stick with Sammy if you promise not to see Eric again.’

‘Deal!’ Kim said without hesitation.

‘You’re barking,’ Mia drawled, laughing now. ‘Sammy’s fat and ugly, and he’s never shown the slightest bit of interest in you. But if you’re stupid enough to waste your life hankering after him . . .’ Leaving the rest unsaid, she yawned and glanced at the clock. ‘Right, I’m going for a nap. Wake me up in a couple of hours, ’cos I want to have a bath before I go out.’