Page 86 of Kissing Games
‘I haven’t seen them all, but he sent me some screengrabs. You’re mainly pulling faces, which is fine. But in some you look wasted. You’re in a toilet stall and look like you’ve just puked. There’s also a shot of the hottest guy I’ve ever seen, who’s hung like a fucking horse, but you’re not in the shot, so we’ll deny all knowledge of that one.’
Valentina sat on the rug Charlie had given her, pulling at the tufts of wool. This could not be happening.
‘Isabella’s phone went missing in the hospital,’ she whispered. ‘How bad is it?’
She heard Cheryl huff down the line. ‘It’s not great.’
‘What about the cosmetics contract?’
‘I don’t know. There’s a clause they could invoke to cancel it. And if that happens, it won’t just be the money you’ll lose, it’s the damage to your reputation.’
Valentina couldn’t breathe. Her carefully cultivated career. All those years of work. Her entire image. Destroyed overnight.
‘It’s the photos of you wasted that are the real issue,’ Cheryl continued. ‘It could be construed as substance abuse. I can do what I can to spin this, but this is why you need a manager. A team. People around you to deal with this kind of shit.’
‘What about the next job? Will they cancel on me?’ she asked with a glimmer of hope that the art house film in London would now be called off.
Cheryl laughed. ‘Are you kidding? Pictures of you looking that trashed? They’re going to be over the fucking moon.’
Her heart sank.
‘Look. I’ll draw up a statement now and email it over. I suggest you call your sister and get the police involved. Although I doubt they’ll ever find out who did this.’
When Charlie returned with Bandit,Valentina was looking through all the photos she’d sent Isabella.
‘Well, that was entertaining,’ he said. ‘I had to let Barbara out of her flat because Rory had locked her in. Fuck me. I’ve seen calmer spitting cobras than the Dowager Countess of Kinloch. Despite her impressive poker face, it appears she is indeed getting jiggy with Brad, and Rory’s phone keeps going to voicemail.’
She looked at him and his smile disappeared.
He crouched in front of her. ‘Sweetheart, what’s up?’
‘Someone stole Isabella’s phone and they’ve sold all the selfies I sent her to a website. I could lose the cosmetics contract and my career is ruined.’
Charlie sat down and pulled her onto his lap. ‘Show me.’
She handed him the phone and he scrolled through the photos, his frown turning into a smile.
‘Why are you smiling? This isn’t funny.’
‘You’re not naked. You’re only pulling faces. You’re still the most beautiful woman in the world. These photos show you’re so much more than just your phenomenal looks. You’re the whole package.’
Had he lost his mind?
‘You wanted to do something different with your career, and now you can. You’ve got the freedom to be you.’
She shook her head. ‘You don’t understand.’
He shrugged. ‘Maybe not, but I think the photos are cute.’
‘Charlie, I’m on the floor of a toilet! I look like a junkie!’
‘Hmm. I agree that’s not your best look. But it shows you’re human.’
‘They’re also using a photo of you I took, on this rug,’ she said quietly.
‘Valentina Valverde! I can’t believe you sent a photo of me in my underpants to yoursister.’
She blushed and hid her face against his chest. ‘I’m sorry.’
