heard Amy’s resigned.’
‘Yes, it’s not great. She was shaping up well.’ Susie’s British accent sounded crisp and business-like.
‘Yeah, I thought she was too. Do you know why she’s gone?’
There was a pause on the line before she replied. ‘No. Anyway, I’ll get Rebekah on the case and I’m sure we’ll have you a new one by the end of the week. Did you get my messages?’
‘Yup, I did.’
‘Well, don’t be late tomorrow. They want to shoot as the sun is coming up. A car will pick you up at four a.m., okay?’
‘Sure.’
‘I heard you had quite a party last night.’
‘It was fun, yeah.’
‘Well, no partying tonight, Electra. You need to be fresh for tomorrow. It’s the cover shot.’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll be in bed by nine like a good little girl.’
‘Okay. Sorry, I’ve got Lagerfeld on the other line. Rebekah will be in touch with a list of suitable PAs. Ciao.’
‘Ciao,’ I mimicked into the cell as the line went dead. Susie was one of the only people on the planet who would dare hang up on me. She was the most powerful modelling agent in New York and ran all the big names in the industry. She’d spotted me when I was sixteen. At the time, I’d been working in Paris as a waitress, having been expelled from my third school in about as many years. I’d told Pa that it was pointless him trying to find me another school because I’d only end up getting expelled from there too. To my surprise, he hadn’t made a fuss.
I remembered how astonished I’d been that he hadn’t been angrier at yet another of my failures. Just kind of disappointed, I suppose, which had taken the wind out of my sails.
‘I thought I’d go travelling or something,’ I’d suggested to him. ‘Learn through life experience.’
‘I agree that most of what you need to know to be a success in life doesn’t necessarily come through the academic process,’ he’d said, ‘but because you’re so bright, I’d hoped you’d at least get some qualifications. You’re a little young to be off by yourself. It’s a big wide world out there, Electra.’
‘I can take care of myself, Pa,’ I’d said firmly.
‘I’m sure you can, but what will you do to fund your travels?’
‘I’ll get a job, of course,’ I’d said with a shrug. ‘I thought I’d head for Paris first.’
‘Excellent choice,’ Pa had nodded. ‘It’s an incredible city.’
As I’d watched him across his big desk in the study, I’d thought he’d looked almost dreamy and sad. Yup, definitely sad.
‘Well now,’ he’d continued, ‘why don’t we compromise? You want to leave school, which I understand, but I’m concerned about my youngest daughter heading off into the world at such a tender age. Marina has some contacts in Paris. I’m sure she could help you sort out a safe place to stay. Take the summer there, then we’ll regroup and decide where you go next.’
‘Okay, sounds like a plan,’ I’d agreed, still amazed that he hadn’t fought harder for me to finish my education. As I’d stood up to leave, I’d decided that he’d either washed his hands of me, or was giving me just enough rope to hang myself with. Anyway, Ma had called some contacts, and I’d ended up in a sweet little studio overlooking the rooftops of Montmartre. It had been miniscule and I’d had to share the bathroom with a load of foreign exchange kids who were in town to improve their French, but it had been mine.
I remembered that first delicious taste of independence as I’d stood in my tiny room the night I arrived and realised there was no one to tell me what to do. There was also no one to cook for me, so I’d taken myself off to a café just along the street, sat down at a table outside and lit up a cigarette as I studied the menu. I’d ordered French onion soup and a glass of wine and the waiter hadn’t even batted an eyelid at me smoking or ordering alcohol. Three glasses of wine later, I’d had the confidence to go up to the manager and ask him if he had any vacancies for a waitress. Twenty minutes after that, I’d walked the few hundred yards back to my studio with a job. One of my proudest moments had been the call to Pa on the pay phone along the hall the next morning. To give him credit, he’d sounded just as thrilled as