over, couldn’t he? Alex has got a motorbike, he could be here in no time.’
Charley smiled at Callie, grabbing her handbag. ‘No. Alex has a client in this morning, and a very important one at that. It’s okay. I might as well go get them myself, it won’t take long. There’re a few things I want to check over at the salon anyway. Will you guys be alright on your own for a while? Do you all know what you’re doing?’
A cacophony of ‘yes’ and ‘of course’ echoed round the room and Charley smiled again. They were a great team. Of course they’d be okay.
‘Oh, and you could all do a lot worse than following Callie’s example. Get a look at the clothes Candice is showing and think of the kind of hair and make-up that would compliment those garments. I know she’s got her own brief but if we can get a couple of our own ideas out there than that’s great news for our salon. And for you lot. Back in a bit, kids!’
She ran out of the building and jumped into her car, pulling away probably a touch faster than she should have done. Beverly Hills wasn’t exactly miles away, she had plenty of time.
Switching on her iPod she quickly settled on a playlist of summer songs, tracks that sounded good in the sunshine, and she turned up the volume as the climate control kicked in, tapping her fingers along to Don Henley’s Boys of Summer as she drove. She felt good. Those silly feelings of unease she’d felt a couple of days ago had disappeared now. She’d just been tired, that was all. Tiredness, and an empty, echoing salon had a habit of playing tricks on the mind. She knew nobody was watching her. Why would anyone want to watch her? She was nobody special. She almost laughed at the idea that somebody could think her important enough to follow. What a ridiculous thought!
But what Charley didn’t know was that somebody did think her important enough to follow. Somebody who was about to make his presence felt very soon. And Charley couldn’t have been less ready for what was about to happen.
***
‘What are you doing here, Joe?’ India asked, grabbing her husband’s arm and dragging him away from the terrace, back inside the hotel.
‘A bit predictable, isn’t it?’
‘What are you talking about?’
He stuck his hands in his pockets and adopted an expression akin to that of a bored and spoilt child. ‘Come on, India. Dominic MacDonald?’
‘He’s my co-star, Joe. We’re going to be working together for a good few weeks, what is so wrong with having an innocent drink and getting to know him?’
‘You might think it’s an innocent drink but he’ll be eyeing you up with a view to gaining another notch on his leading-lady bedpost. Is that what you want, huh?’
‘Jesus, Joe, what the hell is this? Have you come all the way to Vegas just to start on me? Because I’m really not in the mood. I’ve had a long day…’
‘With Dominic MacDonald? Leading Lothario?’
‘Have you heard yourself?’
He leant back against the wall and closed his eyes for a second, sighing heavily. ‘And I thought I was coming here to find Michael Walsh the threat.’
India looked at him, unable to believe what she was hearing. ‘Hang on. What exactly is going on here? Nobody is a bloody threat, Joe, because we are getting a divorce, which renders any relationships I may or may not be having absolutely nothing to do with you.’
‘He opened his eyes and stared at her. ‘May or may not be having?’
‘Absolutely nothing to do with you,’ she repeated, staring back at him.
‘So, that’s it then? We just give up, we just walk away from this marriage?’
‘Yes, Joe. I thought we’d been through all this? Baby, we had some great times, and don’t think that I didn’t love you because I was crazy about you…’
‘Was?’
She looked up into those deep, dark eyes and the guilt she still felt at letting him down so badly almost overwhelmed her, as it always did when she thought too much about it. But she couldn’t live a lie. She’d tried, but she couldn’t do it. It wasn’t fair on either of them, but especially not on him. He deserved better. He deserved so much better than her. ‘It’s over, baby.’ Her voice was quiet as she reached out and took his hand, wrapping her fingers around his. ‘You know we couldn’t go on the