Page 43 of His Beautiful Revenge
“Fuck,” she breathed. What the hell was going on?
Worse was to come. Three more clients had sent letters too, ending their contracts, each expressing their apologies but not giving her a reason for withdrawing their offers. Norah felt tears prick her eyes and she pulled her phone out and called Giacomo.
He sounded angry. “What the hell is their problem?”
“I honestly can’t tell you, baby. I don’t think I did anything wrong. My commission was lower than average, I offered to do extra work for them. I just don’t get it.”
“Are you okay,Bella?”
She sighed. “Yes, just disappointed. I feel like …god, I don’t know … that my name has been sullied by this. I really hope not. I’ve worked too hard for this.”
“You have. Look,Bella, there’s plenty of work to do here …I’ll send a car for you.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to refuse, but instead, she found herself agreeing. She hid her upset from Zulika and Fred, and an hour later she was being driven out to Mountain View. Giacomo met her at the entrance, kissing her hello.
“I’m sorry,Bella.”
She shook her head, wanting to cry. “It’s Okayay. I just wished I knew why.”
Giacomo called in some favors with some contacts, but everyone was closed-lipped. It wasn’t until a few days later that they got their answer. An anonymous source at the cosmetics company sent Giacomo an image with the cryptic message:I think this will answer your question.
It was a mock-up of the campaign Norah had been set to work on, launching the brand’s new line. Front and center of the photograph mock-up, in all her long-legged, icy blonde beauty …Tara.
Norah groaned and put her head on the desk. Giacomo cursed in Italian. He put his hand on Norah’s hair. “Bella, I will sort this out. I promise.”
Norah wanted to argue, but knew that Giacomo would have more luck than she in this area. He had the reputation and the status. Tara was an international supermodel. Who was this interloper, Norah Reddy? If a brand could get the unattainable Tara Hubert to front their campaign in return for dumping a newcomer, why wouldn’t they?
“How did she know? How did she know who I was working with?”
Giacomo had no answer for her. “I will find out,mio caro. I promise you.”
Seven o’clock and the bottle of sleeping pills just sat there, tempting her. Zulika sat on the kitchen counter, mindlesslymunching an apple. The apartment was too quiet and too dark. Maybe running this morning had been a mistake. Her doctor had switched her medication and she was getting used to the new nausea, but it was distracting. Three days of taking the tablets had left her queasy and light-headed. Yes, they knocked her right out, but … she went to the hallway to grab the phone and stopped. She picked up the photo of the four of them: Orlando, Norah, Giacomo, and herself. Happy.Happier,she corrected.Not perfect.She sighed and placed the photo face down. She took the phone into the living room and curled up in the armchair. Dialing, she waited for an answer.
‘Hello?’
‘Hey,’ she smiled into the phone. “What are you doing this evening?’
Tara Hubert left dinner, and her date, at the restaurant and waited outside for the valet to bring her car around. As she slid into the driver’s seat, she started the engine and moved off, but then screeched to a halt as Giacomo leaned forward from the backseat. Tara clutched her chest, her heart banging against her ribs. “What thefuckare you doing, Giacomo?”
His smile was chilling. “Oh, no. You first, Tara. What the fuck areyoudoing? Sabotaging Norah’s career? I won’t stand for it.”
Tara smiled nastily. “Oh, you won’t? And what exactly are you going to do about it?”
Giacomo met her eyes without saying a word and Tara quelled at the anger in them. She looked away. “So, she has to send you to fight her battles?Impressive.”
“Tara, I would advise you not to test me. If you have a problem with me, fine. We will have to come to some sort of resolution. But Norah is off limits.”
Tara sneered. “I’m just doing my job, Giacomo. Can I help it if they don’t want some half-baked artist on their campaign?”
“I’m warning you, Tara.”
She turned in her seat. “Get out of my car, Giacomo …unless you want me to drive you back to my apartment. I’m sure we cancometo some kind of agreement there.”
Giacomo’s nose turned up. “You need to come to terms with the fact I’m never coming back to you, Tara.Ever.That boat has sailed a long time ago now. I’m off the market for good. Norah and I will be married very soon.”
Tara flinched at his words, pain shooting through her. “Well, what a fucking heart-warming Cinderella story that’ll be.”
“Do you understand me, Tara?”
