Page 57 of The Reboot
Andrew smiled smugly.
‘The closest I ever got to university was a “hot for teacher” photoshoot for Ariana’s Boudoir.’
Andrew’s eyes were bugging out.
‘Yeah.’ She laughed. ‘I was the slutty student, trying to seduce the professor.’ She undid the top buttons of her shirt, exposing a purple lace bra, then she leaned forward, pressing her boobs together and stuck a finger in her mouth, making sultry come-hither eyes at Andrew.
‘Gosh!’ Andrew reddened.
‘Yeah, it was mad stuff.’
Effective, though, Ella reckoned. Andrew looked about ready to buy a bra or anything else Pippa was selling.
‘Pity I didn’t know you at the time,’ she said, sitting back and buttoning up her shirt. ‘It would have been nice to have a real hot professor instead of some thick model who thought a pair of glasses and a frown made him look intelligent.’
‘So you’re a model, Pippa?’ Andrew asked.
Ella had to suppress a laugh at Pippa’s expression. She obviously wasn’t used to not being recognised and she looked affronted for a moment, stunned into silence. But she recovered quickly. ‘Yes, but I don’t do much modelling now, except for my own line. I’ve done some TV—’
‘Anything I’d have seen?’
Unlikely, Ella thought, given Andrew’s attitude to trashy TV.
‘I didCelebrity Cell Block,I’m A CelebrityandStranded, and I used to presentShout It Out– you know, the game show?’
Andrew shook his head. ‘I never saw it.’
‘Anyway, these days my main focus is clothes designing and influencer marketing. How about you?’ she asked, turning to Ella. ‘What do you do?’
‘I work at a techwear company. I’m just doing general admin and marketing.’
Unusually, Andrew didn’t jump in and make excuses for her lowly job. She waited for him to say that she was actually an academic and was just on hiatus, slumming it in the world of business until she could get back to her PhD. But it didn’t happen.
‘Good for you. God, I’m hopeless at organising anything. I have a ton of apps and planners, and I still don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing half the time. What’s the name of the company?’
‘Citizens of the Wild.’
‘I’ve heard of them,’ Pippa said. ‘Their stuff is brilliant.’
Ella nodded. ‘They’re going to London Fashion Week next year with their urban range.’
‘Maybe I’ll see you there.’
Once again she waited for Andrew to say she’d no longer be working there by then, but he didn’t.
‘You haven’t asked me what I do,’ Roly said.
‘I know what you do,’ she said, elbowing him playfully. ‘Sod all!’
He shook his head. ‘Guess again.’
‘Why, what are you doing?’
‘I’m signing on. I’m a Jobseeker.’
‘Seriously?’ Pippa asked, wide-eyed. ‘Scumbag!’ She laughed.
‘Actually, it doesn’t make me a scumbag at all. Ask Ella.’
