Love is the New Black Page 13

  ‘Rose and I have been working hard to develop a new editorial strategy for the magazine and we’re committed to investing in feature articles that go beyond the surface and break some of the boundaries of traditional content. We want to publish amazing writing, award-winning writing: pieces that could compete for the Australian Publishers Excellence Awards.

  ‘We’re also developing strategies to reach younger audiences, and will be focusing on digital developments. We want this to be a magazine that our readers buy not only for the cutting-edge fashion, but for cutting-edge journalism too.’

  The screen on the wall flashed up the first cuts of that month’s Aspire. Then suddenly everyone was clapping. Piper was stunned. It was a buzz. Mason Wakefield had listened to her. People were clapping at her idea. Piper took another celebratory sip of her martini as Mason’s voice broke into the applause.

  ‘I won’t take up any more of your time, but well done, everyone, and please enjoy yourselves tonight.’

  A voice came from over Piper’s shoulder.

  ‘Hello, Petite Piper.’ She turned to see a welcome sight. Albert had dyed his Mohawk black since the since the day he’d helped make her over and tonight he was wearing a white suit with gold buttons. ‘It looks like you’re keeping up the good work, getting big ups from the boss man,’ Albert said, his eyebrows raised. ‘And what’s with this amazing outfit? It’s very Red Riding Hood,’ he said, turning Piper around so that he could view her from all angles. ‘Where did you get this?’

  Piper looked down at her red dress, which had a loose cowl neck that draped down her back, a bit like a hood.

  ‘Actually,’ she said when she’d stopped spinning, ‘it’s one of Kara Kingston’s designs. She’s starting a collection.’

  ‘Well, well, well,’ Albert said, ‘who would have thought! It’s divine. You look adorable, young lady. Good enough to eat.’ He opened his mouth wide and made a biting sound.

  ‘Oh please don’t, Mr Wolf,’ Piper cried.

  Albert’s laugh was loud and honky. It definitely made Piper feel more relaxed. Piper took the final sip of her espresso martini and grabbed another from a passing tray.

  ‘You should pass on my details to Ms Kingston,’ he said. ‘I’ve worked on loads of shoots for David Jones, as well as some of the smaller retailers. I might just know someone who knows someone who might like to check out her gear.’

  ‘Excellent idea, Amazing Albert,’ Piper said, clinking glasses with him. God, it felt good to be able to do this for Kara. And to be mentioned in Mason’s speech. As though she, Piper Bancroft, might actually be just a tiny bit influential.

  ‘That’s me, Little Red. Amazing Albert.’

  Piper took a sip of the yummy drink and then another, feeling looser with every mouthful.

  Albert leant into Piper conspiratorially. ‘So, you look like you’re up for a big night, Red,’ he said, tapping her glass. ‘I’m going to head out to a club and try my luck. I need a bit of a fairytale in my life too. Prince meets prince. Happy ending and all that.’

  Piper giggled. ‘You know, I think it’s a little unfair that it’s always the princess that has to kiss the frogs. I think it should be the other way around sometimes. Let the prince kiss the frog for a change.’

  ‘Sweetheart, I’ve kissed more frogs than you’ve had hot dinners.’ Albert retorted. He spoke conspiratorially, out of the side of his mouth. ‘To tell you the truth, I don’t mind if one stays a frog, as long as he’s nice on the inside.’

  ‘Oh, Albert,’ Piper said. ‘You’re so sweet … in a weird, intense kind of way.’

  ‘I know, right?’ Albert said, his deep laugh resonating around the room. ‘You’re very perceptive, Red.’

  Soon, lots of other people were standing with Albert and Piper. It was lovely to be included in Albert’s sphere. Piper only had to offer a word here and there because Albert’s big personality entertained everyone. She grabbed another martini. She was beginning to enjoy herself. This launch thing wasn’t as bad as she’d thought it would be.

  The only problem was that it was hard to get to the food. Piper could see the food trays with mini sliders, prawn skewers and nori rolls that were being passed around. But by the time the trays got to her, they always seemed to be empty. Tucked away with Albert and co., she let herself gaze around the room.

  Lucy was nearby, standing with a photographer who was resting his hand on her shoulder. Piper might have been wrong, but Lucy seemed to be trying to shift out of the way. Piper watched Mason walk up to Lucy and the guy. He held out his hand and the guy had to take his from Lucy’s shoulder to meet the handshake. As soon as he did so, Lucy moved out of the photographer’s reach.

  Piper noticed Rose walking towards her. She looked beautifully ephemeral in a white flowing dress with batwings. Bruno was under her arm, dressed in the tuxedo Piper had collected the previous afternoon.

  ‘Bruno is looking very dashing tonight,’ Piper said as Rose approached. She reached out to give the dog a scratch on the head. ‘But he’s not just a looker. He’s very therapeutic also, you know.’

  Rose tilted her head to the side, questioningly.

  ‘Pet therapy?’ Piper tried, knowing she was sounding random. ‘Um, Bruno helped cheer Kara Kingston up recently,’ she tried to explain.

  Rose pushed a lock of curls behind her ear, smiling gently. ‘Watch out for those martinis, Piper. They have a kick to them.’

  As Rose drifted away, Piper caught Lucy’s eye. Lucy mimed surprise and walked over. ‘Well done, Ms Bancroft, getting into the boss’s speech!’ Lucy whispered. ‘Maybe I have Mason wrong. He did just rescue me from a sleazy photographer. And he obviously thinks you’re cool.’

  Piper raised her glass and smiled. ‘I think he’s just mist …’ Piper tried again. ‘Misunderstood,’ she managed.

  Lucy wandered off and Piper rejoined the group crowding around Albert. As the lights of the city glittered outside, Albert regaled them with a story about his fling with Elton John, when Albert had been his stylist in the eighties.

  Piper looked around the room. The crowd was thinning out, actually. Quite a few people had gone. Bronwyn had left, and Lucy was nowhere to be seen.

  Vivian picked up her Chanel clutch and flared her nostrils at Piper from across the room before leaving. Piper had to bite down a smile. She could just about imagine fire coming out of Vivian’s nose. She felt quite giggly at the thought.

  Who cares about Vivian when Mason mentioned me in his speech?

  She looked around again. Mason was still there.

  He had been working his way around the room, stopping to talk to people on his way and then moving on. And now he was moving in Piper’s direction.

  Piper stepped away from the group and looked out of the window. Albert’s voice was like a good backing track, lyrical and expressive, though she was no longer concentrating on his actual words.

  One of the waiters hovered around her. She took another espresso martini from the tray. She felt wonderful. She was fitting in. If she wanted to, she could start a conversation with anyone right now. The first thing that came to mind would be the right thing, she was sure of it. But right now, there was one person she definitely wanted to talk to.

  Mason was only steps away from her now.

  ‘Piper,’ he said.

  A little splash of the martini escaped from her glass, as though it had a mind of its own. She quickly wiped it off her hand. ‘Mason,’ she replied, smiling.

  ‘I wanted to thank you for your suggestions for the magazine,’ he said formally. ‘I’m impressed with your ideas, Piper, and your taste. Megan Roach is an excellent writer.’

  Piper tried to stop herself from grinning. But it was no good. Mason had even bothered to find out more about the article she’d recommended. She beamed.

  ‘So, I hear you wanted to do a creative writing course?’ he said.

  ‘How did you know that?’

  ‘You’d be surprised at what I know,’ Mason said cryptica
lly. ‘I have my ways.’

  Piper took another sip. She loved how the martini was making her brave. And the idea that Mason had been interested enough to find out stuff about her personally was strangely exciting.

  ‘How old am I?’ she asked suddenly.

  ‘You’re eighteen going on nineteen …’ he started.

  ‘Okay. What else do you know?’

  ‘You’re from Mission Beach,’ Mason continued, ‘and you’ve moved down to Melbourne to work at Aspire. You live with your godmother.’

  Piper shrugged. ‘That’s all pretty generic. Pretty basic, if you ask me. Not particularly surprising.’ The way she said it was like issuing a challenge. The way she said it was like flirting.

  ‘Oh, so you want something more detailed?’ he asked, the sides of his mouth twitching. ‘Well, you’re not so good with revolving doors, but you’re excellent with people and small dogs. And you seem to really like those martinis.’

  Piper took another sip to demonstrate exactly how much she liked the martinis.

  ‘I know a little about you too, Mason,’ she said. ‘Shall we play true or false?’

  The twitch around the corners of his mouth turned into a proper smile.

  ‘You have an MBA from Harvard,’ she said.

  ‘True.’

  ‘Your father gave his business to you.’

  Mason’s expression hardened and he didn’t look so amused anymore, which was strange. He was pretty good at stirring her up – giving him a bit back was fun.

  ‘Not quite true,’ he said, his voice dropping.

  ‘No, it’s just true or false,’ Piper said. ‘You can’t do halves.’ She was really enjoying herself now. She took one more little sip of the fabulous drink. Then, she lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘And you’re pretending to go out with Kara Kingstons,’ she said. She gulped down on a giggle. What she’d just come out with seemed hilarious – as though there were several Kara Kingstons instead of one. ‘But in fact, Kara is not interested in you at all, Mason, because Kara is …’

  ‘Piper,’ said Mason in a firm voice. She stopped talking.

  Only then did Piper notice there were just a few people left in the room. She watched as Mason had a quick word with a cleaner. He picked up two bottles of water from a nearby table.

  ‘We are going for a walk,’ he said when he came back. ‘Now.’

  Mason’s silence as they travelled down the elevator was sobering. So was the cool breeze as they stepped out onto the promenade.

  There were still loads of people around. People were out for a boat ride on the river. People who had enjoyed a meal together. People were taking a stroll. People who hadn’t just completely fucked up.

  Mason’s stride was fast and Piper struggled to keep up. Part of her thought it might be better to disappear, to get lost in the crowd and go home. But Mason grabbed her hand and pulled her into a deserted laneway.

  ‘Take a seat. And have some water,’ he said. He opened a bottle and handed it to her as she sat on the empty milk crate he’d gestured to.

  Piper gulped down the water, afraid of what was coming.

  ‘What do you know about Kara?’ Mason demanded. ‘And how do you know it?’

  Piper looked into his eyes, trying to see him properly. Even in the dark, lit dimly by the light from nearby shop windows, it was too much. She had to look away.

  ‘I recognised Kara in a gay pride march on the weekend,’ she said softly. ‘And I put two and two together.’

  ‘What makes you so sure she wasn’t marching as a straight supporter?’ His question only confirmed Piper’s suspicions.

  ‘She was obviously with her female partner,’ Piper said, feeling suddenly very sober. ‘Laurie, is it?’

  Mason sighed. ‘Does anybody else know?’

  Piper shook her head.

  ‘The only people who know about Kara and Laurie are her agent and me,’ Mason explained. ‘And now you, of course. But Piper, nobody else can know. Not for the time being, anyway. It’s very important for Kara’s career. Do you understand that?’

  Piper stood up. She tilted her head upwards so she could look him in the eyes. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said falteringly.

  Mason’s gaze pinned her to the spot. He didn’t speak. He was obviously waiting for her to continue.

  ‘I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Kara or her career,’ she said. ‘I promise.’

  Piper could see Mason relax, just a little. His shoulders dropped. He moved forwards. Piper could see the rise and fall of his chest.

  ‘Kara is a good friend,’ he said, his tone muted now. ‘And Laurie is a great partner for her. But Kara has worked so hard to get where she is. If she comes out publicly, it has to be her way.’

  Piper bit her lip. ‘You’re very loyal.’

  The way Mason looked at her, she felt like she was being seen for the first time. Piper wanted to place her hand over her heart to feel whether it really was skipping beats.

  ‘Pretending to be Kara’s boyfriend has been no big sacrifice,’ he shrugged. ‘It’s just a little bit of media here and there.’

  ‘Yes, but you –’ Piper stopped herself. She couldn’t say the next thing.

  ‘I can’t go out with anyone else?’

  Piper nodded.

  Mason looked down. ‘That hasn’t really mattered to me,’ he said softly, then lifted his eyes up to meet hers. ‘Until now.’

  Piper’s heart pounded. She moved forward, and felt his hands slip around her waist. He leant towards her, and kissed her.

  His kiss was soft at first – no more than a flutter. Then, his lips were firm on hers. Piper closed her eyes. His tongue found hers, and the kiss became urgent.

  He lifted her against the wall and a moan escaped her. Mason pressed her body into the bricks and she felt him, big and hard against her. She ran her hands over his chest, wanting to rip off his shirt.

  Adrenaline coursed through her, making every nerve ending in her body stand to attention.

  Piper had never felt anything like this before. She wanted him, right there. Now.

  She fumbled with the belt of his trousers, and felt him grow even harder as he groaned. His lips moved down her neck, his hand on her breast. His teeth bit softly into her shoulder. His hands were under her dress, moving up her legs.

  ‘Oh god. I want you, Piper,’ he whispered.

  A clip-clip of high heels stopped suddenly. Piper froze. She opened her eyes to see Vivian standing at the top of the laneway, her razor-thin frame outlined against the street light.

  ‘Mason,’ Piper hissed.

  Vivian was looking right at them. She stood there for a minute, registering exactly what she’d seen, then quickly walked away.

  ‘She saw us,’ said Mason. ‘Fuck.’ He started buckling his belt up again.

  In that moment, everything changed. Piper felt exhausted, as though all of her senses had been switched on and off and toyed with. It was like her body had been in some kind of electrical storm, complete with charges and power cuts. But mostly she felt shamed, stupid. She felt herself slumping against the wall.

  ‘Come on,’ Mason said gently, ‘let’s get you a cab.’

  After Mason had put Piper in the taxi, he went home and poured himself a large whisky. He sat staring at it for a while before taking a large swig, hoping to drown out thoughts of Piper. But he couldn’t.

  He thought about the way she’d looked at the photo shoot. She was so stunning, it blew him away. The yellow dress clinging to her petite frame. The leather jacket hugging her body. But it was her eyes that just about knocked him off his chair. A smattering of make-up, and they’d gone from lovely to smouldering.

  There was something so playful, yet intelligent, about her. Something that made him almost forget all his problems.

  God, he thought he’d completely buried the way he felt when they’d worked late together that day. But tonight, there it all was again, in the laneway. And now he’d gone and kissed her. Mauled her, more like it. He’d
completely lost his head. And Vivian had seen it all.

  But he couldn’t think about Piper in that way. The world believed he was with Kara. And he needed to concentrate on getting Aspire back on track, not on dating the junior freaking staff.

  Things were definitely improving at the magazine. The board meeting had gone well. He’d already streamlined the business – cutting back on double handling, unnecessary expenditure and clearing up those tax issues. Rose was excited to spearhead the new editorial direction.

  But costly mistakes were still being made – like the three garments that went missing from the Marc Jacobs shoot, and the priceless Valentino gown currently missing in action. It struck him that it was perhaps more than carelessness. He’d questioned Vivian about it, but her responses were annoyingly evasive, and he had the feeling that she might be protecting her junior fashion stylist.

  It was another thing Mason would have to get to the bottom of. Rose had told him recently that she had a feeling things weren’t as they were supposed to be in the fashion department. Mason adored Rose, but sometimes he wished she would ditch her feelings in favour of something more solid that he could act on. Better yet, if only his dad would come back on board, Mason could go back to the US and escape all of this.

  Mason knew he’d been an idiot, flirting with Piper at the party. He knew he should’ve resisted the urge, but he wanted her to know he’d been thinking about her. He was glad he’d had the chance to publicly acknowledge how much he valued her opinion.

  Last week, when he’d taken her to the Bojangles shoot, he’d just about bitten her head off when she’d asked him about his father. He’d felt bad about it. The truth was, Piper Bancroft put his emotions on a seesaw.

  He hated how serious his life had become lately. He’d barely been in contact with the part of himself that liked to have fun. Now he had to be the boss but – more than that – he had to be seen as being the boss.

  What had he been thinking tonight? Piper was drunk, and he’d kissed her, almost taken her right there. Who knew how she’d feel in the morning? She was probably going to sue him for sexual misconduct.