‘Right, I’ve got James Callen all over this like leprosy.’
‘James Callen?’
‘Top employment lawyer on the planet,’ he said. ‘Guy makes Wolverine look restrained. I know for a fact he’s got enough dirt on Marvin Schultz to bury that weasel six feet under.’
‘Max,’ said Amy nervously, ‘it’s good of you, but it’s not going to change anything. And to be fair, Marv Schultz hasn’t really done anything . . .’
‘Maybe not, but it’ll scare the Christ out of those buggers. No one screws with my friends and comes away with all their fingers.’
Amy softened. She’d always thought of Max as a slightly irritating buffoon, just one of the gang who was always there making a mess at parties, but she supposed to the outside world he was a force to be reckoned with – and it was heart-warming to see him outraged on her behalf.
‘I’m going to make some more calls, lob over a few more grenades. You may be right, maybe it won’t change anything, but I’m going to find out who’s been fucking with you. Leave it to me.’
He kissed her on the cheek and was gone. Claire just stood there awkwardly, fiddling with the strainer. While Max obviously enjoyed a crisis, she was reduced to pouring tea.
‘I totally embarrassed myself today,’ said Amy after a moment.
‘How?’
‘You know Josie is Douglas’s PA now?’
‘No way.’
Amy nodded. ‘She impressed him before Provence. There was a job opening, she got it.’
‘Sounds a bit convenient.’
Claire had a point. It was Josie who had found William’s humidor and saved the day. Grace had been fired for her ineptitude, but what if Josie had planned it that way? The more she thought about the young woman, the more her stomach seemed to twist inside.
‘I was called in to see Douglas. But when he told me he was suspending me, I should have kept my dignity. Instead, I saw Josie looking smug outside his office door and I just lost it.’
Amy leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, clasping her fingers together to stop them from shaking.
‘She’s trying to destroy me, Claire. She goes after my husband, my job . . .’
‘They’re hardly going to give her the editorship of Mode.’
‘No, but it’s enough for her to see me not get the job. Which is why she set out to discredit me. The drugs accusations . . . even the Fashion 500 party was constantly beset by problems.’
‘Sweetheart, you can’t seriously think that Josie was behind that. I remember planning Max’s fortieth at that castle in Scotland. Everything that could have gone wrong did. It’s what happens with large-scale events.’
Amy was disappointed that Claire hadn’t sided with her completely, but a voice in her head told that she was beginning to sound paranoid. She picked up her cup of tea and it rattled against the saucer.
‘Look,’ Claire said, ‘Josie may have flirted with David on holiday. It might even have gone further, although honestly, I don’t believe it did. Perhaps she hustled her way into the job with Douglas Proctor, and good luck to him if he chooses to recruit someone like that. But any glitches with the gala were down to bloody bad luck, and if someone has been spreading rumours about drug use, about syringes, it’s more likely to be someone who wants you out of the running for the Mode job so that they can have a clear run.’
Amy had to admit that what Claire was saying made sense.
‘Whoever started the drugs rumour had to have known about the vitamin shots. Who else knows about BlissVit?’
Amy shrugged. ‘Only you and Juliet. But I think Josie saw the syringes in my bag.’
‘Anyone in your office?’
‘Probably Chrissie, my PA. I kept the vials in the office fridge, so she could very well have seen them. But putting aside the fact that I’d trust Chrissie with my life, why would she do anything to hurt me?’
‘What about your deputy? The fashion director?’
‘I’m not sure either of them would be in contention for the Mode job.’