‘It’s just …’ I shook my head. Jasper was already nodding at some suited men in a corner.
‘We need to talk to these guys,’ he said, squiring me across the room. ‘And after that, I need to get you somewhere private and do unspeakable things to you. I wish to Christ I’d picked a different dress now. Something that covers you from neck to toe.’
My thoughts were running along similar lines. I felt naked, especially when casual glances turned to me and then became less casual, more curious. I had the uneasy feeling that I was a talking point.
The three suited men were ostensibly looking at Jasper, but I knew they had me in the corner of their sights and were intrigued.
‘Jasper,’ cried the first and biggest, rising from one of many round white leather sofas dotted around the place. ‘We were just talking about you.’
‘I thought my ears were burning,’ he said, and he put a hand on my bottom, just for a second, as if the word ‘burning’ had made him think of it. ‘This is Sarah. Sarah, meet Vijay Seth, Ralph Linwood, James Gretsch.’
The two last-named remained in their seats and waved lazily, but the first big guy put out a hand and shook mine until I thought my arm would drop off.
‘Friend of Jasper’s?’ he said. ‘Friend of mine. He’s a great talent. Are you an actor?’
‘No,’ I said, but Jasper spoke over me, quickly and smoothly.
‘I’m thinking of casting Sarah in my new project,’ he said.
‘Great, that’s great,’ said Vijay, looking me up and down. ‘What have I seen you in before, Sarah?’
‘Oh, nothing,’ I said, thinking that he wasn’t seeing me in much now.
‘Sarah’s a new, fresh talent,’ said Jasper. ‘She brings a truthfulness to the part, a realism.’
‘All very well,’ drawled Gretsch, ‘but it’s not bankable.’
The look Jasper fixed him with made me clench my bottom. I’d seen that look so many times.
‘Bankable, Jim? This isn’t Hollywood. I don’t care about casting whoever’s on the front cover of Glamour. I care about the film, about who’s right for the film.’
‘The thing about you, Jasper, is that you never listen,’ grumbled Gretsch. ‘Your movies could be box office if you’d just take a tip or two along the way.’
‘And compromise my vision in the name of getting corporate sponsorship from Coca-Cola? Fuck that, not to put too fine a point on it.’
I was a little alarmed. I wasn’t sure this was the way to go about getting the funding he wanted. On the other hand, if it meant I was out of the running for lead actress, I wasn’t going to argue.
‘Look,’ I said. ‘It’s fine. If casting Keira Knightley means you get the backing, then cast Keira Knightley. I’m happy with that.’
‘If you saw the scenes I’ve blocked out …’
‘No.’ I tightened my hand around his forearm. ‘Nobody sees those.’
I must have been blushing beetroot, because this interested the suit guys, all of whom leaned forward.
‘What kind of scenes are they?’ asked the one who hadn’t spoken yet, Ralph.
‘This is a period piece, right?’ said Gretsch.
‘Right,’ said Jasper. ‘Victorian. A man and a maid.’
‘Oh?’ Vijay all but winked at me.
‘I’m going to get myself another drink,’ I announced, finding myself unable to stay and listen to Jasper describing the film’s dynamic. I couldn’t just stand there while they all heard about me being whipped and dominated by the man whose arm I held. It was both too embarrassing and too exciting, all at once.
Jasper didn’t seem to want to let me go, but he could hardly force me to stay, in front of a room full of people.
I found the nearest circulating tray, took another glass of champagne and tried to hide myself behind a plant arrangement until the conversation was over. I was spotted by an enfant terrible of the art scene, apparently three sheets to the wind already. She pitched up next to me and told me she was dying for a smoke.