‘Christ, Mo.’ Rhona rolled her eyes. ‘Should I go and get the shovel so you can dig yourself out of that one?Escort?Really?’
‘Yeah, fair enough. Poor choice of word. Sorry,’ said Mo, feeling uncharacteristically flustered. ‘I’m just not sure how to explain it. What it boils down to is that I’ve had some pretty bad press lately and the record company is threatening to renege on my contract and—’
‘What Mo’stryingto say,’ interrupted Rhona, ‘is that having someone lovely, likeyou, Netta, with him at the gala would be a good look for him at the moment, and he’s more than willing to pay you for your time, in the same way he’d have to pay foranytype of marketing or publicity support. He needs to patch his reputation up a bit or things are looking like they’ll go south very quickly.’
Netta’s eyes crinkled and she released a half-hearted laugh. ‘Sorry. Is this a joke?’
‘No, I’m serious,’ said Mo. ‘You’d be doing me a huge favour. There’s a lot riding on the new album’s success. I can’t lose the contract.’
Netta’s eyes narrowed. ‘I’m sure you have a queue of women you could take who you wouldn’t have to pay.’
Mo hesitated, his cheeks warming. ‘That’s the thing. I don’t, really. I was stupid when I was younger. I got known for only dating women who looked like models or whatever and even then, never really getting into any sort of relationship. And then recently I got drunk and made the same old mistake, and now it’s all over the internet and I’m being peddled as a middle-aged, has-been modeliser who also pushes paparazzi photographers around. It’s not exactly the best look when I’m trying to resurrect my career with a comeback album.’ He rolled his eyes and shook his head. ‘I don’t know if you saw the photos, but I definitely didn’t push him, by the way. The guy deserves a star on Hollywood Boulevard.’
‘He’s only ever taken his brother to big events,’ said Rhona, ‘so we thought it would be good PR to have a nice, lovely, age-appropriate date by his side this time. Figuratively flip all the haters the bird and hopefully put a stop to the chatter. Let them move on to the next poor target.’
‘And why have you only ever taken your brother?’ Netta served the question straight to Mo.
Mo flushed. ‘It’s just easier, I guess,’ he said. ‘A lot of women— Argh, it makes me sound like a wanker, but a lot of women just like theideaof me, if you get what I mean.’
‘And you think taking me this time would be helpful for your career?’
‘I think you’d be great. If you’re willing, of course.’
‘But I’m just … normal,’ said Netta. ‘I’m a school teacher, not a model or a celebrity or anything.’
‘But that’s exactly what makes you so perfect,’ said Rhona.
‘Right.’ Netta hesitated. ‘I’m not sure …’ She shifted her weight and re-crossed her legs.
Mo looked at his hands. ‘I understand,’ he said. ‘It’s a weird request.’
‘How much—’ Netta cut herself off, looking distinctly uncomfortable.
‘How much would you be paid?’ interjected Rhona. ‘Five thousand pounds. Right, Mo?’
Mo nodded. ‘Unless you think it should be more, Netta?’
‘God, no!’ said Netta. ‘That’s a huge amount of money as it is.’
She stared into the fire, her lips pressed together as though trying to keep what she wanted to say from escaping. Which, Mo figured, probably meant she was trying to find a polite way to say,No fucking way, you creep.
‘It’s okay,’ Mo said. ‘Forget about it. Sorry. I’ve made you feel uncomfortable.’
‘I’m not uncomfortable,’ she said. ‘I just feel a bit …’
‘Ambushed?’ joked Mo, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
Netta half smiled and released a ‘hah’ that might’ve been a laugh but was likely an agreement that, yes, actually, hehadambushed her.
‘No, not ambushed,’ she said. ‘Just … on the spot, or something. And doing something like that … well, I just don’t know if I could do it. But it’s not like I don’t need the money.’
‘Pizza!’ shouted Don, from the kitchen. ‘Would the committee members care to join us?’
‘Ah,’ said Rhona, ‘we have been summoned.’ As she stood, the firelight bounced off her disco-ball kaftan, sending little beams of light skittering across the walls. ‘We can finish this later.’
Again, Netta looked as though she was about to say something, but stopped herself. An almost imperceptible shake of her head didn’t escape Mo’s notice. It strummed at his conscience. He’d made things very, very awkward. He could see it written all over her face.
Chapter Twenty-One
