Page 17 of Who’s That Girl?

For a split second I feel a little prickle of something, but I’m too busy focusing on making relaxed small talk to give it much thought.

‘Well, there’s a Frida Kahlo exhibition on at the Tate Modern that’s amazing,’ I continue. ‘You should check it out.’ I only know this because Beatrice went last weekend and told me about it.

‘Oh, really? That sounds fascinating. I love Frida Kahlo. Tell me, what’s your favourite painting of hers?’

Bollocks. All I know about Frida Kahlo is that Salma Hayek played her in the movie.

‘All of them.’ I smile brightly. ‘They’re all amazing.’

‘Spoken like a true PR person.’ He laughs smoothly and fixes me with his gaze. For the first time I notice how blue his eyes are. They almost don’t look real. In fact, everything about Larry Thompson is so perfect it seems fake. ‘Which is why I’m really excited about this lunch,’ he continues. ‘I’ve heard great things about you and your company.’

‘Why, thank you.’ I smile, relieved to be off the topic of Frida and on to something I know a lot more about: work. Taking this as my cue, I pull out my portfolio from my briefcase and open it up on the table. ‘As you can see from this portfolio of media coverage I’ve achieved for my other clients, this is the sort of thing you could expect from Merryweather PR …’ I turn it round so he can see it and start leafing through the pages.

‘Mmm, yes, very impressive.’ He nods, looking at a full-colour spread in one of the big national newspapers.

I feel a beat of pride. ‘Obviously it’s impossible to guarantee anything,’ I continue, ‘but with such a strong brand as yours combined with my journalistic experience and intimate knowledge of how the business works, I think ours would be an incredibly successful and mutually beneficial partnership.’

‘Mutually beneficial?’ he says, glancing up from my portfolio and raising his eyebrows, which, now I’m up close, I notice are plucked into two perfect arches.

‘Yes. With the right media coverage in the right places, we could raise your profile here in the UK. Let the public know who you are. What Star Smile stands for. And Merryweather PR has the expertise to do this and would be delighted to do so.’ I’m in my stride now, and I have to say, I’m feeling pretty confident. But then I should be. I’ve spent weeks working towards this meeting, researching information, putting together ideas, making sure I’ve thought of everything. I’m one hundred per cent prepared for this.

‘And you say you have an intimate knowledge of how the business works?’

He’s looking at me intently and for some reason I get this brief niggle of disquiet. The same feeling I had when he shook my hand earlier.

‘Um … yes,’ I reply, quickly brushing it aside and swinging back into full professional mode. ‘That’s something we pride ourselves on at Merryweather PR.’

‘How intimate?’ Still holding my gaze, he leans his body further across the table. Not a lot. Maybe only an inch, if that, but it’s enough to make that niggle that I just brushed away come racing back again. And this time it’s twice as big.

‘Would you care to hear the specials?’ The waitress is back and interrupts our conversation.

‘Oh, yes, please,’ I reply, glad of the distraction.

‘Well, for appetisers, we have an heirloom tomato salad …’

Focusing my attention on the waitress, I listen to her going through the list, until after a few moments it feels safe to sneak a peek across at Larry Thompson. Only his gaze is no longer on me, but on the pretty young waitress. And now he’s throwing her that great big shiny smile of his.

And I’m totally overreacting, I realise, feeling both relieved and a bit silly. It’s no biggie. He’s obviously a bit of a flirt, that’s all. Just try to ignore it. And looking back at the waitress, I concentrate on what I’m going to have for lunch.

Chapter Six

Underneath the perfect tan, I discover Larry Thompson is actually a very smart businessman. He asks lots of pertinent questions and seems genuinely impressed by both myself and the company.

‘So tell me, how did you get started in the business?’ As our entrees arrive, he looks at me, eyebrows raised with interest.

‘Well, my background is actually in journalism. I studied English literature at university. Originally I wanted to be a writer.’

‘A bit of a wordsmith, huh?’ He smiles, pausing from eating to study me with interest.

‘Well, I try,’ I reply lightly, flicking back my hair under his gaze. ‘In fact, my first job was for a big London publishing company as the editor of one of their magazines.’

‘Wow.’ Larry Thompson widens his eyes and looks suitably impressed. ‘That’s amazing.’

I feel myself blush slightly. ‘Well, yes,’ I admit, trying to appear nonchalant at this compliment, while the little voice in my head whispers, Keep it up, Charlotte, keep it up. ‘It was a wonderful experience and brilliant hands-on training, but after a few years I decided I wanted a new challenge and turned freelance.’

‘Brave girl.’ He nods approvingly.

‘Fortunately my risk paid off and I wrote for all the big-name glossy magazines and newspapers, which of course is invaluable in terms of contacts now,’ I say, waggling my fork emphatically.