Chapter Twelve
When the interview is eventually finished, Auguste, spotting my hot, red, horrified face, hurries to the kitchen and returns with a pint of cold water for me. I take it from him gratefully and down it. Remaining cool and eloquent is tough at the best of times, but doing it on camera is near on impossible. How can anyone do that for a job? The lights, the fact that everything you say is there in evidence forever – it’s so much pressure.
As Auguste clicks off the multiple light rigs, Henry turns to me on the sofa. Despite the poo comment, I mustn’t have done too badly in the interview because he looks absolutely delighted with me. He’s giving a toothy grin like he’s looking at a woman who just told him Christmas was coming early this year or, you know, saved his life. ‘I think my fans are going to be so delighted that they got to see you,’ he says. ‘To get to know the woman I’ve been thinking about so much over the last few weeks.’
I smile weakly. ‘Can you, uh, ask Auguste to edit out what I said about… you know…’
‘Oh he will don’t worry,’ Henry says, pulling out his phone and glancing at the screen. ‘Now that we’ve done our interview would you let me take you for lunch? And perhaps we could go for a walk afterwards? Holland Park is so wonderful in the snow.’
I shake my head no. ‘Oh that sounds lovely, but I have to go and look for jobs today. I mean, it’s great that I’ve got you and Auguste as clients but I definitely need something more permanent, if I’m ever going to get out there and get a place of my own.’And pay Mr Hemmings before he can call my father, I add silently.
Henry puts his hand on my shoulder. ‘Bess, I’m absolutely positive that when my latest video goes out in the next few hours you’ll get more clients from it. Trust me, they’re going toloveyou.’ He starts fluttering his eyelashes and presses his hands together in a prayer position. ‘Pleeeeeeeease,’ he says in a daft voice that makes me giggle. ‘Come on. Let’s go out. Let me treat you to a lovely lunch. We could go to Nuage. Have you tried their duck confit? It’s incredible. And honestly, aren’t you ravenous after all that exercise this morning?’
I grimace. Iamravenous after all that exercise. But I really shouldn’t rely on the slim chance that some YouTube viewers want to employ an idiot in a video. But he seems to really want to go. He’s giving me that adoring look, and I’m not used to being looked at like that. It makes me feel like I’m in a bathtub full of warm melted chocolate being fed warm melted chocolate by someone who looks like, well, Henry Byron. I should do what he asks. It’s the least I could do, considering everything he’s doing for me. My stomach rumbles. That duck confit does sound incredible. Hmmm. Maybe we could just go for a quick lunch. And then I’ll carry on with the job search afterwards. That seems like a good compromise…
