I watched the smile drain from her face in an instant.
‘Oh, fuck. It’s them.’ She turned the screen, showing:
Unknown: one new message.
We huddled together to read.
Unknown:Hey, girl, miss me? I can’t wait to watch the mess from the Met. It’s not too late to run home to Scotland. Cinderellas who leave early avoid the messy midnight meltdown. Clock is seriously ticking, bitches. X
‘So, they are planning a mess?’ Katy trembled, still trying to understand who this could be.
‘It’s a bluff.’ Zola shook her head. ‘They won’t risk anything, not with the investors there. Whoever this is knows we’re onto them.’
‘Are we?’ I asked. ‘It doesn’t feel like we are, and we even had some peace for a while there. I thought all of this was over.’
Suddenly, the buzzer went off, making us all jump.
I pressed my hand on my heart. ‘It’s fine, the taxi must be here.’ I breathed deeply, trying to steady myself.
‘Do you think they’re going to sabotage the night, Ella?’ Katy’s voice trembled with her terror at the unknown, and I felt my own fear, too. But I had worked so hard on this night. I wasn’t letting anyone get anywhere near that stage except the three of us. I wasn’t risking another art museum fuck-up like the one I’d had back in Scotland.
‘No.’ I shook my head. ‘No one is fucking anything up, babe. This is our night. We’ve earned it. They’re just trying to scare us.’ I started to wonder about the wording – mess from the Met? Britney did try to mess up the information about the guests’ allergies. Was she thinking of a vomiting and diarrhoea mess? Surely even she wouldn’t be so disgusting as to sabotage us with literal shit.
Zola agreed, necking back the last of her bubbles. ‘All they have are empty threats. Whoever this is has never actually done anything. They’re a keyboard gangster, and we can’t let them get into our heads. Especially not tonight.’
‘Yeah, exactly!’ I pulled back my shoulders, determined to brush off my nerves. ‘Grab your bag, let’s fucking go!’
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Ella
Zola, Katy and I held hands anxiously as we headed up the iconic Met steps in complete silence. I knew the stalker’s message had affected us all, despite our best attempts at a pep talk. The Met had put down a red carpet and hired security, while photographers lined the staircase, snapping away as we headed into the building and made our way towards the courtyard. Violin music played elegantly as we entered, and I turned to my friends to watch their reactions as we stepped into the courtyard. It had been transformed. The night sky made the glass roof even more beautiful, and the small pools of water rippled with the sound of laughter and music.
‘Wow,’ Katy gasped.
‘You seriously outdid yourself, girl,’ Zola said, hugging me tightly.
‘It’s amazing,’ I agreed, my eyes skimming the crowd until I spotted Jimmy in his tux, entertaining guests. ‘You two good?’ I asked, wanting to see Jimmy and show off my new dress.
Katy looked nervous, but Zola rolled her eyes and put a hand on Katy’s back. ‘She’ll be fine. Go mingle with your man!’
I smiled at my friends, then darted across the floor, weaving between the tall pop-up cocktail tables intertwined with elegant statues until I found Jimmy. I tapped him lightly on the shoulder as he was mid-sentence, and he turned.
‘Wow, Ella!’ He kissed my cheek, then stood back to take me in. ‘You look sensational.’
I grinned, watching his eyes dart up and down my body like he couldn’t wait to undress me.
‘So do you, Mr Link.’ I leaned forward and kissed his cheek, smelling his deep Tom Ford cologne that immediately caused my clit to double in size.
‘Uh-hum.’ One of the gentlemen Jimmy was standing with cleared his throat and side-eyed the pair of us.
Jimmy laughed, and I felt his warm hand touch my lower back.
‘Lucas, this is Ella. She’s one of the creators of Stars and Swipes, and she’s the person who has arranged this whole evening, in fact. Ella, this is Lucas, one of our biggest investors at the company.’
‘It’s so nice to meet you, Lucas.’
I held out my hand to shake his. He was a plump man in his sixties with a grey beard and expensively cut suit. He held my hand and kissed it firmly, taking a second to pause as it touched his lips.
