Code Red Lipstick by Sarah Sky Page B

turned back to Jessica. “They’re apparently holed up at some private facility in Switzerland, getting treatment at the agency’s expense.”
    â€œTreatment for what?”
    â€œNo one really knows,” Margurita said as she pulled her false eyelashes off. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “But the rumour doing the rounds is they all had plastic surgery that went horribly wrong. Like Frankenstein-bad.”
    â€œOhmigod,” Sara gasped. “Did they end up with trout pouts? Are they suing their plastic surgeon?”
    â€œNo idea,” Margurita said calmly. “And I can’t say I care. No one else got a look in while they were around. They took all the best jobs. Now they’ve gone, I’ve got Couture Week and a bunch of other jobs. In fact, my agency said Jacey, Olinka and Valeriya were the first choices for this job.”
    Sara’s mouth dropped. This was news to her. She obviously thought she was the first choice. She really didn’t like being second best to anyone.
    â€œIt’s pretty odd, though, don’t you think?” Jessica said. “They’re all young and perfect already. Tyler’s only eighteen so she can’t possibly have any wrinkles.”
    Margurita shrugged. “There’s always someone younger and hotter than you coming up through the ranks. Maybe even Tyler had started to worry she was in danger of being replaced. Who knows what we’d do if we were in the same position?”
    â€œI’m never having plastic surgery,” Sara said with a shudder. “Anyway, some of these young models aren’t as hot as they think.”
    She shot a pointed look at Jessica; she was five years younger than Sara and a lot less experienced at modelling. Jessica ignored her. She quickly removed all traces of the heavy, theatrical make-up, dropping ball after ball of cotton wool into the bin. She pulled on a vintage cream lace blouse she’d discovered at London’s Portobello Market and teamed it with black skinny jeans, a Religion black leather jacket and biker boots. She grabbed her bag and was about to make a run for it when Camille tapped the door and peered round.
    â€œGoing somewhere I should know about?” She raised an eyebrow.
    â€œNo,” Jessica said. “I just thought I might do a coffee run.”
    â€œDon’t worry about it, I’ll go in a minute. There’s no rush, is there? I thought we could all grab some lunch together but Sara’s not even dressed yet.”
    Jessica forced a smile. She could feel the rein tightening around her.
    â€œYou both did brilliantly this morning,” Camille said brightly. “I can’t wait to see the spread.”
    â€œMe too,” Sara said, pulling on a black sweater and leggings. “Is there any news about this afternoon? I’m totally psyched.”
    Camille reddened. “Sorry, Sara. Don’t shoot the messenger but head office says there’s been a change of plan. You don’t need to go to AKSC any more. But hey, you could go shopping instead.”
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” Frowning hard, Sara stalked up to Camille and planted herself, hands on hips, in front of her. “I’ve practically got this job in the bag. It’s my third callback. I have to go.”
    â€œApparently, the client’s changed their mind. I’m really sorry but they want to see Jessica instead.”
    Yes! Margaret must have worked some magic.
    â€œWhat?” Sara shouted. “You have to be kidding. AKSC’s my job, not hers. You can’t let her steal it from me.”
    â€œShe’s not stealing it,” Camille said calmly. “You need to stay professional about this. It’s not personal. Allegra was passed some pictures from Jessica’s shoot in Teen Mode and heard about her work for Mademoiselle . She thinks she could be perfect for her new project and wants to meet