Miranda's Big Mistake - Jill Mansell [150]
`B-but,' Bev spluttered as he banged the phone down and headed for the door, `you can't - Fenn, you can' just-'
The door slammed shut behind him.
Too late, he already had.
`Crikey, what's up with Fenn? He just shot past me ii the Lotus doing about a hundred miles an hour down the Fulham Road.' Amazed, Miranda unwound her red scar from around her neck and flung her beret, James Bond-style at the hatstand. Oh well, James Bond probably practised lot more than she did.
`Your friend Chloe rang up. Fenn' s gone racing off t(rescue her from some public phone box.' Bev pulled fastidious face - much as she wanted babies of her own
she couldn't help wishing that she could pick them up at the supermarket, shrink-wrapped. `Chloe thinks she's in labour. I must say, it all sounds quite revolting. Talk about disgracing yourself completely - she's surrounded by boys on skateboards, cheering her on.'
`Oh. Cheering her on was supposed to be my job.'
Miranda was disappointed, but not that disappointed. When Chloe had asked her to be her birth partner, she'd naturally assumed the event itself would take place in a hospital, preferably one kitted out with morphine, midwives and all manner of hi-tech medical equipment.
Somehow crouching on the floor of a grubby phone box didn't hold quite the same allure. If Fenn wanted to be the intrepid one, that was fine by her.
`So I missed Magdalena Rosetti, did I?' Miranda looked resigned. `I suppose she's been and gone.'
`Tuh, that's the other thing.' Bev looked exasperated. `Fenn was so hell-bent on playing the flying doctor, he forgot all about her. She's still in there.' She jerked her head in the direction of the VIP room. `Half cut.'
Miranda's mouth dropped open.
`You mean…?'
`Not sozzled. I mean literally half cut.' Bev mimed scissors snapping away. `I took her a cup of coffee and she asked me where Fenn was. I said he'd be back in a minute.' She shrugged helplessly. `I mean, what else could I do? Lucy's completely tied up for the next forty minutes, James is at lunch… Corinne's just going to have to deal with her as soon as she's free, but that's going to be another half-hour at least.' She shook her head indignantly. `It's not on, it really isn't. Fenn can't run out on clients and expectto get away with it think of the ghastly publicity if this got out.'
`You are absolutely right,' said Miranda.
Yes, yes, yes!
Chapter 59
`Oh, well, hi there! I was beginning to wonder if my deodorant wasn't up to scratch.' Magdalena smiled her trademark ear-to-ear smile and put down her empty coffee cup. `Where's Fenn?'
No point faffing about. Time to come straight to the point.
`Okay, here's the thing,' said Miranda. `If you were one of those stroppy, scary actresses I'd have made up a really good lie. But since you're so nice, I'm going to tell you the truth.'
Magdalena raised an eyebrow.
`Flattery gets you everywhere. Now I'm far too ashamed to admit that I'm actually incredibly stroppy and the original bitch from hell.'
Miranda pulled up a chair and sat down opposite her.
`Fenn isn't here,' she said simply. `He had to go out, and I know that sounds terrible but it really was an emergency.'
Carefully, Magdalena crossed one slim, stockinged leg over the other.
`I see. So who's going to cut my hair?'
`That's up to you. If you can wait thirty minutes, Corinne will be able to do it for you. She's our senior stylist. Otherwise, I can do it now.'
`And you are?'
`I'm more junior than Corinne,' Miranda said truthfully.
`Or there' s option three, I could walk out of here and find another salon,' Magdalena pointed out. `I mean, forgive me, but I do believe you're a trainee.'
`I can cut hair.'
`A chimpanzee can cut hair,' Magdalena said reasonably. `How do I know you wouldn't leave me looking like a chewed knot?'
Miranda blinked.
`I wouldn't, I promise. But if you aren't happy when I've finished, you can shave all my hair off.'
Magdalena' s mouth twitched. She