Free Wicked Ambition by Victoria Fox

and me, Puff City aren’t the easiest crew to work with.’
    ‘Oh?’
    ‘Can I grab you for a moment?’ Turquoise’s manager intervened.
    ‘Are you staying in town?’ asked Robin.
    ‘Just a flying visit.’
    ‘I’m in LA next month. Shall we make a date?’
    ‘I’d like that.’ They kissed on both cheeks before Turquoise was pulled away. ‘I’ll have my assistant get in touch.’
    Turquoise’s manager was a woman called Donna Cameron. She was Australia-born but hadn’t been back in twenty years because when she did ‘life stood still’. Her books werenotoriously sparse: she represented just a handful of clients, all of them major.
    ‘You hungry?’ Donna asked.
    ‘Not especially.’
    ‘OK. We’ll do drinks, then. Nobu?’
    ‘Who with?’ Turquoise was tired and had been looking forward to an early night. Her return flight to LA left at dawn.
    Donna smiled with controlled pleasure. ‘Sam Lucas,’ she revealed, tagging the famous movie director. ‘He wants to cast you in his new project. He doesn’t care what it takes, he says, it has to be you. Turquoise, this is the golden opportunity.’
    It was. They had been talking about a move to the big screen since last year. Turquoise had reached the pinnacle of success in her music and now there was nowhere to go but sideways, expanding her empire and building on the fan base she already had.
    ‘It’s the right project?’ Her heart ached with pride when she thought of Emaline, how they had watched their old movies in the fading afternoon and dreamed of Hollywood.
    That’s going to be you one day. My little star…
    ‘Sam and his group are in London,’ said Donna. ‘He can give us the script tonight. From what I’ve been told, it’s tailor-made. This is a classic empowerment story and you’re the one to tell it. It’s going to appeal across the board. It’s a big budget production and they’ve got some huge names attached. Cosmo Angel, for one.’
    Turquoise froze. Her mouth went dry.
    ‘Tell me about it,’ commented Donna. ‘If I wasn’t twicedivorced I’d seriously consider marrying the guy. If he wasn’t with Ava, of course.’ She winked.
    ‘Cosmo’s in the movie?’ She could barely stand to say his name.
    Donna shot her a quizzical look, perplexed that at her stage in the game Turquoise should get misty-eyed about even the biggest hitters on the A-list.
    ‘He’s your love interest.’
    She couldn’t do it. There was no way.
    ‘It doesn’t sound like a role he’d want to sign.’ Turquoise tried to imagine Cosmo as a man subjugated by a woman, and couldn’t. He would always be the victor.
    ‘Is everything all right?’ Donna was concerned. ‘I thought you’d be pleased.’
    Turquoise opened her mouth to respond. No words came. How could she begin to explain? Where would she start?
    ‘I don’t know if it’s the best thing for me right now,’ she offered weakly, thinking only, I have to get out of this; I have to get out of this .
    ‘But we’ve cleared it.’ Donna was trying to understand. ‘We’ve talked this through before, Turquoise. Hollywood has always been on the cards, hasn’t it?’
    ‘Yes. But…’
    ‘At least come meet Sam, see what they have to say?’ She gave Turquoise’s arm a reassuring squeeze. ‘I know you’re tired,’ she said kindly. ‘You’ve been working all hours; it’s no wonder you’re finding it tough to summon enthusiasm for a new project. Let’s ride out tonight. Once we have the facts we can make an informed call. Sound all right?’
    Turquoise found herself nodding. There was nothing else she could do. ‘Fine.’
    She would figure it out. She had to figure it out. Because one thing was certain: she was never going near Cosmo Angel again as long as she lived.
    Grace Turquoise da Luca should never have said yes to the ride. If she hadn’t, she might have had a different fate. She might have perished on the road, just lain down and waited for dreams to take her, or