Free Search for a Star by Cindy Jefferies Page B

fantastic. But we must clean them up for you. I don’t know much about shoes, but I do know that it’s very important to dry leather out slowly. Maybe we ought to just clean them off, and leave it at that. Hang on. I’ll fetch you a towel for your legs too.” Julie stopped chattering and disappeared, leaving Ellie at the door.
    â€œHi. I thought I heard someone. Come in. You must be Ellie.” Adam Calwell was a tall, good-looking man with a closely clipped beard and collar-length, dark hair. He seemed rather amused.
    Ellie paused in taking off the Pirates and shook his hand. She had been so determined to look and sound professional, and here she was, caught taking her shoes off and with her skirt and legs splattered with dirty water. It was so embarrassing. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I got splashed, just outside.”
    â€œDon’t worry,” he said. “What was Julie thinking, leaving you here? The workshop is all floorboards, no carpet to ruin… Hang on, are those Jacob Frous?”
    â€œUm…” Ellie pulled the second Pirate off and straightened up. “Yes, they are. They’re called the…”
    â€œPirate. I know. My goodness, Ellie. They must pay well at Heart magazine!”
    He was teasing her, but he was so nice she didn’t mind, and soon they were chatting like old friends. It seemed that Jacob Frou was a bit of a hero to Adam. He sounded distinctly jealous when Ellie explained how she’d modelled the shoes for Monsieur Frou at a photo shoot before he’d given her the pair she was wearing today.
    â€œI wish he made shoes for men,” Adam said as Julie came back with a towel for Ellie. “I bet they’d be fun to wear. Get some of that white paper to pack in the shoes,” he added to Julie. “It’ll help draw the moisture out. Hopefully they won’t feel too wet when you have to put them back on.”
    â€œThank you,” said Ellie. She no longer felt embarrassed at talking to Adam in her bare feet, especially now they were sitting in comfortable chairs where there was a soft rug she could dig her toes into.
    â€œSo why do you want girls to love dresses?” she asked, notebook at the ready.
    â€œI just think they have so much potential,” he told her. “The cut, the length, you can do so much with them. But I try to style all my dresses so that they’re easy to wear. And with my designs I hope you can just throw on one of my dresses and accessorize it in your own way.” He leaped to his feet and went over to a desk. He came back with some large drawings. “I’m very excited about these,” he said. “You know the singer Maia Tonkin?”
    â€œYes,” said Ellie. “She’s great.”
    â€œIsn’t she?” said Adam. “And what’s more she’s filming her next music video at the Boat Show… and she’s going to be wearing three of these designs!”
    â€œWow!” Ellie was seriously impressed. No wonder Adam seemed so pleased. She scribbled down all the information, but Adam had jumped up from his seat again, and gone back to the desk.
    â€œHere! I’ve got some extra tickets to the Boat Show, and I don’t need them all. Why don’t you go along? Maybe you could report on how cool Maia looked in my dresses?”
    Adam looked so earnest Ellie had to laugh. “I’ll see what my editor says,” she said. “But it does sound a good idea. Thank you very much!”
    Ellie put the tickets into her bag feeling quite excited. She hoped Francesca would let her go. It had to be a glamorous event, if Maia Tonkin was going to be filming there.
    On the way back to the office, Ellie wondered how Angel had got on with her interview. No doubt she had managed to avoid getting drenched by a dirty puddle when she had gone off to meet the dreamy young actor who had taken the film world by storm with his most