Glamour
Table of Contents
A PLUME BOOK GLAMOUR
LOUISE BAGSHAWE is an internationally bestselling novelist and screenwriter.
Glamour
is her second novel for Plume, following
Sparkles
.
Praise for
Sparkles
“With a Jackie Collins-ish flair for soapy melodrama, Louise Bagshawe stylishly imagines pretty young things consumed with money, power, and romance.”—
Entertainment Weekly
“[An] internationally flavored fantasia on love, lies, and shopping.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“Louise Bagshawe’s characters are vivid and memorable. It is easy to see why this author’s works are international bestsellers.”
“Bagshawe immerses readers in the world of the fabulously wealthy with this engaging tale of a diamond heiress and her captivating life.”—
Romantic Times
“Mouth-wateringly addictive.”—
Ok! Magazine
“Throbs with vitality from the first page.”
—
Daily Express
(London)
PLUME
Published by the Penguin Group
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published by Plume, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
First Printing, March 2009
Copyright © Louise Bagshawe, 2009
All rights reserved
REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Bagshawe, Louise.
Glamour / Louise Bagshawe.
p. cm.
eISBN : 978-1-440-69952-8
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businessess, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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This book is dedicated to Kathleen Brooks,
the best mother-in-law in the world. No joke.
Acknowledgments
I’d like to thank my wonderful editor Signe Pike, who picked up
GLAMOUR
and ran with it in record time; she made editing easy and was a joy to work with. It was one of the most painless edits I’ve ever done and greatly improved the book. I’m grateful to my U.S. agent Emma Parry of Fletcher Parry for an excellent deal with a wonderful house. Thanks are also due to the entire team at Plume, particularly Kathryn Court and Cherise Davis Fisher. Abigail Powers turned production of the book around at lightning speed and Nadia Kashper heroically entered every change (and there were lots—I am a copy editor’s nightmare) and got the MS to production. I’m lucky to have such a strong team of colleagues, and every one of them a woman. That’s real girl power for you!
PROLOGUE
The name was written in brass letters, each one sixteen feet high, polished like a mirror.They glittered on the front of the store, sparkling in the California sun like a permanent firework.
What a store! In Hollywood, the city of the stars, GLAMOUR said it all. A landmark attraction since the day it first opened, the new building was a must-see on every tourist itinerary. All-American razzmatazz; a monument to luxury, money, and power.
The flagship store was ten stories high. Dwarfing Harrods in London and Saks in New York, L.A.’s GLAMOUR was the ultimate shopping temple. Sleek and modern, it had been fronted with glossy black granite, so that the golden letters shone even more brilliantly. The trademark uniformed doormen and valets, both men and women, stood to attention behind the huge glass front doors, waiting for opening time. At GLAMOUR, shopping was an exquisite pleasure. Once you entered those doors, the cares of the day fell away.You were in another world: soft carpeting underfoot, exquisite fresh flowers at every corner, assistants to wait on your every whim. Every shopping trip was a vacation, and around the world, women with money just couldn’t get enough. If you bought so much as a hairband in GLAMOUR, somebody would wrap it in the iconic triple-G tissue paper, tie it with mint green ribbons, and carry it to your car—should you so desire.
The clothes were fabulous. The scents adorable. The shoes haute couture.The jewels must-have.
L.A.’s glitterati loved it. And the women who had founded it were set to become among the wealthiest in the world. Everybody knew their story.
Three women. Beautiful, powerful, and rich.
And, it seemed, absolutely ruthless.
Once, they had been the closest of friends. Once, they had all suffered. And together, they had triumphed.
So how had it gone so wrong?
CHAPTER 1
“It’s the princess!”
The little girl tugged on her mother’s coat sleeve, jumping up and down with excitement as a sleek black limo eased by.
“Look! Momma. It’s her.There she is!”
“You’re right, baby!”
Her mother, Coco, a bank teller in her mid thirties, leaned over the thick velvet rope flanking the long red carpet that swept across Rodeo Drive. Keisha’s childish enthusiasm was infectious. Coco hoisted her daughter up on her shoulders so the girl could get a better look.
Across the street, forced back by security, was a gaggle of media reporters, cameramen, and boom-mike holders, the reporters all talking intently to their cameras. Two local TV news choppers whirred overhead.