Authors: Michelle Betham
‘Is that just how
you
feel, or do you think that’s how he feels too?’ Reece asked, sitting forward as he continued to watch her closely, taking in every reaction, even when she turned to face him.
‘He’s the one that’s made it very clear, Dad.
Me?
I’m moving on.’
She got up, shaking her hair out and kissing Scott quickly on the cheek, smiling her thanks before she leant over and kissed Reece.
‘I’ll see you out there.’
He nodded, watching her walk towards the door of the trailer.
‘
India
?’
She turned round as he stood up, walking over to her.
‘Yeah?’
‘You’re moving on?’
She folded her arms across her chest, looking at her famous father as he stood in front of her.
‘I’m moving on.
I thought you’d be pleased I’m finally doing that.’
He shook his head, sticking his hands in his pockets.
‘I am.
Of course I am.
I’m sorry, go on, get out of here.’
‘I’m moving on, Dad.
Really.’
She threw him a smile as she finally turned to leave, looking back over her shoulder, still smiling.
‘And this time, I really mean it.’
He watched as she ran out onto the set, all blond hair and incredible beauty.
His little girl.
His movie-star baby.
And all Reece could do now was hope she actually meant what she’d just said.
This time.
***
Charley sat at the desk in her office on the first floor of her
Las Vegas
salon, which was situated within The Amber Palace’s sprawling ‘Blue Sapphire’ shopping mall.
With it’s calming copper tones on the walls, soft cream carpet, and numerous pictures of her amazing little family scattered around the place it was usually a haven of peace and escapism for Charley, somewhere she could do her work and feel surrounded by everything she loved in a place she’d designed all by herself.
But right now it just felt like a place she’d come to for no other reason than to escape from everything else that was going on.
She couldn’t concentrate on any work, she couldn’t get her head around anything except the fact her life was in the process of being turned upside down, and she had very little control over any of it.
This branch of
Charley’s
was slightly bigger, although not by much, than the
Beverly Hills
salon.
Spread over three floors, all connected by elevators and escalators, the whole place screamed
Las Vegas
glitz.
When you walked into the salon you entered through huge glass-fronted double doors that led into a large oasis of a reception area.
With an abundance of green plants and tropical flowers, which gave bursts of colour against the dark walls, it had the effect of making you feel as though you’d suddenly wandered into paradise.
This area was manned mainly by Jenna and Maisy, two pretty ex-showgirls who did their utmost to make any client – be they celebrity or otherwise – feel like the most important person in the world.
With their huge
Las Vegas
smiles – perfected from years of working the Show Lounges of Vince and Charley’s hotels – and their polite and friendly manner they instantly made everyone who walked into the salon feel welcome.
And special.
Something Charley insisted on, and those girls had it down to a fine art.
Huge oversized cream and black leather sofas were dotted around the reception area with large flat-screened TV’s lining the walls showing everything from calming images of beaches and oceans to the various treatments on offer at
Charley’s.
And if any guest at the salon required refreshment of any kind – be it alcoholic or otherwise – then it could be supplied within seconds.
It was a peaceful, tranquil area and the ideal gateway into the Spa and Therapy centre, which took up the entire ground floor of
Charley’s.
In stark contrast, the first floor – which housed the huge and ultra-modern hair salon – was more open and vast with its constant hum of conversation, drone of hairdryers and loud music blasting out from concealed speakers.
Floor-to-ceiling mirrors faced the various work stations with their huge brown leather ergonomically designed chairs and glass topped counters.
The walls were painted in various shades of brown and cream and the ceiling was black, littered with thousands of twinkling lights that looked like tiny stars, giving clients a feeling of calm amongst the music and the noise as their hair was washed and their scalps massaged by some of the best hair stylists in the state of
Nevada
.
Meanwhile, up on the second floor was the final piece of Charley’s
Las Vegas
empire – the Beauty Bar.
Here, clients could have everything from a new set of nails to any part of their body waxed in an atmosphere of relaxed fun.
It was a colourful, vibrant, pink-dominated palace, staffed with experienced and enthusiastic therapists that Charley had handpicked herself.
And she was very proud of them.
She was very proud of everything she’d achieved, of everything
Charley’s
stood for.
Those salons were her babies, her creation, and the fact she’d pulled herself up from the depths of despair and gained a second chance, a new life that she absolutely adored, it gave her an amazing sense of achievement.
She’d been so happy.
So incredibly, unbelievably happy.
Until her past had come crashing back to revisit her like a nightmare she never thought she’d ever have to experience again.
But Jimmy Cash was doing all he could to make sure that the things she wanted to forget would never disappear.
Not without a fight.
And they were fighting hard.
Vince was in constant talks with their lawyers, legal action was in the process of being taken against Jimmy but, as far as claiming that anything he was doing was libellous, how could they?
When half-naked pictures of her had been spread over every newspaper and magazine in the country.
They could hardly say it wasn’t true, that it wasn’t her, could they?
All of it
had
happened; she just didn’t think she’d ever have to face it again.
She hadn’t needed her past brought up to haunt her.
It was something she just wanted to forget, but Jimmy was doing everything he could to make sure that never happened.
That she’d never forget.
And she just didn’t know if Vince would ever be able to stop him.
She got up from behind her desk, sighing heavily as she left her office and walked down the brown and cream corridor that was lined with photographs of the many celebrities that had passed through the doors of
Charley’s
in the short time she’d been running both her businesses, out onto the floor of her hair salon.
She’d really wanted to be out there on the salon floor herself while she’d been here, but with things the way they were she’d thought it best she try to keep a low profile, after all, why put herself in the firing line?
There were enough stories floating around to keep the gossip magazines busy for weeks as they dug up every aspect of her past, without her giving them anything else.
And she really didn’t want to speak to any press; in fact, Vince had told her to avoid that at all costs.
It was what their lawyers were advising.
They’d make a statement soon enough, so, until then Vince had employed more security around the mall in general, and certainly for the salon.
It wasn’t how she’d planned this visit at all, but sometimes life had a habit of kicking shit in your face when you least expected it.
And you just had to roll with the punches.
She hung back by the doorway of the corridor that led to the administration offices, looking out onto a buzzing salon floor.
At least the news of her shady past didn’t seem to have dented her business in any way.
If anything, they were busier.
Maybe that was because people just wanted to come in and see if they could get a glimpse of the ex-porn queen, but what did it matter?
Business was business, and as long as they were genuine clients – because they were having problems with journalists trying to book appointments under the guise of ‘ordinary’ people, hence the upping of security – then none of that really mattered.
The one thing Charley didn’t want her past to do was affect her businesses, although how things were going down in
Beverly Hills
was another matter.
She hadn’t yet contacted Saskia to ask what the fallout there had been like, but she knew Vince had.
He’d told her not to worry, and she trusted him.
So she was trying not to think about that, putting all her energy into
Charley’s
@
The
Amber
Palace
.
She ventured further out onto the salon floor, taking a look around at the busy work stations, every stylist smiling and working and chatting away to clients and colleagues, the air filled with the excitement and glamour of a high-end, cutting-edge establishment.
It was business as usual at
Charley’s.
Just another day.
Except, Charley knew it was anything but.
Things had changed, but she was going to make it her mission to get them back to normal as soon as she possibly could.
CHAPTER 26
The late afternoon sun beat down on the tourists lying by the huge circular pool that was situated right beside the Coconut Palm Bar.
It was one of the more popular hang outs at The Amber Palace due to its almost 24/7 party atmosphere that began some time after breakfast and didn’t finish until well into the early hours, when the bar took on a more bohemian vibe and the cabanas found themselves filled with the more laid-back and chilled out.
India
particularly loved this bar, especially after dark.
There was just something about the people who hung out there; the way they acted, the cool image they exuded.
Nobody bothered her here, at least, they hadn’t last night when she and Kenny had spent a good few hours kicking back in a private cabana, giving her a little more time away from the crazy on-set goings-on that surrounded her working days right now.
Days that involved hiding from the press, avoiding questions she just didn’t know the answers to, and filming on a set that was now under such constant tight security it was ridiculous.
She sat back in her chair and pulled her dark glasses down over her eyes as she continued to watch everyone around her enjoying the afternoon sun, the shaded end of the pool crowded with people trying to cool down.
It was good to be away from the movie set for a little while, good to be away from the madness, although she wasn’t away from it completely – she had a bodyguard with her at all times now, and even though he always kept a discreet distance, he was still there, watching her every move, making sure nobody got near her, nobody bothered her.
But sometimes she
wanted
to be bothered, she wanted to feel normal.
But, at the minute, that just wasn’t going to happen.
Not with things the way they were.
‘You ready to have that talk yet?’
She looked up quickly, turning away just as quickly as Dominic sat down beside her, pushing his dark glasses up onto his head, staring straight ahead of him at the crowded pool.
‘Daddy not keeping you busy?’
India
asked, not looking at him, keeping her dark glasses down over her eyes.
‘A bit below the belt that one, don’t you think?’
She said nothing, just continued to stare out ahead of her, although her heart had started racing and the urge to face him was overwhelming.
‘It’s been really hard, y’know.
Working alongside you, after everything that’s happened.’
‘Then you should have thought about that before you started keeping secrets from me.’
‘
India
, will you just look at me?’
She didn’t respond, because if she looked at him she was too frightened of letting her guard down, of letting him see how she was really feeling.
In front of the cameras it was easier, somehow, because she was playing a different person, she could be someone else, someone who was allowed to look at him a certain way because that was the part she was playing.
But this wasn’t acting.
This was real life.
And she still wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do next.