Armani Angels by Cate Kendall

with Tyler again?’
    â€˜Oh, come on,’ Mercedes said, ‘you have a golden life. Look at you, you’re beautiful, you’ve got a killer job, a drop-dead hottie for a hubby, an amazing mansion. You’re a spoilt brat, Gemma Bristol.’
    Gemma flinched, but chose to ignore Mercedes’s caustic remarks.
    â€˜It’s silly, really,’ Gemma sighed and fiddled with the large amethyst ring on her right hand, ‘but I’ve got the middle-class guilts something shocking and I just can’t seem to shake them. Mercedes, you’re right: I do have it all, but I’m not doing enough. Sure, I give to the tin rattlers and I have fridge kids like everyone, but I have this urge to make a difference, to make a huge impact.’
    â€˜Oh, that’s gorgeous,’ Chantelle beamed, clutching her hands together. ‘I’ll help. It’d be so great to do something for the community.’
    â€˜And it looks fabulous on the CV,’ Mercedes drawled. She’d been texting and the girls weren’t aware she was still plugged into the conversation. ‘Why not get the breast cancer account? They spend a fortune on PR. And you can quash your middle-class guilt at the same time.’
    â€˜Perhaps,’ Gemma said. ‘I don’t know.’
    â€˜I know, I know.’ Chantelle bounced up and down on her tiny bottom in excitement. ‘How about joining Dame Frances Davenport’s team? They raise gazillions for the underprivileged kids foundation, you know, UP-Kids.’
    â€˜Yeah, or you can spoon out soup to the homeless on Saturday nights,’ Mercedes said, her sarcasm completely wasted on Chantelle.
    â€˜Yes! Soup!’ Chantelle agreed with Mercedes. ‘That’s brilliant, that is.’
    Mercedes simply rolled her eyes and went back to her texting.
    Chantelle turned back to Gemma. ‘You should do the UP-Kids one, luv; you’d be great. Think of how much you could raise, how many lives you could change, go on then. Do it. I know her, I know Dame Frances, I do. Honest, I go to her things all the time. Me and my mate Pippi go.’
    â€˜Really?’ Gemma asked. ‘Well, it’s a wonderful idea; it could be the answer. Would you call her for me?’
    Chantelle patted Gemma on the knee. ‘Sure, happy to. She’ll do anything for anyone if you donate to her cause. I’ve got an invite at home for her next do. She’s expecting me to buy loads of her raffle tickets.’
    â€˜Thanks, Chantelle – you’re a star.’ Gemma raised her glass to her friend.
    â€˜No worries, luv.’ Chantelle clinked her glass against Gemma’s. ‘You know I’d do anything for you. By the way, how’d you go talking to that lovely Peter Blakely, darlin’?’
    â€˜Has anybody got a photo of him on their phone so I can see what we’re dealing with here?’ Mercedes drawled.
    â€˜Yeah, I called. No joy at all, I’m afraid,’ Gemma said.
    â€˜Oh, wot?’ Chantelle was enraged enough to stamp her bootsandalled-foot. ‘They are mad, they are. You’re absolutely fucking brilliant and should be running the place. Did you remind him that you are running the place?’
    â€˜Yes, but it’s quite hard telling someone via Skype how amazing you are. It was most embarrassing to see his face drop as soon as I raised it. He said he’d do anything for me but he can’t recommend me as I don’t fit their current directional needs in management style but am definitely in the succession plan.’
    â€˜What the fuck does that mean?’ Chantelle asked.
    â€˜I’m too young and too female, as I’ve said before. So therefore we can totally rule out that he’s got a soft spot for me.’ She had actually felt quite let down that he wouldn’t go in to bat for her. Although she’d denied it to the girls, she and Peter did have a certain mateship between