Don't Tell Eve Read Online Free PDF Page B

said this, she touched his arm gently.
    Ugh, Jess and Zoë thought simultaneously.
    Chris made an apparently casual sidelong glance in Zoë’s direction. ‘I’ve heard that, but if I’d wanted to use my own experiences I’d have written a m-m-memoir. There’s a lot m-m-more money in it, especially if it’s graphic and all about how b-b-bloody awful things were. Why are people so keen to read about other people’s m-m-misery? Does it give them a vicarious thrill? Or is it “there but for the grace of God”, et cetera? Or do they just like triumph over adversity? Whatever, my book is pure fiction: m-m-made up, imagined.’ He smiled, the kind of heart-melting smile few straight women could resist.
    Zoë elbowed Jess. ‘See? He’s good.’
    ‘What? No, he’s not, he’s naïve. That’s just going to encourage her.’
    ‘But where do you get your ideas from?’ Eve didn’t wait for Chris to answer. ‘You know, the reason I got into this business is that I’m fascinated by the creative process and creative people. They’re what it’s all about. But it’s not just writers I admire: it’s all artists. I collect contemp’ry art, you know – there’s such lively work here.’ She moved her chest in closer. ‘I find creativity so invigoratin’, so inspirin’, so challengin’, so … stimulatin’.’
    Jess rolled her eyes.
    Eve continued, unaware of the discomfort she was causing. ‘I really pity people who can’t appreciate it – life must be so dull.’ She giggled in a way that was meant to sound coquettish rather than simpering.
    Zoë and Jess looked at each other.
    Chris didn’t seem to know where to look. There was no mistaking it, Eve was hitting on him. His publisher, or rather his publisher’s boss, was hitting on him. His eyes darted about the room in the desperate hope of seeing David. David, who was perennially dowdy, no matter how much he spent on clothes, shoes and glasses. David with an armful of drinks and an expression that said, Don’t worry, I wasn’t really going to leave you.
    But there was no David, as David, while dowdy, wasn’t silly, and was hiding in the men’s bathrooms, the one place Eve wouldn’t find him.

    Jess and Zoë were the only ones close enough for Chris to appeal to, but they weren’t silly either, so they were walking away, or more specifically Jess had grasped Zoë’s arm and was dragging her away.
    ‘I’m beginning to think I had book launches all wrong. I mean, this has been very entertaining and there’s free vodka. Hell, another drink and I might even buy the book. What’s it called again? And remind me, what’s it about? Airport thriller, murder mystery, chicklit, dicklit, chooklit, aga-saga or a genre-defying-work-of-eye-popping-brilliance?’ Zoë asked smugly. She liked to prove that occasionally she did listen to what Jess said.
    ‘Actually, it’s a spy-thriller-of-eye-popping-brilliance. Eve did mention this in her speech, if you’d bothered to listen, and there are copies all over the place, and posters and bookmarks, all of which do kind of give away the gist of it …’
    The answer to this was a flick of the mane. Zoë had a mane – black, glossy, long, thick – and she knew how to flick it. Jess’s glasses, therefore, didn’t just provide a psychological barrier between her and the world and help with her eyesight, they also provided physical protection against Zoe’s powerful weapon.
    ‘Eve did not say eye-popping, I would have remembered that. Besides, I was otherwise occupied – talent-scouting, in fact. For you as well as me, so I think a bit of gratitude rather than sarcasm is in order. And it’s lucky really, because cute as he is, Cheekbones is going to be out of action for a while longer.’
    ‘Only you, Zoë, could come to a book launch with the aim of picking up.’
    ‘Only you, Jess, could ignore what’s on offer. When did you last go on a date anyway?’
    It was a question Jess didn’t deign to answer.