Have you ever tried to find cranberries in the middle of an English summer? It’s not so easy to do, believe me.
But when you work for a teen magazine, as I do, these are the sorts of problems you’re expected to solve. BritTEEN’s editorial content is planned and put together months before it ever hits the newsstand. So here I am, in the middle of the worst heat wave London’s had in years, working on the Christmas issue and trying to source pomegranates and fur-lined boots and bloody cranberries.
It’s madness. But for some reason, even though the hours are long and the pay is low, and even though my Mussolini-in-Manolos boss, Sasha Davis, hates me, I love my job as a junior (very, very junior) features writer and general dogsbody.
Oh, look, just there, across the street – don’t stare, but it’s the homeless girl. I see her every morning on my way in to work at BritTEEN. She’s 16, or maybe 17; the same age as my sister Hannah. I can’t help but wonder who she is, and how she ended up sleeping on a bench on Shaftsbury Avenue, and why she’s chopped her hair into that awful, inky-black mohawk.
I’m sure she has her reasons.
I’m Holly James, by the way. Sorry I didn’t introduce myself properly, but this sample clothing has to be returned to the PR reps straightaway. Usually Kate does it, but she’s off covering the Henry Holland show, the lucky cow, and so it’s fallen to me instead.
But it’s okay. It’ll all get done, somehow. It always does.
Kate doesn’t understand why I work for a silly teen rag like BritTEEN…or why I work at all. I explained that although my father owns half of Dashwood and James department stores, I’m still expected to work for a living like anyone else.
I landed this job thanks to Natalie Dashwood. She got me an interview with her (now ex) boyfriend, Dominic Heath. He’s a rock star and a bit of a knob but he’s mostly okay. Of course, he did dump Natalie in the middle of my father’s anniversary party, and then he announced his engagement to his ex-wife, Keeley, five minutes later…which, honestly, wasn’t very sensitive of him.
But then, sensitivity isn’t exactly Dominic’s strong suit.
Crap…here comes Sasha, back from lunch with Will. He’s the magazine’s new staff photographer and he’s really cute. Nice, too. Kate thinks he’s not into the girls, but I’m not so sure. He certainly seems to be into Sasha, the poor man…
Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to take this clothing back before Sasha has my arse. She’s looking for any excuse to give me the sack.
Speaking of which, you wouldn’t know where I might find some pomegranates and cranberries, would you…?
Love & Liability, now available for preorder