Miss Manners (10 page)

I looked around the room to make sure no one was watching, then, once satisfied, slipped out Pinkie
’s diary and began updating my blog. As I flicked through the back pages, I noticed something under the Notes section entitled London’s Top 10 Most Eligible Bachelors.

It was a
little black book, or rather, little pink book.

1.
       
Brian Fairfax

2.
      
Max Power, Jr.

3.
      
Charlie Rose

4.
     
Sam Caspian

5.
      
Ben Rivera

6.
      
Jack Reno

7.
      
Alexander Stravinsky

8.
      
Leon Gold

9.
      
Tyler Novak

10.
   
Wentworth Miller

Pinkie
had placed a tick beside all the bachelors she’d dated so far. The only one without a tick was Brian Fairfax; her next target. I suddenly remembered I’d be tagging along with Henry tomorrow while he interviewed the number one most eligible bachelor.

This was all starting to get really juicy. My mind was flying all over the place with delic
ious thoughts of revenge. I was going to publish the black book online! Yes, that’s exactly what I was going to do! Show the whole world just what a gold-digging, attention-seeking and two-dimensional strumpet Pinkie was!

W
ithout a moment’s hesitation, I copied Pinkie’s black book onto my blog, then hit publish. Just then, Sophie walked into the room. I scraped the diary into my bag as quickly as possible, minimised my screen, then looked up at her with Bambi eyes. Sophie stared at me. I stared at Sophie. After an awkward few moments of silence, she simply walked out of the room.

Did she see it?
I wondered.
If she did see it, then surely she would have recorded it into her Dictaphone?

T
here was a knock at the door. Henry entered.

‘
Ready?’ he asked with smile, raring to go.

‘
For what?’ I asked worriedly.

‘
To pick up our ID cards. You haven’t forgotten, have you?’

‘
I thought that was at five?’

‘
It’s four forty-three.’

After double-checking the time on the wall clock,
I realised I had spent almost three hours on the computer.

‘
Last time I checked, it was about one-ish,’ I said, surprised. ‘I guess time flies when you’re having fun.’

I
pulled on my own shoes and stood up sluggishly from my desk, then wheeled out of the room towards reception to join Henry and Sophie in the waiting area. A few minutes later, Olivia strutted in.

‘
Afternoon, interns. How was your first day?’ she sang.

B
efore any of us had chance to respond, Olivia continued.

‘
Fantastic,’ she said, clapping. ‘Now, I have each of your ID cards right here. You’ll need to swipe these downstairs to get past the security counter and on the floor to get in the door. It’s also a debit card; just put money on it and it gets deducted at the cafeteria register. Magic.’ Olivia handed a plastic card over to each of us.

‘
Oh, and don’t worry,’ she added. ‘No more sudden photo flashes. I promise.’

As she handed me my ID card, I immediately noticed the headshot in the top corner. I looked like a constipated mule; my eyes (one of which was closed) were squinting and my mouth and nose were screwed up. Anyone looking at the card would assume I had some sort of mental disorder. How embarrassing! I mean, Olivia could
’ve at least warned us before taking those photos.

‘
So, how did yours turn out?’ Henry asked.

‘
I don’t want to talk about it,’ I said, looking at the card disgustedly. But as I attempted to hide the shameful card in my bag, I dropped it on the floor. Henry picked it up, glanced at it, then handed it over to me.

‘
Satisfied?’ I said, trying to disguise my embarrassment.

‘
Mine’s worse. I mean, I look like a gassy toad. See,’ he said, handing me his card.

‘
You’re right. It is worse,’ I agreed.

‘
Right, interns! It’s the end of your first day here at
Couture
,’ Olivia piped up. ‘I hope you enjoyed yourselves whilst learning about each of your designated departments? Romilly wanted me to remind you all that you have until the first of May to complete your assignments. You can come into the office anytime to work on your projects. Or if you have any questions, please let me know. Oh, and good luck.’ Olivia turned and clacked down the hallway. Sophie gave me the evils, then left.