Sparkle

Chapter 1-2

“Penelope looks perfect tonight,” Elena said. “Wouldn’t she make a great cover?”

“Absolutely.” Aimee smoothed her sleek black bob and held a finger to her red lips. “As a matter of fact, Penelope will be our cover next week. You should see the red carpet photography we got. And your jewelry is dazzling. Get ready to write orders, darling. Your pieces are bound to be snapped up by some billionaire.”

Elena was so excited she bear-hugged Aimee, the imperious industry editor many designers were nearly afraid of. “I’m so excited, thank you!” She fervently hoped her work would be sold. She had been knocking on retailer doors for years with limited success. Either she hadn’t had a big enough name, or she couldn’t produce the volume they needed.

Elena had been saving her money a long time for this expensive wager. So when Penelope had offered to wear her designs—and Fianna’s—both women jumped at the chance.

Elena had known that only diamonds would do. She glanced around. Fianna was somewhere in the crowd, mingling and having a great time.

Aimee moved on to greet another winner just as Elena’s phone buzzed in her purse. A text message popped up on her screen from her cousin Coral in San Diego. OMG! The entire Bay family watched the Academy Awards. Saw Penelope Plessen on the red carpet. Jewels are AMAZING!

Elena smiled at her cousin’s message. Her mother, Honey, had grown up in San Diego. Elena had loads of aunts, uncles, and cousins in the area. Too many Bays on that shore, her dad often said. She loved his corny jokes, and that’s where she’d gotten her sassy mouth, her mother claimed.

Just then another text appeared from Coral’s sister, Poppy, a journalism student who was handling her publicity. Get photos!

Elena grinned. She couldn’t wait to tell Poppy about Aimee and the Fashion News Daily cover.

As she texted her cousins, Elena kept an eye on Penelope. Her boyfriend Stefan, who owned a bodyguard service for the rich and famous, kept close to her. Still, she was anxious every time she thought about the fortune around Penelope’s neck. She couldn’t help but think what might happen. Every possible disaster had crossed her mind.

“Hey, why the frown?” Fianna appeared next to her, her long red hair framing her face in loose curls.

“It’s just my imagination running bonkers again.” Elena gave an unsteady laugh.

Fianna nodded toward Shane. “He’s sexy. Saw you talking to him. Someone you know?”

“Someone I never wanted to see again. I dated him in Sydney when we were teenagers.” She shuddered. “First kiss.” Changing the subject, Elena said, “Penelope is such a professional. Look at how she moves in your dress.”

“This is more than I dared to dream about.” Fianna let out a little squeak of excitement.

Elena nudged her and winked. “Can you believe this is happening?”

“I need lots of pictures. I might never make it here again.” Fianna gripped Elena’s hand with excitement. “I met a costume designer who was gushing over Penelope’s dress. Did you see her?” Not waiting for an answer, Fianna glanced at her. “Looks like you have a real problem. Your champagne glass is empty and you need dessert. Come with me.”

Elena hesitated, not wanting to let Penelope out of her sight. “Bring me something?”

“You can’t stare at Penelope all night. We need to meet other celebrities, too. There’s a lot of potential business here.”

With reluctance, Elena acquiesced. “You’re right.”

Fianna took her hand and led her toward a table laden with delectable treats that Lance and his kitchen staff had made. Exquisite miniature fruit tarts, tiny crème brûlée, chocolate mousse, gold foiled statuettes. “Yum,” Fianna said, picking up a plate.

Glancing back, Elena saw Stefan excuse himself from Penelope, motion toward another one of his bodyguards who was also in attendance for another star, and walk toward them. He looked handsome in an ebony tuxedo that showed off his broad shoulders and trim waist. Elena was happy for Penelope that she’d reconnected with the love of her life.

Stefan slowed by them. “Having fun, ladies?”

“Best time ever,” Fianna said.

“I’m still pinching myself,” Elena added. “Penelope is a vision.”

“Isn’t she?” Stefan gazed after her, admiration evident in his eyes.

Elena traded a look with Fianna, and they both released a little sigh. With all the gorgeous women in the room, Stefan’s heartstrings were firmly tied to Penelope. And they had nearly missed the chance to reconnect.

She had never dated a man who looked at her the way Stefan looked at Penelope. The surfers she’d dated in Sydney and San Diego only wanted big waves and good times.

Drawing a shaky breath, Elena leaned toward Stefan. “I’m jittery just watching Penelope. My entire net worth and everything I could borrow is hanging on her neck and earlobes.”

“Relax, Elena, we’ve got this.” Stefan winked and moved on toward the restrooms.

She certainly hoped so. When she was young, she’d started making jewelry as a sideline to support her surfing habit but soon became more enamored with designing new pieces than chasing waves. After saving her money, she’d traveled to the San Diego area to study at the Gemological Institute of America—the GIA—in Carlsbad where she honed her skills in gemology and jewelry design. She’d worked hard to become a world-class designer, and now, here she was on the brink of success. She hoped.

“Don’t look so stressed,” Fianna said. “Think of all the opportunities here.”

Elena caught her breath again, hardly believing this night was real. By the time tonight’s photos hit social media, newspapers, and magazines, her world could change.

She couldn’t let her parents down either. They’d invested their savings in her vision, too. She shouldn’t bypass any chance before her. “Guess we better circulate.”

“We might as well indulge first,” Fianna said, selecting a raspberry tart. “We don’t have to worry about being photographed like the stars.”

Elena eyed a trio of chocolate delights. “This is why I work out.” She chose a miniature dark chocolate sculpture of a movie reel decorated with sea salt and raspberries.

“Hey you two.”

Turning around, Elena’s frown dissolved into a wide smile at three women who’d just joined them. Exchanging air kisses and hugs, she greeted her friends. That afternoon, Fianna had closed her boutique and they’d all gathered there to get dressed and made up.

Penelope had brought in hair stylists and makeup artists from High Gloss, and Fianna had her alterations staff there to help her clients and friends choose dresses from her racks and make any last minute adjustments. They’d blasted music and everyone had been in such high spirits. Lance and Johnny from Bow-Tie had sent salads and sandwiches, which Elena had been too nervous to eat.

Elena was so glad they were all together sharing this special night. Verena and Scarlett were dating the partners at Bow-Tie, Lance and Johnny, so they’d been able to get in. As for Dahlia, her grandmother Camille knew all the celebrities from years ago to the present. “How’d it go at the High Gloss station?”

“It was so exciting to talk to all the stars,” Verena said. She was wearing a royal blue one-shoulder dress that reflected her eyes, and her pale blond hair curved around her face. “Many of them were nervous, so we found ourselves calming them.” She turned to Fianna. “And everyone loved our dresses. They all know your name now.”

Penelope had suggested to High Gloss Cosmetics CEO Olga Kaminsky that she bring in Verena and Dahlia to provide skincare and perfume to accompany the High Gloss color line at backstage makeup stations at the awards. Artists were providing touchups for the stars before they went on stage. Between tears and perspiration, some of the actors were a mess.

“I got so many selfies,” Dahlia said. “Can you believe it—the stars were suggesting it.” She looked stunning in a strapless, emerald green dress, along with earrings to match that Elena had custom designed for her a couple of years ago. Dahlia’s grandmother Camille had commissioned the earrings as a birthday surprise.

“That’s because they found out she’s dating Alain Delamare and a lot of them are Formula 1 fans.” Scarlett tapped Verena on the shoulder and laughed.

“I hardly said a word,” Verena replied. “People recognized Dahlia from that finish line kiss in Monaco that was blasted around the world. They kept saying, ‘haven’t I seen you somewhere before?’” Her lip curved in a mischievous smile. “I just helped them remember.”

As they talked and laughed, Elena continued to glance at Penelope. Guests moved between them as the party went on. She didn’t see Stefan, and she began to wonder what was keeping him, though she knew he had other clients there, too, as well as other bodyguards on staff discreetly standing by.

Scarlett noticed her unease. “Relax, Elena.”

“There are so many people.” Of all her friends, Scarlett, her business attorney, knew exactly what was at stake.

While her friends talked, Elena searched the crowd, watching Penelope again as she moved from one group to another. Her vision was blocked by a tall, thirty-something guy in a tuxedo. With glossy black hair and a trimmed shadow of a beard, he turned and caught her trying to peer past him.

She couldn’t be sure, but she thought Penelope might have disappeared into the private VIP room.

“Looking for someone?” His brow furrowed as if she’d interrupted him.

Elena stepped aside and looked past him. “I’m good.”

“Maybe. But that’s not what I asked.”

“Excuse me?” She’d just dealt with Shane and didn’t need another inconsiderate oaf to spoil her evening. Not that neither of them could.

He stepped into her line of sight. “Are you here alone?”

Elena put a hand on her hip. “If that’s a pick-up line, you’ll have to do better than that, mate.” She blinked. Was that the champagne talking? He was nice-looking, if you liked that sort of brooding thing. Which she didn’t.

His eyes slid down her neck, and the crease between his dark brows deepened. “I’m Jake.”

Where was Penelope? She’d lost sight of her.

“And you are?”

“Definitely looking for someone else.” Elena fidgeted with her necklace, sliding her fingers over it as if to protect it from his view.

“Actress?”

“Excuse me.” She stepped to one side, but a passerby bumped her back into the man of a hundred questions and she toppled off her high heels, sloshing champagne on his shirt. “Oh, bugger—”

“Got you.” He steadied her.

“Sorry.” She dabbed his shirt with her napkin. She couldn’t help but notice that he was pretty firm under there. Probably spent his days working out. A bar bouncer, if she had to guess. Or actor, she corrected herself, remembering where she was.

He caught her hand. “It’s okay.”

He plucked the crumpled napkin from her hand.

“Jason, I’ll get another—”

“Jake.” Shaking his head, he stepped to a nearby table and grabbed a cloth napkin. “Actresses,” he muttered.

“I heard that. What makes you think I’m an actress, and what’s wrong with that?” She knew a lot of working actors—women and men—and they were dedicated to their craft. Some became big stars, but for most of them, it required discipline to maintain a modest living doing what they loved.

Jake swung around. “First, you’re pretty in a glossy sort of way, second, you were talking to Penelope Plessen and Aimee Winterhaus—though you’re not thin enough to be a model—and third, that’s definitely not your own jewelry.”

Elena’s lips parted in astonishment. How presumptuous. “Look, mate, I’ll have you know—”

Suddenly, the closed door to the VIP room flung open and screams erupted, piercing the music that throbbed above the incessant chatter. Some of the biggest celebrities flooded from the room, tumbling over each other to get out.

A woman stumbled out in shock. “We’ve been robbed!”

In the commotion, the woman next to Elena stepped on her hemline. Her heel caught in the fabric and jerked Elena down hard, pinning her to her spot.

“Damn it,” Jake exclaimed, just as Elena flailed backward. His strong arms wrapped around her, keeping her upright, but his attention was riveted across the restaurant.

“Where’s Penelope?” Every worry she’d had suddenly surged to the surface.

“Stay here,” Jake said, yanking her skirt free and leaving her. He cut through the pandemonium toward the VIP room.

“There she is,” Fianna said, pointing across the room.

Elena stood on her tip-toes to see past the throngs of people scurrying about. “Oh no…”

Across the room, Penelope had emerged from the VIP room, where other stars were also looking frightened and dazed. Her hands were clasped around her bare throat.

Her necklace was gone.

Elena cried out in anguish and pushed toward Penelope, who sank to her knees on the floor, her head in her hands, now bare of the stunning ring and bracelet that Elena had created. From the corner of her eye, she saw Stefan racing toward her with Jake not far behind.

“Penelope!” Elena cried out, her heart pounding as she watched Penelope go limp in Stefan’s arms. She’d only taken her eyes from her for a minute. Oh, why hadn’t she insisted on staying with her?

She’d never forgive herself if her friend had been hurt.