Chapter Seventeen #2
‘Mandy has a new launch. It’s all happening fast and, contractually, she needs to get out there to work on some content to promote it,’ Julie-Ann said, her voice sounding hoarse.
‘Exciting – what’s the launch?’ I asked.
‘Baby Mom by Mandy,’ Jose announced. ‘An eponymous new fragrance to add to her collection, this one is for mums-to-be. We’ll be undertaking the final product checks, hopefully see the first bottles come off the production line and shoot some content ready for launch.’
Coco and I caught each other’s gaze. Baby Mom? She mouthed the words back at me.
‘We weren’t planning to launch so early, but it seems our hand has been forced,’ Jose continued. I noticed him squeeze Mandy’s arm.
‘I’m not sure if you’ve seen social media yet this morning, but—’
‘I don’t think I can hold it in any longer. Literally!’ Mandy blurted out.
Jose wrapped an arm around her shoulders protectively and pulled her in close.
We all looked at them in anticipation, guessing what was coming. They looked like love-struck teenagers.
Mandy stood up to further enhance the moment and squealed: ‘The rumours are true – we’re pregnant!’
Julie-Ann was the first to shriek. She rushed forwards and launched herself at Mandy with open arms. She was quickly followed by Blair and Coco.
I stood gawping at Mandy for a moment longer before joining the queue to embrace the couple.
When I say embrace, I actually mean a small, rigid hug, on account of the stiffness in my muscles.
Finally, Jimi sauntered up to Jose and gave him a handshake, which turned into a brotherly bear hug and a number of firm back slaps, before kissing Mandy fondly on each cheek.
Right on cue, Philippa appeared with a rattle of champagne flutes on a tray and a bottle of Dom Pérignon on ice, to toast the happy, expectant couple.
I looked around me in disbelief. Am I the only person in this room who is genuinely floored by this news?
I mentally pieced the evidence together.
The chat in the cryo chamber, the fact we were even in a cryo chamber, the ovulation stick, Jimi’s story about the sperm donor, the fertility-inducing diet, magic mushrooms, knocking back champagne last night – although I couldn’t be sure Mandy wasn’t drinking mocktails.
I understood many people kept things quiet in the early days of pregnancy, but she had certainly fooled me.
‘May I ask how far along you both are?’ Julie-Ann enquired, while our glasses were being charged by Philippa.
Mandy looked at Jose. ‘Nearly four months.’ She smiled. ‘The baby will be due this summer.’
‘Wow, you kept that secret!’ Coco gushed.
‘We wanted to get a couple of scans done first, to know everything is okay. And thankfully, it is,’ Mandy revealed, beaming.
‘How do you feel?’ Jimi asked. ‘I wish you had told me before I gave you that workout on the Pilates machine last week!’ He said it jokingly, but he must have meant it. And what about the mushrooms? I bet Jimi wished he’d known about the pregnancy before he fed her recreational drugs.
‘We appreciate your good wishes and would like to impress upon you that this is strictly confidential information,’ Jose added.
‘We consider you our work familia now, hence we wanted to let you know the good news first. Rumours are rife, but that’s all they are at the moment, so it needs to stay within this group for now.
It’s really important we can rely on you for complete confidentiality.
We’ll let the rumours swirl while we’re in the air and hit fans with the official public confirmation on Mandy’s socials when we’re back on home soil in Los Angeles.
Mandy’s US fans will appreciate that. And then we can press ahead with the Baby Mom campaign activity, and it will be all the more poignant.
The fragrance is going to fly when the world knows about this.
We’ll do a full pregnancy shoot when we get back from LA – maybe at the beach location you mentioned, Amber.
Blair, Julie-Ann, while we’re away, can you pull together a call sheet for that please? ’
‘Of course, boss,’ Julie-Ann said, giving him a salute.
‘On it,’ chirped Blair, springing up from their seat like a foot soldier.
‘I still can’t believe it’s really happening – that I’m going to be an actual Baby Mom. It feels so good to share our news, it’s a dream come true!’ trilled Mandy, her excitement palpable.
‘Well, congratulations! Or cheers! As you say in England,’ Jose said, leading the toast. ‘To Mandy and our baby!’
We all called out, ‘To Mandy and your baby!’
Jose and Mandy gave me instructions to get her wardrobe sorted for the trip and to pack.
I went back to my room and onto Instagram, replaying the video from last night.
The rumours were escalating across TikTok, Snapchat, and X, and it was now a trending story on E!
News and MailOnline . I scrutinised the video, wishing I hadn’t been captured doing what looked like a bad rendition of ‘Gangnam Style’ in the foreground.
I pulled my empty suitcase down from the top of the wardrobe and opened it on my bed, then I fidgeted with my phone a bit more.
I was struggling with being in possession of some Really Big Celebrity News and having no one to discuss it with.
I knew I should be focusing on Mandy’s looks for LA, but this news was big and very distracting.
I knew I had signed an NDA, but with rumours swirling faster than a sugar-high child on a roundabout, there was sometimes only one thing you could do: call a trusted confidante and swear them to secrecy too.
Normally I would ring Vicky, but she would definitely be asleep now, and Rob wasn’t picking up, so I called Lucy instead.
‘Hey sis!’ I whispered. ‘You’ll never guess what.’
‘What? Are you okay?’
I didn’t even get through the pleasantries before spewing it out. ‘Mandy’s pregnant!’
‘Oh, that’s so lovely for her. I thought so, after seeing that video. Great dance moves by the way.’ She snorted. ‘How are you – hungover by any chance?’
Lucy seemed frustratingly nonchalant.
‘It’s top secret. I’m actually not meant to be telling anyone, but I can trust you with my life, right?’
‘There’s no need to fear for your life. It’s all over the internet and I don’t know who I’d tell. Anyway, how are you?’
You can always rely on family to bring you back down to earth.
‘Can I ask you something? At four months pregnant did your bump show?’
‘Absolutely. I’m bang on four months now and I look like I’ve swallowed a bowling ball. But it’s not like that for everyone. Some people don’t show until later. Why, how far along is Mandy?’
‘Four months too.’
‘How old is she – must be early forties?’
‘Forty-five. I don’t think it was easy for them to fall pregnant. I’m really happy for her.’
‘Adds a new element to styling her, I guess?’
‘Yup, I’ve got to get my head around designer maternity wear now. I’m not sure if Lanvin does stretchy leggings.’
‘Has Mandy been sick?’
‘Not that I’ve noticed.’
‘Lucky thing. I’m praying this is the month I stop puking every day.’
‘So, wedding plans – what’s the latest?’
‘We’ve made the drink selections and I’m royally pissed that I won’t be able to glug all the free champagne at my own wedding, obviously.
And we’ve had to ditch the baked camembert starters.
But Rory and I are of the feeling that we’ve waited so long to get hitched, and we’ll never do it unless we do it this year.
And can you imagine telling Nora she won’t be a bridesmaid? ’
‘I hear you.’ I shuddered. ‘There are benefits to being a sober bride, sis – you’ll remember everything about the day and will be the only person not hungover at breakfast. You’ll be so smug.’
‘Eurgh, yes, drinking anything acidic like champagne gives me chronic heartburn, and the Gaviscon chaser I need straight after kills the enjoyment. Bubbles and babies are a terrible combo in my opinion.’
I giggled. ‘You’re really selling pregnancy to me. Anyway, no one wants to eat camembert at a wedding anyway, because it makes your breath stink. Rob’s especially.’
‘How is he doing without you?’
‘I’ve got no idea.’
‘How come? I thought you’d be talking every day?’
‘Far from it. He barely calls. And tomorrow I go to LA for work, so with the time difference it will be even harder.’
‘Want me to send Rory over to check on him?’
‘Oh, would you? That would be so kind, sis, thank you. I’m sure he’s fine, he’s probably busy with work, which is good if things have picked up. Also, we need to finalise numbers for your hen do.’
Lucy sighed. ‘I wanted to talk to you about this. With how I’m feeling right now, I can’t imagine trying to have a night out, let alone one where all my friends are drunk and I’m high on lemonade.
I’ve been thinking, let’s cancel Paris. I’ll enjoy it so much more when I can eat all the cheese and drink red wine. ’
‘But it’s your hen do,’ I replied carefully, unsure whether some gentle persuasion might help. My sister could be hard to read sometimes.
‘I know, but given this pregnancy, what I’d love the most is a spa day with you and Mum.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘I’m absolutely positive. I think it would be really special to spend some girlie time together, and I can make up for the hen with a blowout with my friends on the other side of the baby and wedding. It makes so much more sense.’
‘Sounds good to me, if you’re sure. I’ll get it organised.’
‘Thank you, sister.’
‘Love you.’
‘I love you too and safe travels.’
Fuelled by nervous energy at spending more time with Jimi, I set about emailing and calling PRs to source outfits for Mandy’s LA trip.
As it was so last minute, I tried to use global brands and LA-based rental agencies, so most of the items could be sent directly to her and Jose’s home in the Hollywood Hills.
It made the rest of the day pass quickly and I almost forgot I was hungover.
I was about to start packing my own things for the trip when there was a knock at my bedroom door.
‘Come in!’ I yelled, expecting it to be Blair to run through the plan for West Wittering with me before I left, but Jimi’s face appeared around the corner.
‘Ciao, bella. Are you decent?’ he asked.
‘Hi, Jimi. Come in – I’m clothed!’ My cheeks reddened as I immediately imagined what might happen if I wasn’t fully dressed in front of him. And having glimpsed parts of Jimi’s body in our gym sessions, the thought of seeing more of him was an enticing prospect.
‘How’s it going?’ he asked, smiling at the clothes strewn around my room.
‘Slowly,’ I replied, thinking I wanted to say something which would acknowledge last night, whilst making it clear that we were just friends. Something natural. But all I could think of at that moment was, ‘I can’t move my arms properly.’
‘What do you mean? Are you okay?’ He looked at me concerned.
I took a breath, I hadn’t meant to panic him. ‘I mean, they just ache a bit. From the torture table.’
‘The reformer?’
‘That’s the one. Brutal.’ I went to lift up my right arm, to illustrate, and winced.
Jimi laughed.
‘Oi!’
‘I’m sorry. You’ve not having much luck in the gym at the moment, are you? First your lip. Now this.’
I smiled, in spite of myself.
My phone rang. I slid it from the back pocket of my jeans and saw it was Rob calling. Typical timing. A reaction must have shown on my face, as Jimi looked at me quizzically.
‘It’s no one important,’ I said, telling my first lie to him.
‘Are you packed?’ he asked. ‘I was sent to check, and to remind you that we leave at five a.m. I can come and help you with your case if you like?’
‘It’s okay, I’ll manage.’
‘See you in the morning then.’
‘See you.’