All That Glitters by Ilana Fox Read Free Book Online Page A

honestly. ‘Danny’s a great player, and I’m honoured to be his wife, and to stand by his side during his football journey. I’m lucky to be part of it.’ So far, so bland: perfect understated-wife-of-a-football-player.
    ‘And what about you? Will you use Danny’s success as a platform for your own work?’ Jim asked, looking at his notebook as though the question didn’t really interest him. But Ella knew it did. This was the part that would prove to everyone she was more than a footballer’s wife. It would show everyone she was someone .
    ‘I’m really fortunate that doors open for me because I’m married to Danny,’ Ella began smoothly. ‘But I’m not sure you could say it’s a platform for me. People who idolise Danny on the pitch aren’t interested in what I do, especially not my fashion work.’
    ‘You work in fashion?’ Jim asked, as he raised an eyebrow. Was Ella going to be the new Victoria Beckham and launch a fashion label?
    ‘I’ve just done some work with Cerise magazine. I do pieces where I create high-end fashion outfits with lifestyle and current affairs in mind. It’s fashion with a twist,’ Ella said, remembering that last sentence from the press release Aaron had insisted the magazine put out.
    ‘I’m not the sort of girl who likes to sit around looking pretty,’ Ella continued, her wide violet eyes shining as she thought about Cerise . ‘I like fashion, I like current affairs, and I like the fact that I’ll be able to merge the two, and to bring about a more serious side to looking good.’
    Jim stared at Ella for a moment. He’d interviewed WAGs before – vacuous types who doted on their husbands and didn’t have a single original thought to their name – but this one was different. Jim had agreed to do the interview as a favour to Aaron Kohle as they went back years, but he could see now this wasn’t going to be a puff piece. This could, potentially, be the newspaper profile that announced her to the world. Ella was a mixture of startling good looks and a decent brain. In a WAG, it was a dynamite combination.
    ‘Tell me more,’ Jim said with interest, and he leant forward as Ella began to speak. ‘What gets you going, and what sort of current affairs will you feature in the magazine?’ Ella smelt good – of orange blossom and roses – and she looked amazing. If he wasn’t a married man, and she wasn’t Danny Riding’s wife, he would have been interested. Very interested.
    Ella silently blessed the fact she’d watched Newsnight earlier in the week and began talking about how the recession had affected the British fashion industry. Her face was so serious, and she spoke with such feeling that Jim couldn’t help but be surprised. Okay, so she wasn’t exactly an economist, or the most intelligent woman he’d ever met, but she had something. A spark.
    ‘So where do you see you and Danny in five years’ time?’ Jim asked, turning the conversation back to her. Whatever he’d thought of Ella Riding previously, he was practically in love with her now.
    ‘Hopefully still being blissfully happy with our life together,’ Ella answered with a smile. It was all she wanted. She wanted Danny and herself to keep being exactly how they were, for ever and ever.
    Jim reviewed his notes and thought about what Ella had been talking about, and how well she’d come across. England was desperate for a new sweetheart, and Jim knew that this profile piece would turn her from a moderately well-known WAG into a person in her own right. She was intelligent, self-assured, and the perfect role model for girls of all ages. Yes, she was married to a rich footballer and lived a life of luxury, but she was making the most of this opportunity to better herself, not to gain column inches or to show off. He’d never known anything like it.
    ‘I think that’s a wrap,’ Jim said, as he turned his Dictaphone off and grinned at Ella. He felt honoured to be chosen as the first to interview