MADE IN ESSEX. Laura Ziepe

      CHAPTER 1

      ‘Open your eyes after three. Ready?’

      Jade squeezed her eyes shut and nodded, excitedly. ‘One, two … three.’

      Her hand flew to her mouth and she gasped loudly as Kelly coolly strolled into the room, wearing the very first bikini in their new collection. It was amazing seeing something that they’d actually designed themselves as a finished product, and it looked far better than she’d ever imagined.

      ‘How hot is this bikini, babe?’ Kelly beamed from ear to ear. ‘Just picture how good it would look with a dark tan and blue vajazzle as well.’

      ‘Oh my God! You look unreal,’ Jade said admiringly, eyes bulging. It was a bright petrol blue colour and had a glittery effect which sparkled in the light; it would look even better in the sunshine. The girls had decided to replace the simple tie strings on the bottoms with a row of three gold chains and then inserted some pretty gold dangling charms in between the two cups on the top. It was simply done and looked incredible on Kelly’s killer figure. ‘It looks easily as good as the expensive ones you buy from America, Kel. It’s beauts!’

      ‘I know! I love it!’ Kelly said as she glanced at her reflection in the mirror. ‘What are we calling this one?’

      Jade thought for a moment. ‘I like the name “Essex Showgirl”,’ she decided. ‘What other colours can we get for this design?’

      ‘Caitlin said she also has gold and hot pink, hun.’

      Jade jotted it down in her notebook happily. Those colours would also look great. She had a feeling that the ‘Essex Showgirl’ bikini was going to be very popular indeed.

      She was thrilled to be starting her own swimwear business, Vajazzle My Bikini, with her best friend, and couldn’t wait until everything was up and running. They’d been on holiday to Marbella the year before and when Jade had realised she was the only one with ordinary, plain swimwear on her first day she’d almost been in tears. After finding a boutique that stocked similar glitzy and glamorous bikinis to everyone else’s, she’d been horrified at the expensive prices and had decided they should make their own instead. It had been fun visiting the Spanish market for jewels and beads to customise their swimwear, and when they were constantly stopped by girls wanting to know where they’d purchased their costumes from, Jade had realised they were on to something. Kelly was still working as a freelance beautician and Jade had been temping in mundane office jobs to save money for their website. They’d finally saved enough now, and while their friend Lisa’s cousin, Tony, was designing and creating their website at a reduced price, they were making the swimwear and planning their collections. They’d found a lovely lady online that ran a swimwear company in America, who sold them bikinis in bulk at discount prices so they could customise them. So far, everything was working out perfectly.

      Jade inspected the bikini and looked closely at how well Kelly had made it; she was impressed. Kelly was fantastic at sewing, whereas she was better at sketching the designs on paper, so they could share the workload. They were going to split the administration and had decided that Jade was going to take all the calls and deal with customer queries.

      Kelly looked round the room blankly. ‘When can we arrange the office properly?’ she enquired.

      Luckily Jade had an office in her home that was big enough for the two of them. It belonged to Jade’s dad, but he never used it for more than one day a month. She paused. ‘What do you mean? All we need is another chair. We’ll just go out and buy one.’

      Kelly arched a perfectly neat eyebrow. ‘Mmm … I was thinking we could change it a bit as well, you know, make