It's 2.30 in the early hours of Sunday morning and Victoria Beckham is about to go to work - performing her debut solo single. Two thousand avid fans on the dance island of Ibiza have waited hours to catch a glimpse of Posh Spice at the Eden mega-club. They don't know Victoria has just been told that news has leaked about some maniac sabotaging husband David Beckham's Ferrari by tampering with the brakes. She jokes and teases with fellow True Stepper Dane Bowers. But behind the dressing room banter there is tension and a real concern. David is safely tucked up in bed back in Britain so she can't phone him. Instead she text-messages "I love you", which pops up on the Manchester United ace's mobile when he wakes.
She might have a show to do but her thoughts are a thousand miles away. The "I luv Becks" tattoo stencilled on her left arm has never been more appropriate. Soon afterwards, the mother of 17-month-old boy Brooklyn opens her heart to The Mirror about the attack on Britain's first family of glamour.
"Sometimes I get scared by it all. When something like that happens and it appears to be a deliberate act, it's just terrifying. The consequences really don't bear thinking about. How evil and twisted you have to be to do something like this. It's really shocking that we seem to get subjected to these callous acts. Thankfully we have stacks of security at home and on our cars so nothing like this can happen again."
If the sinister threat were not enough, 26-year-old Victoria spent most of yesterday suffering severe food poisoning after eating some dodgy squid at a San Antonio restaurant. Glimpses of the dark side to the Posh 'n' Becks phenomenon concern Victoria, although she admits the duo keep themselves detached from it all as much as possible.
"We hate it but we have to laugh at it or it would drive you mad. I'm a bossy cow in short skirts and high heels who just talks and shops all day. And David hasn't got a single brain cell in his head and all he does is drive fast cars around. The only true bit is we really love each other and we're committed to each other. It makes me so angry that some people want to kick me in the gut. They can't wait for me to fall flat on my arse. If I'm being totally honest, there are nights when I've thought: 'Let's just pack it in, get a nice house in the country and leave it all behind'. But despite all the negative aspects I love what I do. I always dreamed of being rich and famous and I am. Yes, I get upset at being slagged off but on the other hand I really don't give a shit. People can take me as I am. I like to think I am a good role model. I'm working hard, I'm faithful, I don't go sleeping around with everybody every night. I don't go and get pissed every night. There are still people who want to see me come unstuck. But I use it all to make myself more determined. In the end people can buy my new record or they won't. They do have a choice."
She admits to allowing herself a wry smirk when someone else gets stick. The Prime Minister's son Euan Blair's recent run-in with police springs to her mind.
"That clever little sod gave a false name," she laughs. "So he can't have been that drunk. He got away with that one. He's not daft is he? He's definitely not a silly boy."
There's no doubt that when Victoria does finally hang up her Gucci sunglasses and designer outfits, 25-year-old Becks will still be the man at her side.
"I speak to him by phone at least 20 times a day when we're apart. If I'm not on the phone to him, I'm on the phone to Brooklyn. Of course, we text-message each other all the time. We've talked about having more children. I definitely want us to have another baby next year. We've always wanted a big family - and we're having a lot of fun practising."
Such is the couple's hectic schedule that David is even going to Victoria's London record signing in Oxford Street today so they can snatch precious time together. Their seemingly perfect existence is marred by only one blemish - Beckham's liking for hardcore rap music.
"I have to get him to turn it off because the language is a bit strong for Brooklyn," says Victoria with her distinctive mock-stern expression. Today's release of her single Out Of Your Mind is being watched intently by friends and foes alike. "I was the last of the Spice Girls to do a solo record because I just didn't have the confidence until now," she says.
"David was key to me finally getting it together - he has faith in me as a singer and a performer. Now I've nearly finished my first solo album. More importantly I've realised I'm not that bad either. There is more to my life than Gucci and the stores in Sloane Street and this will prove it. I was slagged off for miming to the single at the Party in the Park but everyone from Michael Jackson downwards does it. It's physically impossible to do a strenuous dance routine and sing properly at the same time. But because it's me, suddenly it becomes the big burning issue of the day."
Victoria confesses that her main concern is for Brooklyn. "I have the guilt of any working mother but I'm luckier in that I can often take him with me," she says.
"If he asks why I'm going away, I just tell him it's so we can pay for his private education or get him the electronic toy he's been after. It breaks your heart, but I think he understands. He's a tough little chap. We're all tough in our family. We have to be."