Jessie Slaymaker's Rules of Engagement (The Jessie Slaymaker Series Book 2) (11 page)

‘Good, thanks,’ Jessie replied, sitting back in her chair to better look up at her boss.

‘I’m glad to hear it. I’m impressed, Jessie,’ Rachel said.

‘I’m pleased,’ Jessie responded after a pause. For some reason she’d expected Rachel to elaborate.

‘Would you like to come for a pedicure tomorrow?’ Rachel suddenly asked, somewhat randomly.

‘Um, thank you,’ Jessie replied, totally surprised by the invitation and the activity. ‘But I already have plans with my boyfriend,’ she added smoothly. The idea of getting beauty treatments with her boss on a Saturday didn’t hold a huge amount of appeal for her. Rachel had barely spoken to her throughout the course of the week, and now she wanted to chinwag over exposed trotters? It was weird.

‘Well, if you change your mind, let me know,’ Rachel said, seeming not the least bit offended at being turned down, and strutted off to her office.

‘Why didn’t you say yes?’ hissed Penny at Jessie. Clearly she was back on snoop patrol.

‘I actually do have plans, Penny,’ Jessie replied. Was she missing something here? She didn’t get what the big deal was, but judging by Penny’s response, there
was
a big deal somewhere lurking. After a couple of moments during which her curiosity built, she asked Penny, across the partition, ‘Why should I have said yes?’

‘Because that’s your boss, and you should
always
say yes,’ Penny explained, as though she were talking to a five-year-old.

‘Right,’ Jessie answered stifling the urge to roll her eyes and exhale loudly. Although she’d never dream of saying anything, it seemed to Jessie that Penny may have had a bit of a crush on the can-do-no-wrong, sun-shines-out-of-every-orifice Rachel Horton.

On her walk home that evening, Jessie did something she’d been putting off since she’d arrived in Hong Kong. She called Tom. He would be wondering about her and would expect some form of communication—at least to tell him that she was still alive and well. She hadn’t felt the pressing need to speak to him until the last few days, but now she was overcome by an overwhelming desire to talk properly to someone about her situation. Jack was still suffering from his insufferable chickenpox, and with him going to bed early and Jessie getting home late, they still hadn’t had a chance to talk. And now it was a case of the longer she left it, the harder it was to talk to him. They were cohabiting of course, but there was very little actual conversation going on between them. And even less affection, as Jack seemed to constantly be uncomfortable or aching.

‘Hi, Tom, it’s Jessie,’ she said, once he’d picked up the phone. She attempted to keep her voice calm.

‘Jessie! I’m so glad you called,’ he said genuinely, making Jessie want to burst into tears. He was still Tom. Still her best friend Tom. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked.

For a moment, she couldn’t say anything.

‘It is your turn to talk,’ he reminded her cheekily.

‘Yes,’ Jessie replied, blinking back tears. ‘I just wanted to check in on you and see how you were doing.’

‘I’m doing good. You’ll be surprised to know I’ve actually thrown myself into work without you here to distract me. I’ve been lazy for far too long,’ he said honestly.

‘And the press are behaving themselves?’ Jessie enquired, knowing Tom’s life was frequently a subject of interest amongst the tabloids and glossy magazines. She’d never gotten used to being trailed about on occasion when they’d been together.

‘It seems no one really cares too much about my oscillating sexual preferences anymore. Our break-up is old news, if that’s what you’re alluding to. We’ve been bumped out of the headlines, only to have been superseded by some reality TV star’s nose job and her nymphomaniac Essex boyfriend,’ he said, continuing in his pithy tone.

‘Glad to hear it,’ Jessie laughed. She’d missed Tom’s deadpan way of explaining something.

‘And I’m glad you called. I was beginning to think that my best friend in the whole world had deserted me and didn’t want anything to do with me,’ he said, letting the vulnerability creep into his voice.

‘Don’t ever think that.’ Jessie felt tears begin to form. She was meandering through Central. ‘We’ll always be friends. No matter what.’

‘Good,’ Tom replied, audibly gulping down a lump in his throat. ‘Now, tell me about Hong Kong. How’s the city and the new job going?’

Jessie went silent as a huge sob wracked her body.

‘Jessie, what’s wrong?’ Tom asked, alarmed.

‘My job is terrible. There was some mix-up and I’ve been demoted. Basically I’m doing exactly the same bloody thing as I was in England. When I left, I went around telling everybody that it would be career progress and a fresh challenge. But there’s been none of that. I feel so stupid,’ she babbled as she fought to bring her crying under control. She was conscious that she looked like a crazy lady, her face streaming, as the after-work crowds all shuffled on about their way, some of them clearly taking notice of her waterworks.

‘What does Jack say?’ Tom asked, cautiously saying the name. Jessie fell silent again. She took several deep breaths as a fresh bout of sobs threatened to consume her.

‘Jessie,’ Tom said firmly. ‘What did Jack say?’

‘I haven’t told him?’ she replied quietly.

‘Why the hell not?’ Tom demanded loudly down the phone, making her jump.

‘He’s sick and needs to concentrate on getting better. He doesn’t need to worry about this,’ she said, sounding defensive.

‘What’s wrong with him?’ Tom asked, his tone quieter.

‘He got chickenpox right before I started at the bank. He’s recovering now, but I never got around to telling him,’ Jessie confessed. She knew it was a weak and feeble excuse, but that was what had happened.

‘That’s bad luck. But Jesus, Jessie, you need to tell him. He’ll be able to help and support you a damn sight better than I can from this far away,’ Tom pointed out.

‘I can’t now,’ Jessie replied flatly.

‘Why not?’

‘Things started off so well when we got here and I had time off. But since I’ve started work and he’s been tired and moody because he’s ill, we hardly speak. Apart from my first day, he’s barely asked me about what it’s like at the office. It’s like the honeymoon period is over and we’ve disconnected or something.’

‘I’m sure things would be fine if you just tried to
talk
to him. You must realise he’s just in a grump because he’s feeling poorly.’

‘Maybe. But what if I was too rash in coming out here…’ Jessie trailed off as for the first time she verbalised the thoughts which had been developing over the course of the week.

She had arrived at her building, so she plonked herself down on the steps outside, reluctant to go in, and also reluctant to continue her conversation with Tom if it was going to become awkward.

‘You’re probably just down that your job isn’t what you expected, and Jack is no doubt feeling glum because he’s been sick. You can’t have thought it was all going to be plain sailing?’

‘That’s exactly what I thought it would be,’ Jessie replied sadly. ‘Plain sailing. It’s been nothing but hassle and one disappointment after another since I started work.’

‘But that’s got nothing to do with Jack,’ Tom pointed out. ‘So you can’t blame him for any of that. Maybe he’s been a little self-obsessed over the last week, but you can hardly blame him if he’s feeling rotten.’

‘I know,’ Jessie said resignedly. ‘You’re right.’

‘How’s the sex?’ Tom asked suddenly.

‘That’s none of your bloody business, Tom,’ Jessie spluttered.

‘I take it not good, then,’ Tom surmised from her reaction.

‘Tom, seriously… stop.’

‘Oh, for God’s sake, Jessie. Don’t be such a prude. Just because you and I never quite accomplished the physical act of love, doesn’t mean we can’t talk about it. We’re both adults. I love you, you know. And I want to try and help you,’ Tom said firmly.

‘Well, the chickenpox has kind of put a damper on things in that department,’ Jessie admitted eventually.

‘Oh, right. Got you. Is he infected down there as well?’ Jessie could hear the teasing in his voice.

‘Jesus, Tom. I’m hanging up,’ Jessie said, exasperated.

‘Jessie, come on. Just breathe. I was only joking. Things must be bad. I thought that was all you two did,’ Tom said light-heartedly.

‘No comment.’ Jessie found it hard not to smile. He did have a point.

‘My advice is, talk to Jack. Tell him what’s happened at work and tell him how you’re feeling a bit neglected by him. What’s the worst that could happen?’ Tom reasoned.

‘Hmm. I’ll think about it,’ Jessie said. She knew he was talking sense, but that didn’t make it easy to hear. ‘I have to go,’ she signed off, and pulled her weary body up by the railing.

At the end of the week, Jack was still feeling sorry for himself. Only now, he was also starting to feel bitter, and his resentfulness was directed in part towards Jessie, of all people. Although he hadn’t admitted it to her, he’d felt miffed that she’d still chosen to go off to work despite the fact that he needed her to stay at home and be with him. She’d effectively chosen her job over him—or at least, that was what it had felt like. The rational part of his brain knew that she needed to go, but it had still rankled him. He’d hardly seen her all week, and although they were perfectly civil and friendly with each other, things weren’t quite right.

The intimacy and closeness they’d shared seemed to be on hiatus. They’d lost the ability to talk to each other about anything. Or at least, Jack felt like he couldn’t talk to her from his point of view. This past week had been rotten for Jack on so many counts: the chickenpox, being kept a virtual prisoner in isolation, and being alone pretty much the whole time whilst Jessie was at work. He’d missed her terribly, but for some inexplicable reason he’d found it impossible to articulate this to her when she came home each day.

Part of the problem was that Jack hadn’t wanted to seem weak, or to appear to hold her back, when it was evident that Jessie knew exactly where she was going. She had a great job with clear prospects, a good salary, and the respect of her peers. She was driven and ambitious, and possessed both a direction in which to travel and a plan to guide her on her way.

Being cooped up in their serviced apartment all week, Jack had had a huge amount of time to think. And after all his thinking, his conclusion was: what did he really have going for him? Other than Jessie, not a whole lot. Jack knew it was ridiculous to feel jealous of Jessie’s career success, but that
was
how he felt. He was scared of being left behind. In Shanghai he’d owed and operated a successful publishing company. Back then, he’d had that same hunger, drive, and determination to succeed that he now saw on a daily basis in Jessie.

Jack knew he’d been taking out his frustrations and disappointment with his own personal circumstances on Jessie: acting a little cool towards her and withdrawn. He knew he hadn’t sounded overly interested in her new job and had deliberately not asked as many questions as he should have. In truth, he simply hadn’t wanted to hear how brilliant everything was going for her, or what her latest triumph in the workplace had been that day. So he hadn’t asked.

Yes, there was no question that Jack was in a rut: mentally, physically, and emotionally. Their first two weeks in Hong Kong, soaking up the sights, sea, and sand, had been truly awesome. But that was a holiday, and now they were back to real life. He wanted to be happy with Jessie. She was, quite simply, the kindest, most amazing woman he knew. Not to mention absolutely stunning. Every morning when she’d left for work in her cute office attire, he’d had to fake sleep so as not to pull her back into bed with him and make her late.

But to be truly happy with Jessie, he was going to have to sort himself out and do something about his sorry-ass state, as the present state of affairs could not continue. Jessie was going to get fed up with him soon enough unless he did something deserving of her affection. No doubt her head would eventually get turned by someone more successful and altogether more worthy. A woman like Jessie should have nothing but the best, and Jack desperately wanted to be that man.

So, in order to combat his current state of boredom and unemployment, Jack had arranged a job interview of sorts. He still wasn’t feeling one hundred percent, but he was feeling well enough to venture out into the big bad world and meet up for a few drinks with an old acquaintance from Shanghai who was now based in Hong Kong. Greg was a hard-drinking Irishman who already owned several bars and restaurants in the city. It was Jack’s intention to quiz Greg about the realities of doing something similar in the buzzing metropolis.

Like a lot of people, Jack harboured a desire to run a bar, and maybe now was the chance for him to do it. It was an idea, anyway, and he didn’t have many of those, so he was going to jump on it and at least investigate the possibilities. But he had no intention of telling Jessie what he was up to until he’d completed his fact-finding mission. Instead, he planned to tell her that he was just catching up with a few friends—and if he happened to intimate that he was going on a lad’s night out, then that wasn’t such a bad thing. Jessie had had her fun at work all week, so Jack saw no harm in a bit of well-crafted exaggeration on his part to let her know that he wasn’t quite as hopeless as he sometimes looked.

‘Right, Jessie Slaymaker,’ Jessie muttered to herself as she fiddled with the finicky lock on her apartment door. ‘No more of this silliness and trying to cope with everything on your own.’ She took a deep breath and opened the door. Jack was in the kitchenette watching the kettle boil. Jessie took a deep breath and walked up to him.

‘Hi Jack,’ she said, looking up at him. ‘We need to talk,’ she continued, not waiting for his response as she grabbed his hand, leading him over to the sofa.

‘That sounds serious,’ he half-laughed at her.

‘I know this week hasn’t exactly been peachy for you, but I’ve just had the worst week of my professional existence,’ Jessie said gravely. ‘Even worse than when Charlie tried to frame me for corporate espionage, the last time I was here.’