Jessie Slaymaker's Rules of Engagement (The Jessie Slaymaker Series Book 2) (25 page)

‘Hey you,’ he said smoothly, answering the call. He sounded like he was in a crowd.

‘Hi. Can you talk?’

‘Yes. Not for long though, I’m just on my way to a meeting,’ he replied.

‘You are not going to believe this, but Barbie Rachel is in actual fact an undercover forensic accountant. Only not so undercover now. She’s been investigating Shum Tat Holdings for months apparently and not come up with much until recently. Anyway, I let slip that you had gone to Shanghai and now she’s put a tail on you. Don’t be mad at me.’

‘Why would I be mad at you?’ Jack laughed. ‘I have nothing to hide.’

‘Well, that’s good then,’ Jessie said, breathing an internal sigh of relief. She’d never had any doubts. ‘I just know you got your original startup money from Mr Shum, and I didn’t want to cause you trouble.’

‘That money was a legitimate business loan, repaid with interest. Nothing to worry about on that front.’

‘Any other fronts I should be worried about?’ Jessie enquired sheepishly.

‘Trust me, Jessie. Can you do that?’

‘Yes. I can,’ Jessie replied assuredly. ‘In other news, I think I’ve lost my job.’

‘What? Why? Because of that pathetic thing on the news last night?’

‘It seems I’ve become something of an embarrassment and they don’t know how to handle it.’

‘Are you okay?’

‘Surprisingly, yes,’ Jessie said slowly. ‘I mean, I’m pissed off with them and the way it’s been handled. But the thought of losing my job doesn’t scare me like it might have done before. I’m not sure I even want to go back, even if they asked me to go back, which I seriously doubt they ever will.’

‘I’m glad you’re okay. I’m going into my meeting now, but I’ll call you later.’

‘Okay. Good luck with whatever you’re doing,’ Jessie said, still wondering what the hell he was up to.

‘Jessie, wait,’ Jack shouted down the phone at her as she was about to hang up.

‘What?’ she asked, a puzzled look on her face.

‘I love you, Jessie Slaymaker,’ Jack said. She could practically hear him smiling at her down the line.

‘I love you too. Speak later,’ Jessie said, finally finishing the call.

Feeling calmer now that she’d spoken to Jack, Jessie decided to walk home to her flat, rather than take a taxi, even though it did look like rain. Maybe a bit of rain would wash away the anger that still seethed beneath the surface. Yet again, people had tried to take advantage of her. Was she really that soft? Or just unlucky, she wondered. The ringing of her phone was a welcome distraction.

‘At last, I’ve been trying to get through to you for ages,’ Tom moaned as soon as the call connected.

‘Nice to speak to you too,’ Jessie replied. ‘I was on the phone to Jack and I hardly think you’ve been trying for ages.’ She wasn’t in the mood for Tom’s fake dramatics. Not when she had real dramatics going on in her life.

‘So, I saw you on the box,’ Tom practically sang down the phone at her.

‘Oh God,’ Jessie groaned as she flung a hand to her head. ‘Please tell me they’re not showing that on the BBC.’

‘Not yet. I saw it on the web. It wasn’t that bad,’ he soothed.

‘Tom, it’s nice of you to say that, but I did see it, you know,’ Jessie began, ‘and it was fucking terrible. They made me out to be a total airhead and the least creditable person in the world to give expert economic advice and analysis. Without my reputation, I don’t have anything in this industry. Nobody will believe or trust a single word I say or write.’

‘Don’t be so dramatic. The world hasn’t caved in or anything, has it? The sun still rose this morning. The fact is your face was on TV, and maybe they twisted it into something you weren’t expecting, but the reality is, this has done a huge amount to raise your platform,’ Tom the PR guru said.

‘My platform?’ Jessie repeated, dumbly.

‘Your reputation and standing in the marketplace,’ Tom explained.

‘What use is a fricking platform if I don’t have a job? They haven’t exactly suspended me, but the bank strongly suggested I take some time off while they figure out what to do with me. They aren’t happy. They think I’ve embarrassed them and are worried about their clients having seen me giggle at my boss’s shoes and moan about their manners,’ Jessie rambled.

‘I’ve told you before, and I’ll tell you again,’ Tom began as though delivering a sermon. ‘You don’t need that bank, Jessie. You’re the only one who seems to be particularly attached to the damn place. What have they actually really done for you over the years?’

‘I don’t want to go back,’ Jessie said in a quiet but truthful voice. ‘In fact, I don’t care if I never set foot in that place ever again.’

‘What? Where’s the real Jessie Slaymaker? The Jessie I used to know would be making allowances for them and saying things like they bought her a flight ticket to Hong Kong,’ Tom laughed.

‘Well, I’m sure I could go and find her,’ Jessie retorted easily.

‘No, don’t. I like this new Jessie.’

‘I’ve had enough, Tom,’ Jessie complained, unable to hide her frustration. ‘I went in there today and I felt utterly worthless. They don’t give a crap about me and the work I’ve done for them for years.’

‘I think I may have told you this before, at least a hundred times or so, but you were wasted at that place. I guarantee there’s something infinitely better for you around the corner. Everyone will soon forget about the TV thing, I’m sure.’

‘But what about my platform?’ Jessie asked innocently. ‘I thought there was no such thing as bad publicity, and all that.’

‘I was being nice—it’s my job where you’re concerned,’ Tom replied flippantly. ‘Anyway, as we have just ascertained that the world has not ended, and will not end in the immediate future on account of your televisual debut, that’s enough about you, Slaymaker. Ask me how I’m doing.’

‘Alright, Tom, how are you doing?’ Jessie laughed. Tom would never let her wallow for too long. ‘Although I have a sneaking feeling that a certain beefy Australian may have something to do with your upbeat mood. But feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.’

‘I’m too old to be coy, and there is no need to correct you.’

‘Last I heard, you went off to the airport and I haven't the foggiest idea what happened to the beefy Australian. So what went on with you guys then?’ Jessie asked. The weekend Tom had come to visit, Jessie hadn’t seen Tom for the remainder of his stay, aside from a quick farewell lunch after Jack’s bar opening. She had been preoccupied with Jack, and Tom had found something or other to do with Trey.

‘That weekend in Hong Kong was amazing. I’m still sorry about ditching you by the way, but after I worked my matchmaking magic with you and Jack, I don’t think my presence was required. Anyway, back to me. We had a lovely time, Trey and I, sightseeing and whatnot. I came back home with a spring in my step and feeling a bit more positive when it came to Tom’s affairs of the heart. I realised that if my best friend Jessie doesn’t want to become a transsexual for me, then I could still be happy with someone else. Trey made me realise that.’

‘I’m glad you can see that now. You’re a great catch,’ Jessie said genuinely. ‘Someone will come along and float your boat soon enough.’ Jessie’s ears then went on hyper-alert as she thought she heard another voice say something at the other end of the line. It sounded like the voice was saying,
Say hi to Jessie from me,
or words to that effect. ‘Wait a minute. Who was that?’

‘That may be someone,’ Tom answered shyly.

‘Trey?’ Jessie guessed.

‘Maybe.’

‘Coy doesn’t suit you, Tom. Like you said, you’re too old,’ Jessie joked. ‘Well, I’m very happy for you both, and say hi to Trey from me,’ Jessie added, breathing heavily.

‘Will do. What are you doing? You sound out of breath. You’re not having sex, are you?’ Tom asked seriously.

‘No, I am not,’ Jessie snapped, pretending to be offended. ‘Do you really think I’d be on the phone to you if I were? I’m hiking up the Everest of staircases in my building,’ Jessie replied wearily. ‘You’re not having sex with Trey are you?’

‘You need to be more specific. In general or right at this moment?’ Tom replied cheekily. Having Trey in his life seemed to have doubled his cockiness quotient.

‘Very funny, Tom. You know precisely what I mean,’ she said as she fiddled with her key in the lock. After a pause, she added: ‘That’s funny.’

‘I know. Trey says I’m a hoot.’

‘No, not that. I thought I double locked this door,’ Jessie said more to herself than to Tom as she walked into her flat. She scanned her tiny living room-bedroom-kitchen area and froze. ‘Tom. I have to go,’ she said, all warmth now gone from her voice.

‘What’s wrong?’ came Tom’s voice, echoing from far away, before she cut him off.

It felt strange to be back in Shanghai. It was both familiar and different. The same frenetic pace and activity surrounded him, but the landscape had changed, with new towers cropping up here and there all over the city skyscape. There were also subtle differences in the people. More people were drinking out of takeaway coffee cups, and Jack even noticed a few more people queuing up as opposed to the usual scrum. He hadn’t been away that long, less than a year in actual fact, but the buzzing metropolis no longer felt like home. Jack had loved living and working in Shanghai when he’d been there, but now he struggled to remember it ever really feeling like he truly belonged there.

Jessie felt like home, now. Whether in England or Hong Kong, it didn’t matter, as long as he was with her. That was where he belonged, he realised. Next to Jessie.

It was just after lunch when Jack walked into his office, opposite the lively Xintiandi district. He strode past the empty reception desk and through to his managing director’s office.

‘
Ni hao ma
, Yu Lan?’ Jack asked the petite woman typing away at her computer.

‘
Wo hun hao
,’ she replied, looking up at him and smiling. ‘And your staff are also very happy to have been given the afternoon off, as per your instructions,’ she added. Her English was perfect, but she spoke with a heavy accent as though her mouth sometimes struggled to make the alien sounds.

‘Good,’ Jack replied, sitting down opposite her.

‘So what is so urgent that you had to come in person?’ Yu Lan asked, folding her hands neatly in front of her on the desk.

‘You haven’t changed a bit,’ Jack laughed, running a hand through his hair. ‘Straight down to business, as per usual.’

She didn’t reply, but merely cocked her head to one side as she waited to hear what it was that had prompted his sudden reappearance in Shanghai. Yu Lan took a less is more approach when it came to talking.

‘I have a suspicion that someone is trying to access some documents in our possession,’ Jack said.

‘Which documents?’ she asked.

‘Some of the rights agreements we have, and maybe some of the manuscripts we’re storing. The things we’re supposed to keep because no one would ever think to look for them here.’

‘They are in the vault,’ she answered plainly.

‘Does anyone other than you have the key and code?’

‘No. Only you, Jack.’

‘Good. And you know it has to stay that way. I gave my word that these manuscripts would be safe and unpublished until we are authorised to distribute them.’

‘I understand. We will go and check. For your peace of mind,’ Yu Lan said, standing up gracefully and slipping on her jacket.

It was good to see Yu Lan again. Jack thought of her almost like a little sister. She had been his first employee all those years ago and had since proved herself loyal, faithful, and in possession of the biggest sense of duty on the planet. Despite Jack’s frequent teasing, she always maintained a veneer of professionalism and focus. And in terms of being dedicated to their work, he thought only Jessie could give her a run for her money—and even then, Jessie would have come in second, he had to admit.

Even when Jack had been invited to dine at her family’s home, she had still only really spoken of life in the office, although she would always answer any personal question Jack ever posed. It just never occurred to her to talk about herself freely outside the context of her job.

‘So how’s the love life then?’ Jack teased once they were in a taxi, heading for the bank.

‘I am married to my job until someone suitable appears in my life,’ Yu Lan replied with a small shrug of her shoulders.

‘There must be someone,’ Jack prodded.

‘Terrence from the office asked me to dinner, but I said I could not fraternise with a fellow staff member. It would not be respectful to you.’

‘Lan Lan, you can go out with whoever you want. It doesn’t matter to me if you work with them. Hold on, who’s Terrence?’ Jack asked, an alarm bell going off in his head.

‘The new guy I hired a few months after you left. I emailed you. He only stayed a few weeks. He asked me to go out with him over twenty times. He was most insistent. But I continued to say no. He got the hint when I told him I could not go out with a non-Chinese man. My parents would not be happy.’

‘Where was he from?’ Jack asked slowly.

‘He said he was American. He had an American passport, but he talked the same as you.’

‘What did he look like?’

‘Your height. Light hair. Blue eyes,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘Like young Brad Pitt.’

Jack sat in an angry silence for the remainder of the journey whilst he fumed. He couldn’t believe he’d been so uninterested in his own business to not have realised that his own brother had somehow used a fake name and identity to get a job at his company. It just had to be him. While Jack had been pretending to be Sonia’s significant other in Hong Kong, Charlie had been trying to gain access to precious information in Shanghai. No doubt Sonia had assisted him with the required documents. The whole thing had probably all been her idea in the first place. Why couldn’t he have just gone into hiding in South America, like he’d lied to their mother?

‘Did he ever see the vault?’ Jack asked, more urgently.

‘No. Never. I would not do that,’ Yu Lan replied, placing a hand on her heart. It was the most emotional display he’d ever seen her make, and Jack knew he never had any reason to doubt her. The thought of his brother trying to seduce a nonplussed Yu Lan was the only consolation. At least someone had been immune to Charlie’s charms.