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

by Iles, Jo

  The policeman thought about it for a second, but then sat back down and reopened his notebook, exhaling loudly as though his job had suddenly become very tedious.

  ‘Any ex-boyfriends who might want you to stay away from JD?’ the policeman asked plainly.

  ‘No,’ Jessie replied, attempting to stifle a laugh. ‘There’s no danger of that,’ she added in a jokey way—which was entirely unappreciated by an unimpressed PC Cheung. And by Jack. He was wearing a semi-permanent scowl on his face, which told her he clearly thought she should be taking this whole thing a lot more seriously than she was. Jessie quit smiling and concentrated on making her face look more serious.

  ‘And what about you, sir… Mr Davenport?’ the officer said, referring to his notes. ‘Any ex-girlfriends or significant others who would want to separate the two of you?’ There was a pause as Jack and Jessie exchanged a glance. Jessie wasn’t going to be the one to bring up her name. That was Jack’s call.

  ‘Well, yes,’ Jack said. ‘There is someone who springs to mind. Sonia Shum.’

  PC Cheung’s pen stopped still and his eyebrows went skywards as he studied Jack carefully. He then picked up an old-fashioned telephone on his desk and dialled a number. After speaking in Cantonese for about a minute or so, he then listened intently to whatever was being said on the other end of the line, only supplying a series of grunts and nods.

  ‘Leave it with us, Miss Slaymaker,’ he said eventually when he returned the receiver to the cradle. ‘I will pass this on to a detective who will be in touch with you for further questioning.’

  ‘Okay, right,’ Jessie said. Things had begun to sound more serious again. ‘Thank you,’ Jessie added, as she got up. She pinched Jack just above the elbow and steered him towards the door before he could throw his toys out the pram again.

  ***

  By the time Jessie got to work it was mid-morning. Rachel appeared out of her office and threw a cursory look of indifference her way, then closeted herself back in her box, probably for the rest of the day.

  Jessie found it hard to get on with her work. She’d been replaying events from that morning at the police station. She’d gotten the distinct impression that not a huge amount would be done unless things were to escalate. That is, until Jack uttered Sonia’s name. After that, PC Cheung’s whole demeanour had changed. Of course, he hadn’t given anything away with his words, but she felt that he was no longer treating the note as a one-off, random act. This made Jessie worry. Maybe Jack had been right to be alarmed. Maybe they really did have something to worry about.

  In a bid to try and shake up her normal routine, Jessie arranged to meet Jack at his bar after she finished work. He wasn’t quite ready to leave when she arrived, but she was more than happy to prop up the bar with a glass or two of delicious white wine whilst she waited for him.

  Jessie found it impossible not to partake in a bit of people-watching as she surveyed the after-work crowd bustling about, unwinding after a long day in the office. Then she found herself studying Jack’s staff and wondered if any of them were secretly carrying a torch for their boss and wanted her out of the way. She was sure there were bound to be a few of Jack’s predominantly female workforce who liked him. He was utterly gorgeous, charming when he wanted to be, and pretty impossible not to like. Maybe one of them had become infatuated and gotten a little carried away and written that note. But how would they know where to send it? They would have had to have followed her. The thought sent a shudder through her, and she chose to think about something else. This whole letter thing was probably nothing.

  ‘Sorry,’ Jack said as he plonked himself down on the stool next to her. How are you doing?’ he asked, rubbing the back of her neck.

  ‘Better now,’ she smiled sweetly at him.

  ‘How was the TV thing?’ he asked, reaching over the bar and grabbing his beer.

  ‘Oh, it got postponed till tomorrow. Probably a good thing. I don’t think I looked my best today, what with all the drama last night,’ she said, rolling her eyes.

  ‘We’re not going to fight about this. I’m looking out for you, so the least you can do is start taking precautions and looking out for yourself. All I want is for you to be careful.’

  ‘I know,’ Jessie said wearily. She twisted the stem of her wineglass as she silently contemplated how she was going to phrase what she wanted to tell him next. ‘I’m going to tell you something. On the condition that you’re not going to get angry with me.’

  ‘Well, that’s a surefire way of getting my attention, Miss Slaymaker. But I’m afraid I can’t promise not to get angry about something that you clearly think is going to make me angry.’

  ‘No deal then,’ Jessie said. ‘Forget about it.’

  ‘Jessie,’ Jack said in that slightly husky way that seemed to make her do whatever it was he wanted her to do.

  ‘Promise you’ll try not to get angry then?’ she said, imploring him with her eyes.

  ‘Deal.’

  ‘This is going to sound silly, but ever since we arrived in Hong Kong, I’ve had this feeling. Like I’m being followed. I haven’t seen anyone specifically, but like I said, it’s just a feeling that I’ve been watched a couple of times.’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell the police this morning?’ Jack asked plainly. He didn’t look happy. Not angry, but he was definitely not happy Jack.

  ‘I forgot,’ Jessie replied lamely, unable to meet his eye.

  ‘How many times do you think you’ve been followed?’

  ‘Only a few, and it was most probably nothing,’ Jessie justified quickly. ‘Just my imagination playing tricks in unfamiliar surroundings.’

  ‘If it happens again, you call me immediately, you understand? I’m not joking.’

  ‘Yes, boss,’ Jessie replied.

  ‘And I still think you should tell the police you think you’ve been followed,’ Jack added, fixing her with a serious look.

  ‘I’ll phone PC Cheung in the morning,’ Jessie said easily, more to keep the peace than because she actually wanted to.

  ‘Good,’ Jack said, seemingly satisfied. He took a good glug of his beer.

  ‘You’re doing so well here,’ Jessie complimented him as she scanned around the spotless bar, keen to change the subject. ‘It looks to me like you’ve got everything running like clockwork.’

  ‘So far, so good,’ Jack replied, smiling at her. ‘I’m enjoying things. It’s good to be doing something again.’

  One of the bar staff approached. ‘Hi Jack, sorry to interrupt you,’ the young woman said, smiling sweetly at Jack as she sidled over. She was pretty and petite with a bobbed haircut, which just seemed to enhance her doll-like features.

  ‘Hi Candy. No problem. Candy, this is Jessie, Jessie, this is Candy,’ Jack introduced. ‘What’s up?’

  ‘Is it okay if I start an hour later tomorrow? I have an appointment,’ she said, giving him some seriously good puppy dog eyes and pouty lips.

  ‘Let me see…’ Jack began. He pulled out his phone and opened up a calendar displaying his staff roster. ‘Could you make it a half hour later instead of an hour? It would be really helpful if you could,’ he said, giving her a smile.

  ‘Oh, sure Jack, that’s no problem. Thank you.’ She beamed at him like he’d just given her a humongous pay rise.

  ‘How did you do that?’ Jessie asked, her eyes wide.

  ‘What?’ Jack replied innocently.

  ‘Get your own way. Just like that,’ Jessie elaborated, snapping her fingers in his face.

  ‘Ah, that’ll be the legendary Davenport charm.’

  ‘Hmm,’ Jessie said. ‘I think she likes you. Do all your staff flirt with you like that?’

  ‘Flirt?’ Jack replied. ‘They’re just being nice.’

  ‘Seriously, buddy, they’re flirting with you because they fancy the pants off you. I bet none of them have ever said no to anything you’ve asked them to do. Ever,’ Jessie said mildly.

  ‘Are you jealous?’ he asked cheekily. />
  ‘What? Of not being able to say no to you? Hardly,’ Jessie scoffed. ‘What they think and feel about you is their business and nothing to do with me.’

  ‘But you can’t say no to me,’ Jack said confidently.

  ‘I can, and I have. On more than one occasion,’ Jessie returned defiantly, sipping her wine. ‘It’s just like they’re all under some spell or something,’ she added, slightly sulkily, as she clocked another member of the bar staff flashing Jack a smile and a hint of cleavage.

  ‘Trust me when I say you won’t be saying no to me tonight,’ he said in a suggestive voice and wearing an impish grin.

  ‘You sound rather sure of yourself,’ Jessie said, returning his smile. ‘Sounds like a challenge.’

  ‘Oh, and just for the record, the only person I care about fancying the pants off me, is you,’ he whispered into her ear, and he tugged her off her stool and out the door.

  Chapter 36

  The next day was officially ‘TV day’ at the bank, and Jessie trotted into the office feeling well rested and with a spring in her step. She had woken up super-early, excited about the day ahead, and had selected an olive green shift dress and statement necklace that she felt were television-appropriate. It was amazing what a good night’s sleep and an absence of nasty notes in the post had done for her. And Jack, of course. She felt revitalised, as though she had more energy than she’d had in years.

  Life was going much better after her few initial wobbles here. The truth was, she couldn’t be happier with Jack, and she’d even started to find her feet in her job now she’d accepted her new role. In a bid to impress Rachel, she had started a side project of her own, focusing on a group of shell companies and how their profits and longer-term growth plans would likely be impacted by the financial liberalising measures that were being gradually introduced by the Chinese government. The work was topical, and being conducted from an original angle. Jessie was still compiling her statistics and developing her analysis, but she hoped that when she was done, Rachel would be suitably roused to give her something more substantial to work on going forward—not just report updates and amendments. Maybe she would even be able to publish her work independently, or submit it to one of the journals.

  Just as Jessie had settled herself at her desk, Rachel breezed past her in a sleek grey trouser suit and, as usual, impossibly high heels.

  ‘Morning, Jessie. Just so you’re aware, the television crew will be here at ten,’ she confirmed, all businesslike and no chit-chat.

  ‘Great! I’m all ready,’ Jessie replied enthusiastically as she reached for her printout of notes.

  ‘Just keep it general and don’t let them draw you into anything which could be incendiary,’ Rachel said with a hint of warning in her tone, then strode off confidently on her way.

  ‘Oh,’ Jessie said to herself as she scanned the papers in front of her for anything that could be considered incendiary. She was due to be discussing the past quarterly results for Hong Kong, South Korea, and China. The results had yielded nothing particularly unexpected. South Korea’s GDP was slightly down, but that was hardly inflammatory information. Frowning slightly, she couldn’t fathom for the life of her what Rachel had meant, but she vowed to be on the lookout for any contentious questions and to do as she was told.

  The crew and interviewer from the CHKTV network were pleasant enough and put Jessie instantly at ease as they created a makeshift studio in one of the conference rooms. They’d even done a warm-up interview with her to help make her feel comfortable in front of the camera, asking her questions about how she was finding things in Hong Kong and how she was settling into the city and new office.

  By the time the interview began, Jessie was feeling completely comfortable and prepared. And everything went swimmingly as Jessie fielded question after question about growth, output, and the bank’s consensus on the economic outlook for Asia over the course of the next year. She was being deliberately vague and general and hoped her answers didn’t come across as too dumbed down. Jessie sensed things were nearing their conclusion when the very young-looking interviewer named Frank, consulted a different page in his notebook and decided to take a different tack suddenly, one that took Jessie by surprise.

  ‘I’d like to be a little more Hong Kong-specific now. How do you perceive the position of Hong Kong as we move towards more comprehensive reunification with mainland China?’ the interviewer asked, pushing his glasses up his nose and studying her reaction closely.

  ‘Well, Frank,’ Jessie began, smiling brightly and trying not to be drawn into a debate she wasn’t really qualified to be drawn into. Rachel’s advice about not saying anything incendiary came to the forefront of her mind. ‘I think what you’re asking is tied in closely with politics. Speaking from a purely economical standpoint, Hong Kong as a financial centre is still performing strongly and maintains its competitive edge over Singapore and Shanghai, and I’m sure will continue to do so. The future looks positive,’ she finished, smiling widely and feeling proud of herself for deflecting the interviewer’s slightly antagonistic question.

  ‘But you wrote in a report last year that, and I quote, “Hong Kong’s position as the premier financial centre of Asia remains an uncertainty and indeed, looks to be precarious in the light of Shanghai and several other tier one Chinese cities being touted for Free Trade Zone status.” Did you not write this?’

  ‘Well, yes. I did write that report,’ Jessie replied honestly. Her name was on the damn thing—there was no point in denying it.

  ‘So which is it then, Miss Slaymaker? Does Hong Kong’s future remain uncertain and precarious, or does it look positive? Has so much happened in the past year to change your appraisal so dramatically?’

  Frank was really pushing now. Jessie was beginning to dislike him and his blatant attempt to try and make a name for himself by catching her out.

  ‘As things stand,’ Jessie began, and then paused while the words failed to come. ‘I would have to say it’s probably a bit of both, Frank,’ she eventually finished weakly.

  ‘Okay, that’s great. I think we’ll leave it there,’ Frank said after a further quick consultation of his notebook. He unclipped his microphone and began chugging back a bottle of water.

  ‘Um, don’t you think we should do that last bit again?’ Jessie asked tentatively. She knew she hadn’t exactly excelled with her last response and would dearly love another chance to put the record straight.

  ‘Time’s up,’ Frank said shortly, between mouthfuls of water. ‘They’ll probably just edit that last bit out anyway,’ he added easily.

  ‘Oh, okay, then,’ Jessie replied, mollified.

  ‘It’ll be aired a week from today, on the six o’clock news. Depending on the feedback we get after that, we could be looking to make this a regular segment on a monthly basis, with you as our resident expert.’

  ‘Really?’ Jessie asked in surprise.

  ‘Yes. There’s a real interest in Hong Kong for all things related to money, and you did a good job of putting things into layman’s terms. We’ll be in touch,’ he said, extending his free hand for a brief shake before he finished the rest of his water on his way out the door, leaving his crew in his wake to pack away their hefty equipment. Jessie wanted to say something about making sure that last bit of her interview was edited out, but they looked so busy coiling cables and dismantling the lighting stands that she lost her nerve and decided to go back to work.

  Jessie couldn’t wipe the smile off her face as she returned to her desk. She’d never expected the prospect of regular television work to come her way. Not ever. Although she knew nothing was signed and sealed, the mere opportunity that something like that might happen for her was excitement enough.

  She pushed her little slip-up to the back of her mind and tried not to dwell on it as best she could. If asked the same question again about Hong Kong’s future, she would have answered completely differently. She had written in that report, the one Frank had cited, that she t
hought Hong Kong was heading towards an uncertain future. The only reason she’d contradicted herself and said Hong Kong’s future looked positive was because she had been taking Rachel’s advice and hadn’t wanted to cause a stir. If she’d been concentrating strictly on what her own viewpoints were, she would never have said Hong Kong looked rosy, but instead she would have delivered a mild warning that things were changing and that the territory would do well to look forward and attempt to plan and adapt for the inevitable changing economic climate.

  ‘Oh well,’ Jessie sighed to herself as she got stuck into her daily updates for the bank’s intranet. It probably doesn’t matter, and like Frank said, they’ll probably just edit the bit with her looking flummoxed and lost out. He wouldn’t have said anything about a permanent segment with her if he hadn’t meant it, would he?

  Chapter 37

  ‘So how did you get on? How was the TV interview?’ Jack asked enthusiastically as soon as Jessie got through the door of the serviced apartment.

  ‘Fine. In fact, it was really good fun and I was enjoying every minute of it until the very end.’

  ‘Why? What happened?’ Jack enquired, frowning slightly.

  ‘The guy asking the questions called me out on something I’d written before. My answers didn’t quite match up and I floundered. They said they would edit that bit out though.’

  ‘I bet you were great. Can’t wait to see my gorgeous girl on the telly,’ Jack said, smiling widely.

  ‘Well you won’t have to wait long. Apparently it should be aired this time next week.’ She was trying to play it cool over just how excited she was about the whole thing, but inside she was ecstatic with Jack’s reaction. He seemed genuinely chuffed for her. Jessie knew he would blow her trumpet no matter what she did, but it didn’t make it any less wonderful to hear it when he did.

  Jessie collapsed on the sofa and rested her eyes for a moment. She was dog-tired from being up so early and she was running low on adrenaline. Letting her muscles sink into the squishy fabric after a long day felt like the best thing in the world. When she opened her eyes again, Jack was at her side, his arm outstretched and offering her a glass of champagne.