Chapter 5
HANNAH
H annah straightened up and double-checked her reflection in the bedroom’s full-length mirror, before leaving for a preliminary meeting with the first of her newly assigned client list in the New York office.
The dregs , as Zoe described them.
And yes, while this particular motley crew – mostly comprised of up-and-comers and almost down-and-outers – weren’t the most glamorous bunch, that didn’t mean Hannah was going to give them anything less than her best.
Most people went around wearing a public mask, showing the world only the side of them they wanted to be portrayed. Hannah still did it herself, at work especially, and there were only a few people for whom she dropped the cool, calm collected persona to reveal the real her.
Ironically, a major part of her job was to find the person beneath – the inner part that was truly who they were. And with luck, and mostly some gentle coaxing, help the client feel comfortable enough to show their authentic selves to the world. It was the part she loved the most too.
Because Hannah knew first hand how empowering it was to escape the clutches of outside expectations to truly be at ease with yourself. Like she finally had after leaving small-town Ireland.
As with all her clients, she wanted to make a good first impression, but since this was an evening meeting, she needed a change of clothes after a full day at the office. So she went with professional but casual – her hair pulled back into a ponytail, a salmon-coloured blazer and a crisp white shirt beneath, jeans and metallic mid-heel slingbacks. Then opened the top button of her blouse, figuring it looked a little less austere considering she was meeting an athlete, who tended to be more relaxed about dress codes. She’d never worked with an ice hockey player, before though.
‘McKenzie isn’t just a hockey player, honey,’ Zoe tittered when Hannah initially ran through the client list with her over the phone. ‘The stories about that guy are legendary.’
‘Really? Can’t say I’ve ever heard of him.’
While Lotus PR’s West Coast office represented countless athletes, Hannah’s interest in sports just about extended to the games she used to go to with Rob.
‘Yup, he’s a legendary jerk. Cute though.’
Great.
Intrigued, she’d briefly scanned McKenzie’s online presence in the meantime, though as a general rule, Hannah preferred not to know too much about any client ahead of meeting them in person, so as not to cloud her judgement.
But even basic research on the athlete seemed to suggest that her friend had a point. The most cursory online search suggested a boozing womaniser with a penchant for brawling and shooting his mouth off. ‘WildCat’ McKenzie didn’t seem to have that great of a player achievement record to support such an inflated ego.
No personal social media that she could find either, but that was a good thing, given his apparent lack of decorum. Nor professional photographs other than generic team shots in full player garb and helmet, or blurry snapshots and video footage taken by the public of McKenzie falling out of bars and getting into drunken scrapes. Clearly, she had some work to do to turn his reputation around, and she figured that her new bosses were truly testing her mettle with this guy. WildCat indeed.
Hannah picked up her purse and headed for the foyer, whereupon she spied another note beneath the door.
Another delivery for you downstairs. Next time somebody calls on me to take a package meant for you, I’m gonna hurl it out the window. P-1
She stood there for a moment, mentally counting to ten.
Great – not only did she have to tackle an egotistical Neanderthal for work, but at home needed to contend with another entitled male who, age aside, still hadn’t figured out how to behave like an adult.
Story of her life.
She tried her best to keep an open mind, but the moment Hannah entered the Hell’s Kitchen bar McKenzie had suggested – or rather insisted upon – for this evening’s meeting, she found her initial estimation of the guy sink even further.
The place was a dump; dark, nasty-smelling and full of TVs with the sound up so loud she could barely hear herself think. Which was probably exactly why he’d chosen it. But he presumably hadn’t reckoned on Hannah’s heritage and that, unlike Zoe who detested Irish bars, she was right at home in places like this.
As the barman eyed her with interest, she gazed around and quickly spied a guy wearing sunglasses and a Panthers sweatshirt at a corner booth. Even through the shades, she could feel his insouciant gaze on her as she approached. There was the faintest hint of a smirk on his lips and Hannah took a deep breath, determined to remain calm and professional. She was still a bit rattled from the latest note from P-1 and now having to deal with an overgrown schoolboy who clearly wanted nothing to do with her was rubbing salt into a wound.
When she reached the booth she smiled, hand extended. ‘Ward? Good to meet you. I’m Hannah Ryan from Lotus PR.’
He barely glanced up as he limply took her outstretched hand, which instinctively got up her nose. Deep breaths, Hannah , she muttered inwardly . But then, looking closer at his clean-shaven face, or more to the point spotting the pair of crutches poking out from beneath the table, a sudden jolt of recognition shot up her spine.
‘Oh!’
And to her horror, Hannah realized that the Good Samaritan who’d offered to pay for her coffee (and whom she’d repaid by tripping), and her brand-new client, were one and the same.
He seemed to have come to the same realization at the same time, whipping off his sunglasses in surprise.
‘Cannoli Girl?’
Hannah nodded shamefaced. ‘I’m so sorry I … I had no idea.’ She dropped her hand and slumped down across from him in the booth, unexpectedly rattled now.
‘Is this some kind of joke?’ he said, his voice sounding more like a snarl.
‘More of a coincidence, I think,’ she replied, nowhere near loud enough to be heard over the blaring TVs projecting various sports games in session. She raised her voice. ‘Believe me, this is as much of a surprise to me as it is to you.’
‘I doubt that.’ His arms were folded and his stance was even more closed than before.
She could hardly blame him.
‘Look again, I’m so sorry about that morning,’ she began, attempting to bury her discomfort and get things back on track. ‘You were being so nice and—’
‘I was in a hurry and you were taking too long,’ he said gruffly. ‘Nothing to do with nice.’
The kind, good-humoured guy she’d encountered that day was a world apart from the closed, indolent one sitting across from her now. And given the circumstances, Hannah knew she needed to summon every ounce of diplomacy in her power.
‘So how is … everything?’ she asked, indicating his crutches. ‘I know you’re recovering from a knee injury so I truly hope the fall didn’t set you back or anything …’
He pulled them up defensively. ‘It’s all good, just a tumble, nothing to worry about,’ he insisted, but recalling the pain on his face that day she knew that wasn’t true. The tough guy act wasn’t fooling her. Then she remembered that she was here because the guy’s career was on the slide, so maybe he was also afraid to admit to any injury setbacks for fear it might damage his career prospects any further. And since she herself had been the root of his latest woes, the stakes for saving Ward McKenzie’s career had suddenly become a whole lot higher.
She swallowed hard. Great.
‘That’s good to know,’ Hannah said, rearranging her features into a reassuring smile and deciding to change the subject. If they had any hope of successfully working together, she needed to get Ward to trust that she was there to help. ‘So while we didn’t get off to the best start that morning, I take it you know why I’m here today?’
‘Not exactly,’ he growled, still unwilling to meet her gaze. ‘My agent says you’re supposed to make me into someone that the Panthers aren’t ashamed of.’
‘That’s one way to put it,’ she admitted, ‘but not entirely accurate. My job is to help Ward McKenzie find out who the real Ward McKenzie truly is and help reveal—’
Eyes wide, he cut her off with a burst of laughter.
‘You’re kidding me, right? Did you actually just say that? No offence, Emma, but I know who the hell I am.’
‘Hannah,’ she corrected him.
‘What?’
‘You called me “Emma”. My name is Hannah.’
‘OK. Whatever. Doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you’re wasting both of our time. This is the real Ward McKenzie.’ He stabbed a finger at his chest.
‘Really?’ she asked, and this time she couldn’t help but keep the annoyance out of her voice. ‘You admit to being an overgrown frat jock who gets drunk and acts the maggot in public?’
The smirk disappeared and he was quiet for a beat. When he spoke again, there was a dangerous edge to his voice.
‘Here’s the deal – I’ll admit that I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, OK? Some people might say that I’m an … acquired taste. Whatever. The thing is, Emma, I’m not about to change who I am just so you can boast that you managed to tame WildCat McKenzie. Do I go overboard sometimes? Hell, yeah. It’s who I am. When I show up somewhere, people know what they’re going to get – a guy who’s fun, a little bit dangerous and who knows how to have a good time.’
‘That’s it?’ she asked. ‘That’s what you’re proud of? That’s how you want to be known. Why not the guy who was kind enough to help out a random stranger with her cannoli order?’
He rolled his eyes.
‘I told you – you were holding things up and making me late. And come on, what kind of person doesn’t have even a couple of bucks on them?’
‘Well, what kind of business doesn’t take electronic payment?’
‘The kind that maybe can’t afford to?’ he shot back. ‘Frank’s place has been around for years – it’s a family business, but he won’t be there much longer if the tech bros get a piece of everything he sells.’
She had to admit that maybe he had a point there. The rent in that location alone must have been eyewatering.
‘And you have eyes yes? You didn’t see the sign?’
‘Obviously I didn’t.’ Hannah felt riled up and embarrassed all over again. ‘And I’m so sorry for holding you up to the point that you felt the need to pay for my stuff. Though I can’t imagine where you could’ve been rushing off to,’ she added, unable to resist the jibe.
‘To physio,’ he retorted. ‘An important session as it turned out, thanks to you.’
‘Oh, so you admit that you were hurt then. What happened to the tough-guy act?’
‘What happened to minding your own business?’
Annoyed with herself for allowing him to unsettle her like this, Hannah glanced around looking for a server, hoping to get things back on a more even keel. ‘Have you eaten? The least I can do is buy you dinner to apologize and pay you back for the cannoli too. You’re right, it was incredible.’
Though she had been too embarrassed to go back to Frank’s ever since. And now truly hoped that this place wasn’t cash only also.
‘I’m good. But you’re wasting your time if you think you can tap your way out of this one too.’ Her face must have revealed what she’d been thinking because he chuckled and shook his head. ‘Good luck with the apocalypse.’
‘Ah, a conspiracy theorist, I see.’
‘Just because someone has a different opinion they’re automatically a conspiracy theorist? When did the world turn Borg?’
OK, Hannah definitely hadn’t pegged this guy as a Trekkie. And felt herself automatically soften towards him. He truly was full of contradictions. ‘Well, cash aside, if you’re that paranoid about being monitored,’ she pointed out teasingly, ‘I’m assuming you have a smartphone, rendering all this caution pointless anyway?’
‘Nope.’ He reached into his pocket and took out an old-style flip phone that Hannah didn’t think was even operational anymore, sliding it onto the table.
Yep, conspiracy theorist, for sure.
‘Well, it’s pretty apparent that you don’t trust easily anyway,’ she murmured.
‘Hey, aren’t you supposed to be working for me or something? So what’s with the attitude?’
He was right; McKenzie was supposed to be Hannah’s client so what was she thinking, practically goading him like this? Cursing herself for being so unprofessional, she bit down hard on her lip, trying to bring her emotions back under control. Barely a half-hour in his company and this guy was already getting under her skin.
This wasn’t like her. At all.
‘It’s not an attitude. Part of my job is taking charge of how you present yourself to the world, and surely you yourself would admit your current media persona leaves a lot to be desired … ’
He chuckled mirthlessly. ‘I know that you might find this hard to believe, you being in the PR game and all, but I really couldn’t give a damn what anyone thinks of me. I refuse to bend over, for the media or anyone else. That’s who I am.’
Now Hannah tried to bite back a smile at this rather vivid illustration of her job description. This guy was unbelievable. But belligerence aside, she also couldn’t deny how that mesmerising gaze turned upon her was making her feel …
Get a grip, Hannah.
‘OK then. Forget … bending over for the moment,’ she added, unable to keep the amusement out of her voice. ‘Why don’t you just go ahead and tell me more about who you think you are, and we can go from there. Who is Ward McKenzie?’
He leaned back, arms folded and glared at her as if taken aback by her change in stance. This time she looked into his eyes without flinching and after a few moments, he spoke again.
‘OK, you want to know who I think he is? We can go there.’ He leaned forward, squarely meeting her gaze in return, and even in the dim light she could still see those golden flecks in his eyes – if anything they seemed more pronounced. ‘He’s the kind of guy who doesn’t put up with any media bullshit and the last thing in the world he’s gonna do is roll over and play dead for anyone – on or off the ice.’ He shrugged then, dropping his gaze to the table. ‘Does he drink a little too much? Yeah – now and then. If he’s out with the guys and he’s having a good time, he might get a little rowdy. Guess what? There’s nothing wrong with that. We all need to blow off steam now and then. Granted, that might not be something that you’re familiar with, Public Relations Emma , but out there in the real world, people do that all the time. Anything else you want to know?’
Those goddamn eyes again. But Hannah refused to blink or, worse, show any emotion. ‘You also have a reputation for being something of a womaniser … ’ she challenged.
Something else flared in them then, passing too quickly for her to identify before Ward dropped his gaze and looked down at his watch.
‘I’ve got physio,’ he muttered, but she knew he wasn’t telling the truth. ‘As I’m sure you can appreciate, my recovery is my priority at the moment. So do your worst, Emma. Just don’t expect me to be something I’m not.’
She bit back yet another retort at the intentional misuse of her name but figured there was no point.
‘Fine,’ she said with a pasted-on smile, picking up her purse, only too happy to escape if not McKenzie, then the deeply discombobulating way he was making her feel. ‘I’ll be in touch again once I’ve come up with some ideas.’
Assuming that was even remotely possible.