Chapter 34
T he cab finally came to a stop and Hannah checked the time. She was very late. Quickly paying the driver, she jumped from the car and immediately spotted Ward standing outside the address of the studio. She rushed to meet him and there was no denying he looked irritated.
‘I called you twice yesterday,’ he grunted by way of a greeting. ‘And texted earlier to check if I was in the right place. I wasn’t even sure if you’d show up.’
‘Why wouldn’t I show up?’ Hannah glanced down at her phone for the first time that morning. Since last night, she’d been treating it like a ticking time bomb. ‘I’m sorry. I switch my phone to silent mode after hours and forgot to take it back off this morning. It’s been blowing up … and my cab driver was a chatterbox. So much traffic, too,’ she lied.
‘Really? I didn’t hit much.’
‘I’m coming from a different part of town though,’ she replied. Her voice was snappy, which was unlike her.
‘Like I said, I called you,’ he grunted. ‘After you posted that article that made me seem like some kind of pathetic loser. And what the hell were you thinking with that picture?’
His all-too-familiar petulance, especially given the night she’d just endured, was the last straw, and despite her best intentions, something in her snapped.
‘Oh, for crying out loud, not this again. You think that because you revealed a little warmth, a little humanity, it makes you a loser? Let me tell you something, Ward McKenzie, the strongest, most incredible men I’ve ever known have all been comfortable with who they are, regardless of how anyone else views them. If you think showing a little vulnerability means that you’re a loser, well, maybe that just proves that you are one.’
All at once she noticed her hands shaking and cursed herself for losing control. Ensuring smooth sailing might be Hannah’s job, but right then she’d had just about enough of trying to keep people – mostly troublesome men of late – in check.
To say nothing of very little sleep.
‘How the hell can you say that?’ Ward shot back. ‘There are already freakin’ memes about me and those cats.’
‘There’s also a lot of people who thought it was one of the best things they’ve seen lately – a tough guy like you not being afraid to show your sensitive side. Step out of the Stone Age, McKenzie. You don’t always have to play the macho jerk.’
‘Just because I don’t like people making fun of me doesn’t mean I’m a macho jerk.’
‘As long as you know who you are, who the hell cares what anyone else thinks?’
‘Come on. It’s more than that and you know it. Guys on the team, to say nothing of opponents, are going to think I’m weak. They’re not going to take me seriously.’
‘If that’s your biggest concern, then you’re not seeing how even that can work out in your favour.’
He frowned. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘If your opposition thinks you’re weak, they’re going to underestimate you. So you use that to your advantage. No idea how you didn’t learn that on the ice.’
He seemed to think about that, concluding that she might have a point.
‘It’s just … you said you’d run this stuff by me and you didn’t,’ he murmured, shoving his hands in his pockets. ‘That wasn’t cool. Neither is ignoring my calls by the way.’
Hannah inhaled deeply and did her best to count to ten, worried that she’d lose it altogether if she wasn’t careful. It wasn’t uncommon for clients to think that her entire life revolved around them and their needs alone, but this guy really was starting to take the biscuit. Still, she had no choice but to try to smooth things over. This was her job after all.
‘Like I said, I’m sorry. I had some other stuff to deal with last night.’ She exhaled, suddenly deflated. ‘I didn’t sleep the best and … well, I’m just not feeling great today.’
In that moment, he seemed to suddenly notice her dishevelled appearance; messy eye make-up, half-applied lipstick and general downbeat demeanour all round.
‘Hungover?’ he teased, his tone turning light as he realized the opportunity to potentially needle her for once. ‘Makes a change.’
‘Hardly. I mean, no, I’m not hungover. I’m … just discombobulated … ’
‘OK, I have no idea what the hell that means.’ Then Ward’s expression transitioned from playful to genuine concern and his green eyes searched her face as if looking for clues as to what was throwing her off. ‘Hey,’ he said softly, touching her elbow gently, ‘I’m sorry. If you need to talk …’
He was staring at her with an intensity that made her stomach do flip-flops. Hannah didn’t know if it was because of her current confusion about Rob or if it was just because the more time she spent with Ward, the more drawn to him she seemed to become. Which was doubly dangerous.
‘It’s fine, honestly. For the record, I actually did try to give you a heads-up about the piece yesterday, but couldn’t reach you. In any case, Ward, I can’t run every single element of the strategy by you, or I’d never get anything done. You need to trust me too. I already said I wouldn’t pursue anything you weren’t comfortable with. And I honestly didn’t think you’d lose it over a bunch of helpless kittens.’
‘Like I said, I’m sorry. But speaking of running things by … did you see that I posted something online – a video?’ He looked so hesitant and unsure of himself now that she softened afresh.
‘Yes. An inspired idea and something we can really build on too. I already have a few ideas and—’
‘I deleted it.’
She stared at him. ‘What? Why? Your first post, proper post, I mean, and it went viral too! People are going crazy over it, Ward, why would you—’
‘It was cheesy and dumb and it wasn’t even my idea. Shelley my … friend, figured it was a good move at the time but I changed my mind. That’s not how I want to be seen.’ He looked away briefly and Hannah knew there was more he wasn’t saying. And she couldn’t help but wonder again about this ‘friend’.
My personal life is off-limits.
Regardless, if Ward truly didn’t want to go down the fitness video route, for whatever reason, then there was nothing she could do to persuade him.
He looked back at her again. ‘Anyway, I’m sorry for being a dick just now. Guess I sometimes forget I’m not the only asshat client you’ve got to deal with. Are you sure you’re OK though? Anything I can help with?’
Hannah shook her head. The last thing she needed to do was talk about her private life, or previous relationship mistakes, with him. Her personal life was off-limits too. Especially to this particular client.
‘It’s grand,’ she insisted, trying to sound offhand. ‘Nothing that a better night’s sleep won’t fix.’
Ward nodded reluctantly and then his lips twisted up in a half-smile. ‘So that whole loser speech … did you just blurt that out off the top of your head or were you rehearsing it because deep down you knew I’d chew you out for releasing that picture?’
‘A little bit of both,’ she admitted with a grin. ‘I’ll be honest – I had an inkling you might not be fully on board since you’re such a tough guy and all.’ She met his gaze briefly and was relieved to see that he wasn’t quite as annoyed as he pretended to be. ‘But I was curious to see how the online reaction panned out. Based on the response so far, I’m starting to think that, thanks to us both, we’re finally making progress and are a lot further along the road to having that image of yours reformed, no?’
He snorted, shaking his head. ‘At what cost, though? Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate everything you’re doing, truly I do. Guess I just still need some persuading that the image we’re trying to project is real.’
Hannah frowned and she spoke gently, addressing him seriously this time. ‘Ward, I suspect somewhere along the line somebody convinced you that you’re less than, for whatever reason. They’re wrong. The fact is – that guy in that picture, that one split second at the shelter when you dropped the macho mask – is exactly who you are. Yes, you’re a pro athlete and you’re tough and you’re strong, and all the rest of it. No one is denying that. At the same time, there’s a tender more vulnerable side to you, too. One that you were kind enough to reveal to me on occasion. But you need to lower the deflector shield,’ she said gently, deliberately using a Star Trek reference to help hammer the message home. ‘People respond better to the real you.’
Ward stared directly at her then and after a beat, asked, ‘Do you ?’
The huskiness in his voice sent sparks shooting through her and she looked away, no longer able to withstand those penetrating eyes. She laughed nervously, well and truly discombobulated now.
‘Who wouldn’t?’ Then tucking the phone back into her pocket, Hannah swallowed hard and pasted on a bright smile. ‘Now, come on, let’s get in there and keep up the good work.’