Jessie Slaymaker's Rules of Engagement (The Jessie Slaymaker Series Book 2) (22 page)

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 thought 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?

‘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.

‘Wow! Thank you,’ Jessie said, waking up and sitting up properly as she accepted the glass. ‘This is nice, and you know I’m not one to turn down champers, but what are we celebrating exactly?’ she added, suddenly anxious that she may have forgotten some important date.

‘My mother says one never needs a specific reason to drink champagne, but since you ask, we have a
lot
to celebrate. Firstly, here’s to you getting a job in Hong Kong.’

‘But—’ Jessie began.

‘Now I know,’ Jack continued, talking more loudly over her interruption, ‘it’s not your dream job and not everything went to plan, but I believe in you. And the fact that they gave you this TV work and chose you to represent the bank speaks volumes. At least it does to me, anyway. Secondly, we should toast to us, for finally being happy, healthy, and in love,’ Jack finished, smiling.

‘I didn’t know you were such a mush pot.’ Jessie beamed at him as they clinked their glasses. ‘But you forgot something. Thirdly, to you, Jack. For being absolutely brilliant, and through all your hard work, having a successful bar practically overnight. I’m really proud.’

‘Thank you,’ he replied as they touched glasses once again.

As part of their celebration, Jack had somehow managed to prepare canapés to go with the champers. This was a considerable feat considering the limitations of the kitchenette. He was definitely a keeper, Jessie thought to herself as they enjoyed the food and finished off the bubbly sat on the floor around the coffee table. It was the perfect quiet night in.

‘I never really asked you about your work in China,’ Jessie mused as they lazed side by side on the sofa, full from the food and watching a travel show on Shanghai.

‘There’s not much to tell, really,’ Jack replied.

‘Well, that sounds like an evasive answer, if ever there was one,’ Jessie probed, turning to face him. ‘All you’ve ever told me is that you owned and ran a publishing company, and did rather well at it from what I can gather. There must be more to it than that.’

‘What do you want to know?’ Jack asked, finally tearing his eyes away from the screen and giving Jessie his full attention.

‘Why did you leave?’

‘I know I’ve told you that much. I wanted to get out of China. Find something new. I’d been there seven years doing the same thing and dealing with the same problems day in, day out. You must be able to empathise with that?’

‘Yes. I can. But it was your business. Why did you just walk away?’

‘I haven’t exactly walked away, Jess. Not forever anyway. My company was one of the first privately owned publishers after the rules changed to permit an individual to operate such a company. I’ve worked too long and too hard through all the bureaucracy and different government departments to just walk away.’

‘I still don’t quite get it,’ Jessie said gently.

‘Every day in publishing is a battle in China. I guess the truth is, I got jaded and wanted out. And so I made a conscious decision to downsize the company, and I’m lucky that I left a reliable team of people to cover the operational side of things. They can tick over quite nicely with very minimal input from me.’

‘What did you publish?’ Jessie asked, feeling slightly ashamed that she didn’t actually know.

‘Books, mainly. We had a foray into magazines and journals, but that proved to be even more complicated. What I would do is buy the rights of foreign language books and repackage them for the Chinese market.’

‘Sounds simple enough,’ Jessie smiled at him, swigging back the remainder of her drink.

‘You must be joking!’ Jack exclaimed. ‘It’s not like Britain, you know. There are rules. Millions of them. And they’re complex, rigid, and at times inconsistent, which is bloody frustrating. And then there are the permissions that you need for certain publications from sometimes five different government departments.’

‘Is there censorship?’ Jessie asked, finally getting a grasp as to why he wanted to leave.

‘Oh, you betcha. Half my life I spent negotiating between the authors and the Chinese editors, trying to smooth out and explain reasons for deletions. The editors almost always won.’

‘Jack, I had no idea,’ Jessie said truthfully.

‘Not many do, and I prefer not to whine on about it. I have a good insight about how things work there, but only because I’ve made mistakes and had my knuckles rapped along the way. It is what it is, but that doesn’t mean I like it. Hence my reason for leaving.’

‘I see,’ Jessie replied. ‘Then why don’t you just sell up and have done with it all?’

‘I would do. But the company owns the rights to several international bestsellers that can’t get published at the moment with the current censorship rules. I don’t want those rights changing hands. Plus, the company also has the only permission to ever be bestowed by the politburo to publish minutes on certain important political meetings. The information is sensitive—not something that can be put into the public domain at present. I am something of a trustee,’ he said, smiling wistfully.

‘It’s nice to know it’s not just me you’ve been ingratiating yourself with,’ Jessie said happily, tugging his arm around her. ‘Thank you for explaining things to me,’ she added with a yawn.

‘You’re welcome,’ Jack replied, kissing the top of her head. ‘By the way, I stopped by your place today,’ he added.

‘And?’ Jessie asked a little uneasily. She’d almost forgotten about that note, and she still hadn’t heard anything further from the police.

‘Everything seemed fine, and there was nothing further in the mailbox.’

‘That’s a relief,’ Jessie replied with a loud exhale. ‘Perhaps it was just a one-off. Maybe I should move back tomorrow then,’ she added.

‘If that’s what you want,’ Jack said neutrally, although judging by the clench of his jaw, Jessie knew he didn’t wholeheartedly agree with her suggestion.

‘I’m paying rent on it. It seems silly to have it sitting there and yet not actually live there,’ she pointed out.

‘I suppose so,’ he replied, gruffly.

Jessie woke up in the middle of the night having had a bad dream. She couldn’t remember all the details exactly, but it had started off well enough: she and Jack had been walking side by side along the harbour. But then a heavily pregnant Sonia Shum had turned up, and it had instantaneously morphed into a nightmare. Sonia had happily announced that she was in fact carrying twins, and that Jack was indeed the father. That’s when Jessie had woken up with a start. She had a feeling, deep in the pit of her stomach that things were not right.