Playing Dirty(30)

The girl giggled. “Well I don’t really know you,” she said, flushing bright red. “I mean, I know who you are. I’d be daft if I didn’t!”

Jay leaned a little closer to the girl. “We just need to talk to Hannah for a few minutes. It’s late, so I know she’s probably not working on anything important. I promise we’re not going to stay very long.”

The girl pouted. “Fine,” she said. “But can you sign this?” She held up a Manchester United mug that had been sitting on her desk. As Jay signed his name in a flourish with a permanent marker, I suppressed a smile. Was there anyone his charms didn’t work on?

“Thanks!” the girl said.

“You’re welcome,” Jay replied with a wink. “And thanks again for letting us through.”

I shifted from foot to foot as I waited for Jay to rejoin me, and as soon as he was by my side, he apologized.

“I’m sorry about that,” he said under his breath. “But she wasn’t going to let us back.”

I bit my lip, already nervous about going into the main offices. Even though I normally didn’t feel self-conscious about the way I looked, I wasn’t exactly thrilled at the thought of seeing Jay’s ex-girlfriend. Jay was the hottest guy I’d ever seen in the flesh, so I assumed that Hannah, whoever she was, had to be gorgeous.

Jay led me down a back hallway, and I couldn’t help thinking of all the times he’d walked the passages of the Manchester Evening News by himself, excited about seeing his girlfriend. I shivered. Stop thinking like that, I ordered myself. You know nothing good is going to come from pitting yourself up against some random woman. And besides, isn’t that against everything you preach? Talk about being a hypocrite!

Every time we passed an attractive woman, I tensed and waited for Jay to greet her. But that didn’t happen, and soon we were in front of a door with ‘Hannah Joyce’ printed on the front in pink script. There was a photo of a cute blonde with the whole Manchester United team, grinning on the field after a win.

“Hannah,” Jay said in a sharp voice as he rapped on the door. “I know you’re in there. Find anything interesting at Lizzy Romero’s apartment earlier?”

The door slowly opened and I saw the same blonde from the photo. She was the same height as me, but that was where the similarities ended. Her long hair was pin-straight and flowed over shoulders, and she had sky blue eyes and pouty red lips. When she saw Jay, she broke into a charming smile.

“Jay, so nice to see your cute bum,” she said in a sing-song tone. “What can I do for you today?”

Jay ignored her and strode into her office, and he was so large that he crossed from one side to the other in a mere two paces. The walls were adorned with sports kitsch—lots of Manchester United scarves and banners—and photos of Hannah with various athletes.

“Jay, I’m hurt,” Hannah said. She looked at me and pouted. “And who is this? The flavor of the week? Or should I say, flavor of the hour?”

The comment stung, but I didn’t say anything. Jay narrowed his eyes and rounded on her.

“Apologize,” he said in a low, throaty growl. The sound of his voice sent tremors of lust down my spine. “Apologize to Kate. Right now.”

Hannah turned to me with a sour expression on her face. “Sorry,” she said in a sarcastic tone. Turning back to Jay, she leaned back against her desk and fixed him with a flirtatious grin. “So what can I do for you, Jay?”

“You know why we’re here, Hannah,” Jay said sharply. “You broke into Kate’s sister’s apartment.”

“What? No I didn’t,” Hannah said. “But if you’re trying to get me interested in something juicy, it’s working. You have anything you want to confess?”

Taking a pad and pen from the desk she leaned back and crossed her spray-tanned legs at the ankle. “I’m always ready for a new story.”

“Stop it,” Jay growled. “Trust me, Hannah, you don’t want to deal with me when I get angry. I don’t give a shit if you try to ruin my life, but don’t go dragging other people into your rubbish. Don’t be such a jealous little twat!”

Hannah paled but showed no other sign of surprise. “I don’t know why you’re attacking me like this,” she said in a casual voice. “You know I wouldn’t ever do anything illegal.”

“I think breaking and entering is illegal,” I snapped. “And you put my sister in danger!”

Hannah rolled her eyes. “Your latest one is dramatic, isn’t she?” She looked at Jay for confirmation. “What’s the deal with her, anyway?”