Sebastian looked at his watch again. Helen sifted quicker through the hangers.
She should tell him about her suspicions that Nazir had set her up, but if he was this angry over her crime and conviction, he’d hit the bloody roof if she then told him she might be under police surveillance—and that he’d been dragged along for the ride.
No, she’d rather not tell him just yet. Sebastian Clarke already disliked her enough and she could certainly live without him turning his nose up at her again.
Sebastian’s phone rang. “It’s Brenda. I’ll wait for you by the door. You’ve got five minutes.”
He handed Helen a wad of notes.Two hundred pounds!Crikey, couldn’t he tell she’d taken him to one of the cheapest high street shops in the UK? She slipped the money into her back pocket and settled on a simple black dress. She couldn’t go wrong with that.
She tried on a pair of matching heels, grabbed some makeup, not having needed to bring her own minimal supplies when she’d left home this morning, then went to pay.
When she joined Sebastian, he was slipping his phone into his pocket. “Okay, Hobbs. Brenda has booked a car to pick us up at 6:30 p.m., which means you’ll have exactly forty minutes to get ready. Which way back to the hotel?”
“This way.”
She kept at Sebastian’s heels as he strode up the pedestrianized street.
Ten minutes later, when they reached the hotel, Helen’s head reeled from Sebastian’s endless talk ofthe rules.She hadn’t been anyone’s girlfriend in a while, but she’d never realized there were so many dos and don’ts to a relationship. Sebastian Clarke was nice to look at, but blow her if he wasn’t one of those horrific people who lived by regimes, regulations, lists and goals.
They walked through the hotel foyer. Helen glanced at the bar area, grateful that Liz wasn’t working today. She couldn’t deal with lying to her friend right now, not when she had to lie to everyone else.
At the main desk, Sebastian flashed the receptionist one of his plastic smiles.
“Here’s your key card, Mr. Clarke.” The receptionist was a very pretty and immaculately made-up woman, and she positively purred under the glare of Sebastian’s blue-eyed gaze.
“Thank you.” He slid the card off the glossy counter.
“You should’ve asked her to be your girlfriend,” Helen mumbled as they headed for the stairs. “It would’ve saved you money.”
Laser-beaming her with that same killer smile, Sebastian hooked his arm around Helen’s waist and, damn, if she didn’t start purring too.
“Would you please keep your voice down?” His lips barely moved and his face was so close to hers that she felt the heat off his skin. Her stomach took a tumble. There was certainly fire in the hole, but why was he deploying PDA now?
A man’s cough answered her question.
Sebastian removed his scorching gaze from her face. “Grice. What a pleasure and surprise to see you here.”
“I came to apologize. We got off on the wrong foot, Clarke. I’m new at this job and I got nervous.” Grice rubbed his chin and smiled at Helen. “Nice to see you again, sweetheart.”
Sebastian kept his arm around her, but she could tell from the flicker in his jaw that he wasn’t as calm as he looked. “I appreciate it. Thank you. Apology accepted.”
Sebastian went to step away but Grice stopped him. “There’s something else I came here for.”
“And what’s that?”
“I want entry to tonight’s event. Can you get it for me? Come on, Clarke. I don’t want to make trouble for you, I promise.” Grice clasped his hands together. If he’d had a hat, he’d be wringing it. “All that stuff you said today about reform, I get it. I want a chance to write something decent to boost my profile and portfolio. I’m just trying to make something of myself, too.” He sighed. “So, Clarke, can I come tonight? I was told only the big boy press were allowed, and I hear The Wags will be there.”
Helen choked.Nadine Charming and Ashley Brooks?
She didn’t usually follow reality shows, but Helen had seen them while keeping Ada company, watching hours of daytime TV at her bedside. It’d been impossible to avoid the two Bristol born-and-bred TV stars, famous for being famous.
“Do you know what covering an event like this would mean for someone like me?” Grice continued. “With a wife and our third baby on the way, I need a break like this. I promise, you can vet all the photos I take, and the copy I write. All I want is access to your events so I can really kick-start my career.”
Surely, Sebastian, Mr. Cynical, with his contracts and precious confidentiality clauses wouldn’t fall for this sob story? Helen waited, the air around them hanging still and quiet. Even the noise from the restaurant and bar seemed to dip to a low hum.Tell him to piss off.But instead, Sebastian’s features softened.
“All right. I’ll arrange for your name to be added to the press list tonight, but if I don’t like what you write, this’ll be the last Get Living event you’ll ever cover, got that?”
“Absolutely.” Grice whooped and Helen’s jaw almost hit the floor.
