Ward felt himself clenching his fists.
Now he knew why she was late and her make-up all mussed up. Clearly, they’d reconnected while he was in town.
His imagination suddenly ran rampant as he replayed Kendrick and Hannah’s bodies melded together in that video, the familiarity of the intimate moment on national TV plain for all to see.
His torment deepening, Ward had the sudden urge to call her up and ask about it. He wanted to know if she was still with Kendrick.Neededto know. What exactly they were to each other? And more importantly, why had she been so willing to break boundaries for that client and not him? Though he probably wouldn’t have the guts to add that part. But if he was going to continue to trust Hannah, Ward needed to know.
Whatever went down between them that led to Hannah coming here from LA, it was almost certain that they’d reconnected anyway. After all, how many times had he looked up some old fling for a hook-up while travelling for a road game? If there was one cliché true about pro athletes of any stripe, it was that it was all too easy to have a puck bunny in other cities. No-commitment dalliances were par for the course.
Though Hannah wasn’t a hook-up, he mused darkly, resolving to call her first thing tomorrow and ask her straight up what the deal was. She wasn’t a puck bunny – or whatever the golf equivalent might be.
But mostly because this wasn’t just jealousy on his part.
Smarmy video stunt aside, Ward knew it in his bones that Kendrick was bad news. And for her own sake, Hannah needed to stay a million miles away from a dick like that.
Chapter 51
HANNAH
Rob sauntered into the apartment like he owned the place and made a big show of presenting her the flowers before shoving his hands in his pockets, a knowing smile on his face as he took in Hannah’s state of dishevelment.
‘Sleeping in this morning?’ he teased, all the while taking in the space and offering an appreciative whistle. ‘Nice digs. Very nice. Quite thebachelorettepad …’
‘How the hell did you get up here? The doorman …’
‘Is ahugefan,’ he interjected and yes, of course, she should have guessed that Rob’s charm ensured that the waters parted for him wherever he went.
Which presumably explained how he’d found out where she was living too. No doubt a quick call to someone in the New York office would have easily done the trick. Especially when the rumour mill had ensured that many in Lotus PR were aware of his and Hannah’s history …
Two years before, Rob had signed with the LA office after winning his first big Major and was looking for ways to boost his brand.
‘Less Rory McIlroy and more Grayson Murray,’ he’d told them, grinning. ‘I want to cause a stir.’
Hannah initially had no qualms about taking him on as a client. Blond and blue-eyed, Rob hailed from San Diego, and had that easy, laid-back Californian charm that wooed his fans (especially those of the female variety), appealed to sponsors, and made him a quickly revered figure on the PGA tour. He had charisma and star power written all over him and she’d been excited to be the person who propelled him to new heights.
Needless to say, that charm ended up working far too well on her too.
From the outset and by mutual agreement they’d decided to hide their relationship – it was not a good look, professionally speaking. Even though the agency didn’t have any strict company policies against dating clients, Hannah was deeply mindful that it was something you simply shouldn’t do if you wanted to be taken seriously.
Rob seemed happy enough to go along with her need for secrecy and, for a while, things felt comfortable and steady – they kept a low profile as a couple and simply enjoyed being in each other’s company.
Not long after Hannah moved in with him, however, she noticed that his growing success started to go to his head. He began craving the cameras more and more and expressing contempt for younger up-and-comers or more talented seniors who attracted larger crowds on the tour.
And then one day Rob went rogue – and did so without a thought or inkling of concern about what it might do to her career.
When he unexpectedly pulled her into a camera shot after winning a tournament at Torrey Hills and kissed her on national TV before muttering in her ear, ‘Thisis how you cause a stir,’ Hannah couldn’t believe he could publicly humiliate her like that.While there in attendance in a professional capacity, suddenly she was thrust into the spotlight and their relationship immediately laid bare.
Of course, it wasn’t a bad look for him; he craved the cameras and the headlines. But her ethics and professional integrity were soon under question. Rob was the talent, after all. He had nothing to worry about. He was the one who paid her for her services.
Soon the media – and worse, people in her industry – were making tongue-in-cheek comments about exactly what ‘services’ Hannah was providing. She’d endured the whispers, seen the disdainful looks from colleagues at the agency and felt the awkwardness when she walked into a room and all talking ceased.
She had never in her life felt so humiliated. So cheap and small.
Which was why she’d left LA for New York and a brand-new start where nobody would point and whisper. And taken a stand with Rob, telling him that she wanted to end it, stupidly believing that he’d admit to his mistake and find a way to rescue their relationship, to fight for it even.
But that hadn’t happened, so Hannah had had little choice but to assume that their time together meant nothing to him, that she meant nothing to him.
Buoyed and supported by Zoe, who to be fair had expressed from the outset that there was nothing about Rob Kendrick that couldn’t be fixed by a brick to the head, Hannah had vowed to move on, hold her head high, make a fresh start elsewhere and forget all about him.
