By now, Melanie should have been settled in. If she’d wanted to make things work, she’d have picked up the phone and they’d have discussed things. There had been no phone call. There had been no discussion.

A nice guy.

Ward wasn’t stupid. She’d moved on. She’d started her life over in Chicago and that life hadn’t included him.

To the public, he was as Cannoli Girl had just described him: an overgrown frat boy womaniser, living up to his on-the-ice moniker and tough-guy reputation.

In private he tried to be a decent guy, but that didn’t seem to get him anywhere.

And worse, now he was past his prime and benched with an injury that showed no sign of getting him back on the team anytime soon. His coach was losing faith, his agent was losing faith, and if things didn’t change soon, his career would be lost to him too.

Hannah said she wanted to improve his image. The problem was Ward knew deep down that improving his image meant being the other guy – the nice guy.

And that never worked out well.

Chapter 7

HANNAH

When Hannah returned, still rattled from her second unexpected encounter with Cannoli Guy, the building’s evening doorman, Bruno, was on shift. A friendly New Yorker in his sixties, he greeted her with a smile then reached down to pick up an oversized skincare hamper, setting it on the countertop.

‘Delivery for Courtney. Mistakenly dropped up to penthouse-one by the courier earlier when no one was here,’ he said, raising an eyebrow, ‘who sent it back down with some choice words and this note.’

Hannah’s stomach dropped as she read the words, which were pretty much a carbon copy of the note she’d received earlier. She’d intended to pick up what was evidently one of Courtney’s PR drops, but hadn’t had a chance to do so any sooner, so what was the guy’s problem?

‘Ugh,’ she groaned, frustrated. ‘Why is it that when some people get old, they get mean and sour and just seem to hate the world?’

Bruno gave her an odd look and Hannah worried then that she might have insulted him.

‘Age has nothing to do with it,’ he said. ‘It’s just his personality.’

‘Well, thanks so much for keeping it safe,’ she muttered, picking the package up and heading to the main elevator. ‘Have a great evening.’

Riding back up to Courtney’s apartment, Hannah thought about what Bruno had said. Was it possible that P-1 was just mean and angry by nature?

Rob always used to tell her she was way too naive about human nature and that, given the chance, people nearly always tried to screw you over. But her ex existed in a world driven by competition.

She sighed. Though he was definitely right about her being naive.