Page 78 of Saving Ian Pope

She always knew what to say to me—no false bluster about how every single would be a great hit or how much the critics would love the album or how all the concerts would sell out in minutes. Just the calm reassurance that any outcome would be fine. That she’d be by my side whatever the result. It’s all I ever wanted.

I squared my shoulders. “We’re not back yet, Jack, but this is a good start, and I appreciate the confidence. But we still have a problem.”

“What do you mean? Did Jessica contact you?” Jack’s voice went up several octaves.

“Thankfully, no, but it looks like she’s back at it. That fishy site you mentioned to me before is the celeb dating app BlueFin, right? Ivy’s friend was on there and saw my fake profile and read the fake messages. Ivy thinks Chloe can help like she did before with the Duke Hammer pictures. We need to handle this before the single drops. Seriously.”

“Yeah, I got wind of the BlueFin messages a few weeks ago, but it’s gotten worse than that, mate.”

“Worse? How could it get any worse?” I shot a worried look at Ivy, and she squeezed my hand.

“Jessica has a sex tape—of you—and she’s threatening to release it to the highest bidder.”

Chapter 25

IVY

I held onto Ian’s hand to steady him, as his body vibrated next to mine like a tuning fork, even though a bolt of anger had me sizzling. This threat was a vile attack on his privacy, and I felt like doing physical harm to the perpetrator.

After a long pause, Ian said in a tight voice. “Not possible.”

Jack coughed. “Not possible that she’s offering it, that someone would be willing to pay for it, or not possible she has it to peddle?”

“Not possible it exists.” I loosened my hand from Ian’s vise-like grip, and I flexed my fingers to restore circulation. “There is no sex tape, Jack, not of me and her, not of me and anyone.”

I knewwedidn’t have one. Any time I’d even playfully asked for a racy picture of us, Ian shot it down.

Jack released a long sigh. “You’re sure?”

“That’s at least one bit of solid advice I got at the beginning of my career, and I stuck to it. I’ve never participated in a sex tape and never will.” He kissed the side of my head as if in apology. Hell, I didn’t need a tape; I had the living, breathing original.

“What do you think she has? Could be something blurry. Could be faked. She seems pretty confident.”

“It could be something like that. Videos can be altered, created with AI. If she’s looking for a big payday, I wouldn’t put that past her, although the whole setup stuns and saddens me at the same time.”

“We’ll have to handle it one way or another. She must have something convincing.”

Ian slumped back, kicking his feet onto the coffee table. “What are you suggesting? That we pay her off, so she don’t sell it to some sleazy publication?”

“The record company might even do it. Just end this, Ian. Give the woman what she wants and get out from under it. You can’t afford that tape making the rounds...even if it looks like a fake. If she times it to coincide with the release of the lead single, we’re fucked.”

I nodded. “I agree with Jack. Just be done with it.”

Ian jerked his head up, and his jaw dropped. “You’re taking the piss, right? Both of you.” He pushed up from the sofa and stalked to the window. “It’s not me. Even if it were me, I’m not paying someone blackmail. You think it would end there? It wouldn’t.”

He had a point. I chewed on my fingernail. Did I really believe Matt’s blackmail of me would ever stop?

Jack’s panicked voice pulsed over the line. “We can’t let her do this, mate. She’ll ruin you. How long would it take for you to prove it’s fake? By that time, your single and the whole album could be buried under this story.”

Dragging a hand through his hair, Ian said, “The record company has deep pockets. They also have solicitors. I never consented to be filmed during a sex act, so her release of that tape is a crime. Also, if you have text messages from her threatening to shop the tape around unless we pay her off, save them. Blackmail is also a crime.”

“Ian...”

Ian cut him off. “Just do it, Jack. I’m done. Whatever happens, happens.”

Stuffing the phone in his pocket, Ian turned to face me. “You really thought it was a good idea to pay her off?”

Of course, I did. I was paying off my own brother.

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