Page 80 of Saving Ian Pope

He’d been reclining on a leather sofa and sat up when I walked in. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.” He placed his laptop onto the table in front of him. “Come here.”

I had balanced the plate with the sandwiches on top of the bowl of fruit, and I walked carefully toward him and dipped down like a cocktail waitress and set everything on the table next to his computer.

He pulled me into his lap, just as his phone rang again. He tapped the display to answer. “Just one minute, Ronnie.”

His hands encircled my waist, and I held his face and planted a kiss on his mouth. As I tried to break away, he deepened our connection. I savored the kiss for another several seconds until Ronnie’s voice interrupted us. “Ian, you still there?”

I put a finger to his soft lips and scooted off his lap. He mouthedsorryto me as I backed out of the room and blew him a kiss.

I checked the time on my phone and ensconced myself in the room Ian had turned into an office for me. His studio and workspace had no windows and featured dark, heavy furniture along with a collection of microphones and stands, headphones, cables, instruments, and several computers.

In contrast, my light, airy space looked onto the garden, and bookshelves lined the walls. My laptop rested on a gleaming cocobolo desk with wavy lines through the grain. It shouldn’t matter where I wrote—I’d written books in coffee houses sitting next to homeless guys and at the beach blowing sand out of my keyboard—but this office seemed to open creative space for me.

I required something other than creativity now, though. I checked the time again and decided I could give Chloe a few more minutes of sleep. I’d already left my lunch here before delivering Ian’s, so I bit into a slice of apple while I opened my laptop.

Then I did something I’d put off for months. I went on my social media sites and searched for Ian’s ex—Jessica Finch. She’d called one of her accountsMessica.

Girl, you have no idea what messy is.

After I scrolled through some of the posts, I figured she was promoting herself as some messy bestie persona with a chaotic, but fun lifestyle, but her content fell flat.

Enlarging one of her photos, I studied the image—tall, a lot taller than I, skinny, busty, shoulder-length light brown hair, lots of makeup or filters, or whatever. I couldn’t tell how people manipulated their appearances anymore. I kept studying her face looking for signs of derangement or evil or sadism, but all I saw was a pretty girl, who looked like every other influencer. Maybe I should set her up with Matt.

I shut down everything and grabbed my phone. Chloe answered after three rings. Uh-oh.

“What the fuck, Ivy. Why do you keep calling me at the crack of dawn? Do you need a lesson in time zones?”

“It’s seven o’clock there. Cryptobro isn’t over for another night, is he?”

“God, no.” She made a big commotion with her yawning. “Did you confront Ian about BlueFin?”

“It’s not his profile, and the panties belonged to a buddy who was partying at his place—without him.”

“His buddy’s a cross-dresser?”

“Belongs his buddy’s fuckbuddy.”

“You’re sure.”

“Positive. This person who’s harassing him has graduated to blackmail, so she’s not even trying to conceal her intentions now.”

“Gee, that sounds familiar.” She blew her nose. “Having a bunch of money isn’t that great after all, is it? You’d always have people trying to separate you from it. That’s why, if I ever won the lottery, I wouldn’t tell a soul. Not even my own mother.”

“You wouldn’t tell Kelly? After all she’s done for you?”

“Honestly, I think my mom likes you better than me, anyway, so hell no.”

I took a deep breath. “Can you help Ian mitigate the fall-out from BlueFin? Work your magic? He insists on paying you this time.”

“I suppose there are a few things I could do, and why shouldn’t I charge him? Everyone else seems to be tapping him for cash.”

Toying with a pear chunk, I said, “There’s something else. I’m ready to go scorched earth on Matt.”

She sucked in a sharp breath. “What does that mean, exactly?”

“I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to get that flash drive from him.”

Part III – Across the Pond

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