“Ivy, if you can’t get in, call me, and you can crash on my couch tonight. My roommate is at her boyfriend’s. But it’s your home.”
“You’re right. He shouldn’t have kicked me out.” She threw off the blankets.Someone saying it out loud lit a fuse in her. She grabbed a bag from her closet and started packing. Damn it. She shouldn’t have suffered for trying to do the right thing. Gabe shouldn’t have thrown her out of their condo. He promised to take care of her. She did something he didn’t like, and suddenly all the promises became dust.
“That’s a girl,” Emery said. “And send your resume out. Metric needed to find more budget dollars. You were an easy target.”
“Really?” Ivy squeaked.
All these months, she thought she wouldn’t be a good hire because of the post she made and Metric’s swift action in firing her. She had sent out an occasional resume, but she hadn’t taken on a job search seriously.
“Yeah. Many clients left, Ivy. Like Cherry Nails.”
She hated how much Gabe messed with her confidence.
“Thanks, Emery. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
“Go get them,” Emery said, hugging her.
Ivy kissed Holton’s cheek on the way out. “Good luck. I’m going home tonight. Party on.”
Holton raised his eyebrows and gave her a high-five.
“Come on, Holton! Let’s do shots!” Jerome called.
Smiling, Ivy left the party.
At her old building, the concierge waved at her. She pressed the button for her floor and, holding her breath, she put her key in the lock.
He hadn’t changed the locks. “Thank god.”
She had missed this place with its views and space. As if she was afraid of being kicked out, she raced down the hall, threw off her clothes and turned the taps on, starting the shower.
CHAPTER ELEVEN – GABE
Gabe grabbed the wall, swaying as the migraine grounded into his temples with force enough that he wondered if he’d stay on his feet. He unlocked the door to the condo, not bothering to turn on the lights. He gulped down a glass of water.
He had spent the last six hours as security for a web girl operation on the west side. Another gig Erik sent his way. He guarded the backdoor, making sure only people who belonged there entered and made sure each woman got to her car safely.
Afterwards, he hit the gym, weights, rowing machine, and treadmill. His muscles burned, but he needed to get Ivy out of his head, and ever since he saw her at the event, he couldn’t. All the expressions on her diamond-shaped face floated through his mind like a slow-motion movie. Her surprise at seeing him, the look of stunned hurt on her face and the one that stabbed his heart, the flash of sadness in her eyes when she hurled the line about him breaking promises.
It didn’t matter how hard he went at the gym. It didn’t stop his thoughts from returning to Ivy.
He placed the glass in the sink and strolled down the hall and into the dark bedroom. Shucking his pants, he tossed them on the chair in the corner and slid into bed.
The scent of the shampoo Ivy used flooded his nostrils, and his arm flung over a pile of blankets. He couldn’t get that woman out of his head no matter what. He turned on his side, then flopped to his back as his brain made the connection.
“What the hell, Ivy?” He flicked on the bedside light, wincing,
Ivy murmured in her sleep.
He put a hand on her, rolling her towards him. She placed a hand on his arm, then pulled it back as if he was the forbidden hot stove.
“You weren’t home. I needed to go to bed.” Her husky voice brought to mind past morning wake-ups.
“Why. Are. You. Here?” he spat out the words.
Ivy clutched the blankets to her chest. “This is my home.”
“It isn’t. It hasn’t been your home since you hit publish on that post.” He rubbed his temples, the sharp pain making him hiss through his teeth.
