The four of us sighed as, once again, frustration surging through my body. “Ivy…”
“It was right after the company found out who I was,” Ivy said, tears growing in her eyes. “I’m sorry, I should have said something, but we were all still getting to know each other. I didn’t know how to approach any of you about it.”
“You're not to blame for any of this,” Isaac said, seated to her other side. “We’re just frustrated, that’s all.”
“What else?” Lukas asked.
Ivy’s eyes lifted to Preston. “There’s also Adrienne. On Friday, she…”
“She practically begged me to get back together with her after company class,” Preston finished Ivy’s sentence. “I told her off and led Ivy out of the studio.”
“Sounds like Adrienne could be our top suspect, but I won’t rule anyone out,” Lukas said as he pulled out his phone and jotted down some notes. “What did you do to that rock?”
“I moved it out of the way, but it’s still in the locker room,” Ivy answered. “Last I saw on Friday, someone had erased the mean message and written nicer things on it.”
“I’ll still check it out,” Lukas said.
“While we investigate,” I added. “All of Ivy’s things stay in my office until this person is found out.”
“The doctor said I could try out dancing on pointe again by Wednesday, but I still need new pointe shoes,” Ivy said. “What should I do?”
“Let’s toss out all of the shoes in your current bin and order you a new batch,” I said. “But in the meantime, let’s see if someone you trust has the same style and size of shoes as you.”
Ivy nodded as a smile returned to her face. “Thank you all for helping me. I’m sorry this is so frustrating, but I appreciate the support.”
Every single one of us reached out to touch her in some way, wanting to show her more of our support.
“We’re here for you, Ivy,” I said, feeling this familiar grip in my chest tighten even harder. I instinctively knew we’d do anything for this woman.
Chapter twenty-two
Invoice
Lukas
Monday morning, Dem, Isaac, and I were back in the building while Ivy and Preston stayed home to let her toe rest one more day. She was already feeling good enough to walk around yesterday, and if she was still feeling up to it by the end of the day, we’d all agreed to go shopping for her room and nest after work.
Upstairs in the crow’s nest, I looked out the window, watching company class, soon to be over in five minutes. Dem and I had been preparing a quick announcement with the company to update them on Ivy, but to also put pressure on whoever did this.
I looked over to Dem who was leaning over his desk, his hands gripping the edge. I could tell he’d been frustrated all weekend—frustration didn’t actually begin to describe what we all felt towards Ivy getting hurt.
“We’ll find this person,” I said. “Then, they’ll be arrested.” He nodded, not quite looking like he believed me. Then he stood up, sighing deeply as he turned to me.
“This is hard,” he said. “For the longest time since high school, it was you and me. We were always together and took care of each other. Other people came in and out of our lives, but I knew I could count on you.”
“I know, I was there,” I said, softly laughing.
“Then Preston needed us, and Isaac joined us, and we became this pack,” he continued. “I’m the pack leader, but we’ve never really needed each other to get along with the day.”
“Yeah…”
“But Ivy needs us to get this right,” he said. “We can’t fail her, and now the stakes are going to be that much higher to get it right while we announce our scent-match.”
“We all believe in your leadership,” I said. “Don’t let the stress of all this get to you.”
He shot me a weak smile, then reached down for our prepared speech. “Shall we head downstairs?”
Together, we left Dem’s office and walked downstairs to the main studio. The dancers were thanking Steven and applauding the end of class as was customary. Before anyone could leave, Dem lifted his hands and commanded everyone to stay.
