‘Thank you,’ I replied, hugging my two best friends.
*
We sat in a numb silence, questions swirling in our minds. Who did this? How did they know? Was this the work of the stalker? Had they planned this all along?
‘Can someone read the article?’ Katy eventually mumbled. By now, the chaos from the courtyard had quietened.
I glared at Zola, who shook her head, then passed me her phone so I could read it aloud. I cleared my throat and began.
‘Dating Shame!’ I huffed at the headline as my two friends kept their eyes on the floor. ‘The Scottish trio’s mission to change America’s dating game with their multi-million-dollar app, Stars and Swipes, which is due to launch next week just before Thanksgiving, has been exposed as a con. The Glasgow-born girls, who have promised to help Americans find true love, have been exposed as adulterers and money-obsessed playgirls, storming up steamy affairs and connections with married millionaires and extorting them for a lavish lifestyle since they first set foot in New York. Katy McIntyre, one of the app’s founders, was spotted late-night romping in Central Park with Travis Mason, board member and head of finance at Jimmy Link’s Flirtify. Travis is married to Link’s sister. At the same time, Mr Link himself has been duped into dating another Scottish founder, Ella, in a twisted love affair. Ella Banks has had a string of affluent partners in the past and a source close to the trio described her as “fame-hungry, power-obsessed and someone who is more than willing to sleep her way to the top”.’
I felt like the air had been sucked out of my lungs.
‘They still think I’m Scottish,’ Zola eventually said.
‘At least you’re not a fame-hungry, power-obsessed whore,’ I managed, feeling an acrid burning in my stomach. I thought about Jimmy pulling a Will Smith punch in front of all those people. It would ruin him. What about the app? The investors? Too much was going on for me to focus. I needed to get out of this room. I needed to explain myself.
‘I want to go home now,’ Katy said, breaking down again.
Zola and I cooried in, silence again between us, knowing that in this moment we all felt exactly the same way.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Ella
After an hour in that tiny room, Brooke ushered us out to a waiting car and drove us home. Katy sniffled quietly, hugging herself, her eyes red and distant. I sat beside her, useless. My thoughts spun: had we ruined everything? Was there a way to fix this, or had the worst already happened? The drive passed in a blur, every second weighed down by dread. No messages from Jimmy. Panic crept in again with the memory of his punch, him telling me not to touch him, the press capturing everything. My chest tightened. Fuck. Fuck.Fuck.
We got out of the car and walked up to the apartment block foyer together. The doorman opened the door with a smile.
‘Good evening, ladies,’ he said, but his tone seemed reserved, as if he already knew not to start a conversation.
‘Hi, thank you,’ I said, passing through.
As we headed up in the elevator, I watched Katy’s distraught face, her cheeks still damp with tears.
‘Are you OK, Katy?’ I asked, hating how pointless the question sounded, but my brain felt so foggy I had nothing else.
She stared at me for a few seconds, her eyes shining with unshed tears, then lowered her head in defeat.
Zola let out a long exhale and rubbed my shoulder just as we walked into the apartment together. I let my two friends enter first, following closely behind.
‘Ella,’ Zola whispered as she turned her head, gesturing towards the sofa. ‘Look.’
The man sitting sombrely on the couch, a cloth wrapped around his knuckles, was Jimmy. I wasn’t sure if I should run up and hug him. I wanted to feel better, but at the same time, I knew things between us had changed.
‘We’ll be in my room,’ Zola said. She placed her hands on Katy’s shoulders and gently guided her into the bedroom, leaving Jimmy and me alone in the living room.
When they left, I stepped towards the sofa. I looked at him. His suit was unbuttoned at the neck, his face puffy from tears. I took a seat beside him.
‘Jimmy, look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you .?.?.’ I began.
He shook his head. ‘No, Ella. You don’t get off that easily.’
I paused, my mouth dry and heart pounding, not knowing what to say.
Finally, he looked at me. ‘How could you keep this from me? Katy and Travis? How could you be in my company every day and not say a word? How could you be around Fee? You came and ate pancakes with my sister, knowing that her fucking husband was sleeping with your best friend?’
Shit. I wanted to clarify that Fee didn’t actually eat any pancakes that day – it was only me – but I knew now wasn’t the time to get into nitpicking details.
