Chapter 96 Ninety six
Chapter 96 Ninety six
IVY POV
The next morning started with chaos.
Which honestly wasn’t surprising anymore.
I was halfway through my coffee when Claire called.
“I need you here now..”
I frowned. “Good morning to you too.”
“No time. Get here now.”
Then she hung up. I stared at my phone.
“What the hell?”
Across the kitchen, Max looked up from his breakfast.
“Problem?”
“Apparently.”
Zoe sipped her coffee.
“Work?”
I nodded.
“Either that or Claire finally has lost her damn mind .”
“Honestly,” Max said, “both sound possible.”
I threw a napkin at him. Ten minutes later I was out the door.
The moment I stepped into the office, I knew something was wrong.
Everyone looked tense…. People were whispering.
Phones were ringing nonstop.
Claire practically ran toward me.
“Finally.”
I blinked. “What’s happening?”
She shoved a tablet into my hands.
“Read.”
I looked down.
My stomach dropped.
The headline was impossible to miss.
RONAN HALE UNDER INVESTIGATION AFTER NIGHTCLUB INCIDENT
I closed my eyes.
Of course. Of course it was this.
“Tell me that’s all.”
Claire silence answered for her.
My stomach sank even further.
“What now?”
She took a deep breath.
“The man Ronan fought filed a complaint this morning.”
I rubbed my forehead.
Wonderful.
Just wonderful.
“Does Mr Hale know?”
Claire gave me a look.
“He’s been calling.”
My heart skipped.
“Calling me?”
“No.”
The way she said it made me feel ridiculous.
“The firm.”
Right. Of course. The firm.
I hated how disappointed I felt.. last night he called me acting like he missed me today he couldn’t bother to drop messages about this .
Claire noticed.
Because Claire noticed everything.
“You need coffee.”
“I already had coffee.”
“You need stronger coffee.”
I couldn’t argue with that.
By noon I was buried under paperwork.
Statements. Emails. Damage control..
The glamorous life of being a lawyer.
My phone buzzed.
I glanced down.
Ronan. Just seeing his name made my heart do something annoying.
Ronan You ignoring me again?
I rolled my eyes.
Then typed back.
Me: I’m working.
Three dots appeared instantly.
Ronan:m So yes you’re my hot layer.
I ignored that.
Another message arrived.
Ronan: I miss you.i miss your lips and all the thing I want your mouth to do to me.
I froze.
My fingers stopped moving. My heart forgot how to function.Then immediately started working overtime.
I stared at the screen.
Read it again. Then again. And again.
Like an idiot.The absolute idiot. My face turning red
I typed then Deleted then Typed again.
Deleted that too.
Finally I settled on:
Me: You saw me yesterday.
His reply came almost immediately.
Ronan: that doesn’t count it’s a video call.” He smiled. Then he spoke quickly as a voice spoke in his background “ Talk to you later.” Then boom his gone…
Typical Hale
Around three o’clock I finally got a moment to breathe.Which lasted approximately thirty seconds.
Then Claire appeared again .
“Visitor.”
I immediately groaned.
“Nah no more for today.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
She smiled. “Definitely yes.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Who?”
The smile got bigger. And that was when I knew.
“No.”
Claire nodded. “Oh yes.”
I dropped my head onto my desk.
“Tell him to leave.”
“He said no.”
I looked up.
“What?”
“He literally said no.”
That sounded exactly like Ronan. Which somehow made it worse.
I stood up. “Fine.”
Claire stepped aside.
And there he was.
Leaning casually against my office doorway.
Like he owned the place. Like he hadn’t been causing me stress for weeks.
M Like he wasn’t currently the center of a media disaster. My stupid heart immediately noticed how good he looked..
“Haven’t you caused enough trouble this week?”
His mouth twitched. “I came to see my lawyer.”
I pointed toward the door. “Leave.”
“No.”
“Ronan.”
“Ivy.”
I narrowed my eyes.
He smiled.
God.
I wanted to throw something at him.
Instead I folded my arms.
“What do you want?”
His expression softened slightly.
“You.”
My heart immediately betrayed me.
Again.
I hated it.
“So that’s your opening line now?”
“It worked once.”
“It absolutely did not.”
His smile widened. “It sure did.”
I couldn’t stop my own smile. “Love your smile.”
“I did not smile .”
“You did.”
“You’re delusional.”
“I’m charming.”
“You’re exhausting.”
“That too.”
For a moment neither of us spoke. Then his expression changed. The teasing disappeared.
Something more serious took its place.
“I wanted to see you.”
The honesty caught me off guard.
“Why?”
His eyes stayed on mine.
“Because yesterday was the first time I’ve slept peacefully in years.”
My heart stumbled.
“Ronan…”
“Thank you Ivy.” He said his voice low and his eyes soft.
Then suddenly Claire walked back in….
Saving me. Or ruining the moment.
I wasn’t sure.
“You have a meeting in five minutes.”
I nearly hugged her. “Perfect.”
Ronan glared.
Claire ignored him completely.
I loved her.
A lot.
I grabbed my files.
“You should go.”
Ronan sighed dramatically. “Fine.”
I moved toward the door.
He stepped closer.Close enough that I could smell his cologne. Close enough to make my pulse jump.
“I’ll come pick you up.”
I looked up at him.
“Was that a question?”
“No.”
I rolled my eyes. “There he is.”
His smile returned.The familiar one.The dangerous one.
Then he leaned closer.
“Try not to miss me too much.”
I laughed.
Actually laughed.And for a second…
Everything felt normal.
Easy.
Like maybe we could find our way back to something good.
Maybe.Just maybe.
Then my phone rang.
I glanced down.
And froze.
The smile vanished from my face.
Because the name on the screen was one I hadn’t seen in years.
A name I never expected to see again.
Vienna.
The woman who had been in Ronan’s car six years ago.The woman who had unknowingly become part of the worst day of my life. The ex whose voice I hated so much. I couldn’t believe she has my number or I have had.
My blood ran cold.
Across from me, Ronan saw my expression change immediately.
“What happened?”
I couldn’t answer.
I just stared at the screen.
As the phone kept ringing. And ringing.
.