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Manny seemed to take the news well. All he said was, “Hm.”
He remained quiet for a moment. Then he requested that the hands-free device make a call. When the man on the other end picked up, Manny got to the point. “You have gone my whole marriage without paying Ivy social calls. Let the one that you made be the first and the last.” The moment he said his peace, he hung up.
“Manny?”
“Don’t. Fuck him. Involving you was the wrong move.”
“It really wasn’t a big deal.”
“It was a big deal to me. My father is very intentional. I’m going to have your office swept for bugs.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah. Back in the day. It was his move.”
The thought made Ivy feel icky. Thank God Emmanuel hadn’t visited her office. The very thought their personal moments would be captured made her shudder. Wait. What about her patients and their personal information?
Manny’s phone interrupted her thoughts, as it announced, “Incoming call from Darsh.”
“Ignore,” Manny immediately responded. Ivy found his reaction suspicious.
“Why would you not take Darsh’s call?” One would think Manny would be chomping at the bit to speak with Darsh and get more information. What the hell was going on?
Chapter Nineteen
A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS
Emmanuel didn’t make it a habit to keep things from Ivy. It wasn’t the tenet that their marriage was built on. With everything they had gone through, he would not start now. So, when Ivy asked what was going on. He instructed her to hold tight, got off at the next exit, pulled into a coffee shop parking lot and put the vehicle into park. Removing his seatbelt, he turned and looked at her. Once she had mirrored his action, he finally spoke.
“I asked Darsh to look into Leonardo for me.” Emmanuel started off with information she already knew.
This was clear by the way she arched one perfectly arched eyebrow at him as if to say, “go on.”
“I requested a deep dive so I can have all his information. So, I suggested if he was having difficulty gathering information, maybe he should contact Asher.”
“Oh,” she answered, her eyes rounded.
Emmanuel had expected more of a reaction, but despite her obvious shock at his admission, she remained quiet.
“What Leonardo did was unacceptable. I guess this is where the scientific question of nature versus nurture comes into play. It turns out I’m proof the answer is nurture. There is no way what Leonardo did will go unanswered.” Emmanuel could feel his anger rising as he spoke. Ivy placed her hand on his thigh, and immediately he could feel the anger receding.
“Why didn’t you think I would understand your feelings?” she asked.
“I didn’t think that you wouldn’t understand. We’ve been through a lot lately, and I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me.”
“Hm, and you thought maybe I would try to talk you out of it?”
“Yeah, that too.” Emmanuel smiled. They both understood once his mind was set on doing something, the only thing that would make him reconsider… was Ivy. He didn’t want to be talked out of it.
“You realise I know you? Right? There was no way that you wouldn’t respond to a threat to our family. I am only a little surprised you would consider turning to Asher, but all of this has been way too much to handle at once.”
“I’m fine Doc.”
“No, you’re not Manny. But guess what? Right now, with everything going on, it’s perfectly okay not to be.”
Emmanuel considered his wife’s words. Until they left her mouth, he didn’t know how much he needed to hear them. His hand covered hers, and he squeezed it.
“So, you are on board with me making Leonardo pay?”
