“You want us to deny it.” Nicole’s question comes out more like a statement.
“No. It will only make things worse.” I send them both a link to the article. They look down on their respective devices as I say, “Tell them Ivy and I have been in love for quite some time. We knew each other from my Hawthorne Inc. days. That part is true at least.” Nicole jerks her head up. She frowns as she staresat me. “And we rekindled that relationship during the past six months.”
Nicole raises her stylus pen. “You were with Zsa Zsa six months ago.”
“Right.” My brief fling with the supermodel I met on Hunter’s yacht was so short, I had forgotten it happened. But by virtue of her being a celebrity, the press had breathlessly reported it. “Four? Let’s say four months. Once we rekindled, we couldn’t get enough of each other. You know, something like that.”
I give them time to scribble and type the notes and, when they’re done, I say, “Do you think it will be convincing?”
Nicole looks up. She’s the one I’m addressing after all and the one whose opinion I value more. She’s been with me longer than most of my employees. Hell, when I left Hawthorne Inc. to start Tartarus Capital, she followed me. Nicole believed in my vision before anyone else did and has stayed as my executive assistant for all these years, even when I’ve offered her other opportunities to rise the corporate ladder. And even when many second assistants have come in and gone, she’s never left. She’s almost like a right-hand man. Many in the company see her as such.
“You’ve never been one to rush into the things.”
“In business.”
“And in your love life. People are going to wonder why you married Ivy Hawthorne so quickly, especially since she’s related to your nemesis.”
“Yeah. The Hawthorne heiress thing does throw a wrench into the whirlwind romance idea.”
“We could add that she’s estranged from the family.”
“Yeah. On background. I don’t want you quoted as saying so. Smart.” I scoff, salivating at the idea of Nolan reading the news of his precious little sister taken away by the man he thought to be beneath him. But that wouldn’t be the only thing to love aboutthis relationship. There’s the huge stake in Hawthorne Ivy gave to me with this fucked up marriage. That part at least should not be in the press. “Make the estrangement as obvious as possible. Stress that. I don’t want the press thinking Nolan and I have buried the hatchet.”
The news of my marriage to Ivy spreads faster than I expected. By noon, The Wall Street Gazette has picked it up. Dante called to apologize for the leak and that’s how I learned about it. I’m not mad at him for that. I should have been more careful. Next is Hunter, my best friend who calls laughing, thinking the story is a lie, and sounds stupefied by the time he hangs up. Followed by my brother Theo, who calls from London with the same disbelief as Hunter. Unlike Hunter, I tell Theo the truth, including my plan for Hawthorne Inc. By one o’clock, I get another call from her. Ivy. I hate how my heart flutters when I hear her voice as I answer her call. She sounds a little less frazzled than before, but she’s still on edge.
“The fucking New York Tribune is reporting about it,” she says as soon as I answer.
“It’s a slow news day. I get why the paper of record would deem our little scandal necessary.”
“Whirlwind romance? Really?”
“Why not? People fall in love and get married all the time.”
“I don’t know about this. It makes us sound like, like, teenagers. My phone has been ringing non-stop. My family wants an explanation, and my mom suspects the truth of our relationship.”
“You can’t pull out now, if that’s what you’re saying.”
“Don’t you think I know that? I’ve already spent four million dollars.”
“Excuse me?” How the hell has she spent all that money in a few days? To purchase an apartment maybe? I would want toleave that tiny place if I once had control of half a billion dollars overnight.
“Nothing.” She exhales. “I called to ask you something.”
Anything, I almost blurt out. I clamp down the irrational desire to give her what she wants whenever she takes that tone. “I have things I need to do, Ivy. Some of us are busy people who run Fortune five hundred companies.”
I can feel her rolling her eyes. “You’re not the only one with a business.” She exhales again. “Fuck it. My family has been pestering me all day and remember when we said we would never get involved in each other’s lives?”
“One of the most important clauses of the deal we signed. I remember.”
“Yes. My family is doing a thing this weekend and they want to meet you.”
“Are you serious?” The thought of being back in that vicious circle is vomit-inducing.
“You’re my newly wedded husband,” she says in a sing-song voice. “It’s natural that you meet the family.
Chapter 6
Ivy
