Chapter 1982
Clara whipped around and dialed a number on her phone, her finger tapping the screen with practiced urgency. “Hey Zack, Interested in getting the scoop on the CEO of the Harris Group?”
“How juicy is it?” came the voice on the other end, a hint of excitement threading through the skepticism.
“Let’s meet up and talk details.”
All the while, no one caught wind of Clara’s arrival and her swift departure.
The photoshoot went off without a hitch, wrapping up smoothly after three non-stop hours.
“Ivy, today was all about the still shots for the campaign. There’s some promotional footage we still need to capture. We’ll have to schedule another session with you later.”
Typically, these promotional clips would be shot on the same day, but Nolan had told the staff not to push Ivy too hard. It would be best to set another time for the rest of the shoot.
The crew was, of course, going to follow the boss’s orders.
Ivy nodded understandingly. “Sure, let’s exchange contacts and we can set something up later.”
“Sounds good.” The crew member pulled out his phone and they connected on social media.
As Ivy was about to leave, Nolan called out to her.
“Ivy, let me give you a lift home.”
Ivy hadn’t yet figured out how to explain this to Balfour. If he saw Nolan dropping her off, it would only stir up trouble.
After hesitating for a moment, Ivy shook her head. “No thanks, Nolan. I can just grab a cab. It’s super easy.”
“How could I let a lady take a cab all alone? Ivy, you’ve done me a huge favor. The least I can do is take you out for dinner!” Nolan insisted with a smile, not taking her decline for an answer. “Come on, my old friend. Don’t turn me down.”
With no good reason to refuse, Ivy could only agree his proposal.
They left the office together and Nolan escorted her to a quaint little bistro.
Ivy’s memory was suddenly jogged when standing at the entrance. This was the very place Nolan had brought her to back in their high school days.
“I can’t believe it. After all these years, it hasn’t changed a bit,” she mused.
Meanwhile in the Dunhills’ house.
“Dad! You must help me with this!”
Clara stormed into the house, calling out as she entered.
“What’s all this about?” Tessa, hearing the complaint, hurried out of the kitchen.
Clara’s irritation flared at the sight of her, who reminded her of Ivy. She shot Tessa a glare before heading to the study.
Pushing open the door, she found Finn as she expected.
“Dad!” Clara waltzed in, her voice a mix of petulance and annoyance. “You need to do something about Ivy!”
Finn was engrossed in his work. He looked up with a touch of irritation. “She’s cut ties with our family, hasn’t she?/What she does is now none of our business.”
Ever since Ivy had handed over three million to the Dunhill family, Finn had washed his hands of her, uninterested in (vy’s affairs.
“Dad! I don’t want anything to do with her either, but she’s stealing my gigs now!”
Clara recounted the recent incident with a pout, “She deliberately scarred my face so I couldn’t do the shoot. Then she had the nerve to take my spot and do the ad herself! Daddy, this is outright sabotage!”
Finn’s raged immediately at her words. “What? Ivy dared to snatch your commercial? Hold on, when did she even start doing ads?”
