Page 103 of Corrupting Ivy

He cocked his head to the side. “Fair enough.”

“Where’s Jake?”

“Good question. He’s been doing a lot of training since getting back.”

“So you and Randall, huh?” Liz asked.

She nodded.

The server sauntered over and stepped between Alek and me, placing the calamari in the middle of the table, then our drinks.

“How’s it going between you two?” Liz asked, continuing her line of questions as the waitress put her tray down and tucked her hand into her apron pocket.

“Your food will be out shortly.”

“He’s kind and takes good care of me,” Ivy said, glancing at me from her periphery.

Liz snorted. “Randall?” She pointed towards me. “This Randall? Well, you must be doing something right if he lets you touch him. I’ve only seen one other—”

“Liz,” Alek said, then leaned over and whispered something in her ear.

Ivy shifted in her seat as she watched them, then squeezed my hand on her thigh.

“Sorry.”

Ivy shrugged a shoulder and gave her a lopsided smile.

“Why don’t you two go shopping sometime?” Alek said, breaking the awkward tension.

Liz clapped her hands together. “That’s a great idea. Next week, my best friend Lucy and I are going out for lunch and shopping. Want to come along?”

Ivy’s thigh trembled under my hand. “She’s still recovering,” I said.

“Can I think about it?” Ivy said.

“Oh, of course. Here, give me your phone, and I’ll type in my number.”

Ivy reached into her back pocket and extracted her cell phone, then gave it to Liz. I constantly had to remind her to carry it. Sometimes, it’d take her all afternoon to find where she put it down last, defeating the purpose of her having it.

“There,” Liz said, handing it back to her.

“How did you two meet?” Ivy asked, turning the topic to Liz as she returned the phone to her pocket.

“At my job.”

I smirked. That was the simple version.

“Oh, that’s nice. What do you do for work?”

“I used to work for their company. I was Randall’s assistant, which I found out was a lie—”

“Liz,” Alek said in a stern voice.

“It’s true, but whatever.” She rolled her eyes with a smirk, then took a sip of her wine.

Ivy grinned, then covered her mouth to contain her giggle.

“Try the calamari,” I said, whispering in her ear while Liz and Alek broke into a heated conversation about her eye rolling.

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