Page 115 of Shout Out To My Ex

‘Er, hello.’

‘We think it’s best if you and Leo come to the agency right away – before the staff arrive and the shop opens.’

There’s another muffled conversation, then, ‘You want Leo to come too?’

‘Yes. We need you here together to brief you on our plan.’

A beat of silence. ‘Okay. Send the address and we’ll be there as soon as we can.’

‘Be ready in ten minutes,’ says Paloma. ‘We’re sending a car – a black Bentley and your driver is called Carl.’

Wow – first the offer of an extraction team, now we’re sending a luxury car? Why not a helicopter? It’s clear that Paloma does alotmore at the agency than organise congratulatory gifts. This is just the first time I’ve had to delve into her bag of not-so-magic-money-buys-anything tricks.

I end the call with reassurances for Elle and Leo and am about to thank Paloma when she says, ‘Let me know when they arrive. I’ll be in my office.’

Right, so I’m no longer lead on this case – Paloma is. It’s the first timethishas happened to me as well.

I fall heavily into a chair and Nasrin sits next to me. ‘That was intense,’ she says.

‘What do you think Franzia will do?’ I ask.

She shakes her head. ‘No idea, but we should ask Mia to keep a close watch on socials, yeah?’

‘Mmm, good point.’

My phone rings again and I snatch it from the table, expecting Elle with another update. But it’s Tristan.

‘Hi, Tris.’

‘I’ll leave you to it,’ says Nasrin. She closes the door behind her.

‘Hello, darling. I just wrapped up a meeting and wondered how yours went.’

I lean back against the chair, once again grateful for having this man in my life. ‘Well, I didn’t get fired, so there’s that.’

He laughs. ‘I doubt you were in danger of being fired. They love you there.’

‘Mmm, Paloma may not. She just took over my case.’

‘Oh, Poppy – sorry, darling.’

‘Eh, she’s right to. Anyway, the client is being brought in shortly, so I should probably go.’

‘All right. Fill me in at home. I love you.’

‘I love you too.’

I’ve got my HEA. Now it’s time for Elle to get hers.

Elle

Ten minutes is not a long time to get ready, especially when you can’t find your knickers.

‘Found ’em,’ says Leo, tossing them my way. I slip them on. ‘Somehow, they ended up in there.’ He points at the mechanism that converts the sofa from sitting to sleeping.

The ‘somehow’ is that Leo and I had sexy time on the sofa twice before he converted it into a bed and then once again after that. I’m amazed we found them.

Knickers on, I scout about for the rest of my clothes. Oh, that’s right – Prue’s candy-pink outfit. I stoop and collect the items from the floor with a grimace. They’re wrinkled and I’d rather not wear them a second day, but what choice do I have?

---