Page 114 of Shout Out To My Ex

‘Is that?—’

This time, the thumping cutsmeoff and there’s also muffled shouting, a woman’s voice.

‘That’s not… That wouldn’t beSer, would it?’

‘No,’ says Leo, climbing out of bed and slipping into his jeans. ‘Aunt Serena was pissed, but she wouldn’t come all this way without telling me.’ The thumping continues, becoming more ferocious. ‘They’ll break the fucking door down at this rate.’ He leaves the office, his footsteps loud on the wooden stairs. ‘I’m coming,’ he shouts as he descends.

There’s a moment of silence when he gets to the ground floor, which, somehow, is worse than the thumping. And then he says something that turns my blood to ice.

‘What the fuck are you doing here, Franzia?’

34

POPPY

There’s nothing like getting a frantic phone call from a client during a staff meeting.

As soon as Elle’s name appeared on my screen, I excused myself and headed back to our ‘war room’, Nas hot on my heels. I answered and put the phone on speaker, barely getting out ‘hello’ before Elle rattled off a confusing list of events and details, culminating in a revelation that could explode this entire case, not to mention Paloma’s carefully thought-out plan.

‘Franzia isthere? At Leo’s shop?’ I ask, just to make sure I’ve got this right.

‘Yes! Leo just let her in because she was about to bang the door down. She’s been carrying on about how he’s ruining everything for her, how if they end the engagement, she won’t be named brand ambassador. Brand ambassador forwhat? Ranty bitches dot com?’

‘Elle, listen,’ I say calmly, hoping to soothe her escalating emotions. She stops talking but her uneven breathing is audible over the line.

‘We’ll figure this out,’ I say right as Paloma joins us. Nasrin quietly fills her in. ‘What time does the shop open?’ I ask Elle.The last thing this case needs is Leo’s staff and a shop full of people witnessing the Leo–Elle–Franzia love triangle blowing up.

‘Er, ten-thirty, I believe. But that’s less than an hour away. Poppy, what do I do? I’m up here cowering under a bloody duvet.’

‘Just give me a sec.’ I put the phone on mute and address my colleagues. ‘The shop opens at ten-thirty. Thoughts?’

‘They’re in Soho?’ Paloma asks. I nod and her eyes go to the clock. ‘Hmm. The only thing I can think of is an extraction. We could get someone there in about ten minutes.’

‘But who are they extracting?’ I ask. ‘We can’t just bring in Elle and Leo and leave Franzia at Leo’s shop. She’d wreak even more havoc.’

‘Right,’ she agrees.

‘And we can’t kidnap a supermodel,’ Nas chimes in. ‘Or can we?’

‘No!’ Paloma and I say together.

‘Poppy?’ It’s Elle. ‘Poppy, are you there?’

Looking defeated, something I’ve never seen from her before, Paloma shakes her head, one shoulder lifting in a half-hearted shrug.

‘Sorry, I’ve got nothing either,’ says Nasrin.

I take the phone off mute. ‘Hi, Elle, sorry – just conferring with my colleagues about the best way forward.’

I’m about to tell her we failed to find one when she says, ‘Hang on.’ There’s a muffled conversation between her and a male voice, presumably Leo, but I can’t make out what they’re saying.

‘I’m back,’ she says a few moments later. ‘She’s gone – Franzia left.’ The relief in her voice permeates the air of our meeting room.

‘That’s good, Elle, but we’ll still want to control the fall-out,’ I say.

‘How do you mean? Can’t I just go home now?’

‘Elle, this is Paloma Martinez-Pérez, head of client relations at the Ever After Agency.’ I’m all for Paloma jumping into the conversation, but she’s introduced herself as if this is an actual war room and she’s about to brief the president.

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