Page 10 of I'm Not in Love (I Promise)

“Her name is Mischa Orlova,” Leon interrupts. “Daughter of Ivan Orlov… Russian millionaire shipping mogul.”

“No shit?” Jasper says.

I take a good look at the screen, memorizing her features. “Makes sense that all the people at the party were rich suits. Do you know how this Orlov family is connected to Sweeper?”

And how is Blake connected to all of them?

“I’m still working on that. For a millionaire, Orlov has a squeaky clean record. Not even a speeding ticket since he moved here from Russia. I need to dig deeper. Sweeper could be working for Orlov, or it could be the other way around. I can’t find much.”

“From what I heard, the owner of the house travels a lot but a few people last night were talking about seeing him a year ago.” While I think, I twist the stud in my ear.

“Jasper, what did you find out?” Leon asks. “Other than how good Orlova gives head.”

“Like I said last night, nothing much. They were all tight-lipped.” He smirks, and continues. “Talked about boring shit like golf and vacations. It’ll take getting to know them better before anyone gives details. Or there’s other ways…” He trails off, focusing his gaze on the wall.

“Whatever it is you’re thinking, the answer is no,” Leon says. “I know that piece of shit pedophile in Palm Cove wasn’t the most reliable source by the time we finished with him, but his intel didn’t come from nowhere. I think we should stick around, find out more.”

“I volunteer to get more out of my new friend.” Jasper grins. “From personal trainer to personal fuck toy… Who would have thought finding Bailey would take so much acting?”

“Because you’ll really have to act to be blondie’s fuckboy, huh?” I tease him, but I’m more than happy he’s willing to put himself out there. I’d done enough of that in Palm Cove, hanging around the diner to watch the prick across the street, and I’m burnt out. Sticking to the shadows works better for me.

I almost bring up Blake. From the look of her room, she’s living there, at least temporarily, so she must know more about these people. As Leon fills Jasper in on details about Orlova, I decide I’ll keep her to myself a little longer.

“I’ll scope out the house, see what I can pick up,” I say.

“Alright, so while you’re doing that, Jasper, you’ll get to know Orlova. See if she knows anything about someone named Sweeper. I’ll keep searching for him and more about Ivan Orlov. I don’t want any careless mistakes. We have no idea who we’re dealing with.”

I ignore the rest of their conversation and check my app again. Ethan hasn’t moved from that spot. Brimming with restless energy, I get up and grab my shoes.

“I’m gonna go get started. I’ll call you guys if I find anything.”

“You don’t want pizza?” Jasper asks.

“Nah, I already ate. Save me some for later.” Without waiting for his reply, I walk out into the hallway, ready to see Blake again.

CHAPTER FIVE

BLAKE

It’s beenhours since Ethan dropped me off and I’m still pissed at myself. There must be something wrong with me for even considering forgiving him. Am I that lonely that I’d prefer Ethan to no one at all? That desperate to land the internship at St. Luke’s?

I’ve read the same line three times on the screen in front of me and nothing’s sinking in. Shutting my screen, I flop back against my pillows and close my eyes. I knew my second year of med school would be the toughest, but I guess I never took personal life issues into consideration.

I’ve already lost most of my undergrad friends from being “a bore.” Their words. The only one still hanging on is Falin, but she’s so far away.

Ethan is all I have left here, so it makes sense that I’m trying to hold on to our relationship. He gets my need to succeed. To get the coveted internships and graduate at the top of our class. Yeah, his reasons are to appease his parents whereas mine are entirely self-motivated, but at least they align.

A headache creeps in from the base of my neck, and my stomach growls, reminding me again of my non-existent lunch. Mischa’s downstairs with one of her equally snooty girlfriends. I could wait her out. Starvation is far superior to conversing with them.

I grab my phone to put on some background noise. Anything to distract me from my grumbling stomach. For some unknown reason, I open up my photo album and scroll through the photos from Jake’s party. There’s only a few, and one of them is of Jake’s cat. I find the one I’m looking for, a selfie of me and Ethan sitting on a couch, holding glasses of wine. I was happy, right?

My smile wasn’t exactly natural, but I looked comfortable. Ethan’s eyes were already glassy and the night had just begun. Knowing him, he probably popped some benzos before the party. I can’t believe I didn’t realize at the time.

Flipping through my albums from the past year, I can’t help but notice how few photos I have of other people. There’s a couple of Brennan and me, some with Ethan, but they’re all mostly screenshots of school stuff.

Maybe everyone’s right about me? I’m a bore. A bookworm, studying obsessed,bore. What would Bryan think of me if he were here? He was always the life of the party, always the one to push me out of my shell. God, I miss him.

Out of instinct, I reach up to hold my necklace but then remember that I misplaced it. I’ve barely taken it off since he died, so it can’t have gone far. This room is kind of a disaster too. If I clean then maybe I’ll find it.

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