Chapter 33 Olivia
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Olivia
The phone rings just as I’m pulling the kettle off the stove.
Steam curls around my face, warm and comforting until the unknown number flashes on the screen.
I almost let it go to voicemail, but something in me said to answer.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Quinn?” The voice is crisp, professional, and it slices straight through my calm as a razor blade.
“Yes… This is Olivia.”
“This is Marcia Flynn. I’m an attorney with Dawson and Klein, representing Richard Stokes.”
My grip on the phone slips, barely, but enough to make my heart slam hard against my ribs. Richard? My old boss Richard?
“I… what?”
“I’m calling to inform you that Mr. Stokes has filed a civil suit alleging misappropriation of funds during your tenure at Stokes I can’t stop. The sound is raw, humiliating.
“Liv?” Ivy’s tone shifts instantly. Sharper. Scared. “Talk to me. What’s wrong?”
I slide down the kitchen cabinet until I’m curled on the floor, the phone clutched tight to my ear like it’s the only lifeline I’ve got.
“He’s suing me,” I manage to choke out. “Richard. He… he’s saying I stole from him.”
There’s a beat of silence, then Ivy’s sharp inhale. “What?”
“It’s a lie,” I gasp, tears streaming hot and fast down my cheeks. “I didn’t—I never touched a cent. But his lawyer just called, and I don’t…” My throat is raw from the sobs tearing through me. “Ivy, what am I supposed to do?”
“Okay,” she says firmly, slipping into that tone she always gets when she knows I’m about to drown. Calm. Unflinching. “Okay, first thing: breathe. Liv, listen to me. Breathe with me.”
“I can’t—”
“Yes, you can.” She inhales loud enough that I hear it through the phone. “In. Right now.”
I drag in a shaky breath that shudders apart in my chest.
“Good. Now out. Do it with me.”
I follow, exhaling like I might collapse with it.
“Again,” Ivy says. “In. Out.”
Little by little, the sobs soften. They don’t stop, but they come in waves instead of avalanches. My hands are still trembling, but I can at least hold the phone without dropping it.
“That’s it,” Ivy murmurs. “Good. You’re okay. I’ve got you. I’m on the way, okay? I’ll call Freddie. Get him here with the kids, then I’ll be on the way.”
I slide my eyes closed, trying to gather myself up. I have to admit, it eases the tension a little to know she’s on the way, that I don’t have to drown by myself.
I don’t know what I’d do without Ivy.