Chapter Thirty-Nine Ella
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Ella
After an hour in that tiny room, Brooke ushered us out to a waiting car and drove us home.
Katy sniffled quietly, hugging herself, her eyes red and distant.
I sat beside her, useless. My thoughts spun: had we ruined everything?
Was there a way to fix this, or had the worst already happened?
The drive passed in a blur, every second weighed down by dread.
No messages from Jimmy. Panic crept in again with the memory of his punch, him telling me not to touch him, the press capturing everything. My chest tightened. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
We got out of the car and walked up to the apartment block foyer together. The doorman opened the door with a smile.
‘Good evening, ladies,’ he said, but his tone seemed reserved, as if he already knew not to start a conversation.
‘Hi, thank you,’ I said, passing through.
As we headed up in the elevator, I watched Katy’s distraught face, her cheeks still damp with tears.
‘Are you OK, Katy?’ I asked, hating how pointless the question sounded, but my brain felt so foggy I had nothing else.
She stared at me for a few seconds, her eyes shining with unshed tears, then lowered her head in defeat.
Zola let out a long exhale and rubbed my shoulder just as we walked into the apartment together. I let my two friends enter first, following closely behind.
‘Ella,’ Zola whispered as she turned her head, gesturing towards the sofa. ‘Look.’
The man sitting sombrely on the couch, a cloth wrapped around his knuckles, was Jimmy. I wasn’t sure if I should run up and hug him. I wanted to feel better, but at the same time, I knew things between us had changed.
‘We’ll be in my room,’ Zola said. She placed her hands on Katy’s shoulders and gently guided her into the bedroom, leaving Jimmy and me alone in the living room.
When they left, I stepped towards the sofa. I looked at him. His suit was unbuttoned at the neck, his face puffy from tears. I took a seat beside him.
‘Jimmy, look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you . . .’ I began.
He shook his head. ‘No, Ella. You don’t get off that easily.’
I paused, my mouth dry and heart pounding, not knowing what to say.
Finally, he looked at me. ‘How could you keep this from me? Katy and Travis? How could you be in my company every day and not say a word? How could you be around Fee? You came and ate pancakes with my sister, knowing that her fucking husband was sleeping with your best friend?’
Shit. I wanted to clarify that Fee didn’t actually eat any pancakes that day – it was only me – but I knew now wasn’t the time to get into nitpicking details.
‘Katy slept with Travis, yes. It was our first day in New York, and she met him randomly on Tinder. She had no idea he worked for you or that he was married. He lied to all of us, Jimmy!’ I pleaded my friend’s case, knowing now was certainly not the time to reveal that they’d also shagged in the snack cupboard.
‘When did you know?’ he asked, leaning forward. My nerves buzzed. Jesus, this would go down like a fart in a spacesuit. There was no good answer.
‘The day we had our interview,’ I admitted, feeling completely ashamed. ‘But you have to realise this was the chance of a lifetime for us. We didn’t think it was fair that Travis not being able to keep his dick in his pants should be the reason we miss an opportunity like this!’
Jimmy looked too exhausted to reply, rubbing his eyes and sighing as he tried to process everything.
‘Then the messages started,’ I said.
‘What messages?’ Jimmy said, a little more sternly. ‘Ella?’
I paused, realising how much I’d kept from him – feeling a sharp ache of regret for leaving him in the dark, wanting to shield him from the mess. I didn’t want him to judge or think we brought drama. I thought I could fix it alone, without him ever knowing.
‘Katy started getting messages, threatening us to stop working on the app and telling us to go back to Glasgow. They knew about Travis and her, so they tried to blackmail her with it.’ I turned to him, more animated now.
‘We’ve been trying to figure out who it is, Jimmy!
I think they have something to do with your previous apps failing. ’
He slowly gazed up from the floor, his eyes glassy with hurt. ‘What? So, hold up, you figured all of this out, and still you kept it from me?’
I gulped, knowing how wrong it sounded. But at the time, I was focused on protecting my friend.
‘Yeah, but . . .’
‘But nothing, Ella.’ He stood up, looking disgusted.
‘I’ve shared the worst things about me with you.
I told you I was in juvie as a kid.’ He laughed as if the whole notion of confiding in me was now ridiculous to him.
‘But someone has been threatening you, trying to destroy my company, my career, and you didn’t think to give me a heads-up?
Did you not think to trust me enough to know how to handle that? ’
Fuck. I knew he was right, and shame burned inside me.
‘I . . . I . . . Look, there was so much going on, Jimmy. You don’t get the pressure I’ve been under. I was starting this with you, trying to get over my ex. Then he turns up and . . .’
‘What?’ He covered his face, the white cloth on his hand gently unfolding.
‘Nothing happened. I told him about you! I told him how happy I was! But—’
Jimmy chuckled, but it wasn’t a cheering noise. I felt like I was spiralling. ‘Glad you told him something, Ella.’
There was a pause. I was utterly drained, a heavy numbness settling in. Even trying to explain seemed to make it far worse.
Eventually, I said in a soft voice, ‘Look, someone has a vendetta against you. We have to find out who it is before it’s too late. The app is ready, it’s not going anywhere. But we have to find out who this stalker is and why they’re—’
‘It’s already too late, Ella.’ His voice was low.
He took a few steps towards the kitchen and placed his hands on the worktop, his back to me.
‘I’m losing the company. There’s a meeting set for Monday morning, at which the board will appoint a new CEO.
Hopefully Fee will get it, but I don’t know for sure. ’ He shrugged.
‘No, Jimmy!’ I stood up and walked towards him, reaching out to comfort him.
‘Don’t touch me, Ella,’ he said, standing, his whole body rigid.
‘For fuck’s sake. I’m trying to help, can’t you see that?’ I called out, my voice echoing through the apartment louder than I’d meant.
‘You could have helped if you’d told me before the shitshow that was tonight. Why didn’t you tell me all of this?’
His voice was raised, louder than mine, and I stepped back.
‘You know the papers are saying you and your little friends are money grabbers, and I didn’t want to believe it.
But maybe they’re right?’ he snarled. ‘You came here, fucked me as well as fucked me over. Ha, you even fucked my sister over, and now . . .’ He held his hands up in the air. ‘What now? What’s next?’
‘What’s next is you should fight for your company instead of moping around and blaming me! You should get ready for this app to launch! You know the papers print a load of bullshit! Don’t you dare tell me you think that shit is real!’
Jimmy rubbed his face in frustration and something close to despair. ‘The biggest investor pulled out after I punched Travis. The app is gone, Ella. I’m done, you’re done. We’re all fucking done!’
I felt the wind knocked out of me – all the work, all the planning, all of it for nothing.
‘Can we not find a new investor?’ I asked naively.
Jimmy uttered a laugh under his breath. ‘Do you know someone willing to invest two million in a company that doesn’t even have a CEO?’
Everything drained from me. My legs shook, my arms felt as if they were holding twenty-kilo dumbbells. I stared at nothing, frozen as the silence settled in.
‘You told me you loved me.’ Jimmy’s voice broke as he spoke, grief etched into his face. His eyes finally allowed tears to fall, and I immediately felt my bottom lip quiver, my heart breaking at the sight.
‘I do.’ I ran over to him and grabbed his jacket. I’d never met someone as amazing as him, and I knew I’d meant those precious words.
‘You don’t. You would have been honest with me if you had,’ he said, his hand trembling as he lifted it and ran it down my makeup-stained face. I could sense this was coming to an end and a wave of panic rose inside me – I didn’t want him to let go, to give up, not yet. Not like this.
I shook my head, tears streaming down my cheeks. I was gasping for breath as I tried to explain. ‘I just had to protect Katy,’ I cried, my voice shaking under the pressure that was now too much to withstand. ‘Please, understand that, Jimmy.’
There was a long silence as he leaned in and hugged me tightly. Relief and dread collided inside me. I didn’t want to let him go. I took a breath, inhaling his scent, clinging desperately to his warmth and solidity.
‘I gotta go, Ella. I’m sorry, but too much has happened now,’ Jimmy said as he gently raised my chin to look at him and managed a small, sad smile.
‘Jimmy, wait. Don’t go, not like this,’ I pleaded.
He kissed my forehead and pulled himself free from my grip. ‘Goodbye, Ella. I know you’ll have an unbelievable life.’ He took a few steps towards the elevator, his footsteps growing fainter.
‘Jimmy, wait. I love you! Please,’ I called out, not caring if I lost what little dignity I had left. I was prepared to beg for forgiveness.
There was silence, and I paused, hoping he’d turn back. Then I heard the lift door shut.
‘I guess I just love my friends more,’ I whispered before collapsing onto the floor.
I broke down in wails, my chest heaving with sobs, knowing I’d truly fucked everything up.
I wasn’t sure how much time passed before Zola picked me up and helped guide me to her room. I lowered myself down onto the mattress beside Katy, who’d fallen fast asleep. We didn’t say another word until morning.
*
I woke at six, numb and woolly-headed and praying that last night had all been a nightmare. I sat up. Both Zola and Katy were already awake and cuddling one another.
‘Hey,’ Zola said, her voice croaky.
‘Tell me this is a bad dream,’ I said, shaking my head.
‘I wish,’ Katy said, turning her phone screen towards me. She was on TikTok, scanning the Stars and Swipes feed. ‘We even made it to the For You page.’
She tossed me the phone, looking completely fed up. Videos of how the night had unfolded flooded the screen. From the glitzy Met to a knockout finish, it was all on camera. It felt like The Dicktionary Club all over again, only on a much grander scale.
‘And look at the video with Leo, the big sleazy creep,’ Katy said.
I felt nausea hit my stomach as I scrolled down to see the big Texas cowboy speaking to the media about having previously met us on the dating scene and how we’d told him we’d love a rich man to take care of us.
‘What a lying piece of shit!’ I shouted at the phone.
‘Exactly!’ Katy hummed.
‘I wouldn’t give that cunt a nod in the desert,’ Zola spat, ‘and he’s making out as if we were the ones all over him.’
‘Is Jimmy raging at me?’ Katy said, and I could hear the worry in her voice. I shook my head.
‘He’s raging at me, babe. He’s fuming because I kept it all from him: Travis and the stalker. He said we’re done, that there’s no going back. He’s going to lose the company.’ As I said it, I felt a piercing pain stab me in the heart.
‘We heard,’ Zola admitted. ‘Ethan called us about an hour ago. We told him all about the stalker. He promised he’s going to go digging.’
I sighed, running my hand through my hair, which was now in some form of crazy beehive. ‘There’s no point. Jimmy has to go to work on Monday. The board has called a meeting and that’s when he’ll be officially fired.’
Zola swung her legs out of bed. ‘Well, give him two days then. He might come up with something.’
Katy sat up, turning to Zola. ‘No, I want to go home, Zola. I can’t stay here two more days.’
Zola glanced at me, then back at Katy. ‘We can’t leave it like this. It feels wrong.’
I understood where she was coming from, but part of me wondered if Zola was delaying heading home as a way of putting off dealing with her own shit with Curtis. She hadn’t heard from him in weeks, and it didn’t seem like she wanted to. But she had her house and breakup to sort through.
I passed Katy her phone and reached for mine on the bedside table – nothing from Jimmy, but four missed calls from Philip.
I dismissed them and clicked on WhatsApp, noticing my archived chats.
Three unread messages from Philip.
Philip: You OK?
Philip: Ella? Let me know you’re OK?
Philip: Call me.
I locked my phone and stood up, not knowing how the day would pan out, but hoping to keep as low a profile as possible.