Chapter Forty-Two Ella
Chapter Forty-Two
Ella
I headed up in the lift, still in a daze, with tears flooding my face.
Guilt and disbelief crashed over me – I couldn’t believe what just happened with Philip.
How could he do this to me? To someone he was trying to win back.
He was making me smaller, ruining my dreams and opportunities, just like Zola had said.
Shit, why did I say those awful things to her?
My stomach churned, knowing she was right all along, hoping she still wasn’t reeling from our gloves-off argument.
I mean, I knew Philip wasn’t over the moon I was dating Jimmy, but his decision to involve the media and jeopardise our app, forcing us to return to Glasgow, was nothing short of fucking psychotic.
My head was in overload, bouncing between everything that had happened.
The lift door pinged open, and I paused, taking a second to think.
‘Ella?’ Katy called from the living room. ‘Is that you?’
‘Ella?’ Zola called, more sharply.
I cleared my throat and stepped out. ‘Yeah, it’s me,’ I said, heading to the living room where they sat with Ethan, typing. Had he been here since I left all those hours ago?
‘Are you OK?’ Katy fussed, heading over to me with her arms wide. ‘You look like shit and we’ve been so worried. Where did you go?’
I shook my head at Katy, unable to speak for a moment. Zola saw my distress and stood, her expression turning concerned as she came towards me.
‘I’m sorry,’ I said, ‘For everything I said, I was bang out . . .’
‘Ella,’ she cut in. ‘I’m sorry. You were probably right. I’ve been a dick since Curtis, and if you want to be with Philip then . . .’
I blew out a gasp. ‘I do not want to be anywhere near that fuckin’ prick ever again!’
Zola and Katy shared a look, curious to see what had gone down.
‘So, Philip has been tracking my phone – that’s how he “bumped” into me at the coffee shop on the first day he arrived,’ I began, my voice trembling.
Both my friends leaned against the sofa, bracing for more drama.
‘He also tipped off the press about Katy and Travis.’ I gulped, anxious that Katy might blame me for letting Philip near our chat.
‘What?’ Katy exclaimed in pure disbelief.
‘He read our chats, they pop up on my laptop. The day I met him in the coffee shop, and I went outside to call Zo, he read all our chats, took pictures as well. Can you believe that douche! I’m so sorry, Katy. I had no idea he’d do that.’
Zola sank back on the sofa, as her head flopped down between her knees. ‘I’ll kill him!’
Katy was still processing. ‘But why, Ella?’
I breathed slowly, my exhaustion weighing on every word as I walked around and took a seat on the sofa. ‘Because he was jealous of Jimmy and me. He wanted the app to fail and thought if I moved back to Glasgow, he’d have a better chance, I guess.’
Zola put her arm around Katy, who had fallen unusually quiet. ‘But he has no beef with Katy? And she’s got the brunt of this whole thing!’
‘Collateral damage,’ Ethan chipped in, his eyes still glued to his laptop.
I began to explain exactly how I caught Philip out while my friends hummed and hawed at the tea.
‘So, he claims he’s not the stalker.’ I rounded up my ordeal. ‘But who knows what that posh prick is capable of?’
At the same time, the three of them replied, ‘He’s not.’
I sat up, wondering what they had uncovered.
‘It’s someone from the company, someone who has high-level clearance.
I managed to track down who authorised the apps that failed in the past. Looking at their business plans, they would never have worked and should never have launched.
Someone at the company has put these apps out there, then tampered with the marketing at the last minute to ensure they fail and so turn the investors on Jimmy.
It’s been the same person at Flirtify every time.
I’m trying to hack the server just now to see who the authorisation code belongs to, but it’s going to take some time,’ Ethan added casually.
I glanced at Zola, and she smiled, impressed at Ethan’s work.
‘Will we have answers by Monday morning?’ Katy asked, knowing Jimmy’s meeting with the board was approaching in only a couple of days.
Ethan shrugged, finally looking up from the screen. ‘I sure hope so.’
I breathed a sigh of relief, a tiny glimmer of hope returning that I might be able to fix some of this mess, if not for me, then for Jimmy.
I walked towards the kitchen, opening the fridge for a bottle of water.
It had been the worst couple of days of my life, but the idea of leaving New York with some clarity and even a little bit of dignity might make this trip more worthwhile.
I took a sip, noticing Zola had wandered up beside me.
Katy and Ethan were gazing at the computer screen together.
‘You OK, babe?’ Zola asked, rubbing my arm.
I was drained and riddled with guilt, but I replied with a smile.
‘Look, you were right,’ she said. ‘I’m running from anything to do with Curtis because I don’t know how to face it.’
I set down my water to listen to my friend.
‘And I know he’s a fucking arsehole, right? He’s lazy, he’s selfish and he fuckin’ cheated on me.’ She pointed to her chest and pouted. ‘Like seriously, imagine cheating on me.’ Then she flicked back her hair, and I laughed at her sexy sassiness.
‘But he’s always been there. He’s like your oldest pair of knickers you hold on to because they are comfy even though the crotch is stained with period blood and the elastic is gone.
It’s hard, man.’ She leaned on the counter.
‘It’s so sad and disappointing that he did this.
And there’s this part of me that can’t help thinking, maybe I caused it . . .’
‘No!’ I cut in. ‘No one makes you cheat, Zo. That’s on him!’
‘But I did it to him last year too!’ She covered her face. ‘OK, I might not have slept with the guy, but I was unfaithful. What if I deserve this, Ella? What if this is my karma?’
I shook my head. ‘It’s not. And again, you did that because you were unhappy, he was being so distant, and you worked through it!’
She sighed, deep down knowing I was right, but I could tell excuses and doubts were flying through her head. ‘What if I never meet anyone? I’m not in my twenties anymore! What if I’m alone forever?’
I laughed, knowing the minute she wanted a man, he’d be there.
‘What if you meet someone who isn’t lazy, who isn’t selfish, who treats you well, oh, and who doesn’t fucking cheat?
’ I shook my head, brushing off her negativity.
‘You deserve to find love. Real love, Zola. And if you don’t, then surely a life of true happiness with your friends is better than a life of misery with that big pussy back home! ’
Zola glanced across at Katy and Ethan.
‘You don’t have to rush anything. I was mad before.’ I smiled, placing my hand on top of hers. ‘I know this is a big decision, and I was out of order earlier. I should never have said those things to you.’
Zola was zoned out, still observing Ethan and Katy’s interactions. ‘Maybe I should rush,’ she mumbled. ‘What am I waiting for?’ Then she headed to her bedroom, grabbing her phone off the counter.