Blake: A Bad Boy Romance (18 page)

Chapter Thirty-Three

They arrived at Tim’s office where Ivy was surprised to see Ellen sitting in one of the leather chairs in the office sipping a cup of coffee. Blake strode into the door, but Ivy nervously hung back. Her own father had just told her he didn’t approve of her relationship with Blake; she didn’t want to hear the same thing from Ellen whom she liked so much. She watched from the doorway as Ellen stood up and embraced Blake who whispering something into her ear.

She looked up and smiled at Ivy as Blake went back to talk to Tim. Ivy watched Ellen walk towards her and she felt oddly trapped in place. She was desperate to run, but social conventions told her she couldn’t. But she couldn’t bring herself to take a step forward. She fidgeted nervously as Ellen came a step away from her and she froze as the other woman pulled her in for a hug.

“How are you doing, Ivy?” Ellen asked as she released her.

“Not great,” Ivy admitted. “My dad came over. He doesn’t approve of me and Blake.”

“I know,” Ellen said with a shake of her head. “We argued about it all last night and the entire ride up here.”

“You argued?” Ivy asked.

“Yes. I don’t know what your father is thinking. You and Blake are both mature adults who can make your own decisions. If you want to be together, you should. You aren’t blood related and you weren’t raised together. You’re barely stepsiblings,” she said with a wave of her hand and roll of her eyes.

Ivy smiled and grabbed the woman by her shoulders and pulled her into a strong hug.

“Thank you, Ellen. That really means a lot to me. It means so much. I don’t even know how to describe it. Blake really cares what you think and I don’t know what he would do if you didn’t approve.”

“He would ignore me and do whatever he wanted,” Ellen said with a smile. “He would bring you around for the holidays and just wear me down until I agreed with him.”

Ivy laughed; it was only too easy to imagine. But her father wouldn’t be so easily swayed. He was a stubborn man with strong principles. “I just still can’t quite believe it. He said it would be bad for business. Do you think that’s true?”

“Your father cares far too much about what the people in that town think. I think he would be very disappointed to realize his life isn’t interesting enough for town gossip. No one is going to care that you and Blake are together and the ones who will care will just be happy because they know what a good fit you are.”

“But there are some who will think it’s weird.”

“Then we’ll ignore them,” she said with a shrug.

Ivy liked Ellen’s idea of the world, one where everyone was kind and understanding where it was easy to ignore gossips and snoops. Ivy wasn’t convinced the reality would be quite as kind. She was about to tell everyone she was in a relationship with her future stepbrother.

She glanced over at Blake. He was wearing a simple long sleeved black t-shirt and a pair of dark jeans. He was standing in front of a big bright window, the soft grey light from the cloudy sky illuminating his frame. It almost hurt how much she loved him. She didn’t want anything bad to happen to him, but she was helpless to stop what was coming. Sometimes she wondered if his life would have been better if he had not met her, but she was too scared to follow that thought to the end.

Twelve o’clock came quickly. It seemed the hands of the clock were spinning around the face far too fast. Ivy could look out the window and see the news vans as they crowded the street below. Reporters in dark suits and short skirts stood out in the windy weather speaking into microphones and sending the story around the world. What would they say? What would the message be? Would Blake be a violent, redneck freak or a man protecting the woman he loved?

“Ivy, can you come in for a moment?” Tim asked. Ivy looked over at him confused. His face was oddly red and he was tugging at his collar.

“Sure,” Ivy said as her stomach dropped. She stood and mustering as much confidence as possible she strode into Tim’s office. Blake was sitting at a table, a cup of coffee in front of him. He was staring out the window and didn’t look happy. “Hey,” Ivy said struggling with a smile.

“Hey,” he responded with a general smile. He reached out for her hand and stroked the back of her knuckles with his thumb for a moment before letting her go. “I need to tell you something. It’s not good news, but it’s not as bad as it sounds and I just need you to let me explain everything before you start in with questions.”

“What? Why? What happened? What’s going on?” Ivy asked Blake rolled his eyes.

“Wow, you literally could not go one second. The camera that was found at the house-”

“No,” Ivy interrupted feeling not a familiar flush, but something worse. She felt not a rush of heat, but a bucket of ice cold water poured over her head.

“He’s uploaded it to the internet. We’ve had it pulled off of the places that have lawyers, the more respectable porn sites. But it’s out there, Ivy, and there’s not much we can do about that.”

“I’m going to be sick,” Ivy said, grabbing her stomach.

Blake grabbed her hand and held her in place. Looking right in her eyes, Blake said, “Ivy, I’ve seen the tape. We have nothing to be worried about. It’s really good.”

Ivy gasped and stared at him as he cracked a smile. She wanted to slap him. Like a sassy broad in an old movie, she wanted to land a hard one right on his face. But she held herself back. There was something about that smile. She wanted to kiss him and kill him all at the same time.

“I can’t believe this,” Ivy said, shaking her head.
My life is over,
she thought. She didn’t want to say it out loud. Blake had enough on his shoulders; she didn’t want to add to it. But it was out there. People were going to hear about it. They were going to search for on it on Google. She was going to be a joke.

She had about an hour to process everything. It was too much time and not nearly enough. But they had a press conference to give. Tim led the way with Ivy and Ellen following behind him. Everyone in the office stood and nodded as they passed. How many of their jobs depended on Blake’s career? What would happen if it was over? They rode the elevator in silence. At the tenth floor, Blake reached over and squeezed Ivy’s hand and she squeezed his in returned.

The elevators opened and they were greeted with the glare of flashbulbs and the members on the other side of glass doors began to mob the entryway.

“Blank faces, everyone,” Tim reminded them. He took the first step, with Blake right behind them.

Ellen and Ivy waited a beat and then they, too, stepped out into the hallway and walked towards the mob. It felt wrong to Ivy. Her every instinct was to run away from the vultures out there. But she needed to be strong; she couldn’t falter again.

The doors were opened as they stepped outside and into the fray. The flashbulbs were blinding and Ivy almost stumbled as she walked out. The members of the press were pushing forward and shouting as Blake stood at a podium and pulled out his statement. Ivy was shaking from head to toe. She had no idea Blake’s life was like this. It was intense and overwhelming and she wanted to go sit in a quiet room for hours after only dealing with this for a few seconds.

“Thank you for coming,” Blake intoned into the microphone. His voice was strong and confident and he spoke clearly and slowly.

Ivy was impressed. If it were her, she didn’t think she would have got a single word out.

“I would like to start by apologizing for my actions the other day. I allowed a man to provoke me to violence. I sincerely regret my actions and I want my fans to know violence is never the answer. In my defense, however, I would like to tell my side of the story. The man on the other side of this exchange is Darryl Linden. He’s a member of the Linden Logging family. He has been stalking and harassing my girlfriend, Ivy McCormick, for years. He has left threatening and dangerous messages and he has twice violated his restraining orders. So far he has managed to stay above the law. He provoked me into hitting him and I take full responsibilities to my actions. Later,
BreakerSpin
will be running a full story of the extent of the stalking and fear this man has inflicted on an innocent woman. I am working with my sponsors and the organizers of the fight to move past this minor infraction. My lawyer will answer any questions you may have.”

The press had been silent for the entirety of Blake’s speech but when he finished they were louder than ever as they yelled questions at Blake, his lawyer, but also to Ivy. There was a blonde woman with helmet like hair and a cheap pink suit screaming questions in Ivy’s direction.

“Are you Ivy McCormick!? Are you the one responsible for all of this?”

Ivy felt bewildered, but she tried to keep her face a neutral mask like Tim had instructed. She could barely hear Tim answering questions over the din of the reporter’s yell.

“Do you have any comment on your sex tape with Blake.”

The nausea came suddenly and Ivy balled her hands into fists and looked away from the reporter focusing on keeping her expression blank. Ivy ignored the woman as best she could, but she kept inching closer and closer to her. Her microphone jammed in Ivy’s face. There were more with her now, too. They were like sharks in bloody water, each circling around to see what the best point of attack against Ivy would be.

Finally, Tim was done answering questions even though the reporters were still screaming at him.

Ivy walked gratefully into the elevator still stunned and dazed from all that just happened. Her ears were ringing and she was still seeing flashes every time she closed her eyes.

“You all right?” Blake asked her, rubbing her arms.

“Yeah, that was intense,” Ivy said shaking her head. “I can’t believe you read that statement in such a calm voice. I had no idea how hard that was.”

“You did an excellent job, Blake. The
BreakerSpin
article comes out tomorrow. They’ve been writing it night and day; the only thing that’s left is interviews with the two of you. You can do it together, if you would like.”

“Yes,” Ivy said reaching over to grab Blake’s hand. “I don’t want to deal with the press alone.”

“You’ll be great,” Blake assured her.

“And you’ll never talk to the press alone. I am always there when you talk to the press, clear?” Tim asked.

Ivy nodded, glad Blake had such a good team behind him. Now would be the hard part. They would have to talk about their relationship and they would have to do it in front of a reporter. It was a trial by fire and Ivy was hoping to not get burned.

Chapter Thirty-Four

The agreement was this: the
BreakerSpin
reporter would get an exclusive interview with Blake, but only if he downplayed the stepsibling angle. He could only ask one quick question about it and it would only get one short mention in the article. Ivy didn’t really know what to think about the man writing the article. He was tall and thin with a dark beard and thick, dark glasses. He seemed nice and agreeable, but Ivy still felt nervous around him. He had such a power over her life. He would be the one to sway the public’s opinion.

She didn’t enjoy feeling this out of control. She knew what was going to happen. This man would tell his story and the information would be sent out to the world. She could see it on the front page of newspapers and the front page of the ever-popular
BreakerSpin
. It would travel the world. People all over would read about Blake, and they would read about her. Ivy would be known; she would be famous. But, unlike so many other people, she didn’t want that. She wanted privacy, not fame. 

She was terrified of strangers knowing the personal details of her life. She was worried about the assumptions that they would make. People would be talking about her, around the dinner table and in comment sections online. They would gossip about her and talk about her. People would call her horrible names and think awful things and she would be powerless to change their opinions of her.

“I am asking the court to consider all of the evidence and reduce the charges from a felony to a misdemeanor,” Blake said.

“It definitely doesn’t sound like a felony charge is warranted,” the reporter agreed. They were chatting like old friends.

It was disconcerting for Ivy. This man had come to ask them questions and probe their personal lives. She was sitting on a couch in Tim’s office. Blake held her hand firmly in his own. Ivy felt nervous; she had to force herself to stop fidgeting. It took all of her effort to just sit still.

“I am sorry for losing my temper,” Blake said with a nod. “I should have contained myself, but it’s hard when a violent man is threatening someone. It’s hard to do nothing. I don’t like the idea that we basically have to wait for him to physically hurt Ivy before we can land any charges against him. The system is really stacked against her.”

Ivy tensed up. Anytime Blake or the reporter referenced Ivy’s part in all of this, she felt uncomfortable, like she was under a microscope and a spotlight all at the same time.

“So, I do have to ask about the nature of your relationship. Your parents are engaged, right? So, will you two soon be stepsiblings?”

“Our parents are getting married. But Ivy and I are not related in any way. We didn’t grow up together. We were friends growing up and we dated in high school and now we’re back together. I think once people hear the full story they won’t think it’s weird.”

“I don’t,” the reporter said with a shrug.

They had been talking to him for over three hours. Ivy was exhausted and ready to go home. But, next to her, Blake looked relaxed and cool like he did this sort of thing every day. His clothes hadn’t wrinkled and there wasn’t a hair out of place on his head. Sitting next to him Ivy felt awkward and uncomfortable. She didn’t know how he was acting so calm.

“So, have either of you seen the sex tape? You claim it was made illegally by a planted device in your apartment by Ms. McCormick’s stalker.”

“Yes,” Blake said. “The police found it shortly after I was arrested. I have no idea how long it was there or what else is on it. We didn’t film this and we didn’t consent to it being filmed. I’m asking people to not watch it and to not look for it. It was a private moment between two people and it shouldn’t be part of a public spectacle.”

The reporter nodded as he took down his notes. He seemed suitably impressed by Blake and so was Ivy.

They shook hands, Ivy struggling to keep hers from shaking as she stood. She wanted to be calm and confident. She didn’t want people to think she was some weak-kneed damsel in distress. She didn’t want people thinking she had ruined Blake’s career.

“That went well,” Blake said putting his hands on her shoulders.

He sounded confident. She wished she had his confidence. It seemed he had so much to spare. She wished it were something he could dole out, she could take just a little of his, just what she needed to sustain her through the next day.

***

The next morning, at Blake’s apartment, Ivy stood in front of a full-length mirror and looked at herself. She looked pale and there were dark bags under her eyes. She began to apply concealer and eyeliner to make herself look presentable. She left her hair down, blowing out and curling the ends. She knew her picture would be on the front page of more than a few newspapers and websites the next day.

She dressed in a blue pencil skirt with a white button down shirt tucked into the waistband. She looked herself over and tried to put a smile on her face. She looked good, but her smile looked fake and forced. She would need to stay as calm as possible; she would need to wear her neutral mask.

Tim drove them and Ellen to the courthouse. There were news vans and reporters camped outside, but they were ignored. Walking behind Blake, Ivy kept her face down as the reporters screamed her name.

“Ivy, how do you feel?”

“Blake, what will you do if you the judge won’t reduce the charges?”

“Blake, what’s going to happen to you and Ivy when your parents marry?”

“Blake, your sex tape was just rated number one in a Pornhub favorite amateur porn poll. What do you think of that?”

“Ivy, is it true you’ve accepted a two-million-dollar deal to do a sequel to your video with Kink?”

She forced herself to keep walking. She took her cues from Blake and Tim who nodded at the reporters as they pushed past them and into the courthouse. There was a line between rudeness and giving in. But Ivy didn’t know where that line was. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to treat and react to the reporters. They were their enemies and their greatest allies all at the same time. They needed to keep them on their side without giving away too much. It was a tightrope act and Ivy was the only one who had never practiced before.

The courtroom was a silent oasis compared to the outside world. The judge refused to permit any press inside. The gallery was almost empty. Tim held open the doors to the courtroom and Ivy and Blake walked in together.

Ivy came to the low wooden gate that separated the gallery from the judge and the lawyers. Blake squeezed Ivy’s hand and he flashed her a smile, one she tried valiantly to return.

Sitting next to Ellen, Ivy perched on the edge of her seat. She glanced to her left, but Darryl was nowhere in sight. His lawyer was sitting alone, frowning towards his phone. Darryl had been released yesterday afternoon. Ivy heard nothing from him in the last few hours. For the first time, she wanted to see him. She wanted to see if he looked different after his stint in prison. She hoped he did. She hoped he looked broken and sad and ruined.

Blake sat next to his attorney. He looked sharp and sophisticated in a well-fitting black suit. He really was a changed man. Instead of lounging back in his seat and rolling his eyes, he was sitting up straight, going over paperwork with his lawyer. This was a new Blake, one who regretted rash actions and who was ready to apologize when the time came. Ivy liked this new Blake. She had liked the old one, but something about this new maturity he had struck her. He was an adult now, someone she could depend on.

The judge entered and Ivy looked around, confused. Where was Darryl? He might have been rich and from a famous family, but not even he could skip a court date. Her heart skipped a beat in her chest as she smiled for real. If Darryl didn’t show up, he would face even more charges; he could go to jail even longer.

“All rise! Now presiding the Honorable Judge O’Brian.” Everyone stood as a short balding man in a long black robe walked towards his seat and he hit his gavel twice as everyone took their seats.

“Mr. Anderson. Is your client running late?” the judge asked as he turned to face Darryl’s lawyer.

“He has not yet arrived, your honor. If I could request a continuance on this matter-”

“Your client was released from police custody yesterday at two-thirty in the afternoon. Have you lost him in less than twenty-four hours? Do you have any idea where he is?”

“At the moment, no, your honor,” the lawyer said looking sheepishly to the ground.

The judge sighed and shook his head. “Are you sticking with a felony charge?”

“That was the last request of my client, your honor.”

“Your client who is not here for the hearing?”

For a moment no one spoke. The judge looked sternly down at Darryl’s lawyer before he began to sort through papers in front of him. “A felony charge for a single punch? Seems rather an overreaction to me especially when you consider that your client was violating his restraining order and threatening someone when he received his hit.”

Darryl’s lawyer said nothing, but Ivy could see a line forming between his eyes as his frowned deepened. He was being made a fool of.

“Mr. Lambert,” the judge said and Blake stood up and smoothed his tie and looked respectfully at the judge. “I have heard all of the evidence for and against you and I agree with your lawyer that a felony charge is unwarranted.”

Ivy gasped quietly and Ellen reached over and they held hands and waited for the judge to continue.

“Since Mr. Linden has chosen not to grace us with his presence and considering he was violating a restraining order at the time of the attack I am dropping the charges against you. However, I do not ever want to see you in my courtroom again. Is that clear?”

“Yes, your honor. Thank you.”

“Dismissed!” The judge cried, banging his gavel twice as Ellen embraced Ivy in a long, deep hug.