CHAPTER 1–IVY

Ivy Smythe grabbed her coat. “Geoff, hop to it. Kathy will be here any minute to take you to school.” She knew today would be one of those days. Last night’s rain hadn’t helped her sleep, or her old injury. Years ago, she broke her leg, and during her treatment, she learned about Geoff’s pending arrival. The break was bad, the doctors wanted to operate, and it is standard practice to test a woman for pregnancy before any procedure. Ivy’s test, of course, returned positively. They forced her to choose, lose her baby, or walk with a limp. The doctor failed to tell her there’d be pain for years, but she wouldn’t change her decision if she’d known. She’d still choose Geoff.

“Yeah, Mom.” Her son’s voice echoed through the hallway. The apartment was in the artisan section of the city. Nowhere near the museum she worked for. What it was close to her best friend and artist, Kathy Mills. It allowed Kathy to mind Geoff.

Ivy looked in the mirror by the front door and adjusted her blonde bun. She was going to work, not out on a date. The museum appeared as a formal workplace for donors and patrons, but behind the scenes, it was different.

Today, she’d be facing the introduction of the new CFO. She’d be late coming home because of a silly meet and greet. As the Head of the Art Restoration and Verification Department, she must make an appearance. Her green eyes darted about the apartment to convince herself it was neat. “Don’t forget, Geoff, I have a meeting after work. Kathy will pick you up. Please don’t argue about it. You know I can’t be in two places at once.”

A dark-haired, seven-year-old boy walked down the hallway, a small bag over his shoulder, and Ivy watched him approach. His dark eyes revealed his preoccupied thoughts. Ivy felt a pang of sadness. Every day, he looked and acted more like his father. The father who didn’t know he existed, and he wouldn’t if Ivy had anything to say about it.

Recently, Geoff picked up his father’s habit of getting lost in his thoughts as he walked. Normally, it didn’t matter, but Ivy knew on rare occasions, they’d hurt themselves falling. ‘Geoff, mind where you’re walking sweetheart, or you’re going to end up face planting.” She had to remind him constantly. It was adorable to see this side of him appear, and she hesitated to destroy it. His father might be a trust fund fool, but she wouldn’t tar and feather her son with that.

“Yeah, watch where I walk. Will you be home for bedtime tonight? You owe me two stories. Three, if you miss tonight.” He kept the score in his head. If he wanted something a lot, he’d remind everyone about it that he could. Geoff kept a mental record of everything that interested him, including people and history. “I hope to leave after an hour. So, I’ll try. Also, I believe the marketing and souvenirs shipment is arriving today. I hope to snag those promotional photos for the Roman Exhibition. I promise they’ll go into my briefcase once I have them.” Ivy hated to say no to Geoff, and felt she said no too often already. She could only do so much as a single person. “Great, I want to take them to school for show-and-tell before summer break.” Geoff had a fascination with the Ancient Roman Empire. Ivy hoped he’d follow in her footsteps. If he had followed his father, he’d be leaning toward finance, but it was still early. The Roman Empire could end up as a hobby. “I’ll do my best. I can’t get them if they aren’t there.” Ivy reminded him. Again, she felt a pang tap at her heart. It reminded her of Geoff’s father as she saw his traits develop in her son. His expectation that everything should happen as he planned it. That was how his father lived.

The doorbell rang. Ivy limped to answer it. “Hey, perfect timing. Geoff’s ready. I’m slow this morning because my night sucked. I hope yours was better.” Ivy frowned when she saw Kathy’s reaction. She’d been on a date; Kathy should be happy.

“The hot date fell through. The jerk not only failed to show, but he ghosted me completely. He didn’t even have the decency to text me. He wasn’t coming.” Her look revealed all the drama of her night. Kathy was like a loveable cartoon character and brought an energy wherever she went. She was unapologetic about how she lived. Ivy learned so much from her about that.

“Message me everything. Right now, I’m slow as a turtle doing hurdles. But I am interested. So, vent away. I want all the details.” She hated not giving Kathy her time. But the clock was ticking, and she had work.

“Oh, and this morning, I received a big order for a design and custom stickers. I think if this goes well, it might be one of those reoccurring orders.”  Kathy looked for something right to cancel out the bad. Ivy liked how Kathy showed Geoff how to look for two good things for every bad one that happened. She felt it was important for Geoff to learn, and Ivy had a feeling it would serve him well in life.

“That’s great. But it’s one of those a love/hate situations, isn’t it? One of those ‘Yup, love the money, and hate the work,’ if I remember your words.” The honesty and loyalty Kathy showed Ivy, let her trust Kathy like no one else. That’s why Ivy trusted her with Geoff, and in turn Kathy trusted Ivy with her secrets. 

“That’s exactly it. Geoff, babe, no time for TV. However, if we get out of here fast, there’s a cold hot chocolate involved.” A rather odd drink Geoff fell in love with. It was a hot chocolate poured over crushed ice and topped with whipped cream. He would never turn one down.

“Oh cool, I’m ready.” Sure enough, he turned off the TV as fast as he’d turned it on. Geoff grabbed his coat and waited for no one. He darted past Kathy and was pushing the button to call the elevator before they could respond.

“I’m glad I brought my phone. My sweater is in your closet.” Kathy pulled a woolly green sweater from the open closet and threw it over her arm.

“Don’t drive yourself crazy today, and I haven’t forgotten I’m picking Geoff up from school. Bye, I’ll message you later.”

“Thank you.” Ivy watched the elevator doors open as Kathy walked toward Geoff and the elevator.

“Oh, and I’ll have dinner brought in. I think tonight calls for pizza.” Kathy stepped into the elevator with Geoff.

“Great, thank you. I’ll lock up when I leave.”  Ivy leaned against the condo’s doorway and watched the two enter the elevator.

“See you tonight, then. I can’t wait for you to tell me what you think of this jerk.” Kathy leaned forward and pushed a button when the elevator didn’t close fast enough for her liking.

“Have a good day, Geoff. Kathy, don’t let that jerk ruin your day. He doesn’t deserve the right.” Ivy gave them each a positive reminder, even if she wasn’t feeling that positive.

“Yes, Mom, love you, bye.” He rolled his eyes this time.

“And you know it,” Kathy agreed. The elevator doors closed on her little boy and colourful friend.

“Of course, my cane isn’t where I left it. That would be too easy this morning.” Ivy couldn’t help but grumble to herself. She only used it when her leg hurt. The last thing she needed was to fall again.

A driver hit her, and she landed in an unfortunate way. She should have walked away from the light tap, but when the car pushed her, she tripped over a discarded trash bin. Her thigh broke just below the hip, so she didn’t need a hip replacement, but she should have had a rod and screws installed. With Geoff on the way, that couldn’t happen. For the rest of her life, she’d worry about falls of any kind. Ivy didn’t know which fall might break it again. With her briefcase and cane, Ivy locked the door and left for work.

When Ivy arrived, the place was abuzz with gossip about the new Chief Financial Officer. They had appointed him a while ago, and today would be his first day. Ivy didn’t need to worry about it until budget time came up. She had to fight to keep her department’s budget. Her staff were the ones who cleaned and restored most of the art. They were often on loan to other museums and private collectors. Even governments used their services. So, when push came to shove, her department made money for the museum.

Alice Rau, a mousy woman with dreamy hazel eyes, was Ivy’s second-in-command, and she was there when Ivy finally entered. ‘Morning, I’m not late, am I?”

“Oh, heck no. Everyone is early because the new CFO has arrived. You missed his big entrance. It seems he’s not only smart, rich, but gorgeous, too.”

“Really, here’s a detail I’m wondering if you caught. What’s his name?”

“I caught his name. I couldn’t help it. It’s on everyone’s tongue. His name is Heath Allan. As in the son of the…”

“Heath? That’s okay, you don’t need to tell me his resume or family tree. Are you sure? I thought he’d work for his father.”

“Oh, do you know about him? Or do you know him? Ivy, you know I hate when you’re vague. He’s not someone you meet in a coffee shop.”

“Well, this sucks. Oh, uh, we were in the same dorm in university.” Ivy wasn’t saying any more, and that’s how they met. But they didn’t stay in the dorm long. Heath stayed there while he waited for his own place to be redecorated. By then, they’d been dating for several weeks, and they moved in together.

“If that’s the case, why aren’t you happy? He’s working here. Wouldn’t the CFO, being your friend from school, be a good thing?” Alice didn’t miss much, a reason Ivy liked her.

“How closely did you look at Heath? Did you get a good look at his features?” Ivy knew she’d have to say something to Alice about this, and she didn’t like it.

“Yes, why?”

 “I’m swearing you to secrecy. You tell no one, including Mr. Allan.” Ivy shut the office door. “Swear to me.”