Rivals in Business, Allies in Love

Chapter 23

~Ivy~

Jackie is going to ruin these two brothers. It's inevitable. She's obviously leaning towards Cole but still cozying up to....I've already forgotten his name. My eyes narrow at the TV.

"Our economy is constantly growing and so there is a need for us to grow with." I dip the nail brush into the polish bottle before carefully dragging it against my toe nail. Simultaneously, I focus on the flat screen TV attached to the wall, trying to make sense of the teenage characters. "Ivy, are you listening?" I pause to look at my laptop screen.

Emily is giving me this reprimanding look from the other side of the screen. "Our economy is growing at a startling rate and we need to be on par with the advancements." She props a hand on her hip and shift her weight to her left leg. "In that way, our economy puts pressure on us. And I can go on and on about your inflation points but Jackie is really starting to piss me off." My eyes latch onto the TV again.

"You're watching Life With The Walter Boys?" She appears closer to the screen. Emily was adamant on practicing for our upcoming debate, hence the reason we're on zoom right now.

"You two wouldn't stop talking about it in our last meeting. I needed to see what the fuss was about." I begin painting my nails again. Betty's rant intrigued me enough to look.

"You're team Alex, right?"

"Team who?"

"Team Alex. Betty is team Cole."

"Oh, right. That's his name." I focus on the nail again. "Honestly, Cole is a gigantic red flag. If she's smart she'll stay far, far away from the kid."

"So that must mean you're team Alex." She grins, probably basking in the fact that I agree with her choice, which I don't.

"I don't like that guy. He's petty and cringe." I admit. "I do not like the character of any of the three casts." I shrug.

"But surely if you had to pick, you'd pick Alex. I mean he's the better of the worse."

"I'd rather wind up alone." Emily sighs, shaking her head at me. "Anyways, I'll email you my notes on your presentation right away-"

"Notes? You made notes while watching TV and painting your nails?" I'm good at multi-tasking. It's all about time management.

Is that smoke coming from my balcony? I narrow my eyes at the open sliding doors. "If you're done, I'm going to go handle some stuff."

"Like what? Finish Life With The Walter Boys?" She rolls her eyes.

"I just finished. I'm not surprised, just disappointed." That's definitely smoke. "Look, gotta go. Keep working on your stage presence."

"Am I running for school president or auditioning to be a kpop idol." I push myself up from the bed, setting aside the nail polish and picking up the laptop as I go.

"You'll only make it in this industry by laying down strategic performances." I tell her, ready to log off this Zoom and check out the whereabouts of this smoke. "Goodbye." I hit the end call button and make my way to my balcony.

Are my eyes deceiving me? So my house isn't about to burn to the ground, thankfully. But why in the hell is Giovanni on the adjacent balcony of the guest room? He takes a drag of the cigarette between his lips once more. "Are you kidding me?" I must've caught him off guard because he hunches over into a coughing fit.

"Did you sneak up my balcony?" He's in my house why? I eye the cigarette and he cautiously fans the smoke away, hiding the evidence behind his back as though I haven't already witnessed everything.