Going Up | ✓

Confrontations - (9)

Confrontations.

I'm woken the next morning by my phone ringing loudly and I groan, my hand searching in the dark to answer it.

I don't even look at the caller ID before I answer. 'Hello?' I murmur groggily into the phone.

'Poppy.' His voice is unmistakeable and he doesn't sound pleased either.

Yawning, I sit up in bed and run a hand through my hair. 'Hello, Ivan,' I exhale, trying to rid myself of the bitter feeling that it's taken him forever to call me back.

'Did I wake you up?' Despite his blatant black mood, there's still a tinge of amusement in his voice. 'I thought you would be awake by now.'

'No, it's fine,' I shake my head. 'I'm fine. Why are you calling me at this ridiculous hour?'

Ivan chuckles lightly. 'I wouldn't call ten o'clock a ridiculous hour, Poppy.'

I freeze. 'What?' I gasp, my gaze landing on my alarm clock by my bed, which indeed reads 10:03. 'I had no idea it was this late!'

I was supposed to be picking Oliver up from my parents' house, where he stayed last night, and spending the day with him.

'Right, well now that you're awake, I need to talk to you, so if you could come to my apartment once you've had breakfast and got dressed, that would be great,' he says in the same tone I'd imagine him using when he's in a business meeting.

I scowl. 'I'm actually busy, Ivan, I have something to do.'

'What, like staying in bed all day?' he snaps suddenly. 'Why is it that you always have something else to do?'

I groan, running a hand across my face. 'Look, I'm going to make a phone call and then I will get back to you about coming to yours,' I compromise.

There's a pause, before he finally sighs. 'Okay,' he agrees. 'But you need to call me back as soon as possible, Poppy, I don't have all the time in the world.'

I swallow a sharp retort. 'Okay, just give me a few minutes then,' I say, hanging up and letting out a loud groan when I notice that I have a text from my mom asking where I am.

I immediately dial her number and she answers her phone fairly promptly. 'Hey, mom, I'm sorry I didn't text you earlier, I overslept and have only just woken up.'

She laughs lightly. 'It's okay, I know that you're tired and that getting up early because of Oliver must be exhausting.'

I groan. 'Don't tell me he woke you up really early this morning.'

'Oh, no,' she denies. 'Only seven o'clock.'

I laugh. 'I'm so sorry. Anyways, I was wondering if you could do me the biggest favour in the world and keep Oliver for a little longer?'

There's a pause. 'Is your billionaire back in town?' she asks, her voice not giving anything away.

I sigh in embarrassment. 'His name's Ivan, mom, and yes he is. I just need to see him about a couple of things and then I promise I'll be back to take Oliver out for lunch somewhere nice, I promise. I'm going to spend the rest of the day with him.'

'You're being really hard on yourself, you know. I know that you've dropped everything in the last couple of years for Oliver, but you are allowed to go out and have fun. You still have your own life to lead as well as his. Have fun with Ivan, and I'll see you soon,' she says warmly, reminding me exactly why I love her so much.

'Thank you so much, mom,' I smile gratefully, pushing the covers back and wincing at the cold air that I'm immediately hit with. 'I'll see you soon.'