by Mia Ford
Her blonde curls were still damp when she stepped out of the room and into the kitchen. She was surprised to find Leon sitting at the table, black rimmed glasses on his eyes and a pen suspended in the air.
“What are you doing?” She blurted out.
He had a thick stack of papers before him on the table, and a long register open where he was trying to either make notes, or calculate something.
He looked up at her, over the lenses of his spectacles. Suddenly, he looked much older, wiser and even more serious if he possibly could.
“Trying to do my accounts. I’ve never been too good at it.” He said.
Ivy crossed her arms and leaned on the door frame, with a sarcastic smile on her face. She hadn’t ever thought that Leon Cooper might ever admit to a shortcoming.
“You look mighty lost alright.” She said, the smile growing wider.
Leon pulled the glasses off his face and folded them on the table, looking at her with those chocolate brown eyes that she had grown to become so fond of.
“Do you want to help me? Or are you just going to stand there and make fun of me?” He asked, raising a mischievous eyebrow at her.
Ivy pursed her lips, enjoying this other new side of him.
“How long have you been sitting there? Secretly waiting for me to come out of my room, cowboy?” She asked, walking in his direction now.
He finally smiled. That same warm wide smile that always took her by surprise. It was strange to think that he was probably at least half a decade older than her, or maybe even more. In that instance, she felt more authoritative and wiser than him. He wasn’t trying to pretend that he knew more than her.
“Since eight o clock.” He said and Ivy burst out laughing.
She pulled out a chair at the table and sat down across from him.
She noticed the handsome plaid shirt he was wearing, the dampness of his sandy blonde hair, his clean-shaven jaw. He too had just taken a shower.
“You’re not working out on the ranch today?” She asked, absent-mindedly pulling the stack of papers towards her. They had never had such a normal, regular conversation before and Ivy was lost in enjoying the simplicity of it. Neither were they at each others throats, or trying to rip the clothes off each other.
“I have to get this done.” He said, running his fingers through his damp hair. Just watching him do that filled her with a sudden warmth. Just a small regular gesture, but it made him a bit more human.
She nodded her head, running her eyes over the papers in front of her.
“Now, I’m no accountant, but I took a few classes in college, just to study the business side of farming.” She said, looking up at him again.
“Give it your best shot, because mine looks like that.” Leon said, pointing at the stack of papers with a grin on his face. Ivy grinned back at him.
“Well, I can begin with arranging this in the right order first, and then we can take it from there. Do you have a record of all your business receipts? Bank transfers? The forms that need to be filled up?” She asked, crossing her legs and turning to him with a serious, business-like expression.
Leon stood up from his chair and nodded his head.
“I think so. I’ll go look for them, and pile them up there in a box or something.” He said.
“This could take a while, Leon.” Ivy said, stopping him as he made his way out of the kitchen.
“I don’t expect you to do much. Just help me out with what you can, and then I’ll hire an accountant for the rest of it.” He said, their eyes meeting again. Ivy blushed, because she couldn’t stop thinking about how nice this was. How normal this felt.
“Sure. What did you do before this? With your money, I mean.” She said, genuinely wondering how a billionaire cowboy managed all his funds.
Leon shrugged his shoulders.
“My father did it. I just worked our farms and ranch in Minnesota. When he died, I bought this place. I’ve never looked into the business side of things. This is all new to me.” He said frankly, and Ivy smiled again. Suddenly he looked like a much younger version of himself, lost and confused.
“You’ll get the hang of it soon, it’s not that hard.” She said and he nodded, before disappearing out of the room.
She sighed as she looked at the papers again.
She had lied, it wasn’t that easy and all of the paperwork looked like at least ten days’ worth of work.
But after the next day it wasn’t going to be her problem anymore. Once her father picked her up, she could forget about the ranch, Leon Cooper and his accounts. For now, she was planning on enjoying working with him, in a few hours it would be night again and then the dawn of a new day.
She bit down on her lips as she thought about that moment when he had walked into her father’s pub. She could still remember how she had felt by just looking at him. He still made her feel that way, but the wise thing to do would be to just train herself to forget about it.
“You really do need to get an accountant!” Ivy said, widening her eyes at Leon who was sitting across from her at the table. The glasses were back on his face and he had a pencil stuck behind his ear.
He looked up at her, again from on top of his glasses and gave a smirk.
“Tell me about it.” He said.
Ivy licked her lips. They had been at it for several hours now and she had lost track of time. They both had a pile of papers in front of them each, trying to sort through all the business transactions that she could account for. She had managed to arrange a few things for the filing forms, but the rest of it was going to take ages. And she had been very careful till now to not make any comments on how much money this man actually had.
He sure didn’t dress that way. Leon Cooper’s arrogance wasn’t a moneyed sophisticated one, it was more masculine and brooding. If she didn’t know anything about him, where he lived, how luxurious this mansion was…she would never have guessed that he was a billionaire.
“Thank you, Ivy. For doing this.” He said suddenly, interrupting her thoughts. She looked up at him and their eyes met again. They had shared a good few peaceful working hours, putting their disputes and their worries behind them. She felt comfortable in his presence, like she could be herself, like he appreciated the work she was putting into all this.
“You’re welcome. See, I am good for more than just cooking meals.” Ivy said with a laugh.
“Of course you are. Which is why I’m glad you have a new job. A different one. I would be very guilty keeping you here, cooped up in my ranch, doing the dishes.” He said, placing the papers in his hands on the table.
Ivy flicked the curls on her face to the side and licked her lips again.
“That’s what daddy keeps telling me too. But what about what I want?” She asked, daring to meet his sparkling eyes.
“What do you want?” He asked, softly.
“I want to stay in this town. This is my home. This is where I feel closest to my mother. And I don’t want to work in a big fancy corporate office. That wouldn’t make me happy.” Ivy said, and stood up from her chair. She could sense that Leon was following her with his eyes.
“But there’s nothing for you here. For a beautiful smart young woman like you.” She heard him say, and Ivy whipped around to face him again.
“See, that’s what daddy keeps telling me as well. But nobody gives me the opportunity. He doesn’t let me help him run his business. I’m good at accounts, I’m good with customers. I’ll be good at managing a business. But he won’t let me. He thinks I’m meant for greatness, but what if I just want to be great here. In our town. In my home.” Ivy had worked herself up with the speech. She could feel her neck flushing, her cheeks growing red.
She could see that Leon’s eyes had travelled to her red-as-apples cheeks. His eyes softened, and he stood up as well.
“Well, I guess you have to just convince him.” He said, and there were several moments of silence between them.
“But I have a job now. Maybe in a
few years I can come back again, maybe then he’ll give me a shot again.” She said and turned to the kitchen sink. There were a few dishes in the sink, which she started cleaning.
“Leave those be, Ivy. I’ll do them later.” She heard him say, but she didn’t stop. She kept washing them.
“I need to get a dishwasher.” He said, and she smiled to herself. Then she sensed him walking close to her.
“Leave them Ivy. You don’t work for me anymore.” He said and his hands were on hers. She felt her skin tingle with his touch, as he tugged her hand away from the sink. He turned her gently to face him, and the smile on his face was gone.
“I wish you the best of luck in your life, Ivy.” He said, somberly. But he sounded like he meant it. Ivy’s hands were wet from the soapy water of the sink but he still held them tightly, keeping her facing him as they stood.
“You deserve the best in life. I don’t know you at all, but I know you’re a great girl. Someday you’ll make a man very happy.” He said, and slowly let her hands go.
Ivy gulped, licked her lips and stared back at him with heavy lids.
“And I wish you the best of luck too, Leon. I hope you get the woman you want, that she realizes what a fool she is by giving you up. And I hope that you both are happy together.” Ivy said, and she stepped away from him.
The peace and quiet of them working together was ruined again. She wished she hadn’t started cleaning the dishes.
“It doesn’t work that way.” He said, surprising her with his words. She hadn’t expected him to answer her statement. When she looked at him, he was running his fingers through his hair again.
“What do you mean by that?” She asked him, and he only stared at her blankly.
“What you said. About the woman I used to love, and having her back. It doesn’t work that way.” He replied, facing her now with saddened eyes.
“Leon.” Ivy whispered, her heart beating rapidly against her chest in the silence of the mansion. “Will you please tell me what happened? I’m leaving tomorrow, we’ll never see each other once I leave town. Just tell me what happened and get it off your chest.” She implored him, and he could see it in her eyes.
She watched as he licked his lips, took in a deep breath and then sat back down at the table again.
Ivy joined him at the table, sitting across from him, but said nothing more to urge him on. It was evident to her that he was the kind of man who spoke very little about his feelings. He disclosed nothing to anybody, so he needed to take his time.
They sat silently for some time, while Leon seemed to be arranging his thoughts.
“Her name is Vivian.” He began, and Ivy clenched her jaws. She didn’t realize how jealous it would make her feel, just to hear the name of the “other woman.”
“She was my daddy’s secretary’s daughter, so she grew up at our ranch. We used to play together as kids. She was a little older than me, by a few years, but we got along well.” He continued.
Leon wasn’t looking at her as he spoke, but Ivy kept her eyes trained on him. She wanted to see his every muscle move, she wanted to drink in the handsomeness as much as she could now. She wanted to burn his image in her brain so that she could remember it clearly later.
“As we grew up, grew into teenagers, I couldn’t help but fall madly in love with her. Vivian with her wild red hair, her green cat eyes…she was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. She was also one of the only girls I was friends with. That could have been the problem.” He said.
Ivy could feel the jealousy coursing through her veins now. She hadn’t expected him to describe the other woman in such great detail. She didn’t want to picture this beautiful Vivian, Leon as a teenager, chasing after her. She had to clench her fists on her lap to stop herself from saying something. She wanted to be a good listener to him.
“Anyway, she led me on.” He said, and quickly exchanged a look with her.
“How did she lead you on?” Ivy asked, finally breaking her silence.
“She knew I loved her. And she wanted my money, my daddy’s money. Even as a young sixteen year old, she knew that if she married me she would be able to make use of my inheritance.” He said, running his fingers through his hair again, out of nervousness.
“And how did she lead you on?” Ivy asked again, knowing fully well that her cheeks were burning up from jealousy now. But Leon didn’t seem to have noticed it.
“She used her body, how else?” He said, looking at her again. Ivy saw the rage in his eyes. He looked away, trying to control it.
“She knew I was young, foolish, a stupid fourteen year old. She gave her body to me and I made her a promise that I would marry her the day I turned twenty-one.” He continued.
“And did you?” Ivy asked, now her jealousy was bubbling up to her throat. She was afraid she was going to scream. So, this was why, Leon had reacted so terribly to her seduction! He thought she was using him too. That she was after his money.
“No, she married my cousin instead.” He said flatly.
Ivy’s mouth fell open.
“She married your cousin?” She asked, her hands flying to her mouth.
“It was a family business. My daddy’s brother owned it jointly, and he had an only son. My cousin, Michael. Michael was older than me, older than Vivian and she seduced him too. They were married on my twenty-first birthday. She did it to spite me.” His voice was shaking now as he spoke. Ivy gulped, her brows were crossed. She could see the pain and rage in his eyes. He was forcing himself to talk about it.
“So, what did you do?” She asked softly.
“I tried to forget her. What else could I do? She lived with Michael, in our joint house, while I worked on the ranch every day. Trying to forget my feelings for her. How she had betrayed me.” He said, and banged his fists on the table.
Ivy didn’t know what to say any more. She didn’t know what to ask him. What could she possibly ask him now? She could see how he was feeling.
“I did ask her, why she couldn’t wait a day and marry me instead.” He said, in a much softer voice. He was still struggling with his emotions. Ivy held her breath for the answer. A part of her didn’t want to know any more. She didn’t want to know how much he was hurting. How she had mis-judged him.
“She said that Michael made her feel good. He was a man, while I was just a boy. She had a smile on her face when she said that.” Leon said. Just as Ivy gasped, he picked a plate up from the table and flung it to the floor. It crashed and broke into a million pieces and Ivy jumped off the chair.
“She’s a bitch, Leon. She lied. She never loved you.” Ivy was saying, the words were tumbling out of her. But Leon had lost control of his senses now.
He too jumped off his chair and was rushing towards the kitchen door.
“Leon! She was a liar!” Ivy screamed after him, but he was gone.
She didn’t know what to do but remain standing where she was, looking after him. The front door opened and closed and she knew he was gone, out of the house and to his horses. She needed to give him his space, the time he needed to recover. But it was approaching night again, and the next morning her father would be there.
She wanted to talk to Leon some more. Explain to him that Vivian had purposely manipulated the family, that he had to forget about her and move on. But how could she when all he did was push her away?
Ivy didn’t see Leon till the next morning again. She was giving him the space she thought he needed.
But she was awake at the crack of dawn the next morning, showered and packed and ready to go. She had finally replied to her father’s text messages to tell him that she was expecting him. He had told her that he would arrive by mid-day to pick her up.
She could hear Leon walking around the house, and when she stepped out she found him in the kitchen again. He hadn’t changed, or showered and wasn’t looking fresh like he did the previous day. He had clearly had a rough night.
But he couldn’t stop himself from looking at
her. At the polka dotted vintage style yellow dress she was wearing. He had noticed the yellow ribbon she had tied to the top of her head, his eyes had glittered when he took in the sight of the golden tight ringlets adorning her head like a crown.
Ivy had taken care to present herself well. She wanted him to remember her like this, to remember her the way she did when she looked her best.
“Good morning, Ivy. I hope you slept well.” She heard him say.
She could smell eggs being fried, and melting buttered toast. She realized she hadn’t eaten in a long time and her stomach was rumbling.
“Good morning, Leon.” She said, walking into the kitchen.
“Take a seat. I’ve made us breakfast. I wanted to give you a good send off.” He said, looking tired and ill rested.
Ivy took one of the chairs at the dining table and waited for him to join her. The sun was just rising and it filled the kitchen with a golden orange hue, in which Leon’s dark brown eyes shone, and caught the brilliance of his sandy blonde hair. She could still feel the texture of his hair on her fingertips, when she had run her hands through them, when he was kissing her neck.
She felt her belly twitch, and she couldn’t be certain if it was because she was hungry, or because of how handsome he looked.
Leon placed a plate of fried eggs, toast and sausages in front of her, and did the same for himself. When he settled into a chair in front of her, he cleared his throat, finally meeting her eyes.
“I wanted to apologize for my behavior last evening. I know you were just trying to be friendly.” He said.
Ivy stared at the food in front of her, suddenly she wasn’t hungry any more. The realization had struck her like a rock slapping her on her face, she was going to leave this place soon. She was going to miss him. She was going to miss her need for him.