You couldn’t really ask, “What’s so wrong with a forty-year-old man, anyway?”
If Ivy found out Jamison was actually Dr. Handsome, she’d go nuclear for sure.
So what else could they possibly talk about?
Oh, right! She still owed him a favor.
With that in mind, Jamison said, with total confidence, “Have you forgotten that you still owe me one?”
Ivy remembered, of course. She just hadn’t expected him to call in the middle of the night just to collect.
Seriously, what was his deal?
“I haven’t forgotten,” she replied, “but I can’t really go out these days.”
Jamison sounded genuinely surprised. “Are you sick again?”
“Oh, so you just sit around hoping I’ll get sick? What do you get out of that? Are you trying to help the hospital’s bottom line?” Ivy fired back three sharp questions in a row.
He went silent for a moment, then asked, “Then what is it? Did you get hurt again?”
Ivy rolled her eyes so hard she was sure he could feel it through the phone. “Mr. Ludwig, did you really call me up at this hour just to get yelled at?”
Honestly, if he wasn’t so well-connected, someone would have punched him in the face for less.
“I’m just checking in. Basic human decency, you know.”
“No need, thanks.”
“Then when do you plan on returning the favor?” Jamison circled back, relentless.
“How do you want me to pay you back?” Ivy’s tone was sharp; if it were up to her, she’d settle it right now and never owe him a thing again.
That stumped Jamison for a second. Truth was, he’d called on impulse and hadn’t actually thought this through.
Luckily, he recovered quickly. Suddenly, he remembered his hopelessly clueless nephew.
“So– Micah and Emma aren’t doing so well these days. Apparently, it’s because Micah still has feelings for you, and Emma really minds.”
“And what does that have to do with me?” Ivy shot back. “I can’t be responsible for every man who’s ever had a crush on me.”
“At the very least, you should make it clear to Micah that there’s nothing between you. Let him move on.”
“I already have. He’s the one who can’t let go.”
“Really? Because as far as I know, you accepted his money not long ago,” Jamison pressed, thinking back to the house sale he’d witnessed himself.
Ivy gave a cold, elegant laugh. “Didn’t your dear nephew tell you? I paid him back ages ago.”
“You did?” For the first time, Jamison’s calm façade faltered.
This whole phone call had put him completely on the back foot. He’d lost every inch of ground.
“Mr. Ludwig, if you want to pick a fight, at least find a decent reason. If you want me to pay back the favor, just say so. Don’t go pinning things on me that aren’t true.”
“Pinning things on you?” Jamison wasn’t about to admit he’d called just to pick a fight. He tried to sound righteous. “Micah and Emma were perfectly fine, even talking about marriage, before you came back. Now they’re arguing constantly. Emma got pregnant, then lost the baby– don’t you think you had anything to do with that?”
“Your nephew being a jerk isn’t my fault. As for the miscarriage, maybe it just wasn’t meant to be,” Ivy snapped back without missing a beat.
Micah was a jerk, and Jamison knew it.
So when Ivy hit back, he couldn’t even defend himself.
“Regardless, you should still talk to him and make things clear.” Jamison’s voice was defensive, almost desperate, clinging to whatever ground he could salvage.
Ivy bit her tongue to keep from cursing him out, took a deep breath, then asked, “So if I talk to him and spell things out, we’re even?”
“Yes.”
“Great, I’ll call him right now,” Ivy agreed instantly, her tone edged with challenge. “Anything else?”
Jamison matched her icy tone. “No. What else could there possibly be between us?”
She let out a cold, exasperated laugh, finally venting her long-held annoyance.
“Mr. Ludwig, is it true what they say about doctors not being able to heal themselves? With all your expertise, have you really never noticed there’s something wrong with your own head?”