Chapter 54

Cami

I woke up alone in Xander’s bed a little after ten. He’d woken me up to let me know he was leaving for practice earlier that morning and that he’d be back around two. As for me, it was Saturday. While I saw patients two Saturdays a month, this wasn’t one of those days.

When my phone vibrated, I grabbed it, only to find that I already had several messages. Most were from Bentley, so I decided to call her rather than texting about everything that had happened.

Bentley answered on the second ring. “Hello.”

Since she sounded distracted, I figured she hadn’t looked to see who was calling. “Hi, it’s me.”

“What the hell happened last night?” She stopped me before I could answer. “That’s a dumb question. I’ve seen the videos and talked to Madi. I’m just confused about why Mitch was even there. You haven’t heard from him in weeks, and I know you’d tell me if you were talking to him.”

“To be honest, I’m not sure what’s going on.” I was still lying in Xander’s bed, staring up at the ceiling. “Mitch just showed up at my office. He was acting strange, like we’re suddenly going to get back together.”

“Maybe he thinks that with Xander out of town, you’ll be available again.”

“Mitch said something like that.” I decided it would be best to clarify what he’d said. “He actually said Xander would cheat on me while he’s on tour and I should just leave him now, or something to that effect.”

“That could be why he’s suddenly trying to win you over again.” She sounded thoughtful.

“I don’t know what his reasons are, but I’m seriously pissed. He made it sound like I’m somehow leading him on. This whole mess might have been forgotten faster if Xander hadn’t lost his shit online.” A frustrated sigh accompanied the last.

“I don’t blame Xander for losing it,” she remarked thoughtfully. “This should all blow over, but maybe not soon.”

“Why don’t you think it will blow over soon? The public attention shouldn’t last long since there isn’t much of a story, just an argument between me and an ex who can’t take the hint.”

“An ex who did an interview this morning for a tabloid,” Bentley added.

“When did you find out about that?”

“I just got an email from Madi,” she replied. “I guess the magazine is looking for a response from Xander. Don’t be surprised if they contact you.”

I groaned and threw an arm over my eyes. “Damn Mitch. Why is he doing this? He hates this sort of drama, and it won’t be good for his career. He also can’t possibly think I’d get back together with him after he pulled this.”

Bentley hesitated before responding. “You aren’t going to like my guess.”

“Tell me anyway,” I prompted her.

“He’s doing it to hurt you,” she replied. “You didn’t give him what he wanted, and he may even feel you made him look bad. Now, he wants to get even with you by causing Xander problems and messing with your practice.”

Which reminded me of another matter I needed to handle. “I need to call Marcia and let her know what happened. Thank God neither of us has patients today. We’ve got time to figure out if this mess is going to be a problem.”

I still didn’t know how this would affect my patients, but I suspected it would all depend on whether the media jumped on the story. Since at least one tabloid was already looking for interviews, it didn’t look good. Of course, they might realize the story wasn’t worth pursuing.

“I’ll let you go,” Bentley told me. “How about if we meet for drinks later? At Mercy’s place, so you can complain without risk of having anyone harass you about this mess.”

“That sounds great. I’m sure by then I’ll need a drink or twelve.”

“Twelve?” she asked.

“Fine, six drinks.”

Bentley laughed at my joke. “No more than three for you, lightweight. I’ll pick you up so you don’t have to worry about driving. Scratch that. I’ll talk Delaney into being the designated driver, and she can pick us both up.”

“It’s a date,” I told her. “Are you sure Mercy won’t mind having us over?”

“Nah,” she replied. “It was Mercy’s idea.”

“All right,” I replied. “I’ll see you later. Oh, I’m hiding at Xan’s, so pick me up here.”

“Got it,” she replied.

After I ended the call, I considered making coffee before calling Marcia, but that was mostly because I dreaded telling her about the mess. Marcia was twenty years my senior and had been one of my professors in college. After graduation, she’d offered me a chance to be her partner in her private practice. Not only did I like and respect her, it was also an incredible opportunity for someone my age. I was a partner in a successful practice at thirty-two.

Marcia answered on the first ring. “I was just about to call you. What happened last night? I already know there’s more to this story than meets the eye.”

I was surprised she’d heard anything since Marcia wasn’t big on celebrity gossip. “How did you hear so soon?”

“The parents of two of my patients called to see if I expected this kind of drama in the future,” she explained. “After I listened to those voicemail messages, I did a little digging to see what they were talking about. I figured it was about the incident on the stairs. There was a newspaper article about it a few days ago. So, tell me about the incident with your ex-boyfriend.”

“It looks worse than it is.” I gave her a quick rundown of what had happened with Mitch. “So far, I haven’t received any calls from my patients, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I do.”

Marcia was quiet for a short time as she considered what I’d said. “This shouldn’t be a big problem, but we may want to move your appointments to my office space in Fremont for the time being.”

“Some may not be able to travel out there for appointments,” I pointed out.

“If they still want to meet in the Pleasanton office, then that’s their choice,” she replied. “It should only be a short-term change. There’s nothing to this story, regardless of what your ex-boyfriend says.”

“You’re right.” I let out a sigh of relief. Having Marcia tell me things were going to be okay made me feel much better.

“I want you prepared for the fact that you may lose patients over this.”

Her words hung between us for several beats. My chest tightened at the thought of losing any of my patients over what had happened. I could understand why parents might not want to risk having their children’s problems exposed to the public. Even if this blew over, I was dating Xander Marsh, and my life would change because of that.

“I understand.” My voice was as upbeat as I could manage, but Marcia picked up on my worry.

“It’s not going to be the end of your career. There are plenty of high-profile therapists who still have successful careers. Everything is going to be fine.”

“Thanks, Marcia. I really needed to hear that from you.”

“Any time.” I heard the smile in her voice. “Now, I’m going to return the calls from my patients, and I’m sure you have calls of your own to make.”

“Right,” I agreed. “I’ll touch base with you later to let you know how things go.”

After getting off the phone with Marcia, I made myself some coffee and started the very unpleasant task of calling my patients, cursing Mitch’s name between each call. Marcia was right about how my relationship with Xander could affect my practice, but that didn’t change the fact that Mitch was the cause of my current problems.