“You have a lot of explaining to do.” Dr. Aubrey Prentice was staring down Ian Henshaw III in her office.
Ian sat forward in his chair and looked down at the ground.
“About what?” he said, agitated.
“Let’s start by going to an abandoned house and fighting your brother. You’re lucky he didn’t kill you. Or worse, you could have killed him. You went directly the opposite way of what I recommended. Do you realize what you’ve done? You have undone all the progress we have made. Or was this all just an act?”
“I wasn’t acting. Sometimes a man has to settle things for himself. This was one of those times. It doesn’t have anything to do with these sessions.”
Dr. Prentice crossed her arms. She wasn’t finished. “He could press charges.”
“He won’t. That would make him look like a real pussy.”
“Really? I feel like you’re the same man who came in here for his first session. Have we made any progress? Tell me, Ian, you owe me that much.”
“Let’s see...” Ian was pondering. “You helped me get rid of my wife, gain the respect of the men who work under me, provided closure with my brother, and got my grandfather to promote me to run the company. I’d say we’ve made some progress.”
“Stop acting like this, Ian.” Dr. Prentice was getting upset. “Where is this coming from. I know you. You are better than this. Unless you really were pretending this whole time.”
Ian inhaled a deep breath. “I told you, I’m not pretending. I wanted to get your attention. Hasn’t a real man ever done something bad to impress you? To make you want him, Aubrey?”
“That’s enough, and call me Dr. Prentice. We’re not at the Orchard Park Country Club. A place where, by the way, you have garnered quite a bit of attention. Is that what you were looking for?”
“Sort of. Yes. All I know is Trent won’t be showing his face around there anytime soon. A fact that pleases my grandfather.”
“What about his children? His wife? Did you think about them when you beat up their father?”
“Trent started it.”
“That’s all you have to say? You men are all alike. Animals, every one of you. And what about me? Everyone knows you are my patient. How does that reflect on me?”
“It’s funny you should mention that,” Ian said. “I’m not the only one people are talking about around town. They’re also talking about your husband and what he’s been up to. So I’m not the only food for gossip at the Orchard Park Country Club.”
Dr. Prentice almost lost her temper. “I am not the subject of your therapy, Ian. You’re crossing a line.”
But secretly, this conversation was Aubrey’s fantasy coming true. But fantasy was one thing. The reality of it was hitting too close to home. Did he feel the chemistry between them? Was he going to make a move?
“I apologize, Dr. Prentice. “I imagined this meeting going very differently.”
“How so?” The blush that had crept up her neck was subsiding. The shock had worn off. She was once again in charge of her feelings.
“I thought you’d be pleased. My therapy is complete. I resolved all my issues. All thanks to you. In fact, I thought this would be my last session. That you would give me a clean bill of health.”
“Oh, I see.” She didn’t know Ian was coming in to say goodbye. She had hoped the recent events would have him in therapy for several more months. His leaving was coming too fast. Aubrey needed more time to sort out her feelings for him.
But this was it.
This was the time.
Ian was right. Her marriage was falling apart, and everyone knew it.
No one could blame her for finding comfort in Ian’s arms. Her husband was a creep.
What could she say to let Ian know how she felt? How intense it was to see him fighting, and winning, taking over a company, and kicking a whore to the curb.
But it was Ian who had to end this doctor-client relationship so she could be with him.
“So, am I still your patient, Dr. Prentice?”
She wished he would stop saying that. But she had to answer him.
“It looks like we’re through here, Ian. You gave me a whole new perspective on how men can resolve their issues. I am glad I could help.”
“I’m sorry it ended so unexpectedly. I wanted this to last forever, Dr. Prentice.”
“Me too,” Dr. Prentice said. “And you can call me Aubrey, now.”
“Thank you, Aubrey,” Ian said, relaxing for the first time since he came into the office. Can we still see each other, socially, I mean?”
“Sure.”
Not knowing what to say next, Aubrey flipped through Ian’s file. The air between them felt charged now that there was no doctor-client relationship. The invisible lines separating them were erased with a single sentence.
“Socially,” she repeated, testing the word. “That would mean coffee. Dinner. Normal things.”
Ian stood, adjusting his jacket, suddenly less the caged animal and more a man aware of his own size. “I’m very good at normal, even though it doesn’t look that way,” he said. “I have been known to behave in public.”
Aubrey laughed and smiled slightly. “We’ll see about that.”
They walked together to the door. Aubrey reached for the handle at the same moment Ian did. It was an awkward first contact, but neither one of them pulled away.
“For what it’s worth,” Ian said, “I never meant to put you in a difficult position.”
“I know,” she said. And she did. Ian was just being himself. Aubrey didn’t want to change that. Not in therapy. Not socially, either.
She opened the door. The reception office outside looked the same as it always had, but the way she felt about it had changed. Aubrey felt like an intruder in her own office. Like a predator that was capable of harming the people who came here for protection.
“I’ll call you,” Ian said.
Aubrey hesitated, then nodded. “I’d like that.”
For their first meeting outside the office, Aubrey made sure it was in a public place. A small Italian restaurant halfway between his office and her home. Early evening. Public. Aubrey chose a table near the window, listening to the other conversations to take her mind off the meeting with Ian.
Ian arrived on time. Of course he did.
“You look different,” he said as he sat down.
Aubrey had ditched her office clothes for a simple cotton dress.
“So do you,” she replied. Without the power imbalance of the office, Ian seemed younger, lighter. More relaxed.
They began with safe topics like food, travel, and a shared enjoyment of golf culture despite its uselessness. But gradually, inevitably, the conversation moved toward the truth, the real reason for their meeting.
“You don’t have to impress me anymore,” Aubrey said. “I like you. That’s why I’m here.”
Ian looked at her with a sparkle in his eye. “That’s the thing. But I want to impress you while I get to know you better.”
Now that they had set a tone for their meetings, they settled back into normal dinner conversation.
When Ian walked Aubrey to her car, the night was cool. Aubrey unlocked the door, then turned back to him. For a moment, neither spoke. Ian lifted a hand, stopped himself, then let it fall.
“Goodnight, Aubrey.”
“Goodnight, Ian.”
She got into the car without so much as a kiss. Her pulse was racing with the thrill of what could have happened, but it couldn’t. Not yet.
On their second date, Ian’s restraint was weakening.
They met at his apartment in Scarsdale. They made pleasant conversation without being flirty. No double entendres and no talk about relationships. He cooked. She teased him about it. Ian put on some soft music.
At some point, the conversation lagged. Aubrey observed how Ian looked at her when he thought she wasn’t paying attention. She also noticed how close he stood when he handed her a glass of wine.
“You’re staring,” she said.
“So are you.”
This time, when their hands touched, neither pretended it was accidental. They both held the wine glass. Neither one would let go.
“We should go slow,” Aubrey said, even as she stepped closer.
“I am,” he replied. “Tell me if you want me to stop.”
She didn’t answer with words. She set the wine glass on the table to surrender.
The kiss was surprisingly natural and pleasant. It wasn’t smoldering or passionate like Aubrey had fantasized about; it was on the sensual side without drifting too far into erotic.
It was perfectly pleasurable.
“This kiss changes things,” Aubrey said. “But I’m not spending the night. Not yet. I have some thinking to do.”
“Take your time,” Ian said. “I rushed into my last marriage and look at what happened there.”
“You got to meet me,” Aubrey said.
“Yes,” Ian smiled, “that was the one good thing that came out of that whole big mess.”
Aubrey pulled away from Ian. “I think we have a few more dates before we become intimate. Foster is out of my life now, but we haven’t talked about divorce yet. I’m sure that will come in time. How is it going with Hope?”
“It’s going fine,” Ian said. “I’ll give her whatever she wants, I don’t mind. And then she will be gone.”
“She doesn’t want the house in the divorce, I guess.” Aubrey was testing the waters of Ian’s sense of humor.
“No,” Ian laughed. “She doesn’t want the house, but I did give her the car, so she could get to work and back.”
“She got a job?”
“She went back to exotic dancing. I think she is happy there and I don’t wish her any harm.”
“I’m going home,” Aubrey said, “before I change my mind and stay.”
“I will be waiting for your call,” said Ian.
Aubrey gave him a quick kiss and left for home.
When she arrived, she noticed the lights were on. Foster must be at home.
He was staying at a furnished apartment; he came home for things as he needed them. Aubrey had managed to miss him, but not tonight. Aubrey thought about circling the block, but then thought better of it. This was her house too, for now, and she would have to face Foster sooner or later.
She went into the house through the garage; Foster’s car was parked there.
She opened the door and heard him upstairs, rummaging around.
“Foster, it’s Aubrey,” she called.
“I’m up here. I'll be down in a minute.
Aubrey got a bottle of water from the fridge and went to sit at the dining room table. In a few minutes, Foster came down the stairs with a piece of rolling luggage behind him. He looked good, and like he was in a good mood.
Being on his own must have done him some good.
“Hi, Aubrey,” he said. “I didn’t mean to run into you. Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay,” Aubrey said, and she meant it. She was glad to see Foster in good spirits. Maybe getting caught making sexual advances was the best thing to happen to him.
“I got what I needed,” he said. “So I’ll be going.”
“Good to see you Foster,” Aubrey said.
“You look good,” Foster said, and left.
Aubrey felt better about the decisions she had made lately and went into the living room to watch a movie.