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“God no!” Holly punches her steering wheel. “That would be way over the line.”
“Surely, we’ve moved a little beyond ethical concerns by this point, Holl?”
She isn’t sure if he’s implying that her ethics have been questionable all along or that it’s too late to worry about them now. “OK, forget about ethics, Aaron. Practically speaking, it could make everything so much worse if you were to go see her.”
“Don’t take this wrong, Holl, but how could things get much worse?”
“Elaine would know I betrayed her confidentiality. Or worse, she could legitimately accuse me of trying to intimidate her into silence. The optics are beyond horrible.”
Aaron’s sigh reverberates through the speakers. “Then you need to lawyer up. Immediately.”
“What can an attorney do at this point?”
“He can send a cease-and-desist letter. Let her know just how much she would be risking by libeling you. How it could ruin her financially and destroy her reputation. After all, who would take her seriously as an advocate after crying wolf like that?”
Holly knows he’s right. She has already thought about talking to a lawyer. For a fleeting moment, she even considered reaching out to Reese, wondering if her preexisting relationship with Elaine might be advantageous. But Holly dismisses the thought as desperate and wildly inappropriate. Still, even though she’s convinced she didn’t cross any professional lines with Elaine, the thought of muzzling her vulnerable and hurting client through a lawyer makes Holly feel slimy. Like one of those weasels before #MeToo who used NDAs and other legal threats to silence their victims.
“I know just the guy,” Aaron goes on. “I’ll reach out to him. He’ll straighten it out.”
Holly ignores the slight doubt in his voice, focusing instead on her gratitude. Despite her ambivalence about their marriage and the gravitational life forces that have been pulling them apart for years, her husband is always there when she needs him most. “Thank you, Aaron. You have no idea…” Only the lump in her throat stops her from adding, “I love you.”
After Holly disconnects, she spots the signs for the turnoff to Dana Point and decides to drop in on her grandfather again. She parks in front of the house and lets herself inside, where she finds Walter in the kitchen, boiling water for his afternoon tea.
“Hello, Koala,” he says with a big smile.
“It’s all gone to crap, Papa,” she says as she plops down on a chair at the kitchen table. She hugs her knees to her chest, like she did when she was a teenager, as she pukes out the story of her confrontation with Elaine.
Walter doesn’t comment. Instead, he turns to the cupboard and pulls down another mug. He opens a packet and dissolves it in hot water before placing it in front of her. The hot chocolate is too sweet and far too processed for her taste. But it reminds her of childhood, which is exactly what she needs right now. “I’m sorry, Papa,” she murmurs into her cup.
He sits down across from her. “For what, my darling?”
“The harm I might’ve done. To the whole psychedelic therapy movement.”
Walter dismisses it with a small wave. “This isn’t your fault, Koala.”
And Holly knows she has come to the right place. “The waiting is the worst. Like being trapped in a glass house with a hurricane barreling down on you.”
He chuckles. “Someone’s got a flair for the dramatic.”
“You know how these things go.”
“You didn’t do anything inappropriate. Frankly, the whole thing is ludicrous.”
“Doesn’t matter. My client is a professional victims’ advocate. She knows how to make a splash.”
“With such a flimsy allegation?”
“Once it gets out, it will be impossible to stuff that genie back into the bottle. Even if the allegations are discredited, the damage will be done. My practice—what’s left of it, anyway—will never be the same.”
“About the MDMA, Holly. You protected yourself, right? Your clients procured their own medicine and signed waivers?”
“Of course.”
“This client, she hasn’t spoken out yet, has she?”
Holly shakes her head.
“Maybe she’s having second thoughts?”
