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“Xander, are you ready?” A loud voice called from nearby.
“Who’s that?” I asked.
“A friend. Gotta go. I’ll watch the show online. Have fun. Talk to you later.” He hurried off the line, and I stared at the phone. I know he ended things with Paola, and they were friends. Was he rebounding already?
I couldn’t sleep, so I wrote a brief report for Professor Elan. I planned to send updates every week on the experience of the internship. A message was there from Doctor Casey.
Nadia,
I’m happy you agreed to work with me. There’s still much to be done, and we both want you healthy again. I want to know if you’re practicing your mindfulness during the times you feel panic. Know you’re not alone, and I’m here anytime you feel stuck.
Take care and talk to you soon or write me anytime,
Doctor Casey
I swallowed hard. The woman who had turned me down for surrogacy had become my biggest confidante. She’d also read me well. Back then, I lacked maturity and life experience. There was so much of myself I’d only begun to know and process. She called to listen, and that was what she did. Before I knew it, she had my confidence, and I appreciated her advice. I wrote back.
Doctor Casey,
I’m trying as you told me to do. Every day. I refocus on what I sense and feel in the moments I feel anxious. Recently, I had some rough spots, but I’ve got the internship to keep me busy. I’ll keep you updated.
Thank you,
Nadia
Before I closed the computer, I saw Paul’s name on an online news article. He had created a new scholarship for students at the New York Design School. I scanned over the requirements listed and read the quote from him: “I was inspired by someone dear to me who struggled financially. Most artists are forced to give up their dreams, and I want students to get a chance to live theirs.”
My chest warmed. It was something I’d wished to do in the future. I read on.
Paul Crane turned down Landon Styles’ settlement request in his steep, fifty-million-dollar lawsuit. Criminal filings are ongoing and have extended to the Department of Justice with the alleged human trafficking investigation of Mr. Styles’ Sugar Cookie dating service, which has since closed. Trevor Livingston’s lawyers state he had planned business in Cyprus, but did not disclose when he will return to the United States.
Ms. Isabelle Talbot, a former student at New York Design School, who was one of the party organizers that led to the incident with Ms. Sokol, has since fully cooperated with her lawyers on all proceedings.
Isabelle was trying to save her reputation. But what else did she know? Gunnar hadn’t shared anything yet, but that was probably because of Paul. He would want me to focus on my internship. However, I didn’t want to be kept in the dark. I texted Gunnar.
Nadia: Please keep me updated with the cases.
Surprisingly, he answered right away.
Gunnar: Aren’t you interning? Fine. You ask, I deliver.
I smiled at his message and was about to close my email when an alert came in about Paul. It was a photo of him in front of a gate…and he wasn’t alone. There was a willowy woman with a head full of blonde curls flowing over her narrow shoulders in a stylish, strapless mini dress and heeled boots standing close behind him.
Frolicking with Fraulein in Berlin: Heiress ex Ingrid Ludwig joins Brooding Billionaire Crane in steamy, late-night sessions. How the wealthy switch partners so quickly. Despite his amorous announcements about wanting to show “his Nadia” Rome, the talented pianist and composer seems to have traded up. That fizzled out as fast as expected.
Photo: Paul Crane with Ingrid Ludwig photographed outside his home studio in Berlin, Germany, at two a.m.
There was also a smaller photo next to it of Ingrid with Dani Crane, shopping together in Manhattan last year. It was hard to miss the exuberant smile on Paul’s mother’s face.
On the other hand, the press did get things wrong, and the tabloids in particular were always leaning toward sensationalism. Paul loves me….
Still, nagging thoughts filled my mind. How insatiable of a lover he was. How we started as a sexual agreement. Would he take someone else so soon? No. But she’s not just anyone, she’s one of his exes.
I scowled at her photo. Her focus was directed at him. Maybe she came to “comfort” him in his distress? I huffed and shut down the computer.
No matter what I read into it, the truth was Paul wasn’t alone. And I couldn’t shake that thought, even as I rose at dawn’s light.
My alarm beeped on the nightstand, and I sat up with a start. First official day at Givenchy. I wasn’t sure of what was to come. Only that I had to be ready for anything and everything.
