Page 11 of Grave Secrets

They all get up and go to the adjoining door. Mere seconds after it shuts and I am alone, stacking chairs, Chris comes stomping into the room. “Where the fuck is he?” Chris demands. His pupils are huge, and he smells like beer. He’s drunk, but is he actually on drugs right now?

“You need to get the fuck out of this building,” I snap. “Are you trying to get someone to call the cops on you?”

“I know you are cheating on me, bitch. Where the fuck is he?” Chris growls, stepping toward me. I see both Archer and Viktor at the door now watching, and I am fucking terrified for what might happen.

“Chris, I need you to go. Okay? I know you are upset. I am not saying we can’t talk, but if you come in here doing this, I could lose my job,” I say gently.

“Fine,” he snaps. When he turns, he stops and stares at Archer and Viktor. When he turns back to me, he looks even angrier. “Who are they?”

“They are clients here, and you stomping through the damn building drew attention,” I say.

“Are they your clients?” he asks.

“No,” I lie. “Please go.”

“Fine,” he repeats, only this time he grabs my face and gives me a wet kiss. “I won’t be home tonight. Don’t wait up,” he says before turning and walking out.

I snatch up my notebook and go to my office. I am so fucking angry right now. It feels like my world is caving in, and I’m not strong enough to hold it all together. I abruptly sling my notebook across my office and shout, “Goddamn it!”

“Whoa there, Miss Mellow,” Archer says, grabbing me so that I have to face him.

“Go on and I’ll…”

“Shut up,” Archer says bluntly. “Stop trying to be everything for everyone else for a second. Who was that?”

“My boyfriend,” I say quietly.

“Why was he screaming at you?”

“He thinks I am cheating on him with a client,” I explain. “He’s pissed that I am alone with Viktor almost every day.”

“So he came up here drunk and drugged out to what, say hello?” Archer asks. “Ada, honey. Do I look like an idiot?”

“Please, just drop it. I just need a second. I will handle him this weekend, and that won’t happen again,” I say. “Can you go dismiss the group, please?”

“Yeah,” he sighs. “I’m telling Andre, though.”

“Rat,” I mutter. He smiles and walks out. I ignore Viktor staring at me and sit at my desk. I prop my elbows up and bury my face in my hands to breathe for a second.

“Ada,” Viktor says after a few minutes.

“What?” I ask with a sigh.

“Can you come sit with me?” Viktor asks.

“Sure,” I say, forcing myself up. I go over and sit on the loveseat, but this time he sits with me, rather than in the armchair.

“Turn around here and give me your legs,” he says.

“What?” I ask, slipping my shoes off and turning my body. He scoops my legs up to lay across his lap, and I am suddenly hyper aware of how attracted to him I am. When he starts rubbing my foot, I groan and lay my head back. “I don’t think this is appropriate for a therapist and her patient,” I mutter.

“Do you want me to stop?”

“No,” I laugh.

“Tell me the truth about Chris,” he says. “The alternative is I go talk to him myself.”

“There’s not much to say. He is a manipulative narcissist who is convinced that I am cheating on him,” I say.