A harsh, over-the-top cackle burst from Monique. Heat from Kelly radiated at his elbow.
“Now we’re one of the most recognizable practices in the city, thanks to a little book you all know.”
Milly slouched in a chair on the far side of the deck. He had lost the battle but won a compromise. She wouldn’t sit at the table, but she was screenless.
“Everyone who has played a key role at Crossroads is here tonight.” Daniel raised his glass. “So I would like to toast Howard Jones, Crossroads Counseling, and the thousandth couple who came to us for help, but most importantly, I would like to raise a glass to all of you.”
The air thundered with cheers and the clinking of glasses. Kelly looked up at him with a smile, and in that moment of connection, Daniel was transported back to happier times, to the moment he came home and told her Howard wanted him, fresh out of grad school armed with his master’s in counseling. She had joked that being married to a counselor should mean they would never need therapy.
Anna stood as she dabbed away tears. “Thank you, Daniel. Your leadership is the backbone of our success. It’s more than the book. It’s also your integrity and strength of character.”
As she raised her glass again, Daniel felt the slightest twinge of discomfort. The faint whisper of a memory long buried.
Anna wasn’t finished. “I’d like to suggest a memento to remind us of tonight—something permanent. Maybe a group photo we could hang in our reception area to celebrate everyone who has helped us succeed?”
Daniel called Milly over. “Would you mind?”
Milly slunk over to the table and picked up Gramps’s camera.
The jostling started as chairs were pushed back and the group moved to the railing. Peter stood front and center of them, and Jade moved to hide at the back despite her lack of height. Spouses not on the frontlines of couple therapy shuffled to one side.
Anna directed traffic as she shoved Peter out of the way. “We need Daniel in the center.”
Kelly moved in next to Daniel. Monique barged past her to stand on his other side, and Daniel felt Kelly’s protective arm slide around his waist.
Peter clicked his fingers. “Anna, you were there in the beginning, so you need to be in the middle next to Daniel.” Monique stood her ground as Anna approached but then reluctantly ceded her turf. Anna squeezed in next to Daniel.
Kelly released her grip as Anna bunched in closer, and Daniel was sandwiched between the two women who had played such a big part in his life.
A fierce sunset radiated from the doors behind Milly. This would be a great photo; a fine recognition of everyone who played a role in the success of Crossroads Counseling.
With a chunky click and a blinding flash, Milly took the photo.
As the team moved away, Daniel stared into the warmth of the reflection and the one part of his life that was going well.
Peter leaned forward. “Um, we’re finished, you two.”
Embarrassed, Daniel stepped away from Anna, who shook her head as if shaking herself back to the present.
Seventeen
The steam rose from the dim sims as Daniel cut them with his fork. Above him red-and-yellow paper lanterns swung in the crisp, conditioned air, nudging dark-brown bamboo screens that flanked a large fish tank. A long, gray catch of the day glided back and forth for its final few minutes as it surveyed its likely predators. Today there were just two.
“It’s nice to be able to unload after last night.”
Anna placed her chopsticks on the steaming bowl in front of her. “You know how we promised we’d have each other’s back? I saw the tension between you and Kelly, and I’m sure you’re dealing with that, but I also saw what happened with Monique.”
With a loud sigh, Daniel laced his fingers behind his head. This was already a long day after a bad start, a morning rush under attack with visual daggers and staccato questions from Kelly, unaccepting of his explanations of innocence over what didn’t happen on the deck.
“What you do in your own life is up to you, Daniel. But when it becomes a work issue, I have to speak up. I want to talk to you as a friend as much as a colleague.”
Daniel lifted a whole dim sim into his mouth to give his thoughts some time to develop.
“I put my foot down with Monique and asked her to talk to someone about her issues. Isn’t that enough?”
Anna’s eyebrow ratcheted up. “You need to be clearer about where the boundary is.”
Daniel fought the urge to slam his chopsticks onto the table. “Nothing happened!”
“Come on. You know this better than I do. Monique has interpreted your lack of a no as a yes.”
Where there should have been more anger was instead relief at hearing it out loud. His eyes drifted to the fish tank. The fish swam back and forth, forth and back. “I’ll talk to her.”
“And if you need someone to talk to about your marriage issues—together or alone—I’m here for you.”
Daniel reached for another prawn cracker. “I’m not sure Kelly would come to Crossroads, let alone to see you.”
“I realize that, but I can also see how your credibility could be undercut if you’re seen visiting a marriage counselor. I thought you might like to keep it in-house.”
Daniel studied his business partner in admiration. She understood him.
Anna’s eyebrow raised. “I’ve known you for years, so I know you can’t help fixing things. Plus, you’re a guy.”
“Thanks for noticing.”
Anna smirked. “And a proud one at that. You realize marriage counselors aren’t immune from relationship problems? Maybe you need to take some time to talk things through.”
Time. A rare commodity. “I can’t take time off. I’m under pressure to finish this book, which will take a whole heap of pressure off. I need to put my head down and get through it. Taking a break now will just make it look like I can’t cope.”
Still Anna’s eyebrow stayed aloft. “Now you sound like the men who sit in my office. You might be a bestselling author and hotshot counselor, but you’re still a guy.”
Their laughs interlaced across the table, and Anna slurped up another noodle. “I’m excited to see that group photo. It just felt right to capture that moment when everyone who has contributed to our success was there.”
A short Chinese man with a food-smeared black apron wandered to their table. “Is everything to your satisfaction?”
Daniel patted a full stomach. “As always, Mr. Ming, your food is incredible. But we’ll take the check now.”
“Must be a working lunch today? No time for partners?” Their chef offered a saucy wink, laid the check on the table, and then, after a deep bow, continued his stroll around the empty tables in his restaurant.
Anna wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Interesting timing that a film processing shop opens just as you’re given that camera.”
“Just lucky, I guess.”
Anna leaned across the table. “I know you want to put the counseling to one side, but I had a chat with Milly last night.”
Daniel stopped pulling his wallet out of his trousers. “Did she say anything about what’s bothering her?”
“Yes.”
Thank goodness. “It’s school, isn’t it?”
“No, home. She told me a few things that she asked me not to share, but I’d be happy to talk with her further.”
Daniel’s nod grew with his relief. “I can’t get through to her, so anybody talking to Milly would be great.”
* * *
Simon’s comment bounced around Daniel’s head as he walked back to the car.
The dinner looked like it was the start of something special.
But it wasn’t Simon’s strange words that troubled Daniel. When he’d pressed Simon for an explanation for his intrusion, the evangelical zeal in his faraway eyes, the shine on his cheeks, and the broadness of his grin bothered him. It was bad enough Simon had charged him forty-four dollars this time, saying something about that
was the price to pay. Still, it wouldn’t ruin his day. He had a solution for Milly’s problems—Anna. Kelly would have to agree with that.
Daniel whistled on his way to the car. He tore the wax seal sticker and riffled through the photographs, his breath held for any nasty surprises.
There weren’t any. His staff enjoying the party, his own home, the celebration dinner on the deck . . . Daniel heaved a sigh of relief as he got into his car and threw the envelope onto the passenger seat before roaring off. He tapped the steering wheel, the haze in his mind clearing for the first time in a long while. Anna was right. Taking a moment to celebrate was important. He’d come a long way since Howard’s death.
A traffic light dropped into amber, and he pulled up to red. He reached for the envelope. Cameron had a supportive arm around Jade. Monique blew a kiss with a saucy wink at the camera.
Green light.
Daniel put down the envelope as he accelerated. He now had a defense for Monique’s behavior. He hadn’t taken her photo, so she was blowing a kiss to Peter—she was like that with everyone. She wasn’t zeroing in on him.
Amber slid to red. The next photos showed his staff on the deck, laughing in one another’s company, glasses raised and heads thrown back. But behind them was a figure, arms waving in the air. Daniel squinted. Milly stood on the railing, her arms outstretched as if ready to swan dive to the rocks two hundred feet below. A creeping horror swept over him. Milly’s cry for attention was unnoticed by everyone, including him. Again.
Daniel flicked to the next photograph. Kelly stared out the open front door into the night. Sure, she had stormed off the deck, but why would she allow Peter to take a photo like that?
Green light.
The residue of suspicion clung to him as he drove on. Why would Peter even want to take a photo of Kelly like that? It was like seeing Gramps’s photo album . . .
The haze swirled back across his thoughts. The photos in Gramps’s album were of people at the wrong moment, except that moment turned out to mean something. Gramps and his betting slip. Daniel and Kelly together but alone on the sofa. Milly in tears at her party.
So what did Kelly’s photo mean? He shook his head. Now he was wondering what all the photos meant.
Amber. Daniel slowed and stopped at red. His team sat around the table enthralled with his speech, drinking in his heartfelt thanks for being part of the success of Crossroads Counseling. But in the corner of one photo, just under his elbow, someone was not enthralled. Above folded arms, Kelly’s eyes rolled, boredom writ large on her face.
Green light.
Daniel fumed as he sped away. So much for a truce. He had tried, bringing up issues in the right way, fighting to keep his professional knowledge at bay, hard as it was.
Daniel slowed as he pulled up to another red light.
Two photos left. Kelly’s suitcase stood next to the front door. Balancing on it was a piece of paper emblazoned with the purple logo of that bank he’d never done business with. Daniel remembered welcoming people to his home, and her suitcase wasn’t there then. He closed his eyes and breathed hard. She needed to talk to someone, but she wanted to go to counseling only if she picked the professional, and he couldn’t afford for that to happen. He would just have to talk her into seeing Anna.
Daniel pulled the last photo from the envelope. The group photo, to be enlarged and hung proudly in the reception area at Crossroads. The oranges and reds of the sunset burned behind the group, on every face a sharp smile for the camera.
But one face wasn’t looking at the camera.
A sinking feeling built in the pit of his stomach. He stood next to his wife, but Anna was looking up at him, a glistening admiration in her eyes, a beaming smile on her lips.
But what he saw next stopped his heart.
He was holding hands.
With Anna.
What on earth was this? He had not done that; he was sure. Or had he, without knowing? His mind scrambled, whisked by doubt. Had he? He was sure he hadn’t!
Sweat beaded on his brow. He had promised to hang this photo at Crossroads, but there was no way he could allow that now.
His eyes drifted to the right-hand side of the photograph, past the entire group that Daniel had toasted for the success of Crossroads Counseling.
Another figure was in the photo.
Standing next to Peter was an old man, hair graying around his temples and flowing behind him, a hippie frozen in time. The thick black glasses perched on the end of his nose and the sparkle in his eyes were unmistakable.
A chill swept through Daniel.
His mentor. The founder of Crossroads.
Howard Jones.
Howard clasped a thick sheaf of dog-eared papers, with two big, black, chunky words on the front page.
No Secrets.
Beneath that, three smaller words: by Howard Jones.
Green light.
Flashes of light fired behind Daniel’s eyes.
Howard held the manuscript Daniel had found in his desk just after he passed away.
Green light.
The driver behind him leaned on his horn. It was time to move.
But Daniel was going nowhere.
Eighteen
Kelly nestled into the sofa cushions in the living room she loved, her phone to her ear, her tablet teetering on her knees. Her finger flicked the news story up and down, down and up, its screaming headline burned not into the screen but into her conscience.
Dozens of children hooked up to ECG machines because of medication. The story didn’t mention Rubicon Pharma. It didn’t need to.
“I can’t be a part of this anymore, Jasmine.”
Jasmine’s response didn’t even register. Kelly’s eyes drifted from the pebbles stacked in the glass vase that matched the lampshades she’d spent hours selecting to the whitewash of the cabinets to the flowers daubing color around the room. The expanse of the kitchen, its marble counter not a work surface but a palette for a caterer. She couldn’t lose this place. Until Daniel’s second book came out, they could cut some financial corners. Sell her car. Reduce the budget somehow. Just for a few months.
“—and then we’ll find out there were never any problems.”
“I wish I had your confidence, Jas. Every time I hear Gascon explain all this away, I’m more convinced Mendacium is dangerous.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way, but I’ll keep going until I hear we’ve got a serious problem with it. Ignorance is bliss and all that.”
“The saying I can’t get out of my head is that ignorance is no excuse.” She couldn’t afford for this to eat away at her until she had nothing left.
An extra beat of silence came from Jasmine’s end of the conversation, pregnant with intent.
“What?”
“You know I love you, but if you were so hot on ignorance, you wouldn’t be pretending your husband isn’t replacing you with his receptionist.”
Her suspicions had been all but confirmed at the dinner when Daniel’s words claimed there was nothing to worry about and yet the corners of Monique’s lacquered lips said otherwise. Her self-esteem leaped forward and mugged her. Daniel was stringing along a younger version of her at his work. She had tried hard—for herself, for her employer, and for her husband—to look like the woman she’d once been, but the weight kept creeping back, the lines on her face first appearing and then deepening.
“Kel, remember what I said about leaving him? Maybe now’s the time to play that card.”
Tears filled Kelly’s eyes as her future flashed before her. A world of pain. The house she loved carved down the middle. Milly would go with her, but she would be a reminder of Daniel, Daddy’s little princess. How had she come to this point? She was married to a marriage counselor, for crying out loud! How on earth could this happen with everything Daniel knew? With the advice he gave to everyone else?
“I need to confront him, but what’s the point? He’s denied everything so far, so I need evidence.”
The front door flew open, and Daniel staggered into the foyer.
“Gotta go. Daniel’s home.”
“Good luck. And don’t forget to be strong—”
Kelly scrambled to sit up as she cut the call. “What happened? Are you okay?”
Daniel stared right through her. “Um, yeah, okay, I guess—”
“I need to talk to you about work, but you look like you need to talk more than me.”
Daniel stared over her into the kitchen, his eyes glazed as he frowned and blinked, blinked and frowned. “I don’t even—”
He snapped out of it and fixed a gaze on Kelly. “What do you need to talk about?”
Kelly reeled at the sharp change in direction. She couldn’t just jump in and talk about quitting her job. She had to lead up to it.
“These news stories about Mendacium won’t go away. Children are now in the hospital in agony with headaches my product has probably caused. I can’t keep going if children will suffer after I’ve told their doctors they’ll be fine.”
“Can you confirm the side effects are real?”
“I’ve tried, but instead of answers I get motivation.”
A slow nod from Daniel. “So there are side effects.”
“Almost certainly.” Kelly took a deep breath and plunged into the deep end of the conversational pool. “I need to think about whether I quit. I can’t be part of this.” Kelly studied Daniel’s eyebrows. They remained unknotted. Hallelujah.
Daniel sat down on the edge of the sofa. “I don’t want you to do this long term if it will keep you awake at night.”
An old connection flickered to life. They were on the same page after months of not even being in the same story. “We’ll need to rearrange a few things—maybe sell my car, reduce the budget—but it’s only for a few months until your next book comes out.”
Knots rippled in Daniel’s jaw, and he strode to the kitchen, the distance between them yawning back into place. “It may be longer than that.”
Kelly reeled as their disconnection yawned back into place. “Why is it taking so long?”
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