Rocking Perfection

by Cassandra Lawson

  Though I’d expected her reaction, I was still pissed but trying to avoid letting it show too much. “I’m not accusing you of cheating on me or sneaking around behind my back. I just know that you’re nice—too nice most of the time. It seems possible that some innocent conversation you didn’t think to mention was taken the wrong way.”

  My reasonable explanation did nothing to wipe the pissed look from her face. At least, she didn’t look hurt. “You already know about the last time I spoke to Mitch.” On those words, she turned and walked away. “I’m getting dressed before we finish this conversation.”

  “What the fuck?” I muttered as I heard her bedroom door shut. She needed space; I got that. It made sense to give her a few minutes to cool down, but that’s not what I did. Instead, I stormed after her.

  Her bedroom door slammed against the wall with more force than I’d intended, and she spun to face me in nothing but the black boy shorts she’d just slipped on. That’s when I noticed the tears.

  “Fuck,” I muttered as I moved forward and wrapped her in my arms. “I’m sorry. Honestly, I wasn’t trying to accuse you of anything. I trust you.”

  Her tears turned to sobs while I held her and whispered nonsense until her tears stopped. Pulling back some, I looked her in the eyes, cradling her face in my hands.

  She let out a little hiccup before flashing me a small smile. “Sorry. Everything just caught up with me. It’s been a rough day.”

  “You know I trust you, right?” I asked. “That’s important to me.”

  “I know,” she replied. “It’s just this whole mess that’s getting to me. I really should have just stayed off all social media when I got home. I can’t help but wonder how many parents of my patients will hear about this. How am I supposed to make this go away?”

  “It may not seem that way, but it will all blow over,” I assured her. “Your story isn’t all that interesting as far as celebrity gossip goes.”

  “You’re right,” she agreed with a sniffle. “In the meantime, I’ll just have to figure out a way to make sure my partner and patients aren’t affected by what’s going on.”

  “If they can handle us dating, they can handle some nut job spreading a few lies he can’t back up,” I assured her. “Why don’t you pack a bag and stay at my place tonight? I have practice in the morning, and I’ll need to meet with the label since I called a bunch of people assholes on social media tonight.”

  Her eyes widened. “You didn’t.”

  “They pissed me off,” was my response. “Anyway, my day’s going to start early, so it would be easier if we can stay at my place. I’ll stay here if you’d prefer that. Don’t even try pretending you don’t need me.”

  “Don’t worry. I wasn’t about to pretend I don’t need you. Just let me get dressed and pack.”

  Chapter 54

  Cami

  I woke up alone in Xander’s bed a little after ten. He’d woken me up to let me know he was leaving for practice earlier that morning and that he’d be back around two. As for me, it was Saturday. While I saw patients two Saturdays a month, this wasn’t one of those days.

  When my phone vibrated, I grabbed it, only to find that I already had several messages. Most were from Bentley, so I decided to call her rather than texting about everything that had happened.

  Bentley answered on the second ring. “Hello.”

  Since she sounded distracted, I figured she hadn’t looked to see who was calling. “Hi, it’s me.”

  “What the hell happened last night?” She stopped me before I could answer. “That’s a dumb question. I’ve seen the videos and talked to Madi. I’m just confused about why Mitch was even there. You haven’t heard from him in weeks, and I know you’d tell me if you were talking to him.”

  “To be honest, I’m not sure what’s going on.” I was still lying in Xander’s bed, staring up at the ceiling. “Mitch just showed up at my office. He was acting strange, like we’re suddenly going to get back together.”

  “Maybe he thinks that with Xander out of town, you’ll be available again.”

  “Mitch said something like that.” I decided it would be best to clarify what he’d said. “He actually said Xander would cheat on me while he’s on tour and I should just leave him now, or something to that effect.”

  “That could be why he’s suddenly trying to win you over again.” She sounded thoughtful.

  “I don’t know what his reasons are, but I’m seriously pissed. He made it sound like I’m somehow leading him on. This whole mess might have been forgotten faster if Xander hadn’t lost his shit online.” A frustrated sigh accompanied the last.

  “I don’t blame Xander for losing it,” she remarked thoughtfully. “This should all blow over, but maybe not soon.”

  “Why don’t you think it will blow over soon? The public attention shouldn’t last long since there isn’t much of a story, just an argument between me and an ex who can’t take the hint.”

  “An ex who did an interview this morning for a tabloid,” Bentley added.

  “When did you find out about that?”

  “I just got an email from Madi,” she replied. “I guess the magazine is looking for a response from Xander. Don’t be surprised if they contact you.”

  I groaned and threw an arm over my eyes. “Damn Mitch. Why is he doing this? He hates this sort of drama, and it won’t be good for his career. He also can’t possibly think I’d get back together with him after he pulled this.”

  Bentley hesitated before responding. “You aren’t going to like my guess.”

  “Tell me anyway,” I prompted her.

  “He’s doing it to hurt you,” she replied. “You didn’t give him what he wanted, and he may even feel you made him look bad. Now, he wants to get even with you by causing Xander problems and messing with your practice.”

  Which reminded me of another matter I needed to handle. “I need to call Marcia and let her know what happened. Thank God neither of us has patients today. We’ve got time to figure out if this mess is going to be a problem.”

  I still didn’t know how this would affect my patients, but I suspected it would all depend on whether the media jumped on the story. Since at least one tabloid was already looking for interviews, it didn’t look good. Of course, they might realize the story wasn’t worth pursuing.

  “I’ll let you go,” Bentley told me. “How about if we meet for drinks later? At Mercy’s place, so you can complain without risk of having anyone harass you about this mess.”

  “That sounds great. I’m sure by then I’ll need a drink or twelve.”

  “Twelve?” she asked.

  “Fine, six drinks.”

  Bentley laughed at my joke. “No more than three for you, lightweight. I’ll pick you up so you don’t have to worry about driving. Scratch that. I’ll talk Delaney into being the designated driver, and she can pick us both up.”

  “It’s a date,” I told her. “Are you sure Mercy won’t mind having us over?”

  “Nah,” she replied. “It was Mercy’s idea.”

  “All right,” I replied. “I’ll see you later. Oh, I’m hiding at Xan’s, so pick me up here.”

  “Got it,” she replied.

  After I ended the call, I considered making coffee before calling Marcia, but that was mostly because I dreaded telling her about the mess. Marcia was twenty years my senior and had been one of my professors in college. After graduation, she’d offered me a chance to be her partner in her private practice. Not only did I like and respect her, it was also an incredible opportunity for someone my age. I was a partner in a successful practice at thirty-two.

  Marcia answered on the first ring. “I was just about to call you. What happened last night? I already know there’s more to this story than meets the eye.”

  I was surprised she’d heard anything since Marcia wasn’t big on celebrity gossip. “How did you hear so soon?”

  “The parents of two of my patients called to see if I expected this kind o
f drama in the future,” she explained. “After I listened to those voicemail messages, I did a little digging to see what they were talking about. I figured it was about the incident on the stairs. There was a newspaper article about it a few days ago. So, tell me about the incident with your ex-boyfriend.”

  “It looks worse than it is.” I gave her a quick rundown of what had happened with Mitch. “So far, I haven’t received any calls from my patients, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I do.”

  Marcia was quiet for a short time as she considered what I’d said. “This shouldn’t be a big problem, but we may want to move your appointments to my office space in Fremont for the time being.”

  “Some may not be able to travel out there for appointments,” I pointed out.

  “If they still want to meet in the Pleasanton office, then that’s their choice,” she replied. “It should only be a short-term change. There’s nothing to this story, regardless of what your ex-boyfriend says.”

  “You’re right.” I let out a sigh of relief. Having Marcia tell me things were going to be okay made me feel much better.

  “I want you prepared for the fact that you may lose patients over this.”

  Her words hung between us for several beats. My chest tightened at the thought of losing any of my patients over what had happened. I could understand why parents might not want to risk having their children’s problems exposed to the public. Even if this blew over, I was dating Xander Marsh, and my life would change because of that.

  “I understand.” My voice was as upbeat as I could manage, but Marcia picked up on my worry.

  “It’s not going to be the end of your career. There are plenty of high-profile therapists who still have successful careers. Everything is going to be fine.”

  “Thanks, Marcia. I really needed to hear that from you.”

  “Any time.” I heard the smile in her voice. “Now, I’m going to return the calls from my patients, and I’m sure you have calls of your own to make.”

  “Right,” I agreed. “I’ll touch base with you later to let you know how things go.”

  After getting off the phone with Marcia, I made myself some coffee and started the very unpleasant task of calling my patients, cursing Mitch’s name between each call. Marcia was right about how my relationship with Xander could affect my practice, but that didn’t change the fact that Mitch was the cause of my current problems.

  Chapter 55

  Xander

  We were about thirty minutes into our virtual meeting with Madi, and it was like being scolded by my mom. She was right; I shouldn’t have responded to anything on social media until after my temper was under control.

  “At least, I wasn’t there when Mitch was bothering Cami. I might have punched the asshole.”

  Harley mouthed, “What the fuck?” probably because she realized what Madi’s response would be.

  “Are you asking me to praise you for not getting arrested?” Madi didn’t even sound surprised, just irritated.

  “Right. No punching Mitch,” I assured her.

  “No matter how much he deserves it,” Austin added.

  “I don’t think we should completely rule that one out,” was Gage’s response.

  Harley smacked Gage in the back of the head since he was closest. “You guys can act like idiots later.”

  “Until we’re sure there won’t be future problems, you will have security with you wherever you go, Xander.”

  I looked at the screen, sure I’d catch some clue that Madi was joking. She couldn’t be serious.

  “Why?” I asked. “Mitch isn’t a danger to me.”

  “I want credible witnesses if he starts anything,” she explained. “As of today, he’s already doing interviews and claiming to have evidence that he and Cami have been in communication over the last few weeks. After your comment about punching him, I’m worried about your self-control.”

  “I was joking.” Mostly, I was joking.

  “Xander.” Madi’s tone was patient and measured. “I don’t need to remind you that we have too much going on for you to add to any of that. While I’m not blaming you or Cami for the situation, we need to avoid having it escalate. Aside from my concerns that you will say or do something to make this worse, I also think your security detail will deter Mitch from approaching you. Security can also be useful if the media become a problem. Remember, this also impacts Cami’s business, so the sooner the media attention dies down, the better it will be for her.”

  I let out a frustrated breath. “You’re right.” It still sucked balls since it meant I’d have even less privacy with Cami when we went out.

  We spent another fifteen minutes going over the specifics for my new security detail before ending the call.

  “I can’t believe neither of us considered how being involved with me might affect Cami’s practice,” I muttered.

  “That’s probably because Cami thought you were just going to fool around for a little while and go back to being friends,” Gage pointed out.

  “I hope this doesn’t screw things up with Cami.” That was my biggest fear.

  “You’re a dumbass,” Harley stated.

  “Hey!” I pointed a finger at her. “Aren’t you supposed to be offering me support?”

  “Nope.” Her reply was matter-of-fact. “That’s not my job. Austin and Gage coddle you. I tell you to grow a pair and deal with it. You’re a rock star. There will be drama. Your little scandal isn’t even that big of a deal. We’ve already had one love-triangle, and Gage’s was much more scandalous since it involved his brother. Cami’s a tough cookie. She’ll be fine. You’ll both be fine.”

  Austin and Gage nodded their agreement before Gage added, “Harley’s right. If this had happened with any of us, you’d be telling us the same thing. Stop doubting what you have with Cami. She loves you.”

  “Yeah, she does,” I agreed with a grin. “We’ll get through this. It’s just too bad I can’t kick Mitch’s ass.”

  Austin sighed. “Loathe as I am to say this, you should avoid kicking Mitch’s ass.”

  Harley nodded. “He’s right. That asshole deserves it, but it will just make things worse.”

  “Thanks for having my back on this,” I told my friends.

  Harley waved off my words. “We always have your back.”

  “What are your plans tonight?” Gage asked. “Bentley told me she talked Cami into going over to Mercy’s for drinks.”

  I shrugged. “I’ve got a new recipe I want to try, and tonight seems like a good night for it.” My bandmates stared at me with wide eyes. “You already know Cami’s been teaching me how to cook.”

  “We just never expected it to go this far,” Austin stated.

  “So, are you going to invite us over for dinner?” Harley asked.

  “Sure, but you have to bring the beer,” I replied.

  “I think we can manage that,” Gage agreed.

  Chapter 56

  Cami

  I was on my second drink and already a little tipsy. Having worked as a bartender, Mercy knew how to mix a good drink. She also knew I needed something a little stronger. I’d lost two patients with parents who didn’t want to risk harassment from the media. They weren’t as worried about the current scandal as they were about future scandals.

  “Stupid Mitch!” I shouted. “I wish I’d kneed him in the junk.”

  “I’m surprised you didn’t,” Bentley replied, her voice a little slurred.

  “Bastard needs a harsh kick in the nuts.” Mercy sounded sober but was still willing to jump on the knee Mitch in the junk bandwagon.

  I decided to continue with that subject since it was a popular one. “I’ve heard it’s not as easy as people think to knee a guy in the nuts. It’s a move we rely on, but what if it fails? We should take one of those self-defense classes. Do you think they have one that teaches you to nail a guy in the balls properly?”

  “I took a self-defense class,” Delaney announced. “They didn’t recommend goi
ng for the balls so much as the eyes and throat. It’s easier to get to the eyes.”

  I cringed. “There has to be something less messy than gouging out his eyes.”

  “You don’t have to gouge them out.” Bentley put two fingers out and made a jabbing motion. “If you poke him in the eyes, he’ll probably back off.”

  That didn’t sound too much better. “I don’t want to poke anyone in the eyes.”

  Delaney grabbed her purse and pulled out a black stun gun. She hit a button and sparks jumped from the end.

  “I’ve heard those things don’t have enough kick to be of any real use,” Mercy remarked as she eyed the stun gun curiously.

  “I love this stun gun,” Delaney told her. “I got it from a woman at my gym. It can knock someone on their ass. If you’d had one of these, you could have zapped Mitch in the junk. That would have ended the argument.”

  I giggled at the thought. Even in my tipsy state, I recognized that zapping Mitch in the balls would have resulted in an even bigger scandal, but it still sounded fun. “I need one of those.”

  “Me too,” Mercy agreed. “It’ll make me feel safer when I’m out.”

  There was a brief pause because we were all worried about how much Mercy had shut herself off from the world since she’d been shot. We also knew she was working on her issues in therapy, so we tried to avoid bringing them up. It wasn’t as if Mercy didn’t realize she needed to deal with her problems.

  “I’ll get you one the next time I see my friend at the gym,” Delaney replied.

  “Just let me know how much it is so I can give you the cash,” I told her.

  “Too bad we don’t have anyone to test this on,” Bentley mused. “I’d like to see if it’s as powerful as you say.”

  “We can test it on my porn-addict neighbor.”

  I giggled at Mercy’s suggestion.

  Delaney looked intrigued. “The hot British guy?”

  Mercy made a face. “He’s not that hot.”

  Having caught a brief glimpse of him once, I had to voice my disagreement. “He is so totally hot. How is it that you can hate a man who looks like that?”