Hollywood Scandal (14 page)

“Everything he’s done and said since has been calculated to avoid responsibility, and any lawsuits that might result from the accident,” Calla said. It was the first thing she’d said since they’d arrived.

Alex scrutinized her expression, but her face was blank.

Too blank.

“He’s not just attacking me,” Calla went on. “The clinic, Alex, and attempting to make himself out to be some sort of good guy or fall guy.”

“We’re having a formal engagement party on Friday night at my grandmother’s home,” Alex told Helen “We’d like you to be there, and we’re inviting MacKay.”

Her jaw dropped. “Why?”

“Because we want him to see that we’re not backing down and he can’t bully us into doing what he wants. He confronted Calla yesterday, scared her, and made some threats.”

Helen shook her head. “This is crazy.”

“MacKay is a two-year-old in a man’s body,” Alex said.

“What about him coming to see me today?” Helen looked from Alex to Calla. “Should I cancel it?”

“No, but I want to be there,” Alex made it an order. “I don’t want him alone with you.”

“Can I second that?” Calla asked. “He was really nasty to me yesterday. One minute I was talking to Dr. Jekyll, the next I was arguing with Mr. Hyde.”

“Fine. I’ll let you do most of the talking, Alex.”

“Do you mind if I spend some time getting some of my paperwork done while you’re meeting with him?” Calla asked. “I also need to call my brother.”

“That’s perfect,” Alex said with a nod. “In fact, let’s keep the fact that you’re here between us. Lock your office door and only open it for Helen or myself.”

Calla snorted, stood, and glanced at Alex. “Want to pick a secret knock?”

“Three short, three long, three short?” Alex suggested. He’d always wanted to use the Morse code SOS signal.

She rolled her eyes and left Helen’s office.

Helen stared after Calla for a long moment. “This kind of humor is out of character for her.”

Alex had to agree. “I think Jeff MacKay scared her more than she wants to admit.”

Helen slanted a sideways glance at him. “Are you sure that’s the reason?”

“What other reason is there?”

“Has she told you about her ex-fiancé?”

Alex frowned. “Only that she had one and he left her after the car accident that claimed her parents and put her brother in the hospital permanently.”

“There’s more to the story.” Helen’s expression became suspiciously blank.

Alex pulled out his most charming smile. “Do tell.”

“No, I’m not saying anything else. That’s for Calla to explain. What I will say…she was deeply hurt. The sort of hurt that never really heals on its own.”

“I think you’re underestimating her. She’s a strong woman.”

“This has nothing to do with brains and everything to do with the emotions of a woman betrayed, belittled, and abandoned by…” Helen stopped herself, took a breath, then finished with, “A woman who is also, at her core, a healer. Imagine, for a moment, that you had been lied to by a loved one. A lie with the power to destroy everything you hold most dear.”

A chill spread through Alex, freezing him in place. “Destroy?”

Helen nodded, then looked at the papers strewn across her desk. “Let’s talk about the clinic’s problems. How can we deal with the release of confidential information and pictures?”

Alex attempted to rip his icy thoughts away from the subject of Calla and threw them at Helen and Seacliffe. He was only partially successful.

What had happened to his ultra-competent doctor?

He was going to find out.

…

Calla left Helen’s office with her muscles clenched so tight her entire body ached. Before going into hiding, she grabbed a cup of coffee from the staff lounge. It felt surprisingly good to shut and lock her door.

Maybe she wouldn’t open it to anyone.

On her desk was a bouquet of flowers.

This one was small and delicate, composed of pansies and miniature roses arranged in a small glass vase. The card taped to the front of the vase had her name on it.

Life is full of peril and heartache. Take time to stop and smell the roses. A few moments in a garden can help heal wounds of the heart.

The card fell from her fingers to the desk. Who was sending her the flowers, and how did he know what words to write to make her feel better?

She put her head in her hands and sat for several minutes. Things had gone from bad to worse to ridiculous in the last few days. So ridiculous she wasn’t sure she was going to survive with her career intact. Losing her job wasn’t an option. She had her brother to take care of, and patients, too.

Alex was behaving wonderfully. Kind, considerate, even sarcastic when that’s what she needed. How long was that going to last? A few days? A month? Then what? She was already relying on him too much. He wasn’t really her boyfriend or fiancé; he was playing a part and having fun with it.

What about her pen pal? How could she be so drawn to a person she’d never seen, let alone talked to directly? Was Jeff MacKay the letter writer?

No, he couldn’t be. No man could be so rude and selfish in person then so generous and thoughtful on paper.

Thinking like this wasn’t going to get her anywhere. She’d been over it all in her head so many times she didn’t know which direction was which.

Calla grabbed her phone and called her brother. He answered on the second ring.

“Hey, big sis, how’s it going?”

He sounded so darn chipper she almost chose to lie. “I’m so confused I don’t know if I’m going uphill, downhill, or cross country.”

“Sounds more like you’re taking a cruise up crap creek.”

That made her chuckle. “Most people say shit creek.”

“I’m not most people.”

“Thank God.” Richard had handled his injuries with remarkable resilience. A lot of people would still be angry, but he’d gotten that out of his system within weeks of the accident and moved on to determining what he
could
do rather than what he couldn’t.

“Hey, hey,” he said, concern turning the two words into ones of comfort. “What’s going on?”

“It’s a long list.” Her voice broke and she struggled not to cry. “I’m not sure where to start.”

“How about with the thing that’s bugging you the most.”

She blew out a deep breath and said, “A celebrity is trying to get my medical license revoked.”

“Wow, that does suck. Man or woman?” Richard asked.

“Man.”

“Patient or not?”

“Not.”

“Asshole or idiot?”

That answer required no thought at all. “Asshole.”

“This is fun,” Richard said, chuckling. “Twenty questions
villain edition
.”

Calla laughed. And laughed, and kept on laughing until tears ran down her face and her stomach hurt. “I so needed that,” she said, still trying to catch her breath. “Why didn’t I call you days ago?”

“I don’t know, why didn’t you?”

“Because I’m stubborn and I thought I could deal with it on my own.”

“You know,” her brother said in a contemplative tone. “For a smart person, you’re awfully dumb sometimes.”

“I love you, too. Jerk.”

“Back at ya, diva.”

“God, I wish I was a diva, then all you’d have to do is smack me.”

“Ha, smacking is so not me. I prefer to baffle people with bullshit. Are you going to tell me the identity of this asshole anytime soon? Or am I supposed to keep guessing?”

Calla sighed and said, “Jeff MacKay.”

“The guy who starred in that military thriller last year?”

“Yeah.”

“Huh,” Richard grunted. “He didn’t strike me as the diva type.”

“He’s a schoolyard bully.”

“Ouch.”

“And I have no idea what to do.” Calla propped up her head on one fist. “He won’t leave me alone. He’s complained to the AMA and he’s making life for my employer hell.”

“Why don’t you start from the beginning and tell me the whole story.”

It took her a half hour to go through the high points. When she was finished, her brother was silent for a long time.

“It sounds like a train wreck, doesn’t it?” she asked.

“Sort of. It would be hard to engineer a series of events that bad on purpose.”

“Yet, MacKay seems to be doing it without too much effort.”

“I don’t know, his reaction to your conversation at the restaurant sounds like a guy who had what he thought was a done deal taken away from him. I’ll bet he hasn’t had that happen to him too often.”

“That’s what Alex said.”

“Now, Alex,
he
interests me.”

Calla didn’t trust the excitement she could hear in her brother’s voice. “Why?”

“I think he likes you.”

“I like him, too. There aren’t many men out there who will tell you the truth no matter what.”

“I mean, I think he
like
likes you.”

“Oh, no, he doesn’t.”

“He’s sleeping with you, isn’t he? Don’t bother to deny it. A brother can tell these things.”

She cleared her throat. “Well, yes, but there’s been no talk of a future beyond straightening this mess with MacKay out. And the first time we slept together it was sort of an accident.”

Her brother cleared his throat. “When it comes to a man sleeping with a woman, nothing is ever an accident.”

“You weren’t there.”

“I’m a guy. I know.”

“There is no way he could have planned it.”

“Maybe he didn’t plan it, but I’m sure he took the opportunity when it presented itself.”

She snorted. “I’m not dignifying that statement with a response.”

“So, I’m right.”

Calla sighed. “You get cocky when you’re right.”

Her brother hooted out a laugh. “So tell me more about him. He never lies?”

“Not once since I’ve met him. He seems to take great satisfaction in telling the truth, almost to the point of arrogance.”

“What does he look like? Handsome, I suppose. You always have the handsome ones after you.”

“He’s tall, slim, with eyes that see right down to the smallest molecule in your body. He would be considered very handsome if his nose was a bit smaller and a little less crooked. As it is, it makes him interesting to look at in ways perfection never could.”

“Does he want a nose job?”

“Nope, and he makes fun of anyone who suggests it.”

“I’m starting to like this guy. Intelligent and sarcastic.”

“He is. You two would get along much too well.”

Her brother was silent for a second. “Can I meet him?”

Since the accident and the emotional damage caused when her fiancé left, she hadn’t introduced a single new potential boyfriend to Richard. “You want to?”

“Yeah. Despite the shitty situation you’re in, it sounds like you’ve got a guy you can depend on, but as your brother it’s my duty to check him out.”

“Duty, huh?” She struggled not to cry. She missed Richie, missed their frequent wide-ranging conversations.

“Yep.”

She sniffed. “You’re not going to beat him up are you?”

“I promise to go easy on him. He’s from California after all.”

“Yeah, they’re kind of soft.” She breathed through her mouth, trying to stave off blubbering into the phone.

“Ha. So, when can I expect a visit from you and super lawyer?”

“I’ll have to ask him.”

“Anytime is good for me.” He paused then asked, “You’re sure this engagement isn’t real?”

“Oh, it’s real, we’re just planning on canceling the nuptials after this mess has been cleaned up.”

“I have to congratulate you on your inventiveness, Sis. I would have never thought of a fake engagement to get rid of an annoying celebrity.”

“Yeah, well, save the congratulations until we know if it’s worked or not. I still feel like I’m clinging precariously to a runaway train.”

“Are you sure you aren’t?”

“That’s my problem,” Calla told her brother while trying not to cry. “Sometimes I feel like I’m in control, other times I think I’m about to crash, and I never wanted to experience that again.”

Chapter Fifteen

Calling her brother had been a brilliant idea. He gave her the perspective she needed to cope with the craziness of her life.

Finally able to focus on patient files, she’d cleared about half of the backlog when there was a knock on her door.

It startled her, but it wasn’t the SOS code, so she stayed seated and didn’t call out.

The person at the door knocked again, then tried the knob. Keys jingled, and the door opened.

Josh, Helen’s grandson, walked in.

He froze as soon as he saw Calla. “Hey, Dr. Roberts,” he said, his shoulders slumping in apology. “Sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was in here.”

“My attention was elsewhere,” she said. “When did you get a key to my office?”

“Grand—Helen asked me to check the security system for the entire building. Your motion sensor doesn’t seem to be working.”

Calla glanced at the sensor, then at Josh, who was waving his arms like the ground crew at an airport.

“Nope,” he said with a sigh. “Dead.”

“Is she going to replace the system?”

“I don’t know, but she always says
three strikes you’re out
, and this was the third strike.” He opened the door and as he backed out said, “Sorry again for the interruption.”

Josh’s voice echoed in Calla’s head.

Three strikes, huh. How many had she accumulated?

She shook her head and went back to her files. By the time Alex knocked on the door and called out his name, she was almost caught up.

“How did it go?” she asked as she let him in.

Alex took the seat in front of her desk.

“Oh, he’s a careful bastard. He’d been informed of the restraining order, but hoped to find you here despite it. It’s a good thing we didn’t tell anyone besides Helen that you were here.”

“Hmm, Josh came in a while ago. He had a key and said he was checking the security system. My motion sensor isn’t working.”

“I wonder if it was disabled on purpose.”

She shrugged. “You’ve got me. Josh said Helen might replace whole thing.”

“Damn it, when I get my hands on the person who’s leaking the photos they’re going to need your services.”

“What really scares me is the only people who have access to that equipment are people Helen trusts. If one of them is selling information to the tabloids, it will devastate her. Could MacKay be buying some of that information?”

“MacKay claimed that everything is a misunderstanding. He wants to make amends, put things right.”

If MacKay had been in the room, she’d have smacked him. “He can start by retracting his complaint from the AMA.”

“Well, he’ll make amends
after
he has a private chat with you.”

“Is he kidding?” Calla couldn’t believe it. She’d rather spend ten minutes in a room alone with a serial killer than with Jeff MacKay. A serial killer was more or less predictable. MacKay, not so much. “After the last wonderful private chat he thought he was having?”

“That was my reaction as well. He claims we misunderstood him then, too.”

“How many misunderstandings does it take for him to admit he’s not the nice guy he pretends to be?”

“A lot,” Alex told her with a shrug. “He insisted on speaking to you.”

Calla swallowed hard. “What did you tell him?”

Alex’s grin was a little bit evil. “I told him he scared the shit out of you, and that no private meeting would happen until he proved he could behave nicely.” Alex laced his fingers together and put them behind his head. “That seemed to confuse him a little, so I told him he’d have an opportunity to prove himself at a private party hosted by my grandmother on Friday.”

“I suppose he liked that idea.”

“Oh yes.” Alex shook his head. “He grinned from ear to ear.”

“I don’t suppose he agreed to withdraw his complaint after this news?” Calla asked hopefully.

“No, sorry.”

“Had to ask. Anything else?”

“Those were the high points. He did agree to say a few kind words about the clinic to the media. He followed through on that as he left. Nothing specific, just that he’s only heard good things about Seacliffe.”

“Better than nothing.” Relief, something she hadn’t felt in far too many hours, made her dizzy. This could be the first step to going back to work.

“That’s what Helen said. So, that’s the gist of it. How was the rest of your morning?”

What a normal question. Too bad her life wasn’t at all average. “Good. I talked to my brother. He’s really good at keeping me grounded.” She glanced at Alex to watch his reaction to what she was about to say. “He wants to meet you.”

Alex inclined his head. No hesitation. “I’d like to meet him as well.”

“I’m worried about him,” Calla confessed, trying to hide the guilt she felt every time she talked about him, or even thought about him. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to cover all his bills.” She’d have to take out another loan, perhaps put another mortgage on the house.

“I might be able to help with that,” Alex said, like he was talking about paying for parking at the mall “Short term, of course.”

She wanted to yell at him, to demand he stop being a nice person, a good lawyer, or a great hero…whatever it was he was. Because if he didn’t, she didn’t know if she’d be able to repay him in her lifetime. Already, the loan she owed him was a deep one, and most of it wasn’t even money. No, she owed him for his tireless support, constant encouragement, and for making her feel like she mattered, like someone cared.

She wouldn’t take another cent. “Thank you for the offer, but no. I’m in debt enough to you as it is.”

“Calla, don’t refuse because of pride.”

Pride?
That stung. She opened her mouth to retort, to refute his assumption, but caught herself before she could say anything.

He was right. Pride was at the heart of her refusal.

“I’m uncomfortable with the thought of taking a loan from you. Things aren’t that urgent yet.”

The corner of his mouth kicked up. “That is a reason I can accept.”

She rolled her eyes. “Sometimes you sound like an arrogant jerk.”

“I know.”

She laughed. “Now who’s the prideful one?”

He considered her with a gleam in his eyes. “Is tomorrow too soon to visit your brother?”

Surprise made her mouth drop open. “Are you serious?”

A grin curved Alex’s lips up. “I’m not in the habit of lying.”

She loved the playful look on his face. “Sure. I’d love to see my brother, but…are you talking about flying to Chicago?”

“I’m not planning to drive.”

“I don’t think—”

He cut her off. “Don’t think. Let me do this for you. You’ve had a terrible week and I’m incredibly curious to meet Richard.”

She sucked in a breath to continue to refuse, but he added one more word that made her reconsider. “
Please
.”

At her hesitation he asked, “Tomorrow then?”

“But your practice, your clients…” Calla protested.

“The arrangements I made with my partners were for the whole week.” He stood and strode to the door. “I’ll book us some flights for tomorrow morning. How long do you want to stay in Chicago?”

“Alex, I’m not sure…”

“I want to meet your brother. You’d be doing me a favor by coming along.”

She laughed, but there was little humor to it. “That is
very
smooth.”

“It’s the truth. So, how long?”

She raised her hands in surrender. “Overnight? Maybe come back to LA the next afternoon or evening?”

“Sounds good.” He left, locking the door on his way out.

A few seconds later, there was a knock and Alex called out her name again.

She opened the door.

“I forgot to ask if you were done here or not.”

“Almost finished, but I’d like to visit Alicia this afternoon.”

“I’m coming with you.”

She raised one eyebrow.

“If you don’t mind,” he added diffidently.

“Sure. You seemed to make a good impression.”

“Really? And here I thought I had been nothing more than a pain in the ass.”

“Sorry to disappoint you. You’re popular. Check in with me in about an hour. I should be done by then.”

“Excellent,” he said, his gaze a hot caress as it traveled her body. “That’s when we get started.”

…

The next day, their travel to Chicago was quick, fast, and uneventful. Calla drove the rental car to a long-term care facility that housed people under fifty who were physically incapacitated in some form or another.

They walked into a room containing a bed with more gizmos and buttons than the space shuttle. The man on the bed was watching a flat-screen TV, but turned it off with a remote he operated using a tool he held in his mouth as soon as he caught sight of Calla.

He put the tool on a raised table on wheels next to his head, then said, “Hey there Sis, great to see you, but aren’t you supposed to be working?” He winked.

The devil was teasing her.

“Nope, I was bad and they kicked me out.”

Her brother snorted. “Screw ‘em, then.”

Calla laughed, the sound relaxed and open.

Alex was suddenly very, very glad they’d come.

“Who’s this guy?” her brother asked, glancing at Alex and his immaculate suit. “Dude, you look like secret service. Sis, you didn’t tell me you were fixing the President’s nose.”

Alex laughed. He liked Calla’s brother. “I hate to disillusion you, but I’m nothing more than an LA lawyer.”

“Lawyer.” Her brother winced. “Wow, too bad. Here I was thinking you might have found a guy who actually measured up to the family code, but a lawyer? Not going to cut it, my man.”

“You’ve got something against lawyers?” Alex asked, trying to keep a straight face.

Though Richard’s body was still, his face was incredibly animated. “Doesn’t everyone?”

“It sounds like you have a specific reason.”

Richard glanced down at himself. “Well, it was a lawyer who screwed me over after the accident.”

“What do you mean?”

“Alex doesn’t need to see all our dirty laundry today, does he?” Calla stepped between them. “Couldn’t we talk about something else?”

“Like that nutcase celebrity who’s being a pain in the ass?” her brother asked.

“Yeah, him,” Calla said in a resigned tone.

“All right, let’s change the subject to that,” Alex said with a disarming smile. “Richard, I’d like your permission to announce my engagement to your sister in a very public, very showy display.”

Calla hid her face in her hands. “Great, just great. Way to be subtle.”

“Define public and showy?” Richard asked.

“A lavish dinner for fifty hosted by my grandmother at her even more lavish Hollywood home.”

“Who’s your grandmother?”

“Maddy Clarke.”

“Really? She’s the
bomb
.” If he could have, he’d be jumping up and down. “Can I meet her sometime?”

“The appropriate brother response would be to act all huffy and defensive. Not ask to be invited for tea,” Calla said.

“Huffy and defensive are for brothers who have sisters who are flighty and superficial. I don’t have one of those.”

“I can’t decide if that was a compliment or an insult.”

“Probably both,” Alex told her helpfully. Richard was a riot.

Alex took another look at him. The guy was bedridden, yet after a minute or two you forgot all about that. His personality was too huge to be contained.

“So, you go out on the town much?” he asked Richard.

“Alex, what are you doing?” Calla hissed at him.

He waved her off. “I’m going somewhere with this, just give me a minute.”

Richard’s eyebrows were raised. “Nope. I pretty much stay right here. What have you got in mind? I’m afraid my dancing days are over.”

“I’m thinking you’d be a hit at the dinner party.”

Calla’s response was almost a yell. “What?”

“If we had the properly outfitted plane, he could travel, right?”

“Yes, but we don’t have…” her voice trailed off as she stared at his face. “You have a plane?”

“No, but my grandmother does for when she wants to fly to New York. It’s been fitted for all her medical needs and then some. I think we could make it work.”

“Really?” Richard asked with a huge grin on his face. “I could go?”

“Let me make a call.” Alex told him with a wink. He stepped out of the room and phoned his grandmother. She, of course, was thrilled with the idea and immediately had Alex call the agency she used for medical support staff when she flew.

Calla stood there with her mouth open.

“I like him,” her brother said, excitement coloring his voice in high notes.

Alex went back into the room and held the phone out to Calla. “The medical people want to talk to you about equipment and…stuff.”

She took it, glared at him for a moment, then walked out already spouting medical gibberish into the phone.

“She likes you,” Richard said, looking at Alex with narrow eyes.

Alex snorted. “I don’t know, she didn’t seem too happy just now.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

Alex stared at the young man, someone who’d been injured bad enough to confine him to a bed or a wheelchair for the rest of his life, but with eyes wiser than Moses. “I like her, too.”

Richard tilted his head and looked at Alex the way a five-year-old would look at an interesting bug. Weighing, measuring, and judging. “Do you?”

Alex met his gaze with a solid one of his own. “Yeah.”

Richard slowly smiled. “I’m beginning to believe you.”

“Beginning?”

“If relationships with women were college classes, my sister wouldn’t be a 101 course, she’d be advanced mechanics taught in a language only two people understand.”

“Which two people?”

“See, now that’s the right question.” Her brother nodded. “Me and the guy who gets her. Who loves her. So, dude, is that you?”

Was he? “You don’t hold back much, do you?”

“No time to hold back, man. No one has time for that. I learned that the hard way.” Richard challenged Alex with his eyes alone. “So, are you?”

Calla challenged him with her intellect, her honesty, and her desire to help others. She didn’t hold back or pretend, and she burned him up in bed. “The more time I spend with her, the more I think I am.”