Hollywood Scandal (19 page)

“Did she tell you she hated your guts?” Richard asked.

“No.”

“Did you say you were sorry?” his grandmother asked.

“Yes.”

“So what’s the problem?” His grandmother asked.

“She’d had a glass of wine by the time I got home, and she refused to listen to my apology.”

“Refused?” her brother asked.

He couldn’t stop the wave of heat that swept up his neck and face as he thought about how close they’d come to—

“Oh, Alex, you didn’t,” his grandmother said.

“Dude,” her brother drew out the word and scolded him with it. “You took advantage of my sister while she was under the influence?”

“No.” Alex threw his hands into the air. “See, I knew you’d do this, jump to conclusions. I didn’t
do
anything.”

Richard’s twitched like he was trying not to laugh. “So what did happen?”

“Nothing. She fell asleep and I put her into bed.”

His grandmother and Richard stared at him with blank expressions on their faces.

“I didn’t take advantage of her…just slept.”

They kept staring.

“I also took most of her clothes off,” he muttered.

“You and my sister are perfect for each other,” Richard said with a shake of his head.

“You think?” Alex asked.

“Yeah, you’re both so smart you’re stupid sometimes.”

“Listen,” Alex said, running a hand through his hair. “I’m going to fix this. Really, I am. I’ve got a plan and I’m going to explain everything just as soon as things calm down and the press finds someone else to bother.”

“How are you going to explain anything to the press when you can’t explain it to us?” his grandmother asked.

He had no answer for that. “I don’t know.” He stopped pacing and stood in the middle of the room, staring at the floor.

“Why don’t you tell them the truth?” his grandmother suggested.

“Who, me?” Alex quipped with a weak smile.

“Tell them you love her.”

“You mean tell them I was so blinded by love that I made stupid mistake after stupid mistake?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be the laughing stock of the legal world.”

“You’ve been laughed at before for far smaller reasons. In fact,” his grandmother continued. “You’ve been laughed at for far
worse
reasons. Despite this city’s reputation for shallow morals and a preoccupation with appearances, what people really care about are the important things.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“You did all the wrong things for all the right reasons. People want to believe in fairy tales, in the possibility of hope. Give it to them.”

“That won’t solve the bulk of my problems.”

“But it will solve your public ones.”

He sighed. “I see your point, but I can’t help thinking I’m digging the hole I’m in deeper and deeper all the time.”

“You’ve always been about the truth, which is easy if your emotions aren’t engaged. You’ve used it as a weapon more often than not. This time use it to show people, Calla,
who
you are, not what you are.”

…

Calla arrived at Alex’s house after midnight. She dragged herself inside, her feet feeling like they weighed fifty pounds each.

The house was dark. Silent. Empty.

Darn it. Where was Alex?

She checked the bedroom, the den, and the garage. No one and his car was missing.

“You big scaredy-cat,” she muttered as she dumped her bag inside his bedroom door and flopped on the bed.

She meant to get up and brush her teeth.

She meant to change and sleep in Alex’s shirt.

She meant to set an alarm so she could arrive at the courthouse before it went into session.

Her cell phone buzzing in her pocket woke her up. Only the bedroom light was on, yet the hall outside was lit up. She sat up and pulled out her phone.

Holy shit, it was nine thirty in the morning.

Calla ran out of the room and toward the front door, but stopped before she could reach the knob.

She couldn’t go outside dressed in wrinkled clothes, an extreme case of bed head, and no makeup whatsoever.

Fuck it. Yes she could.

Chapter Nineteen

Calla felt like she was going to throw up.

She got out of her car and walked toward the courthouse, avoiding photographers and everyone else with the stealth of a ninja. Okay, maybe an anxious, nauseous ninja, which meant she wasn’t all that quick and quiet. Lucky for her, the press, paparazzi, and every other kind of human vulture was clustered around a blonde wearing an expensive-looking suit and stilettos.

The hallway outside the courtroom wasn’t much quieter. She had to go through an airport-like security line, but with nothing on her but her purse, it didn’t take long. The security guard did give her hair a double take she pretended not to see.

It wasn’t hard to tell which courtroom was the one with Jeff MacKay in it. There were two bailiffs stationed out front keeping a crowd of female fans from entering.

Calla approached and called to the one with a clipboard in his hands, “I’m on the witness list.”

“Name?” he asked.

“Dr. Calla Roberts.”

He scanned the list and nodded. “Proceed.”

She darted inside before any of the fans could squeeze in behind her.

Inside was quiet and all the seats were full. Calla slid along the wall to stand out of the way at the back of the room. Had a plea been entered? Witnesses called?

There was a knot of people in suits talking softly a few feet away from the judge, Alex among them.

She looked around, but nothing gave her any clues as to what was happening. When her gaze went back to the front of the room, she found Jeff MacKay staring at her.

He broke eye contact to lean over and whisper something in his lawyer’s ear.

The lawyer nodded, once, twice, then said to the judge, “Your Honor, my client would like to expedite matters.”

“Excellent. How would he like to do that?”

“We would like to call Dr. Calla Roberts to the stand.”

“Objection,” Alex called out. “She isn’t here.”

“She’s standing at the back of the room,” MacKay’s lawyer said, turning to look at her.

Alex looked at her, surprise evident in his wide eyes. He said to the judge, “The accused hasn’t entered a plea yet.”

“We have one question for Dr. Roberts, Your Honor,” MacKay’s lawyer said. “That’s all.”

The judge gazed at the lawyer for a moment, then said, “Very well. One question.” He glanced at Calla and indicated with a sweep of his hand that she should come forward.

Fan—frickin—tastic. Everyone in the courtroom was now looking at her, her wrinkled clothes, bed head hair, and pale face.

Helen had probably fired her six different ways by now.

She made her way to the front of the room. The bailiff swore her in and she sat down in the witness stand.

“Dr. Roberts,” the judge said, leaning over to speak quietly. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, sir. Just in a bit of a rush this morning.”

“Very well.” He sat back and nodded at MacKay’s lawyer.

The man smiled and stood up. He met Calla’s gaze and asked, “Calla Roberts, who comes first, your patients or your reputation?”

Well, that wasn’t exactly the question she was expecting.

She looked at Alex, who was staring at her with his jaw tightly clenched. “My patients.”

“Are you sure? You seem to have put your personal life and reputation first,” the lawyer asked.

The room erupted in whispers.

“Objection,” Alex yelled. “That’s two questions.”

“Objection sustained,” the judge ordered. “You can step down, Dr. Roberts.”

“I’d like to answer the second question, Your Honor. If you don’t mind.”

Total silence greeted her request.

The judge’s eyebrows went up. He looked from her, to Alex, to MacKay, then shrugged and said, “Have at it.”

“Thank you.” She gave MacKay’s lawyer a half smile. “Though I really do think it’s obvious. I mean look at me. I slept in, didn’t change my clothes, didn’t even comb my hair in my haste to get here so I could support Alicia.”

“That only proves you have poor organizational skills,” the lawyer said.

“No, it proves I put myself second rather than first.” She smiled and tilted her head. She was talking to the wrong person. Jeff MacKay was the man who really needed to hear all this. To believe it.

So, she gave him her undivided attention. “Do you understand now?” She examined MacKay’s face and could see from his frown that he didn’t. “Take Alex Hardy for example,” Calla said.

Alex’s body jerked at her words.

Calla met his gaze and held it. “He’s the most selfless man I’ve ever met. With himself. His time, attention, and devotion. It’s no wonder I fell in love with him.”

She arched a brow at MacKay. “Don’t bother to bring up the flowers. His not telling me it was him was a mistake for which he immediately took responsibility for and apologized.”
Was that too much information?
A quick glance around at all the staring faces in the courtroom confirmed it.

Yep,
way
too much.

Time to get out of the hot seat. She took in a deep breath and nodded. “Okay, I’m done.”

She got up, stepped down, and made her way to the back of the courtroom.

Thank God no one tried to stop her.

MacKay and his lawyer called another witness. Then two more, all of who testified to MacKay’s upstanding character.

Alex then called three people to the stand who witnessed the accident. By the time they were finished, it was lunch.

The judge was about to call a recess when MacKay’s lawyer raised his hand and indicated he had something to say.

“Permission to approach the bench?”

The lawyer went forward and spoke to the judge for a moment. The judge gestured for Alex to join them. Two minutes of conversation later, all three men resumed their seats.

The judge banged his gavel. “The defendant will be entering a plea after lunch. Case held over until the details are worked out and sentencing can be decided.” He banged his gavel again, stood up, and disappeared through a door behind the judge’s bench.

The room erupted with everyone standing and talking all at once.

MacKay was mobbed by reporters.

Near dizzy with relief, Calla left as fast as she could, got into her borrowed car, and drove to Seacliffe. Work. Work would help keep her mind off the rest of her crazy life.

If she still had a job, that is.

The clinic was quiet when she walked in the employee entrance. She thought about talking to Helen first, but something else took precedence.

Coffee.

She headed for the staff lounge and poured herself a strong cup.

Someone came up behind her and she turned to find Helen staring at her like she wasn’t sure who Calla was.

“I really needed this,” Calla said, lifting the coffee up in evidence. “You have no idea how much.”

“Oh, I think I do. In fact, I think everyone in LA will know in a few hours.”

“Huh?”

“Your hair is a little, shall we say, windblown.”

“I think the proper term is bed head.”

“Ah.” Helen nodded. “Well, the press only took several hundred photos of your
do
. They’re all over the internet. Who knows, maybe you’ll start a new fashion trend.”

Calla snorted into her cup. “When pigs fly.”

“Honey,” Helen said. “The way things are going today, I wouldn’t bet against that happening.”

Calla drank the last of the coffee down. “I didn’t realize they were taking pictures. I need more caffeine.” She glanced at Helen, whose lips twitched like she was hiding a smile.

That could mean very good or very bad things.

“So, I was wondering. Do I still have a job?”

“Jeff MacKay withdrew his complaint to the AMA,” Helen told her. “He also told the press as he left the courthouse this morning that you were the most attentive, compassionate doctor he’s ever met.”

Calla sighed. “Someone evidently taught him how to grovel.”

“You’re appointment schedule is now booked up for the next two months.” Helen checked her watch. “Speaking of which, your first appointment today is in ten minutes in your office. Plenty of time for you to freshen up.” She walked away.

“Okay then.” Calla stared after her, then downed the rest of her coffee and headed for the staff washroom. Maybe if she stuck her head in the sink she could straighten out her hair.

Ten minutes later, she was seated in her office waiting for her appointment to show up, feeling a little more awake.

Until Alex strode in, that is.

“You’re my first appointment?” she asked, unsure of if she should kiss him or try to run away.

“First and last.” His gaze focused on her face. He took a step backward and locked the door.

She almost laughed. “Okay, okay, I promise not to run away.”

He looked at her position behind the desk pointedly. “It always pays to be careful. I mean, just this morning I seem to have acquired a girlfriend who thinks I’m some kind of white knight.”

“This morning? I’ve known that about you from the moment we met. As for the girlfriend part…that just sort of happened earlier this week.”

“It did?” he asked, raising his eyebrows high and slapping a hand against his mouth. “I thought our relationship was fake?”

“There’s no need to be sarcastic.”

He crossed his arms and said, “Then there was the ‘He’s the most selfless man I’ve ever met’ comment?”

She sighed. “Okay, fine, be sarcastic if you want.”

“Thank you.” He watched her for a moment, then leaned over the desk, putting his face only inches from hers. “I want to talk about something very specific.”

“Okay.”

“There was a line you said out there.” He snapped his fingers a couple of times. “What was it? Oh, yes.
It’s no wonder I fell in love with him
.”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“No.”

“Then what’s bugging you so much that you have to hover over me?”

“I thought you were angry with me.
I thought I’d lost you
.” He straightened up, glared at her, then paced away towards the door and back again. “The paparazzi seemed to know more than I did.”

“They did?”

“They asked me wedding questions. When is the date? Who’s going to attend? Where will we hold the reception? As if I’m going to have any say in
any
of those decisions.”

It wasn’t her fault he couldn’t see the nose on his face. She jumped to her feet. “Well, you wouldn’t have been surprised if you’d been paying attention.”

“Paying attention? Paying attention to what?”

“Do I have to say it?” She shook her head. “Men are so dense.”

He threw his hands up into the air. “What are you talking about?”

She started ticking the list off her fingers. “I went with you to your family dinner. I kissed you at that same dinner in front of your mother. Whenever something came up that I knew I couldn’t handle, I called you. I moved into your house and into your bedroom. Even when I was angry with you I still couldn’t stay away. I went to your house
after
I found out you’d been lying to me, and I faced down the most ravenous pack of journalistic piranha ever so I could save your reputation. Now, if that’s not
let’s skip the Hollywood Scandal wedding and go straight to Vegas
love, I don’t know what love is.”

He stared at her, his pupils large, his breathing fast and deep.

Hers was no less erratic.

He launched himself over her desk, scattering paper, pens, and everything else across the room.

His whole body shook as he wrapped himself around her and kissed her. His frantic lips were everywhere, on her mouth, her neck and cheeks, as if he were afraid she was going to dissolve into a mist in his arms.

His passion sparked her own and she clutched at him just as frantically, trying to get closer to him.

He picked her up, turned her around, and sat her on her desk, all while saying disjointedly in between kisses, “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

After a few minutes, or hours, his kisses turned from frantic to gentle.

Holding him no less tightly, Calla rested her head on his chest. “So, that’s a yes, you’ll marry me?”

“Try getting rid of me.” He leaned back, tilted her head up, and kissed her again. “I love you.”

She smiled slowly. “I love you, too.”

He glanced around the room. “I also
really
love this desk.” He grinned. “Think we could give it a try?”

That made her laugh. It was just the right height. “Would you like it for a wedding present?”

“No, I think we can leave this one here. You could get me a new one made for home, this exact height.”

“Done.”

“I have the perfect gift for you as a wedding present.”

“Oh?”

He gave her another lingering kiss. “Something uniquely us.”

“Now I am intrigued.”

“Actually, there are two gifts.”

“I don’t know if I can handle two,” Calla said, nuzzling his neck.

“The first one,” Alex told her very seriously. “Is a gift to both of us and our families.”

She looked at him quizzically.

“Grandmother and Richard have decided to adopt each other, so to speak. She’s having the best time with him in the house. He’s giving her a new purpose—his care and entertainment—and she’s giving him a wider world to explore.” Alex kissed Calla’s nose. “You won’t have to worry about paying for his care anymore.”

“But—”

“No. You and Richard are family now. Grandmother has a lot of money and if she wants to spend it on her new grandson-in-law, then that’s what she’s going to do. The second gift is for you and I. I’ve been looking into those Doctors for the World trips you’ve done. What do you think of Africa as a destination? There’s a surgical team leaving in a couple of months. I could help coordinate donations, supplies, and transportation, so you and your medical teammates can focus on what you do best.”

Happiness bubbled through her until she felt weightless.
He knew her so well
. “That sounds like…an adventure.” She rested her forehead against his. “I’m in.”