Page 27 of Someone Like You

Giselle

“ A ll right, Kelly. I think we made a lot of progress today. Good work,” I stated, closing my iPad and standing.

The young lady smiled at me and stood. She stretched and yawned before she replied, “Dr. Champagne, I feel better today than I’ve felt in a long time.”

I walked with her to my office door. “That’s because you finally confronted your truth. As I told you, it would be hard, but be proud of yourself because you did the work.”

I escorted her to the front desk so that she could make her next appointment.

“Imani, I’m about to take a lunch break before my next appointment. If you need anything, please call me.”

“Okay, Dr. Champagne,” Imani replied as she pulled up the calendar on her monitor to schedule Kelly’s next appointment.

I turned back to my office to grab my purse just as I heard a voice behind me.

“Dr. Champagne. Or should I say, future Mrs. Casimir Perez.”

I swiftly turned around with a glare in my eyes as I spotted Bethany walking through the door. With her sky blue cashmere Chanel suit and matching purse and those Manolo Blahnik heels, she looked like the billions of dollars that she was worth.

“I hope you’re not here for the marriage counseling. If you are, I’d watch my back, or better yet, your husband,” Bethany stated to a confused Kelly.

I swiftly made my way to Bethany until we stood toe-to-toe. “Would you like a moment of my time, Ms. Huffington-Bradwell?” I hissed.

She sneered, and her eyes flashed with fire.

“Are you afraid?” she hissed back.

“Never that, sweetheart. You can fuck with me, but don’t you dare touch my business or threaten it again,” I hissed.

A clearing throat behind me forced me to straighten the lapels of my jacket before I replied, “Come with me.”

I turned sharply on my heels, headed to my office, and breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of Bethany’s heels clicking on the marble floor behind me. I made a mental note to thank Imani later for sending a subtle reminder that I had a patient.

I didn’t bother to look in Kelly’s or Imani’s direction as I passed the reception desk on the way to my office. When Bethany stepped inside, I closed the door firmly behind her.

“Speak,” I demanded.

“While you were busily brainwashing my husband to leave his marriage and career—”

“Ex-husband,” I replied.

“Either way, I would suggest that you reconsider it. I was not playing when I told you that I would have your license suspended. I have had a formal complaint drawn up, and when I leave your office today, it will be sent to the state Board after I make one phone call to my attorney. It’s completely up to you what the outcome of your future looks like. ”

I scoffed. “Are you threatening me, Bethany?”

“I don’t issue threats, only promises. You have the power.”

“And what am I supposed to do to keep you from doing that? I guess you want me to stay away from Casimir.”

She clapped and smiled sweetly. “I knew that you didn’t earn that doctor’s degree by being stupid. You may have made some foolish choices, but you’re a smart woman.”

“Why do you feel threatened by me?”

“I don’t, but you destroyed my marriage.”

“Do you really believe that, Bethany? You do not even love that man.”

“You have no idea how I feel about him.”

“I watched you week after week sit here and ridicule him for his past, denigrate his ideas, and idealize yourself. Nothing about your actions or words spoke of love, Bethany. I’m not sure if you even love yourself.”

“How dare you!”

“Because it’s the truth, and I’m committed to telling that, if nothing else.”

“I don’t know what you did to my husband, if it was in the bedroom or if he was under your desk, but you have him making very foolish decisions.

Quitting the company when he did and the news of our divorce being made public were not smart decisions on his part.

That information is hitting the company in a very real way, as demonstrated by our falling stock prices this last week.

It hit the staff, investors, and consumers in this country.

If you care at all about him, you will move him to reconsider his position.

It will impact his bottom line too. And when my father retaliates, it will be with a firm and swift hand. ”

“The difference between you and me, Bethany, is that I have faith in that man. I do not presume that he made a consequential decision that impacts far more than just him without taking all the variables into account. The man was a hedge fund manager in his previous career. Do you honestly believe that he doesn’t know what he’s doing? ”

“Either that or he doesn’t care. I care about our company and its stakeholders. I will fight for what I believe in, and that includes the man I vowed to spend the rest of my life with.”

“Rather than trying to fight for someone who you never wanted or appreciated, you should just step aside and allow a woman who knows how to love, uplift, and empower him to do just that. You don’t want him, Beth.

And you don’t care about that company other than how it benefits you.

You just don’t want to see Casimir happy with anyone else.

Use your control somewhere that it’s wanted and needed, not to manipulate people. ”

“I’ve said what I said. Are you going to leave Casimir alone or not?” Bethany demanded.

I took one step closer to her. “Do what you have to do, Bethany. In the meantime, see your way out of my office, and don’t step foot in these doors again.”

She smirked. “You’d better enjoy this office while you still can.”

“And I’d suggest you enjoy these little games you’re playing while you still can because your house of cards is about to come tumbling down, Bethany.”

“I’ll give you twenty-four hours to come to your senses, and then you can kiss your little practice goodbye.”

When she walked out of my office I walked to the couch and dropped down on it. With my head bowed and in my hands, I whispered a silent prayer for strength, courage, and wisdom.

“Hey, baby. What was so urgent that I needed to meet you?” Casimir asked, breezing through the door later that evening. He had a large bouquet of peonies in a gorgeous vase that he handed to me.

“What are these for?” I asked, temporarily ignoring his question.

“I was just thinking about you today, and I wanted to bring you flowers. Is that a problem?” Casimir asked and set his briefcase down on the kitchen island in front of him.

I stood on the other side, chopping vegetables for a salad.

“No,” I muttered.

Casimir frowned and walked around the island. He wrapped his arms around my waist and nuzzled my neck. “Baby, what’s going on?”

I froze and laid the knife down beside the vegetables. “I received a visitor today.”

“Who?” He moved from one side of my neck to the other.

“Bethany.”

Casimir immediately released me and spun me around to face him.

“What the fuck did she want?”

I sighed. “To warn me to stay away from you. She gave me an ultimatum. If I leave you alone, she will leave me alone. If I don’t, she’ll send a formal letter of complaint about my unethical behavior to the Georgia State Board.”

The furious clench of his jaw, the balled fists, and the stiff way he held his shoulders did nothing to erase the look of panic in his eyes.

“What did you tell her?” he asked.

“Does it really matter, Casimir? I’ve told you a thousand times how important my license is to me.”

“Do you love me?” he asked with desperation in his eyes and voice.

“Of course, I love you, Cas, but baby, I love me too.”

“Then we can work through this if you have faith in me.”

“It’s not that I don’t have faith in you, Cas. It’s that I know what’s at stake here, and you cannot control that woman. She has a vendetta against me, and she won’t stop until she gets her revenge. So, if this is what I need to do to protect myself, then I’m moving out.”

“What? Where are you going to go?”

“My friend’s house. It’s what I should have done from the start. I let my lust for you and desire to escape my grief and loneliness convince me to stay here when I knew that it was wrong.”

“Come on, Giselle. You don’t have to do this, baby.”

“No, I do. My bags are already packed in my car. I just wanted to give you the respect of telling you in person rather than you coming home to find the place empty.”

“You stay. I can leave.”

“No. It’s how we tried to work it out the first time, but you couldn’t stay away. As long as I’m here, you’ll be too tempted to return, Cas.”

“Giselle, baby, we’re better than this,” he argued and placed his hands on either side of my face.

“Maybe we are, maybe we aren’t. Maybe we were only designed to be a hot spark that quickly fizzled out in the first place.”

“You don’t believe that,” he growled as he looked into my eyes.

“I do,” I lied.

Casimir crushed my lips with his and took my breath away. He was making this harder than it had to be with every argument, kiss, and touch. I wanted just to walk away earlier and leave him a note, but I knew that wasn’t fair.

But now it seemed like that would have been the perfect thing to do. It would have been the easier thing to do rather than fighting the feelings we both felt. Yet, it was also the coward’s way out, and I wasn’t a coward.

When he stepped back and stared into my eyes again, it was like he was hoping to see an instant change there. Whatever he saw caused him to drop his hands from my face and his shoulders to slump.

“Are you really going to do this?” he asked in a resigned tone.

“I have no choice, Casimir. We both know that we never should have been.”

“Yes, you do!” He banged his fist on the counter and made the knife fall to the floor with a clatter. I jumped, and he threw his hands on top of his head. He spun around, swiped the vegetables onto the floor, and shouted, “Fuck!”

I turned and walked out of the kitchen. Grabbing my keys and purse from the bedroom I’d been staying in, I rushed to the door. Not because I was scared of Casimir but because I knew that we wouldn’t get anywhere this way.

The tears that pricked my eyes were threatening to fall.

I never wanted to hurt Casimir, but I also couldn’t make us work when it wasn’t meant to be.

If he saw me crying, then he would know that I was hurting, too, and he might try to change my mind.

If he did that, I was certain that my resolve would waver, especially when I knew I had hurt him.

I walked back to the front of the house and didn’t see him in the kitchen. When I grabbed the doorknob, I heard him behind me. I guess he had been either in the living room or the den.

“You’re just gonna walk out without saying goodbye? You ain’t gotta run from me, Giselle. I won’t ever hurt you.”

“I know,” I replied in a shaky voice.

“Then why you gotta be hurting me, baby?”

I inhaled deeply and whispered a prayer for God to give me the strength to walk out that door.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled.

“Yeah, so am I. So am I,” Casimir repeated just as I stepped out of the door.

The elevator couldn’t arrive fast enough as I punched the button. I prayed that he wouldn’t come out of the apartment after me. The doors opened, and I called down to the front desk.

“Hello, this is Dr. Champagne from apartment 20 B. Would you please have my car brought back around front?” I asked.

“Yes, Dr. Champagne. It will be brought back in a few minutes.”

“Thank you.”

I ended the call, and all too soon, I had reached the lobby. I rushed past the reception desk, ignoring the greeting that was called out. When I stepped outside, one of the valet attendants greeted me. “Hey, Dr. Champagne.”

I waved but didn’t trust myself to speak.

“DeMarco should be back any second with your car,” the young man stated.

“Thank you,” I managed to mutter without bawling.

When DeMarco pulled up a couple of minutes later, I thanked and tipped him, jumped inside my car, and peeled off. I drove until I reached the parking lot of a music store. They had already closed for the evening, and there was no one in the lot.

I pressed my forehead against the steering wheel, and I broke.