“Where is he?” Jeff glanced again at the wall clock in the green room for New Dawn, Knoxville.
“He’ll be here. He’s not going to let you down.” Virginia gave her makeup a final check in the mirror. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, I did a background check on Randy Graham. He misled you guys about the type of therapist he is. He’s not licensed in psychology or counseling or anything else outside of driving. He never even graduated from college.”
Jeff stopped pacing and faced Virginia’s reflection. “That shaved-legged liar. Trying to pass himself off as a therapist.”
“He is a therapist. A certified reiki therapist.”
“What on Earth is reiki?”
“It’s like an aura massage – no touching.”
“Seriously? That’s like sex without an orgasm. What’s the point? I can’t believe you can actually get certified in massaging people without laying a hand on them. Sounds like a racket.”
Virginia again faced Jeff. “I might’ve oversimplified.”
“I assume then that reiki therapists aren’t covered by patient confidentiality.”
“Not even a little.”
Jeff gave the clock another glance and pulled out his phone. “I’m going to call him.”
“Are you sure he knew what time to be here?”
“I told him this morning before I left.” As soon as he said the words, Jeff turned away to hide his face, hoping she didn’t pick up on it.
She did. “Before you left? Did you two spend the night together?”
“Can I claim partner confidentiality and not answer that?”
“Not even a little. Spill.”
“Not now, and please don’t mention it to Emory. You know how private he thinks he is.”
Virginia held up her right hand. “I promise. Why didn’t you two just come here together?”
“I had to go home to get ready. I wasn’t expecting to spend the night, so I didn’t bring a change of clothes with me, and I wasn’t about to wear anything from Emory’s closet on TV.”
“Ooh, I don’t blame you.”
Virginia and Jeff both cracked up laughing just before Emory rushed into the green room, offering a preemptive apology. “I’m sorry I’m late.”
Jeff looked at the clock on the wall. “We’re getting used to it.”
Emory’s eyes fixed on Jeff. “I need to talk to you.”
Virginia looked at the clock again. “We have three minutes before we go on.”
Jeff pointed to Emory. “Remember, no mention of being fired. You left the TBI because you knew you could help even more people in the private sector.”
Emory blurted out, “I don’t know if I can go through with this.”
Jeff walked behind him to massage his shoulders. “You’re just nervous. Did you take one of your pills?”
A redheaded college-age girl entered carrying three clip-on microphones. “Time to get y’all miked up.”
As the production assistant clipped the microphone on Virginia, Emory stammered for words. “I… I am nervous, but that’s not it. Uh… It’s difficult to say.”
“If it’s that heavy, why don’t you just wait until after the show?”
“I thought about that, but I don’t want to go on TV and be disingenuous about the future.”
“The future? The future is we’re going to get all the exposure we can out of this pro bono case so we can start getting clients that count – the kind with money. What future are you talking about?”
“I don’t know what to do about the lawsuit.”
Jeff unbuttoned his shirt so the PA could clip the microphone to his collar and hide the wire underneath. “We already discussed this. You’re dropping it. It would be bad for business.”
“That’s not why I’m debating it. If I don’t go through with the lawsuit, I’ll have another decision to make.”
“What do you mean?”
Emory shifted his weight from side to side with each heavy breath. “Anderson Alexander came to see me the other day.”
“How do I know that name?”
“He’s the head of the TBI.”
“He came to see you? To talk you out of the lawsuit?”
The PA made her way to Emory to mike him. “That, and to offer me another job with the TBI.”
As Virginia gasped, Jeff could feel the color draining from his face. He felt as if he’d been punched in the gut and were incapable of exhaling enough breath to form words. At long last, he uttered, “How did you respond?”
“I told him I needed to think about it.”
“Really?” Red rose from Jeff’s neck like a thermometer touching a light bulb. “What’s there to think about? They fired you! Threw you out! And I…” He waved his hand toward Virginia. “We gave you a lifeline. Opened up our business to you.”
“I was there. I know what happened. That’s why it’s a difficult decision.” Emory sighed. “Look, this could be a good thing for the agency. If I do take the job, I’d have access again to—”
“Don’t try to spin this as something you’re considering for the good of the business! Your reasons are completely selfish!”
The PA shushed them. “Please! You’re going to have to keep it down.” She pointed toward the open door. “We’re live.”
Virginia wedged herself in between the two men. “Guys, can you just put this issue aside for a few minutes? We’re about to be on TV.”
Jeff told her, “I don’t care about the show.”
Emory scoffed. “Publicity is the one thing you do care about.”
The PA clapped her hands to get their attention. “It’s time, people. Follow me.”
Jeff glared at him. “Oh, is that it? The one thing? What does any of it matter now? You’re done with us.”
Emory tried a conciliatory tone. “You know, I never said I was taking the job.”
“Don’t play semantics with me. We both know you’re taking it.”
“There’s a lot to consider.”
“I’m sorry.” Jeff embellished his tone with sarcastic empathy. “I didn’t realize how difficult this is for you. Let me make it easier. Take the damn job! We don’t want you.”
“There’s no reason—”
“Here’s a reason for you.” Jeff followed Virginia to the door. “We got along just fine without you, and we’ll do much better without your annoying stick-up-your-ass pomposity!”
“Fine! I’ll finish this case, and then I’ll walk my pompous ass back to where I belong.” Emory stormed past them but turned around long enough to say, “I’m taking the rest of the day off.”