Chapter 18
Isabelle
We returned to New York on Monday morning.
Brayden dropped me off at my office, because I insisted a lot.
Sasha had also monitored the place and said there didn’t seem to be reporters around anymore.
Even though I’d told all my clients we’d have online sessions today, I still wanted to check out the area.
There were no reporters in front of my building.
“See? Sasha was right. I’m yesterday’s news,” I said.
Brayden was still glowering, looking around outside.
“Oh, why are you so grumpy?” I gave him a quick peck on the lips, cupping his jaw. I made eye contact with him until he smiled. Mission accomplished.
After getting out of the car, I headed straight inside the building. I met a few neighbors in the elevator and greeted them a little too enthusiastically. What can I say? After a weekend like the one I had, I was on cloud nine.
Once inside my office, I made myself a coffee. As I sipped from it, my phone buzzed with a message from Josie.
Josie: You’ve been silent all weekend. I can’t take the suspense any longer. HOW WAS IT?
Laughing, I put down my coffee cup and typed with both hands.
Isabelle: How about I tell you in person?
Josie: Awesome!
Josie: No, wait. I still want some details NOW.
Isabelle: What’s with the caps lock?
Josie: Sophie hasn’t slept well this last week… so neither have I.
Aww, my poor sister. I was going to drop by her house tonight with her favorite takeout food. I was certain Hunter was pampering her a lot, but sister time never hurt.
Isabelle: My first session starts in five minutes. I’ll text you during the next break.
Josie: You’re mean :-(
Isabelle: I love you.
I logged on my computer for the first session, happy I could do it from the comfy chair at my desk. The client I was talking to was going through a rough divorce, and my heart was breaking for her.
“Lilly, is the journaling helping you at all?”
“When I do it, yes. But some mornings, I forget to.”
“Why don’t you put it on your nightstand so it’s the first thing you see every morning?”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll do that.”
“Try to fill out every section. When you get to the one where it asks what things bring you joy, try not to just jot things down, but imagine yourself already doing them. It will put you in a good mood . ”
“Okay. I hope I don’t forget.”
The concern etched on her face prompted me to ask, “Would you like me to send you a message each morning, reminding you?”
“Oh, you can do that? I hate to ask that of you, but maybe for a few days until it becomes second nature. Thank you!”
“No problem. It’s on my calendar.”
“I’m so happy I found you, Isabelle. You help me focus on myself, you know? Most of the time, I worry about how this impacts the kids, and I don’t pay attention to my feelings. I bottle everything up, and whenever I see my ex, I explode in a rant.”
“All this is normal, Lilly. Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s painful, and you’re doing the best you can. Give yourself time. Be kind to yourself.”
By the end of the session, Lilly was in a slightly more optimistic mindset.
I knew she still had a long way to go until she would feel happy more often than desperately sad.
Each client was different. Some didn’t need my help after only a few sessions, though many continued their therapy for years.
I had three online sessions a week with clients I’d started seeing years ago in Philadelphia.
Nothing gave me more satisfaction than when one of them said they didn’t need any more sessions.
It meant I’d done my job and they were in a happier place now than when they’d sought me out.
Glancing at the clock, I realized Lilly and I had gone over time and my next session was about to begin.
I quickly glanced out the window. There were still no reporters outside.
I messaged the clients I had in the afternoon, asking them if they preferred to come to the office for their appointment.
Four out of five said they wanted to come in.
This was going to be a long day, one that would be difficult to emotionally unwind from. I used to have tours on Monday evenings; they were the easiest way I could put everything my clients shared out of my mind. They were fun, and I loved meeting new people. I already missed them.
But as I always told my clients, it was all a matter of perspective. I just needed to find something else that gave me that rush and captivated me completely.
Brayden.
In the few minutes I had between sessions, I checked my phone. The new message from Josie made me laugh.
Josie: TELL ME. I can’t take the suspense any longer.
I also had one from Brayden.
Brayden: How is your day going? Still tired from the flight?
I loved that he checked in on me.
A third message popped up. My next client said she was going to be a few minutes late. I replied to Josie first.
Isabelle: It was amazing in Oregon. And it made me like Brayden even more.
Brayden: I like what I’m reading. Tell me more.
I frowned, wondering what he meant.
Oh no. I accidentally sent the last message to Brayden instead of Josie.
Isabelle: That was meant for my sister.
Brayden: I want to know too.
Smiling, I tapped my fingers on the phone, deciding on the best way to tease him.
Isabelle: And you think I’ll just volunteer the information? No, sir. You have to work for it.
Brayden: Oh, I will.
Yum… In my mind, I read it in his delicious voice.
Licking my lips, I shook my head. This was work time. I couldn’t let thoughts of this sexy man distract me.
I replied to my sister, giving her a rundown of the weekend, making sure I actually sent it to her this time.
Brayden: When are your sessions over today?
Isabelle: Probably not until nine.
Brayden: You can always come to my place and do the last ones there.
Isabelle: I moved the ones in the afternoon to the office : - (
I smiled, imagining myself on that huge couch of his. He’d give me foot rubs or neck massages between sessions. Some smoking-hot kisses too, for sure. My shoulders instantly relaxed.
Now that he was mentioning it, I was kind of sorry I’d moved the sessions, but doing so did give me a sense of normal again too. Once Brayden started the tour, my life was going to go back to the way it was.
My chest tightened a bit, and for the first time I admitted to myself that I didn’t want this to end when he left. Could we make it work somehow?
Did he even want to?
Isabelle: Putting my phone away. My next session is starting.
Over the next three hours, I had back-to-back sessions with only a short break for a trip to the bathroom.
Usually no one texted me during work hours…
but that was before I started dating Brayden, who seemed intent on distracting me.
But his flirty messages were a welcome change from the problems my clients were unloading, so I didn’t discourage him. Quite the contrary.
Brayden: When do you take a longer break? I want to call you.
Isabelle: Why? Want to take your flirting to the next level?
Brayden: I love talking to you. Always makes my day.
Isabelle: I didn’t schedule a session during my lunchbreak from 12 to 1. You can call me then.
At fifteen past eleven, I ordered a Caesar salad through a delivery app.
As twelve o’clock approached, excitement bubbled up inside me, anticipating my conversation with Brayden.
Not just excitement though; I was pretty sure I was feeling butterflies in my stomach, and all because I was going to hear his voice!
This morning I’d thought about having my lunch break outside, because I could swear the air was a little less humid, but I preferred to be inside when I spoke with him. Besides, I was probably imagining the good weather. It was September 1, but that didn’t mean the humidity suddenly dropped.
This weekend had brought us closer in ways I couldn’t have imagined, and I was positively giddy at ten to twelve.
My food was delivered five minutes before I’d promised to call him, and even though I was starving, I was looking forward to talking with Brayden more than eating. That was unprecedented for me.
At twelve o’clock, the reception buzzed me up. Perhaps the delivery guy had forgotten to give me something? I hadn’t ordered anything else, but sometimes restaurants included freebies.
“Mr. Clarke is here. Is it okay if he comes up? He’s asking for the code to your door.”
Oh my God!
“Yes, of course.”
I was even giddier now. It took him a while to come up, and I realized he was probably taking the stairs again.
I opened the door, smiling when I saw he’d put his cap on.
He was tailed by two guys who remained in front of the door.
The bodyguards were always changing, which had thrown me off in the beginning, but Brayden explained that they worked with an external security company that sent whoever was available that day.
He came inside alone.
“Brayden! What are you doing here?” I asked after I closed the door, grinning so wide that my face was hurting.
He dangled a bag in front of me. “Brought lunch. And myself.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
“That would have ruined the surprise. I wanted to see this look on your face.”
I shook my head slightly, forcibly toning down my grin, trying to appear serious. I cleared my throat before asking, “What look?”
Brayden chuckled, cupping my jaw. “You’re fucking adorable.”
I couldn’t keep up my game, of course. My lips stretched into a huge smile again.
“I wanted to surprise you completely like last time, but they wouldn’t give me the code.”
“How did they even give it last time?”
“Sasha spoke to them, and she’s good at this. But I didn’t tell her I was coming today.”
“Oooh, you’re being spontaneous again.”