“Governor, I—”
Victor threw his hand up, stifling the doctor. He needed to hear from his wife. He’d speak with him after.
“Baby, what’s wrong?”
Taylor leaned forward and glared angrily at him. There was fury in her deep, brown eyes.
“When you asked me if I wanted to speak to a therapist, what did I say?” Her tone, on the other hand, was filled with venom.
“Umm…”
“Oh, is that what I said? I said, umm?”
Victor took a deep breath and did his best to ignore her sarcasm. He knew she had gone through enough to make anyone testy, but he needed her to know how concerned he was.
“Taylor,” he breathed, ready to explain.
“Don’t fucking ‘Taylor’ me!” she screamed, jumping to her feet. “I am so fucking tired of you treating me like a child! IsaidI didn’t want to talk to anyone!”
Victor stood and glared at her. He was searching for the woman he’d married, but he couldn’t find her.
The stranger in front of him continued. “I want to be left alone…by everyone,” she seethed with narrowed eyes. “Especiallyyou.”
“Taylor,” he implored. She had wounded him, and even he could hear it in his voice.
She attempted to push past him on her way out of the room, but Victor wasn’t having it. He grabbed her arm and yanked her around to face him. She looked up at him with rage in her eyes but, at that point, he was unaffected. She had sparked his own impatience.
“Have you lost yourfuckingmind?” he growled.
Her lips parted but he cut her off before any more disrespectful words flew out of her mouth.
“Yes, I think you have. You’re going senile. You have to be. Because you clearly forgot who the fuck you were talking to.”
She recoiled as if she had the nerve to be insulted and tried, unsuccessfully, to free her arm from his grasp.
Victor leaned in close enough to feel her heavy breath on his face. “You ever speak to me like that again, I will tie you to a chair and leave you there until you learn how to speak to someone that loves you.”
He released her arm with enough force to throw her slightly off balance. After securing her footing, she rolled her eyes and stormed out of the room. Victor inhaled a deep breath and released it while looking around the room. Destroyed was an understatement. Judging from the broken furniture and shattered glass, she’d had a complete temper tantrum.
Victor turned to the doctor. He was standing in a corner beside the bar. He didn’t appear at all startled by the scene before him. In fact, he seemed to be fascinated, as if he was studying them.
Victor stepped over the glass and crossed the room. “Drink?” he asked as he walked behind the bar.
“Bourbon. If you have it.”
He was lucky enough to find a couple of glasses that Taylor hadn’t hurled across the room.
“Ice?” he asked the doctor.
“Never.” The man chuckled.
Dr. Porter was a tall, black man with a bald head and a salt and pepper beard. He seemed astute and confident, not at all easily intimidated. And because of his prestigious career, impeccable reputation, and a glowing recommendation from his mother, Victor was grateful he’d agreed to see Taylor on such short notice.
“Thanks for coming, Doctor.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Victor poured a nice amount of bourbon in both glasses and handed one to the doctor. He gestured toward a barstool that had been turned over.
