“I’ve just been so tired lately. I sleep so deeply and can’t remember much of the night before, but I wake up so tired.”
His face looked tired. Dark circles had formed under his eyes. I even could see the hint of gray hair at his temples. It didn’t detract from his appearance. In fact, I found it quite attractive.
This isn’t about you, Reggie.
“Well, it’s not uncommon for someone to sleep deeply and not remember what happened the night before, especially if…”
“Is our time up, Doc?” Scarlet cut em off.
I checked the clock. I was about to mention that certain medications might make him drowsy, but our time was up.
“Yes, it is up, unfortunately. I feel like we are getting into the issues we need to explore to work through this.”
“So how many appointments has this been for Dirk so far?”
I checked the top of my notepad. “This was his ninth.”
“So, one more and you’re free of me. Uh, Dirk?”
“Well, we don’t have to stop at the tenth. I feel that if I continued seeing you both that we have a chance of making more progress. Couples seldom resolve deep issues of intimacy in just ten sessions.”
“One more session and you only have to give me a million in the divorce. Is that what this is all about? Just doing enough to cheat me out of what I deserve as your wive of three years?”
This was degrading fast. She asked good questions, though. One’s that I wanted to know the answers to as well.
When he had been with me, he had no problem with an erection. He was hard as a twenty-year-old. Thick and virile. Someone with that type of reaction seldom wasn’t able to get erect with another woman. Unless there were deep-seated problems in a relationship, which I sensed there were. Scarlet was a very attractive female, though, and I couldn’t imagine Dirk not reacting physically to her.
The image of Scarlet riding Dirk flashed in my brain. It made me both hot and jealous, all in the same breath. I pulled myself back into the moment.
“I would encourage you both to consider seeing me beyond next week’s appointment. There seem to be some issues below the surface that are affecting your relationship. I think with time we can work through them. You can find both your love and your desire for each other again.”
Even as I said those words, I hoped that one of them wouldn’t want that. I hoped beyond all hope that Dirk was the one that didn’t want to recapture that spark.
There is a special hell for you, Reggie.
They both nodded, and I escorted them out of my office. Scarlet exited my room and the waiting room like she was late for a date. Dirk hesitated and hung back.
“Mr. Baxter, could you hold on a minute? I have something I need to talk to you about.”
“Sure. Is it about me and Scarlet? Or your alarm system?”
I hesitated before answering. Pieces of a massive puzzle seemed to fall into place, though.
“It may have to do with both.”
Chapter25
Don’t Fuck With a Redhead
I walked backinto my office and Dirk strode behind me. I took a seat on the couch and he sat down beside me. The sun had sunk in the western sky and it cast long shadows into the office.
“Is the alarm system okay?”
“Yeah. Your team did an excellent job at both the office and my home. I feel safer already.”
Richard’s team of technicians had been at my house before I left for work the next day and installed everything while I was at work. Hayley, Dirk’s head investigator, supervised the installation. Trace had been there to drive me to work. I felt both silly for being so paranoid and safe with Dirk and his team taking care of me.
Trace was easy to talk to, although he sidestepped questions about Dirk.
