Page 9 of Trial Run

“We won’t need to cancel it.” Ben ground his molars together. “It’s still two months away.”

“And we haven’t seen you in weeks.” Vanessa’s eyes flashed, her rare temper making an appearance. “I want to respect your privacy, but this isn’t just about you anymore. It’s affecting everything.”

“What do you mean?” He sat up straighter in his chair.

She cleared her throat. “We’ve seen some ups and downs with patient intake levels over the years.”

“We have.”

“Well. I thought you’d want to know we’re losing people. We’re at our lowest number of patients in two years. People are leaving for the new startup on the north side of town. Harmonious Mind.”

“The one that’s imitating us?” Ben lunged out of the chair and paced the room. Vanessa would just have to deal with seeing his legs pass back and forth across her screen.

“The very one.” She rubbed a hand over her forehead. “Look. People talk. They haven’t seen you around the clinic. Someone started a rumor you’re leaving the practice.”

“That’s not true and you know it.”

“Do I?” She raised a brow. “You’re not telling me much these days.”

“I’m not leaving the practice. I’d tell you if I was considering it, and you know I’d never keep something like that from you.”

Ben shoved a hand through his hair and stopped pacing long enough to meet her eyes. “You know what I put into starting the clinic. You know what it means to me. I’d never just—”

“Disappear?” she supplied. “But it kind of looks that way, doesn’t it?”

“I’m not disappearing. I’m still here. I promise.” A note of desperation crept into his voice.

She leaned closer, her eyes softening. “I’m sorry, Ben. I’m really sorry if there’s something going on with you I don’t understand. But I can’t understand it if you won’t tell me anything.”

“It’s personal.” Ben’s gaze slid away from the camera.

“So you’ve said, and I hope you can find a way through it. We need you around here. No one dresses up as fine as you do. You keep the place pretty.”

He snorted a laugh. “Nice try.”

Her expression turned earnest. “Please take care of yourself. And let me know if I can help.”

“I don’t need any help.” It was a colossal lie. “And I’ll come back soon. You have my word.”

“All right.” She sounded somewhat convinced.

“And will you tell people, if they ask, that you’ve spoken to me, and I am definitely not leaving?”

Vanessa frowned. “I’ll try. I’m not sure they’ll believe me, though. They want to see your face, Ben.”

“They want to see my face.” He transferred the call to his phone and paced downstairs, not caring that it was unprofessional, and Vanessa could see his living room in the background.

“There’s nothing special about my face. There’s nothing—”

He stopped short when he reached his kitchen, where the flowers were a bright spot of color amid the steel appliances and granite countertops.

“Vanessa.”

“What?”

“People like getting flowers, don’t they?”

“Who doesn’t like flowers? Why are you asking?”

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