Chapter 20
Third Person
Annika awoke to the ear-piercing sound of her alarm blaring, and she sat up, clutching her head as the room swayed despite remaining motionless on her bed. The hangover headache was more oppressive than she remembered, and her brain felt like it had swelled past the capacity of her skull. Annika felt like death warmed up, and her dehydration became too much to ignore. And considering she had only slept for a few hours, she knew she was in no condition to practice medicine. Annika was a doctor, after all, and she knew her limits, but after being pushed over the edge last night, she could not give two fucks about anything and admittedly went overboard with the alcohol.
It was no surprise to Kenzie that Annika would not make an appearance at the clinic that morning, and she made some last-minute adjustments to her schedule. She instructed the front office to reach out to see if any patients were willing to reschedule to a different day so she could accommodate both hers and Annika’s appointments. Kenzie knew she had no choice but to roll with the punches and handle a loaded schedule.
In a departure from the norm, Hunter spared no details and explained the situation to Kenzie when he returned home from his meeting with Annika and Leon the night before. He was never one to break attorney-client privilege; however, Kenzie had her role to play aside from being his wife and Annika’s best friend. Kenzie was the first to witness Jeffrey with another woman and recognize him from afar, so she was now legally involved in the matter as an eyewitness along with Hunter.
Before leaving her office to see her first patient, Kenzie sent her husband a text message to tell him that Annika had called in that morning. Since the two shared a close relationship with Annika, they knew something was amiss because it was rare for Annika to miss work. Kenzie received Hunter’s reply that he would contact her to see if she was okay before placing her phone into her coat pocket and knocking on the exam room door.
Meanwhile, Hunter’s anxiety steadily rose as his attempts to get in touch with Annika went unanswered. Out of desperation, he decided to check in with Leon to let him know what was happening. At that time, Leon was in the middle of back-to-back meetings that occupied his entire morning and had his phone turned off. Upon returning to his office for his lunch break, Leon turned on his phone and was shocked to see several missed calls and texts from Hunter and Jorge. He had an inkling that Jorge’s missed calls and messages were related to Jeffrey and Sadie since they had agreed to move forward with a civil suit against them, so Leon figured he would return Jorge’s calls after listening to Hunter’s messages. He placed his phone on speaker and played the first message, but what he heard caught him off-guard.
“Leon, I know you’re probably busy, but if you have a chance today, do you think you could stop by Annika’s penthouse? Kenzie just called me and told me that Annika called into work today. Annika never calls into work. Something isn’t right with her. I don’t think she’s of sound mind right now, and it might have to do with everything that is happening. I know you have feelings for her, and I think it would be best if you went to go check on her.”
After listening to the message, Leon only stared at his phone for a few minutes. The fact that Hunter was aware of his feelings for Annika left him utterly speechless. He was under the impression that he had sufficiently masked his feelings for Annika, but then again, Hunter was a divorce attorney who could likely tell when someone was hiding something from ten feet away. Leon took what Hunter said to heart and tried to call Annika, but her phone went straight to voicemail. A few more tries later, he sent her a couple of text messages, but they were all left on “Delivered.” After contemplating for a moment, Leon decided to check in with the team lead of Annika’s security detail.
“Yes, Mr. Von Doren?”
“What is she doing right now?”
“Nothing, Sir. She hasn’t even left the penthouse since she returned earlier this morning. Is everything alright?”
“I’m not sure. Have someone go inside and get a security guard to do a wellness check on her.”
“Certainly. Let me get back to you.”
“Very well.”
Leon waited patiently for his man to report back; one minute, two minutes, then three minutes flew by in an instant. It wasn’t until approximately fifteen minutes later that he received a text message notification. He pulled out his phone eagerly but was stunned when he realized the message was from none other than Annika.
Annika: Really? You had security do a wellness check on me?
Leon: Those guys have big mouths. I told them to do a wellness check. Never gave them permission to tell you it was under my instructions.
Annika: They didn’t rat you out but given that you have men watching me like a hawk, it was pretty obvious that the wellness check was your doing.
Leon: That obvious?
Annika: Yup.
Annika: I’m fine, Mr. Von Doren. I just had too much to drink last night and woke up hungover.
Leon: Are you alright?
Leon: And I don’t just mean about the hangover. My men told me what happened last night when you arrived home.
Annika: Nosy brats =P
Leon: They’re just doing their jobs.
Annika: Uh-huh.
Leon: Seriously, though. Are you alright? How are your hands? What about your cheek?
Annika: In all honesty, I’m numb to the physical pain. It’s the mental anguish that’s eating me alive right now. It goes without saying that you know Jeff slapped me, and he didn’t just slap me; he bitch-slapped me. The pain from that was gone in two seconds flat, however.
Leon: I’m sorry, Annika. I can’t even imagine how much you’re hurting right now.
Annika: That’s the crazy thing, though. I’m not hurting. No, fuck all that. I’m not hurting. I am pissed off. The amount of rage and hatred coursing through my veins is inconceivable, so much so that my left eye keeps twitching, and my blood pressure is through the roof right now.
Leon: Did you measure it at home or something?
Annika: No need. I think I know when my BP is high and might even be higher than yours the first time we met. Trust me. I’m a doctor.
Leon: Annika, I know this is a lot to take in. And the emotional distress from the betrayal is more than one should bear, but you’re a strong and tenacious young woman. It might all seem like a big circus show right now, but when this is all over and you’ve taken the time to heal from it, you’ll see that it’s nothing but a minor speed bump along the way on the journey we all call life.
Annika: Did you get that from a fortune cookie?
Leon: Um, I think that’s too long to fit onto a fortune cookie paper.
Annika: *insert laughing emoji*
Leon: As you said, the physical pain will fade, and eventually, so will the emotional ones. But what won’t fade will be the massive amount of embarrassment Jeff and Sadie will be facing once we’re done with them. The humiliation and defamation that awaits them will last a fucking lifetime.
Annika: Oh, yes, it will. Jeff has no idea the hell that’s about to rain down on him.
Leon: That’s the spirit. Now that I know you’re okay, perhaps you should reach out to Hunter. He’s been worried too. And I’m sure you two have a lot to discuss and get sorted.
Annika: Thank you, Leon.
Leon: For?
Annika: For checking on me. That was sweet of you.
Leon: Sweet enough to earn me some brownie points?
Annika: No.