“Yes,” she said, bold through every word. “I guess that is what I'm proposing.”
“Why?” Ollie asked, trying to keep his anger in check.
“To be honest, I like that he's a man,” she replied. “You should have men around you, not women. I'm sure this Elsie is a fine therapist, but I question if she's capable of giving you the treatment that you need. I just wonder if she's really up to the task.”
“You're the one that picked her out,” Ollie said, bringing his hand to his forehead in frustration. “You're the one that thought she would be perfect for this. She's a physical therapist with sports medicine training, who has experience working with patients who have undergone an ACL repair. She also didn't know who I was and was far enough out of the public eye for me to be able to handle this recovery effectively. Elsie checked all of those boxes perfectly and now you're changing your mind?”
“I just...” Nikki began.
Oliver heard a sob come from the other end of the line. Nikki was crying, clearly upset about the connection that was growing between Ollie and his PT.
“You just what, Nikki?” he asked.
“I'm just worried that she could be using you. That's all,” she said between sniffles. “You talk about her all the time now. Something about the situation just gives me a bad feeling. I guess I don't trust her as much as I did when she interviewed.”
Oliver squeezed the bridge of his nose with his fingers, in an attempt to stop the oncoming headache. “Nikki, I talk about her all the time because physical therapy is my life right now. She's the only person I see. My whole world has become this stupid knee and she's helping me fix it. So in that way, yes, she has basically become my whole world.”
“You're sleeping with her, aren't you?” Nikki asked, her tone even more accusatory than usual.
“Good grief. No. I'm not sleeping with her,” he explained. “When I say she's my whole world, it's just an expression. She's currently a major part of my life and the majority of my time is with her. That's all I meant. Anyway, I'm tired and my knee is killing me. I need to take some more pain medication and try to figure out something to eat. Can we do this another time?”
“You are sleeping with her,” she said, her voice lowering. “Oh, my God. I can't believe this.”
Ollie sighed. “I swear to you that my relationship with Elsie is completely professional.”
“What? Like ours was?” Nikki asked.
Oliver took a deep breath. He was getting legitimately angry now and was sick and tired of Nikki pushing his buttons. “Even if I was sleeping with her, which I'm not, it really wouldn't be any of your business. Regardless, I really want to get off the phone now.”
He heard Nikki sniffle on the other end of the line.
“Okay, I should let you go,” she said, her voice quavering with crocodile tears. “I'm sorry, Ollie. I've had a couple of glasses of wine tonight and I guess my jealousy got the best of me. You know that I really care about you, though, right? I'm just looking out for you.”
“I know, Nikki,” Oliver said, his heart softening a little. “And I appreciate it.”
Despite their past, Nikki was still his friend and he did care about her feelings. He just didn't want to feel controlled by her any more.
“I'm really kind of embarrassed, now that I've said all of this,” Nikki said, between sniffles. “Again, I'm sorry. I hope you don't mind if I just hang up right now. Can we just pretend this phone call never happened?”
“Sure, of course,” he replied. “Water under the bridge.”
“Thank you, Ollie. You're the best,” Nikki said, with a sigh. “I'm sorry to put all this on you while you're trying to heal.”
“It's fine,” he said, suddenly extremely tired. “Seriously, Nikki. It's not a big deal. Go to bed. You'll feel better in the morning.”
“Okay. Goodnight, Ollie.”
“Goodnight, Nikki.”
Oliver stared blankly at the phone after hanging up. He thought he had been exhausted before that phone call, but the conversation with Nikki had sapped any energy reserves he had left. Even though he was still hungry, the only thing he felt like doing was curling up in his bed and watching TV. He didn't even want Elsie to pay him a visit any more, since he was in such a crummy mood now.
Maybe I'll call her tomorrow and she can come over to do my hair, he thought. It was a nice thought.
With the wind still howling outside, Oliver pulled the blankets over his head. He knew that sleep wasn't going to come visit him any time soon, but decided he might as well try to get some rest.
Chapter 9
Elsie