"So, it's going to be like that. Very well." She folded her hands in front of her. "I received a call this morning from a man who wouldn't identify himself. That in itself gives me pause, however, what he said was troublesome to me. He claimed he had knowledge of one of our cardiologists having a romantic relationship with one of his patients. Now, as Dr. Calburton is often the one to cause me trouble, I assumed it was he, however it wasn't to him this man was referring." She stared at Daniel; her gaze hard. "Now please tell me what this man had to say wasn't true, because I would hate to have to go to the licensing board. You are the best cardiologist we have here, and I don't want to lose you, so for the love of God, please tell me you aren't dating one of your patients."
"I promise, I am not currently dating anyone," he said, his heart beating double time in his chest. Technically he wasn't lying, he had broken up with Aurelia, sort of.
"Good. See that it stays that way because I really don't want to lose you. Now, tell me why this man would report something like this," she queried.
"Honestly, I don't know. I have to wonder if it was one of my patients. I do have a couple that get rather grouchy if I'm late getting to them because I'm seeing to other patients. But to call you with that kind of report is uncalled for."
"If that is the case, then you need to fix this. And if I discover you've lied to me and you are seeing one of your patients, Dr. West, I can tell you it won't go well for you. You're dismissed." She nodded to the door.
"I'll take care of it. And thank you for bringing it to my attention. Have a good day, Dr. Bellamy." Daniel rose and strode out of her office.
When he got in his car, he let out a string of curses. Who the hell was this that was trying to ruin his life? Yeah, he and Aurelia had gotten close, but who would be petty enough to report it anonymously? He spent the rest of the day worrying about it.
That night, after he got home and had settled down in front of the tv, his phone dinged with a text.
Can I call you? ~ Aurelia
He sent back: I'm not good company right now. ~ Daniel
It's important. I think I know who's behind the investigator ~ Aurelia
Seeing her words, he hit the phone button and dialed her.
"Daniel—"
"Who? Who's doing this to us? Do you know they called my superior at the hospital and reported us? I had to lie to her, Aurelia. I mean it wasn't technically a lie since we aren't physically seeing each other anymore, but it was a lie by omission."
"I'm so sorry, Daniel, I didn't know. Are you in trouble?"
"No, not yet. But we have to be really careful not to give anything away, babydoll. Everything has to stay professional between us in public. Now who is it that’s behind this?"
"Marcus. My mother told him where I am, Daniel, and I don't know what to do!" she cried.
"Damn. Why—" he started, but then he recalled those Facebook posts by her mother and realized he already knew.
"Because she thinks I need to give Marcus a second chance and that it will make me go back to Portland, she won't listen to me! I blocked her, Daniel, I blocked her from calling and texting me, and from my emails and Facebook. I cut her off. I just… I just can't deal with her shit anymore. Is that wrong of me?"
He could hear her sniffling, and the ache in her voice broke his heart. "I know that was really hard to do, babydoll, but it was the right thing. From everything you've said, your mother is toxic. She enables the man who abused you and manipulates you at every turn. I'm proud of you for making that decision."
She sniffled again. "What are we going to do about this investigator? About Marcus?"
"For now, we have to go on like normal. We both go to work, we do our jobs, we stay away from each other, except for your official visits. Probably best if we keep our texts and calls to nighttime, when we are in the privacy of our homes where no one can hear or see us."
"Okay." She drew in a deep breath and then blew it out slowly. "I hate this. I hate not seeing you."
"I know. I do to. But until I can figure out what to do about this guy, this is our only option."
"I know. I'm going to head to bed."
"Have you eaten?"
"No. I'm not hungry."
"You can't stop eating, Aurelia. Go eat dinner, then you can go to bed."