That Spring in Paris by Ciji Ware

Author:Ciji Ware [Ware, Ciji]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Paris, Contemporary Romance, Terrorism
Publisher: Lion's Paw Publishing
Published: 2017-05-25T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

Avery stared at the plaque affixed to the door reading DR. SONJA ABEL, MD – Psychiatry. The office was down a long corridor in a wing of the American Hospital that she’d never seen before, and Finn could tell she dreaded walking over the threshold.

“I’m sorry I’ve dragged you all the way here,” she said, her voice tight. “But I really don’t think I need to do this, Finn. Why can’t I just paint my way out of this? You know,” she added with a weak smile, “my own special brand of occupational therapy.”

“Well, one reason is,” Finn said, turning the doorknob, “you can’t even bear to pick up a brush because you’ve told me all you see are pools of blood on your blank canvas.” He pushed open the door. “Believe me, I know something of what you’re going through and I can only say that Dr. A has helped me get past some of this stuff.”

Once Finn had steeled himself enough to share with Avery, as he had with Juliet, some of his own post-traumatic problems, he’d managed to get her this far. Now, he was determined to deliver her to Dr. Abel as he’d promised Juliet. After that, it was up to Avery herself to commit to treatment—or not.

“C’mon, kiddo. We two are going to lick this thing,” he said with an assurance he didn’t feel. He addressed the receptionist. “This is Avery Evans. She’s here to see Dr. Abel at two o’clock.”

* * *

Brad’s attempts to display ingratiating behavior to his staff and younger siblings endured less than a week. While Juliet had been in Europe, a majority of board members insisted the CEO attend anger management sessions. Despite this edict, the more that the news was filled with the specifics of how the home-grown jihadists in San Bernardino planned and executed the assault on local government employees, the more insistent were Brad’s calls for “action” drawings depicting video characters getting blown up by drones.

“The guy acts as if home-grown terrorist attacks are a good marketing ploy for his damn war game products!” Juliet complained bitterly to Jamie prior to a scheduled design discussion a few days after returning home. At Brad’s direction, her staff had produced illustrations depicting roadside explosions in front of a small desert village with bodies of ISIS fighters tossed in the air and wounded on the ground, with a few camels killed for good measure.

During the meeting itself, Brad pointed to drawings posted on one wall in the conference room. “Bor-ing!” he declared. “That stinks! So does that... and that! What’s wrong with you people? We need action! ISIS body parts flying through the air,” he fumed in front of the art department’s entire staff. “SS 2 is due to launch and ship in two months’ time,” he said, referring to Sky Slaughter – Death in the Desert, the next video war game in the proposed series “and just look at the insipid dreck you’re giving me!” He glared at his sister, wagging a finger a foot from her face.

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