Olivia had never seen anyone like Emerald before; well, she had never seen a woman like Emerald before and she couldn’t deny the fact that she had been intimidated by her when they had first walked in, especially with how her always horny husband couldn’t keep his eyes or lewd comments off her.
She had also noticed how stoic Emerald was. Whatever feeling she truly felt inside was never reflecting on her face except for the disgusted look she had passed to George on his way out which had showed her obvious dislike for him. Even her voice had no emotion to it.
Other women and even some men would’ve immediately stood up to comfort and try to soothe her but Emerald only passed her a tissue and just sat there, looking intently at her with no expression on her face. Olivia had to admit that she really did feel intimidated and she couldn’t help but feel as though Emerald was looking deep into her soul and could unravel all of her secrets; that was how powerful her gaze felt.
She looked down at her laps as she nervously played with her fingers again, hoping that Emerald wouldn’t judge her or tell her how stupid she had been to agree to such condition without getting to know who the person was first. She knew she deserved everything happening to her but she didn’t know if she could bear to hear someone else judge her actions.
Emerald noticed how her client shrunk back into the chair and she had grasped the look of fear in her eyes before she looked down. Her features softened as she continued to gaze at the petite woman seated before her.
Against her ethics, she stood up and reached out before gently taking hold of Olivia’s hands. She gave her a gentle smile as she rubbed her hands softly.
“I genuinely assure you that I don’t bite. . .” Olivia gave a smile to which Emerald grinned in reply.
“. . . And you have nothing to worry about. I won’t judge you. Everything that happens in life happens for a reason and I don’t want you to think that you deserve any of what is currently happening to you because you don’t.
You have a good heart, Mrs Briggs. Your lascivious and lewd husband is just too blind to see it,” she concluded with a small smile.
A grateful smile graced Olivia’s face as a lone tear slipped down her cheek. That was all she needed; someone she could confide in, someone that would listen to her and not judge her whatsoever but no one was there for her.
Her parents had disowned her after what had happened which was what had led her to marry George in the first place, some of her friends had left because they couldn’t stand her husband’s lustful advances while others had betrayed her by yielding to her husband’s desires. She had absolutely no one to comfort her; Emerald had no idea how grateful Olivia was.
“Thank you so much, Miss Pearce,” Olivia pulled Emerald in for a hug, unable to contain the emotions that coursed through her. There was a glimmer of hope at the end of the dark tunnel that was her life after all.
“Thank you,” she whispered as she held her eyes tightly shut, her hands laced around Emerald’s back.
Emerald had gone stiff at the sudden action of her client but reluctantly she raised her arm to slowly pet Olivia’s back. Noticing Emerald’s rigid stance, Olivia withdrew, feeling embarrassed.
“I’m sorry. I just got carried away,” she mumbled solemnly.
“It’s fine,” she smiled reassuringly. “Do you still want to proceed with today’s session or we could have it sometime next week? Depends on when you’re comfortable enough,” she looked down at her black Cartier wristwatch, the golden hands ticking slowly by. It was already time for her to close the building.
“Definitely. I’m sorry we came quite late today. We would try to schedule something better next time,” Olivia began packing her bags as Emerald proceeded to zip her bag after placing her portable, foldable laptop in it.
She nodded and underneath the desk, she immediately swapped her flip-flops for the heels she had initially put on this morning before she stood up and grabbed her bag with Olivia following after.
She strode towards the ceiling to floor window and pulled the black Venetian blinds down to shield her office before she headed to the door with Olivia.
Pulling open the door suddenly, the man eavesdropping on the other side of the door had not expected it as he consequentially stumbled into the office, making Emerald and Olivia throw him cold, death glares.
▬▬▬▬▬
“So the idiot was actually hoping to have a session with you alone? Even with his wife seated right there, he still hadn’t filtered his words?” Oriana asked, her voice laced with disgust.
“Mhmm. . .” Emerald hummed in response as her eyes remained closed, her head resting on the back rest of the passenger seat of Ori’s car.
Oriana had picked her up after her session with the Briggs-well, specifically Olivia Briggs. George had been aggravated and had demanded that Emerald make time for him too since it was supposed to be a couple’s session but she had threatened him with the cops and begrudgingly, he had accepted, all the while mumbling lewd profanities under his breath, saying he wouldn’t ever patronise E. P’s therapy place again. To say Emerald was relieved, would be an understatement.
“That’s just plain disgusting. Why didn’t she just divorce him?” Oriana asked again.
She had arrived at the time George had been making a fuss because due to the great breakthrough she had brought to her workplace, she had been promoted as promised by her boss, Mr Hyde and had been given the rest of the day off to celebrate.
“I don’t know Oriana and please I would like to forget today’s events, so if you would please, do not stress on the issue,” Emerald muttered tiredly, trying to stymie the headache that had appeared just at the sight of George’s seductive wink as soon as they had walked into her office.
“Sorry,” she snuck a glance at her friend before focusing on the road again. “You know you’ve been working a lot lately, I think you need a break,” she suggested.
She continued when Emerald didn’t respond, “I was thinking we could celebrate my promotion this Saturday. We could go to a club. It would be the perfect way to loosen up a bit; plus, I already invited Amari and Aubrey to come with. So what do you say, Mera?”
She snuck another wary glance at Emerald, who was still quiet.
“Hmm?” She prodded, using her index finger to poke her friend’s cheek.
“Please?” She poked.
“Who knows, you could meet your prince charming there?” She poked.
“Eme?” She poked again.
“Mera?” And again.
“Maree?” She poked again as she called her by her middle name.
“Fine!” Emerald grabbed her index finger as she attempted to poke her again. “I’ll go. I could use some loosening up,” she mumbled. “Now, eyes on the road, McStuffins. I don’t wanna die yet,” she laid her head back as she heaved a sigh.
Oriana squealed in delight.