Free Zenith Rising by Leanne Davis Page B

man telling a woman what he thought of her.”
    Erica turned away to hide the warm rush that
was flooding her cheeks. As if Spencer even thought she had a
vagina! He detested her and everything she stood for. “I don’t know
what you mean.”
    “Yes, I think you do. You’re the smartest
woman I ever met, so act like it.”
    “Spencer is a friend of Joelle’s. I’ve known
him for a few years.”
    “Oh.” Roy frowned, then asked, “Like a friend
of a friend?”
    “Yes,” Erica said, but no. In no way, could
she call Spencer her friend.
    “Seemed like he was a bit too interested in
this protest today.”
    Perhaps Roy wasn’t showing enough interest in the nearly disastrous, career-altering protest. The
distressing, insulting, and harmful incident that refuted her good
will as a doctor, as well as a human being. Maybe her boyfriend
wasn’t upset enough on her behalf.
    “Maybe your handyman has a crush on you.”
    Erica laughed out loud. “Spencer having a
crush on me? No way. He hardly tolerates me as his boss. I’m like
the authority he loves to rebel against and hate.”
    “He seemed to take that pamphlet rather
personally.”
    “He was present when I had trouble with that
particular preacher before.”
    Roy looked down at his feet, and glanced back
her with a smile pursing his lips. “I guess I’m being ridiculous,
aren’t I? The handyman, for Christ’s sake! Yeah, right.”
    “Yeah, right,” Erica echoed. She was not
listening, but thinking of the pamphlet, feeling sick to her
stomach, and wondering how many people saw it. What did they think
of it? Of her? Of her as a doctor? More importantly, what exactly
did Spencer do to get the preacher off her front steps? Whatever it
was, she was eternally grateful that he took the risk and felt
enough loyalty towards her to take such a stand.
    What might this preacher do next to discredit
her?
    Why didn’t her boyfriend get upset over a
direct attack on her as a human being? As well as a doctor? Why did
her handyman go out there, but not Roy? Spencer easily took over
even though he hardly liked her.
    “Let’s just go to dinner,” Erica finally said
quietly. Confused. Tired. Her gut churning in knots. And not
knowing how else to get rid of Roy.
    “And after? Your place?”
    Erica shrugged. How could Roy even suggest
after what happened that she would like him to come over to her
place? How could Roy not get that after being called a baby killer,
she might not feel like having sex? Good God. It seemed so obvious.
“Not tonight.”
    When would she feel like it again? She hadn’t
felt like it in a long time. Not with Roy. Not with anyone, it
seemed. Maybe not for years.
    ****
    The next few weeks were quiet and she
encountered no more problems from the preacher, although there were
a few comments from those who saw the pamphlet. She tried to go
about her work, her practice, and her life, as if it hadn’t shaken
her to the core. Which it had. She couldn’t understand why she was
targeted. So hatefully targeted. It wasn’t just a protest against
her, but an attempt to sully her entire reputation. That pamphlet
could have ruined her practice.
    She still saw Roy, but less than before.
After his failure to do anything about the horrible pamphlet on her
behalf, she was pretty sure things weren’t going to improve for
them.
    She was in the last few weeks of preparing
for a charity dinner and dance of which she was the chairperson.
The clinic was only one of several sponsors who donated both time
and money to the dinner, and its purpose to raise research money
for breast cancer.
    The theme this year was “Winter in Summer”
and each plate cost one thousand dollars. It attracted all the Nick
Lassiters of the area, and was something she firmly believed in
because it was part of her life and her practice. She dealt with
breast cancer regularly with patients. She handled the screening,
first diagnosis, and treatment of it, as well as death from it. She
removed