Leeza was in tears for two hours before Madison could get her to calm down. He gave her a Valium tablet he kept in the medicine cabinet for those times when he needed to sleep following a particularly stressful day. He had been taking quite a few lately.
As she calmed down, he again assured her that nothing had happened between Harding and himself. But Leeza kept coming back to what Serena had told her: that he had had an affair with the woman. Now, after what she had witnessed, she was not sure what-or whom-to believe.
“Honey, I swear to you. I never laid a hand on her. I have never, ever even thought of getting involved with her.”
“Oh, come on, Phil. She’s gorgeous. You can’t tell me that you’ve never had fantasies about her.”
“Lee, she’s attractive. So are a lot of women in Sacramento. What does that mean?”
“Yeah, but you don’t go out to dinner with those other women.”
He did not like what he was hearing. She was adding up all the little tidbits of circumstantial occurrences, throwing them into the broth with the rumors she’d heard, and cooking them into a hearty serving of deceit.
Pausing for a deep breath, he realized that she, too, had been feeling the stress of recent weeks. “Lee, you’re just going to have to believe me. Nothing happened.” He looked at her and let his eyes penetrate hers. “She may be physically attractive, but she’s crazy-a nut job. Nothing could be more ugly than the type of behavior she’s been exhibiting.”
She dropped her chin to her chest and nodded. He knew that she needed some time to herself to unwind; he told her that he would take care of the boys for the afternoon, freeing her to drive over to the mall, where she could unwind for a few hours.
He spent the rest of the day with the kids-a rare day with just Dad-playing in the yard with them. Scalpel chased balls while he and the boys shot hoops.
He, too, tried to forget the incident with Harding. He called Hellman and relayed the sequence of events. His friend told him he was on his way out with his brother for the weekend, but he promised to call him back Monday morning unless he returned home early enough on Sunday night.
“Meantime,” Hellman said, “don’t worry about it. I know exactly what needs to be done.”
Leeza came home with a new dress and a couple of pantsuits from Nordstrom. Her spirits were better, but she was still quiet. He could tell that she had been crying during the day.
There was also a package from Victoria’s Secret, but he did not dare ask what was inside.