Page 68 of Pressure

The door opened again, and Lance stepped in.

"Jodie? What are you doing here?"

She stood and went to him. "Master Hunter let me in when he got here. I know you always come in a day early for the parties so I thought I would surprise you."

Marissa did her best not to scowl.

"You shouldn't have done that Jodie. Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?" Lance said, touching a hand to Marissa's shoulder.

Not wanting to witness what was likely to become a confrontation where Lance reminded the girl he was technically her Dom, she jingled his keys and pointed to the conference room.

"I'll just be in there."

He gave her shoulder a grateful squeeze and nodded, handing her the backpack that contained her tech.

Inside the conference room, she tossed her backpack on the table and threw herself into one of the chairs. She hated the animosity she felt toward Jodie for simply existing. It wasn't the woman's fault that Marissa just happened to wander back into the picture when she did.

She pulled out her phone and dialed Dr. Hoffman.

"Hello, Marissa?"

"Hi Dr. Hoffman. Sorry to call you like this. I'm just having a moment."

"You're quite alright. You haven't had to call me in over three years. Tell me what's going on."

She blew out a breath. "Lance is back in the picture in an unexpected way."

"Oh," Dr. Hoffman said, surprise in her voice. "And where are you emotionally?"

"I'm actually doing good. But there's another woman. Not someone he's sleeping with. But it's complicated, and I'm feeling extremely jealous in a way I don't like."

The therapist was quiet for a minute. "I will never tell you what you should or shouldn't do regarding your personal relationships. I'll just remind you the personal hell you went through in therapy the last time this relationship went south. I also want to commend you for calling me. Jealousy is not an inherently destructive emotion. It's important to remember that. Where jealousy gets tricky is how you react to it. I think making this phone call was a really positive step."

Ten minutes later, the therapist had her calmed down enough to talk rationally about club Solitaire and the house submissive program.

"If he's promised to move her to another mentor, you have the right to hold him to that. Don't make demands or be catty toward her. Because you're correct that she didn't ask for this situation either."

"Should I try to talk to her?"

"That's trickier. Does she seem receptive? Have you had conversations with her before now?"

Marissa thought about it. They'd talked for maybe five minutes in total.

"Not really."

"Then I would put an olive branch out but not push it. You said this place has a bar. You could offer to buy her a drink, but don't go out of your way to make it happen. Just make it clear that you're not trying to be her enemy."

Marissa nodded. That was something she could do without compromising her emotions.

"I have a session coming up in ten minutes. Are you in a safe place?"

"I am. Thank you. Again, sorry for bothering you."

"You're not bothering me. You're taking care of yourself and I'm pleased with your progress in that area. Let's plan to have a face-to-face session soon. If Lance is going to become a permanent fixture in your life, you might consider bringing him with you sometime."

Marissa stared at the phone. Lance, go to therapy with her?

The subject of her thoughts opened the door.

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