Chapter 2

I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my temples. The headache that had been a constant companion for me over the last couple days was getting worse. I knew I needed to go to the doctors but my schedule was so packed that I didn’t have time to even breathe.

“Zach, you okay?”

I glanced up at my longtime friend and head of security, Jason. He looked at me worriedly. I flashed him a smile.

“I’m fine. Just a slight headache.”

“Do you need me to get your medication?”

I shook my head and reached down in my drawer, pulling out the bottle. “I already had one. It took the edge off it.”

“If you’re already to the point where it isn’t helping fully…”

“Thanks, Jason, but I’m fine.”

I smiled again at him and leaned forward, looking at the paperwork on my desk. A knock on the door pulled my eyes away from the words.

“Come in.”

Stacy, my other longtime friend and current head assistant, poked her head in. Once she deemed the room was clear, she walked in and closed the door behind her. She smiled at Jason.

“Your 2 o’clock canceled.”

“Good. I don’t know if I can handle Mrs. Kinkaid’s voice right now.”

She chuckled, placing a couple of files on my desk. “Also, your mother, your father, and your fiancé called.”

“At once?” Jason called out, chuckling as he flipped through the newspaper he was reading.

“No. Separately. Your mother wants to ensure you will be over for this Thursday’s family meal. Your father wants to go over some projects that he wants to start on when you are on your honeymoon. And Jennifer…well…”

I shook my head. “Wants to know if she can use my card?”

Stacy nodded. “For goodness sake, I honestly don’t know how one woman can spend so much damn money.”

Both Jason and I broke out in grins and he even chuckled. “Your parents really know how to pick’em.”

“You’re never going to be able to retire if she keeps this up.” Stacy put her hand on her hip. “You need to start reigning her in, Zach. Seriously.”

“Or I could just ship her off to France with her friends and I would never have to see her again.”

Jason laughed this time. “I think that might actually work.”

“She is going to be your wife, Zach. Not only is she going to be representing the company but you as well. As a person.”

I sighed and started to rub my temples again. This conversation was not helping with the headache. “Thank you, Stacy. For pointing out how fucked I am. I don’t want any of this but I have no choice. There isn’t anything I can do. I am bound by the laws of this stupid family and this world that I tried so hard not to be a part of.”

“Dude, you need to go to the doctor. Just make a quick trip there right now.” Jason put his paper down and stood up.

“Headaches again?” Stacy looked from Jason to me.

I nodded. “Fine. Stacy, move back my 3 o’clock just in case. Jason, let’s go.”

Getting up, I grabbed my jacket and pulled it on, buttoning it up. Smoothing out my ruffled hair, I walked out of my office with Jason on my tail.

“Stacy, please give Dr. Jha a heads up that I am heading over now.”

“Yes, sir. Will there be anything else, Mr. Anderson?”

As soon as we were out of the privacy of my office, they became my employees and not my friends. I shook my head and she veered off to her desk while Jason and I entered the elevator. We headed down to the private basement parking for employees only. He opened the door to my company car and got in the back. Usually, I only took Jason if I was going out unlike my father who took at least three unless I was out with Jennifer. My list of people who were pissed off at me was much shorter and consisted mostly of the board members.

The ride to the small clinic was surprisingly quick considering it was on the other side of town. Being in New York, trying to drive anywhere meant it was going to take double the time, but we managed in under twenty minutes. 

Walking in, I nodded to the receptionist who smiled and twirled her hair around her finger. Jason leaned forward and flashed her a smile.

“We need Dr. Jha. She should be expecting us.”

“Honestly, you should have come months ago but you don’t give a crap about this old lady now do you?”

I chuckled and looked at the now open door. Dr. Jha was a 5’3” woman from Northern India in her early sixties. She was sharp and her tongue matched her sharpness. After three years of seeing her, I felt more fondness for her than even my own mother.

“Zachary Anderson, you get that butt in here and sit down in Room 1.”

I nodded and walked past her, my eyes down with my hands in my pockets.

“Don’t try to be cute with me. Months, Zachary. Months you haven’t been in and now look where you are. Your medication isn’t working, is it?”

I shook my head.

She sighed and shook her head. “Go sit down. I’ll be there in a moment. I need to pull this giant folder of yours.”

I went into the room and shut the door behind me. Taking off my jacket, I laid it on the back of one of the chairs and loosened my tie. Sitting down, I took out my phone and started to scroll through my emails.

“Can you just not work for like…five minutes?”

I looked up to see Dr. Jha come in with my hefty folder in her hands. She slammed it down on the desk and sighed.

“If I don’t work, I’m going to have to answer messages I would prefer to never be a part of.”

“Ah yes, the joy of wedding planning. How’s that going by the way?”

I wrinkled my nose. “Which part? The wedding or the marriage?”

She chuckled. “Both?”

“You know I never wanted any of this. Hell, I didn’t even want to be CEO but here we are.”

“I don’t know why you just don’t say no. No one is forcing you at that altar to say ‘I do.’ You’re the only one. Hell, there aren’t even any guns involved. It’s just you and a spoiled brat who needs to learn her place.”

I coughed out a laugh. “Dr. Jha, why not just adopt me?”

“You’re too much trouble. Already enough of a thorn in my side. I don’t need to be attached to you any other way.”

Her smile was wide, though. Honestly, I think she would if I was younger. A younger version as I was now, not the younger asshole playboy I had been. She came over to me and shined the light pen in my eyes and I blinked against the brightness.

“How bad is it?”

“The medication takes the edge off of it, but we are working our way up to an 8 out of 10 even with the pills.”

Her smile turned to a frown. “Your pupils are a little slower to respond to the light. Have you been sleeping well?”

I shook my head. “I get about three to four hours a night. During that time, I see…or dream…flashes of things I don’t remember. Sometimes I feel and can’t see. Sometimes everything is blurry. But I just wake up in a cold sweat.”

Dr. Jha nodded. “When did this start?”

“A month or so ago. When the headaches started to get bad as well.”

“It’s probably your memories. Your subconscious is forcing the memories forward while you sleep. Because of your injury, it’s putting pressure on that part of your brain, leaving you with the headaches.”

I sighed and put my head in my hands. “It’s been three years. Why is it happening now?”

“It could be the stress of the company mixed with your upcoming nuptials. It could be that your brain finally thinks you’re ready to recover from the injury. It could be anything really. We still know so little about the brain.” Dr. Jha sat in her chair. “We can do a scan, make sure that everything is okay back there and that there isn’t any excessive swelling that would be causing the headaches. However, I think it’s just that your memories might have started resurfacing.”

I looked up at her and she was staring at my folder, but I knew she wasn’t reading any one thing on the page.

“If it’s already like this, and it’s only your subconscious trying to push the memories forward, I’m worried about the pain you may feel if you get the memories back just in your day to day. It might be worth looking into some alternatives.”

“Alternatives? What do you mean?”

Dr. Jha tapped her pen on the folder before looking at me. “I was digging around last month in some new medical journals. I’ve known for years there has been voodoo and dismissal against hypnotherapy. However, to be able to drop oneself into a subconscious state without being asleep may unlock certain memories, especially when your subconscious is already trying to push them forward.”

I grimaced. “Hypnotherapy? Really? Like swinging the watch in front of your face and you fall asleep kind? That’s ridiculous.”

“Zachary, I wouldn’t have said it if I thought it was ridiculous.” Her voice was stern and I realized I was being chastised. My head fell.

“It’s just…”

She huffed. “What I’m saying is that if we unlock your memories all at once, it might save you a lot of pain that could come from the headaches. If you get a flash of a memory that’s only one minute or five minutes out of the six months that you are missing and it’s causing you immense pain, it would be better to try and force them all at once.”

“But…”

“It’s just an option. I will do some more research on it since I won’t see you for another couple months, knowing you. But I want you to think about it. If it starts to get worse or you do remember something from those six months you’re missing, you need to come in. I want to make sure you can actually survive through getting those memories back. As much as you had the head trauma from hitting the ground, it doesn’t necessarily explain why you had such an extensive amount of memory loss and why you haven’t been able to recover.”

“Such as, it’s my brain telling me that I wouldn’t be able to handle what happened before or during the accident and so it locked them away?”

Dr. Jha nodded. “PSTD also might be a possible reaction as well. Which is why I want you to take this seriously.”

I nodded. “After three years it seems useless to remember anything within that time.”

She shrugged. “Jason and Stacy both said that when you woke up, you were different. You also stopped partying as much. Stopped hopping from woman to woman and started to stay further out of the limelight you loved so much as a playboy.”

“Hey!”

Laughing, Dr. Jha closed the folder. “Honestly though, think about what I said. If it’s something that we need to force, hypnotherapy might be the best way to go. I don’t want you to be in more pain than what is necessary.”

I nodded. “Thanks, doc.”

“For now though, I’m going to swap your medication. Give you a bit of a higher dosage until things even out with the stress from the wedding. Make sure Stacy and Jason keep an eye on you.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Getting up, I grabbed my jacket and started to put it on.

“Get some rest, Zachary. Seriously. I know you’re busy but get some rest before it gets worse and you become useless.”

I smiled and buttoned the last button. “Yes, Mom.”