"I will never again underestimate the capacity of the male ego to ruin everything," Celia muttered, her eyes narrowed into slits as she made stock of Patrick and Zander glancing everywhere but at her.

"Stupid pride," I groaned, equally as irritated as my best friend. I was seething underneath my skin and furious that Zander and Patrick were making light of a situation that was meant to benefit them.

"Stupid Desmond," Patrick pitched in, garnering him two ferocious glares from both Celia and I.

We were sitting in the waiting room like baby lambs about to be slaughtered since the Counsellor quickly shut the door in our faces, providing us with a single 'you better clean this up or else' look and returned to her session with Randy and Dana.

"Earl," I snarled, my tone unable to mask my anger.

"Yes, ma'am?" Zander offered sweetly, conscious of my rage but amused nevertheless.

The stupid shirtless boyfriend of mine knows I couldn't do much damage...I can barely snap a pencil in half but that wasn't going to stop me from attempting to come across as threatening.

"How do you intend to get us out of this mess?"

"The only thing that's a mess is Xeno here but to answer your question, I'd say we just continue to act the part."

"And what part would that be?" Celia asked thinly.

"We're all here for guidance, counselling...help."

Rolling my eyes, I merely shake my head without saying a word. Everything about this whole stunt we were trying to pull off was far fetched to begin with but this? This was a circus act straight out of 'Clownery for Dummies.'

The permanent marker writing sprawled all over his bald cap wasn't helping much either. Nor were half the buttons on his shirt unfastened that gave him the effect of being totally deranged since the broad smile he was giving me was out of place.

"Except three of us in this room are employees," I bit out, my teeth gnashing slightly to hold back my voice from rising.

"Okay then, we disappear and the Wyatts can continue to sit here and pretend nothing is amiss."

Snorting, I give him a fleeting look of indignation before plopping into a chair with a leg shaking like a tennis player on the sideline of a set break, jittery from nerves and a rush of adrenaline.

Okay, Catherine. Think.

"Cat?" Zander asked.

"Cat."

"Glacinda?"

Giving Zander an exasperated look, he runs a hand against the back of his neck before risking a seat next to me and whispering a plan that makes me flinch but also sigh with relief.

Nodding in silent agreement, we shake on it and he hooks Xeno by the arm. Despite Xeno's many protests, including a fleeting look for help in my direction, he leaves with Earl.

Turning towards Patrick and Celia, I clutch Patrick by the shoulders and practically dig my nails into him. "Okay, listen. No more craziness. When those two come out and the counsellor asks what happened, you tell them, all three of them, that this was a performance conducted by one of the Counsellor's to help a man with his low self esteem."

"Excuse me?" Celia asked confused.

"It's what now?" Patrick added.

"Just act like we acted all that out because Xeno has low self esteem and we had to stage some kind of scenario where he gains a bit of it back or learns how to deal with a real life situation should it arise."

Shaking her head in disbelief, Celia raises an eyebrow. "That is absolutely ridiculous."

"But...possible," I added, my eyes closing ever so briefly as I gnaw at my bottom lip.

Sorry, Xeno. But this is Zander's solution to the whole problem and one that allowed the rest of this job to continue without any more glitches.

Squeezing Patrick's shoulders more firmly, my eyes bore into his. "No more unnecessary and jealous remarks about Desmond or so help me, I will personally call your grandmother and have you secretly engaged and married off to the first woman on a list of eligible clients. Don't make me do it Patrick because I can and will make your life miserable if you don't follow the script!"

Huffing, I release my hold but catch his eyes widening. Glancing from me to Celia, Patrick shakes his head. "You wouldn't...."

"Oh but we would," Celia added cooly, smiling with a far off look in which she attends Patrick's wedding while every step he took towards his new bride would be one step closer to a living hell for him.

"Okay, okay, whoa. I agree to your terms and conditions, just relax C&C."

"Good, so you'll follow the rest of the plan?"

Gawking, he lifts his hands defensively. "I obviously don't have a choice."

Patting the top of Patrick's head while he's still seated, Celia gives him a smug smile. "Good, glad to see we're on the same page because your future and Zander's depends on it. Now button up love, because we are about to give a performance of a lifetime."

Groaning, he miserably fumbles with the buttons on his shirt but does as he's told. Finally gaining some sense of satisfaction, I allow a sigh to escape and take a seat opposite a few chairs down, quickly scribbling down notes for Xeno's guidance experiment on the double paper clipped and stapled pages I carried into the waiting room.

This had better work or Zander will be bleaching tiles and deep cleaning my entire apartment as compensation.

I'm so absorbed into thoughts of Zander scrubbing my floors that Celia and Patrick's conversation takes me by surprise.

"It wouldn't kill you to be the slightest bit devoted," Patrick said darkly.

Snickering Celia shakes her head. "I'm pretty sure it would, actually. Maybe you should reel in on your pettiness and act your age."

"I'm not petty."

"Whatever you say, Mr. I'll go shirtless to prove the dumbest and most senseless point known to humankind."

"If I'm petty then you're too overly enthusiastic about a guy you'll never meet. Also, stop dragging all of humanity into this."

"That's between me, him, and the universe. What's it to you? What has Desmond Barnes done to upset you? You knew what celebrity Dana was interested in."

"Yeah, but she's into several and I didn't think that from all the different cut outs and signed autographs that were in your bag, that Desmond would be it."

"Meaning?"

"The guy stole my ex!" Patrick muttered harshly.

"Oh. Well this took a very dark and dramatic turn. Still doesn't justify the egotistical strip show but I definitely didn't sense that coming."

No matter how dark, that's going to be added to Patrick's file and I mentally catalogue this new revelation for later.

"Yeah well, he's scum and as your friend, I'd suggest that you shouldn't fawn over trash."

"What a tiny, minuscule world you live in. I can't believe you know Desmond like that."

"You do realize we live in the same world, right?"

After a lengthy pause, I can visibly see Celia deflate and finally steers their heart-to-heart back to its main focus. "Yeah, okay. Fine. I obviously trust you more than someone with a fake smile...and glorious body. But you're going to tell me what went down right?" There's an edge to her voice at the end, unconcealed glee swimming in her eyes.

"You could try to act like you're not that interested."

"But I am! Also think about the leverage that would give C&C. I want all the juicy details! I promise to be sympathetic and hurl every insult I know at him."

Bemused, Patrick's forehead crinkles as his brows shoot upward. "Sometimes I think you're just too honest."

"A breath of fresh air isn't it?" Celia asked simply.

"Yeah. It is," Patrick said, his voice softening ever so slightly and I watch their exchange with more seriousness...at least this is one part of my plan that isn't failing.

This slight slippage into my own personal thoughts costs me as the counsellor marches out of her office followed by Randy and Dana. The latter looks happy to see us while the former simply gives us a glance of recognition.

Ok Cat. Do not under any circumstances break out into a sweat or worse...break down sobbing.

Then I'll really need life counselling.

"Sooo....Glacinda?" The counsellor asked lightly, providing me with the space to explain things.

"The scenario went...well," I said meekly, my voice flattering at the end.

Her face contorts into an expression of questioning doubt but it goes unnoticed by Dana and Randy standing behind her, quietly soaking in our conversation out of pure curiosity.

"I'm sorry, let me clarify. The field experiment for Xeno's self esteem induced by social anxiety went well and he managed to interact with others around him much longer than last time."

Please let this work! The next thing that's coming out of my mouth will be gibberish accompanied by my famous dead fish stare.

Putting me out of my misery, the counsellor replies with a single, clipped word. "Excellent."

I breathe a sigh of relief and hope the couple standing behind her think it's a subordinate finding relief from a task being reported to a superior.

"I'll see the Wyatts next in a few minutes. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting but I won't be long, if you'll excuse me just for another five minutes?"

This is it. This is the moment we've patiently been waiting for and I nearly skip out of the room and follow closely behind the counsellor who heads straight for the coffee machine.

Gently placing a few fingers flat against the side of my ear, I listen in on Patrick and Celia and smile from the contents coming through the other end of the earpiece.

Nodding to the counsellor, I give her a thumbs up and hastily give her an update. "Our work...if you can call it that...here is done." And head towards the office area in search of Zander.

Finding him nowhere, I make my way to the employee lounge that's sectioned off and on a lower level. Spotting him instantly, my eyes go wide from the sight before me.

"Ummmm Earl? What is going on?"

Grinning, Zander pats Xeno with a hand that'll give him whiplash and I physically flinch. "Xeno and I are just having a nice chat, aren't we?"

"There's nothing nice about any of this, if you ask me," Xeno grumbled, failing to mask the wince filtering across his features when Zander squeezes his hold around him.

"Well it's a good thing that neither I or Glacinda asked then."

"What I'm asking is why do both of you look worse than you did before?" I asked haltingly.

"Oh this? It's nothing," Zander said, wiping away the trickles of orange juice cascading from his bald head. There were now donut frosting smudges all over Xeno and neither one of them had cleaned up the results of the previous fiasco.

From the corner of my eye, I spot a team of cleaners eyeing them scornfully and gulp.

"Do I want to know?" I asked slowly.

Inhaling a deep breath, Xeno breaks free of Zander's hold and walks up to me. "Earl dragged me out of the waiting room and back into the break room but we crashed into Tina who bumped into Jorge, and their lunches landed on us."

"And how did..."

"Because Earl wouldn't let go of me so I had to struggle and fight my way out of his clutches..."Trailing off, Xeno realizes that the explanation he was giving was not making him look good and stops abruptly, eyeing me nervously. "Of course, if I really wanted to break free I could. Earl has nothing on me," he finished with false bravado.

Smirking at Xeno, Zander rises from his seat and slings an arm around Xeno's neck. "You sure you want to test that weak theory out?"

"It's not weak! And neither am I!"

"Aw little guy, of course you aren't," Zander cooed aggravatingly.

"I'm not!"

"Sure, whatever you say."

"I like to be selectively strong!"

"Like selective participation?" I asked, cutting into their banter.

"Yes! I mean, no!"

"Even your explanations are weak," Zander said smoothly, grinning when Xeno scowls.

"I'm not weak."

"It must be hard being physically and verbally...frail."

"Shut up. At least I don't have a bald head shaped like an egg."

"If you only knew."

"Knew what?" Xeno snapped.

"How much Glacinda has a thing for my bald head."

Gawking, I turn to Zander alarmed while Xeno turns to me with mild repugnance.

Great. My boyfriend just gave me a bald head fetish out of nowhere.

"She loves the smoothness, how it glistens and shines, and-"

Smacking a hand against Zander's mouth, I offer Xeno a shaky, uneven laugh.

"Ermm, it was nice meeting you Xeno but I've clocked out for the night and so has Earl - clearly," I managed to get out briskly, grabbing Zander by the arm and immediately recoil at the stickiness.

"Wait! Can't I get your number at least and we can grab lunch sometime?"

"What?" Zander and I chimed, yet mine was genuine confusion considering it was just revealed that I presumably have a thing for bald guys while Zander's is irate.

"I don't think we're close enough to be going to lunch," I hurriedly add, a light shade of pink twinging my cheeks.

Xeno's next line gets cut off by the sound of heavy footfalls and the Wyatt's run up to us hand in hand.

It's time to go before I'm labelled for having any more fetishes.

Quickly waving goodbye to Xeno, all four of us exit from a side door and clatter into the car. There's a silence that falls on us since this entire evening has felt like a decade's worth of work but Celia soon catches a glimpse of Zander and begins shrieking.

"You stupidly good looking idiot! Get out of the car and wipe yourself off! You're going to ruin the seats!" She hissed.

Rolling my eyes, I buckle myself in and high five Patrick instead.

He grins, and I offer a grin in return. "So you're proud and I don't have to worry about a miserable future?"

"I can't believe they actually bought it! But yeah, I promise. No poor matches for you."

"Wait, what happened? My earpiece got orange juice all over it and I didn't hear anything," Zander said, puzzled and excited.

If only the board of directors he's on could see him now. Hairless, orange, and a victim of permanent marker.

"The Wyatts are now friends with Randy and Dana, and are invited next week to their apartment for dinner."

Celia finally tears her distasteful glare off Zander. "And even better, Randy is leaving for an assignment in two weeks. If we get close enough to Dana, we can probably gain access to his work studio."

"You want to infiltrate his workspace," Zander finished off.

"Exactly! He's still suspicious and has his guard up way too high. We're running out of time so the next best thing for us is to work through Dana and basically use Randy's tools, paste his name on the work we'll do, and simply circulate it while he's gone."

I take note of the silence between Patrick and Zander and add my own reassurances. "If you two can actually manage to follow the plan for once, then this will be easier without Randy in the picture. I know we were meant to persuade him but who knows how much convincing that'll take. This is our plan B and will probably work better."

"Two weeks..." Zander trailed.

"We don't have much time, but we can do this so long as Celia and Patrick become fast friends with Dana."

"And in the meantime, you and Zander can start by leaking those photos of Patrick and me before we drop the bomb of Zander's new dating life. If on the off chance Randy comes back, he'll be too preoccupied with wanting to sniff out news on Patrick to worry about others."

Groaning slightly, Patrick mutters "Gran" under his breath.

"The end is in sight. We just have to pray and hope that nothing gets in the way."

With those final words, I give both men a hard stare and they glance away knowing full well that their antics almost ruined everything today.

"We'll behave," Zander promised but there's a lightness to his tone that makes me question everything.