Dating Dr Notorious (16 page)

*** *** ***

Unfortunately, there were no pictures in the paper the next day.

Regina made some more phone calls. Four dates and a week and a half later, still no pictures had been printed of Regina and other men.

There was one speculation article about Ben and her, wondering what had happened to them. They had taken even more precautions during Regina’s dating-other-men period so no one caught them together.

Then for a while there were simply no more stories of Regina at all. And there were also no more calls to Ben’s company, and no more papers brought in by her staff or his. It seemed she and Ben were back to zero again, back to the point they were at before their date, back to when nobody knew about them or cared.

Regina sighed, not able to decide how she felt about the public silence, but still glad Ben had not given up on their relationship yet.

*** *** ***

A few days after they had mutually decided Regina’s dating-other-men-period had ended, Regina visited Ben again wearing the brunette disguise. She rang the doorbell, steaming pizza once again in hand.

A beautiful blond with sparkling blue eyes answered the door. “Can I help you?” she asked.

Regina fought panic and the urge to barge past the woman into the room, demanding to see Ben.

“Pizza for Benjamin Kaiser. Is this the right address?” Regina asked, forgetting to use her fake voice.

“It’s the right address, but we didn’t order any pizza. Sorry.” The blond smiled and shrugged, closing the door softly in Regina’s face.

Regina turned to walk away, and then stopped. What should she do? Kick down the door? Ring the bell again?

Think
, she commanded herself.
Do not scream
.

*** *** ***

Daniel walked to the living room. “Who was that?” he asked his wife.

“Pizza delivery,” Stacey said. “I sent them away.”

“Hey, Ben,” Daniel asked with a laugh, heading down the hall to the bedroom. “You didn’t forget tonight and order a pizza, did you?”

“
Pizza?
Shit
.” Ben came running out of the room at a full sprint, pants barely fastened and shirt completely undone.

“Brunette?” he asked, heading to the door.

Stacey laughed. She hadn’t seen Ben this animated in long time. “Yes, but isn’t that girl a little young for you, Ben?”

“No,” he barked at Stacey, yanking open the door, relieved to find a shocked Regina still standing in the hall, pizza box in hand.

“Thank God you didn’t leave. I wasn’t looking forward to jogging down the stairs half dressed. Get in here,” Ben said tersely, pulling Regina inside.

“Sorry,” Regina told him. “I didn’t mean to come at a bad time. I just—I didn’t think about—damn it, Ben! I wasn’t expecting to see a woman answer your door.”

“Later, I’m going to remind you about your reaction, and then I’m going to point out this is what I felt like when—never mind, forget it. Right now, I’m going be a nice guy and just tell you that you already know the woman
and her husband
.” Ben smiled and pointed to Daniel and Stacey. “Go ahead. Take a look. It’s been a few years.”

Regina took off her sunglasses and looked at the two people now openly staring at her in fascination. Eventually, recognition dawned for her even though they still looked clueless. She had told Ben the brunette disguise was the best one.

“I—
oh hell
,” Regina said, sinking down on Ben’s couch.

Ben frowned at her, hands on hips.

Regina finally noticed his clothes, or rather lack of them.

“You’re going out?” Regina asked, and then more realization dawned. “And you called, but I didn’t check my messages,” she finished lamely, finally realizing Ben was in the process of formally dressing up.

Ben nodded his head, and Regina sighed. She had it so bad for Ben Kaiser. She had been ready to either throw down with another woman over him or run away in tears. Only shock had held her back from both reactions earlier.

Regina put her head in her hands, feeling the cap when she did. And peopled wondered why she drank so hard so often? The stress of her life was definitely getting to her.

“Get rid of the brown hair,” Ben told her firmly. “Daniel and Stacey can be trusted.”

Regina pulled the cap and hair off. She took out pins until her red hair fell. Stacey drew in a breath and walked over to sit on the couch.

“Dr. Logan?” Stacey asked, smiling. “I love the leather skirt. It really suits you.”

Ben snorted, and bit his lip to keep from adding his own commentary about the skirt. He was already regretting he wasn’t going to be able to find out what was under it tonight.

“I wish like hell you wouldn’t cover your hair,” Ben complained instead, hearing Daniel snicker about his bossy tone.

Regina looked at Stacey and smiled. “If your sister was half as beautiful and nice as you, I can see how she kept Ben devoted to her all those years. I’m sure you’re wondering why I showed up in disguise at Ben’s door?”

“No. Everyone knows Ben has a thing for you,” Stacey said, delighted by the embarrassed blush coloring the older woman’s face. “And Daniel has shared some of the headaches that have come from it.”

“We don’t want to hurt anyone,” Regina said to Stacey, and then looked at Daniel. Daniel just smiled in reply.

“I have bad timing,” Regina said, standing as she felt her composure returning. She walked toward the door, pinning her hair up again as she went. “Ben, I’ll call you tomorrow. Enjoy your evening, okay?”

Ben walked over to Regina and stopped her from putting the cap on. He pulled her into his arms. His shirt was still unbuttoned and Regina closed her eyes in pleasure at feeling his naked chest.

Ben felt Regina’s tension as he pulled her closer, at last understanding how traumatized she had been by Stacey answering the door. How could Regina seriously think he’d be interested in someone else?

“The boots are very sexy and make you as tall as me,” Ben teased, successfully making her laugh. “I think you should let me pick out all your clothes from now on. After that awful pink suit, I don’t trust your fashion sense any more.”

Regina snorted against him and smacked his arm. “That’s a perfectly good suit.”

“Can I call you when I get back tonight?” Ben asked.

Regina nodded her head, not trusting herself to speak. She feared if she starting talking, everything she felt and feared would come rushing come out.

“Daniel? Stacey? Turn your heads please,” Ben said, smiling when they did as he asked.

“Ben, don’t embarrass your guests,” Regina scolded.

“Shut up and kiss me,” Ben ordered, his mouth swooping down on hers, staking his ownership and hoping it reassured her.

When he let her go, Ben gripped her chin hard. “If you ever show up here again and a woman answers, kick the door in and rescue me. There’s no one else, Regina.”

“Damn it, Ben. I know now I was an idiot. Don’t make me cry as well,” Regina sniffed, and kissed him back hard.

Then she stuffed her hair back under the rest of the disguise. “Daniel, Stacey, it was good to see you both again. I wish the circumstances had been better. Have a good evening.”

Ben opened the door and waited to close it until Regina had gone into the elevator.

When he turned around, Daniel and Stacey were both smiling.

“How long have you felt that way about Dr. Logan, Ben?” Daniel asked, his eyes kind and serious.

“Practically since the first time I saw her,” Ben said, walking back to the bedroom.

Daniel’s and Stacey’s gazes followed his back as Ben strode down the hall. It had been obvious to both of them this was not a relationship born of a single date.

“They’re not just dating, Daniel. They’re in love,” Stacey whispered softly, leaning against her husband’s arm. “And I mean, big time. It doesn’t seem fair they have to sneak around to see each other.”

“Yeah. It’s complicated.” Daniel said, hugging his wife. Looking into Stacey’s incredible face, he could fully understand why Dr. Logan would have suspected Ben of cheating. His wife was gorgeous. He didn’t blame Dr. Logan for overreacting. One of Ben’s more bizarre personality traits was he was the only person who didn’t know how truly good-looking he was. Another was his absolute fidelity to those he cared about, which still included the entirety of his dead wife’s family. It was probably hard as hell to start your love life over when you walked among reminders of the past every day.

Daniel sighed and wished he had a way to help, while Stacey grunted in disgust.

“Well, what they have doesn’t look very complicated to me. It looks pretty straight forward,” she said. “I say screw the press. Everyone will get over it eventually.”

“Probably true, but it’s the time factor causing the problem, babe. In the time it takes for people to get over things, lots of damage to a business can happen. In this poor economy, customers can be lost for a lot less than bad publicity,” Daniel said, loving that his wife was as good inside as she looked outside.

He lowered his voice to sexy whisper. “Stacey—did you just say
screw
? You know I love it when you talk dirty. Say something else.”

Stacey smacked his chest, and then threw herself into his arms for a scorching kiss that promised him everything in the world he wanted. He owed Dr. Logan for the heat of her kiss, Daniel thought, his mind dizzy with gratitude for his wife’s desire.

Ben walked out of the bedroom knowing he looked like the epitome of the well dressed, successful, mature male. Image was one thing in this case, he thought, the reality was definitely another. He wasn’t going to feel successful until Regina was able to be at his side.

He looked at Daniel and Stacey plastered on each other and sighed with envy, even as he smiled at the loving picture they made after fourteen years together. Regina really did do good work, Ben thought.

“Well, at least somebody will be getting lucky tonight,” Ben said to them, resigned to his lonely fate for the evening and wishing he’d sent Daniel and Stacey away instead of Regina.

The taxi from the airport dropped Regina as near as possible to her final destination, but she still had to walk the remaining distance. Regina pulled her rolling overnight case across the Princeton campus at a brisk pace as she headed to Robertson Hall where she was due to give a lecture in two hours.

With a nip in the September air, and some distance yet to cover, Regina was glad she had elected to wear the flat boots and the new green wool dress, which she bought mostly because it reminded her of the color of Ben’s eyes.

Regina sighed at her thoughts, acknowledging her longing for Ben was growing. Only a week had gone by since she’d last seen him, but she missed him terribly. Two days apart now seemed like a lot of time to her.

Ben’s company had another break-in, and he had been occupied with resolving it all week. Then she’d had to leave town for the lecture at Princeton.

As her professional growth turned into speaking engagements, Regina had travelled extensively on her own, took care of her own plans, and basically dealt with all the details of her life without even once wishing for someone to go with her—until today. Today she wished with all her heart Ben could be with her. Her depth of longing for his company was surprising, and it was humbling to discover she wasn’t as independent as she thought.

Dr. Anthony Searle, a notable psychology professor, was in the lecture hall’s office waiting to greet her. She and Dr. Searle were long time acquaintances, since she visited Princeton at least twice a year. Stowing her luggage and coat in the office, she took only her portfolio bag containing her notes to the auditorium. They walked down the hall together and were soon joined by a very attractive man Regina discovered was to introduce her.

Dr. Vincent Emery, a visiting resident in the field of psycho-sexual treatments, shook her hand and then held it so long Regina had to pull it away. Dr Emery was almost a foot taller than she with long dark hair that touched his collar and eyes the color of cocoa. Regina judged him to be about thirty-five or so, definitely an attractive man, but too full of himself and his interests for her tastes.

Or maybe she was put off by the fact he was trying too hard to impress her. He talked non-stop about his work on the walk to the auditorium. When they got to the lecture hall, Regina found herself anxious to escape him.

She and Dr. Searle checked the microphones and the height for her at the podium. She would give the bulk of her talk at the podium, but she usually walked and paced as she took questions from the audience.

At a quarter till the hour, the auditorium was more than half full. By the time Dr. Emery stepped up to introduce her, there were few seats left. This was not unexpected for her lectures. Princeton had hosted Dr. Raquel Eastman, a pioneer in Regina’s field. It always thrilled her to imagine she was following someone so brave and honest about sexual matters.

After the welcoming applause, Regina began:

“Thank you, Princeton. It’s a pleasure to be back with you again. Today, I want to talk to you about my recent studies in the connections between fostering a true intimate relationship to the ratio of satisfying sex between committed partners. This is not a new subject, but the problems many couples face are directly related to recent changes in our society.”

She paused to scan the audience, and to put on her reading glasses.

“Today I want to focus on heterosexual partnerships and how they are being affected by shifting gender roles. The pleasure of true sexual ravishment among heterosexual partners requires a male who wants to ravish and a female who wants to let him. Though this can certainly work in other ways, this standard system is built into the majority of people biologically. Individuals without a clear sense of themselves as masculine or feminine are often confused in the bedroom as well as the rest of their lives.”

She tilted her head up and looked over the top of her reading glasses. When she was satisfied with the level of attention she received, she went back to her notes.

“Males have been told to be sensitive and non-threatening at all times. This is often in direct opposition to their ravishing urges toward their female partners. The resulting guilt of wanting to ravish, and it’s incompatibility with sensitivity, leads to the stifling of all aggressive urges in the males, even the desired ones. It keeps the male expression somewhat repressed, and often keeps the female from feeling sexually desired. The male partner feels he can’t express himself, and the female partner perceives her male partner is holding back his desire from her.”