Ben sipped the excellent coffee as he explained.
“Truthfully, I would never have thought of this solution. Several members of my board did. But the more I think about it, the more interesting it gets. I’ve worked in the same role for over twenty-five years now. I’m even thinking about trying something new, helping start another business,” Ben said, studying Casey’s reaction to the news.
Casey narrowed his eyes. “Starting something new has some definite possibilities.”
“I’m jazzed about it. Tomorrow, I expect to be more excited. My only problem is Regina isn’t buying the logic of the title change.” Ben sipped his coffee again.
“Because you’re such a nice guy,” Alexa told Ben, the words still softly slurred. “When she came back from Norfolk, she cried because you were a nice guy and she didn’t want to mess up your reputation. Now she probably thinks it happened anyway. She’s probably feeling really guilty.”
Ben snorted and crossed his arms. “I am a nice guy, but I also love Regina. What if I wasn’t such a nice guy? Would that help?”
Alexa shrugged. “Probably.”
“Great, what’s the fastest way to become notorious?” Ben asked, rolling his eyes and drinking his coffee.
“Go on TV and confess your sins,” Alexa said, not having to think about it all. “I was a twenty-two-year-old pregnant lingerie model. It took like two seconds to develop a bad reputation when I told the interviewer I was getting a divorce after the baby was born. I couldn’t say Paul was gay then because his parents didn’t know yet. So I said we had problems that simply couldn’t be resolved.”
Alexa plucked at a piece of lint on the couch between her and Ben. “How was I to know one simple confession was going to brand me as a notorious woman?” She sipped her coffee, hoping the caffeine would soon take effect. The fog was starting to clear, but only a little.
Ben laughed again. “At least you had an interesting life. Dating Regina is my biggest sin.”
Alexa snorted and laughed.
Ben looked at her oddly.
“Well, I thought you were nice as well, but you should have seen Lauren and me looking at the elevator kissing shot in the paper. Lauren looked like you’d kicked a dog. I was threatening to neuter you for cheating on Regina. I swear her disguise didn’t even look like her. I thought you were making out with someone else.” Alexa stopped talking when she noticed Ben’s shocked expression.
“What? Sorry. Still drunk, I think. Did I say that out loud? Oh shit. Honey, more coffee, and hurry please, I’m scaring Ben.” She held her empty cup out to Casey, who laughed at her and rose to fill her cup again.
Ben continued to stare at Alexa. The elevator shot. Only a few people knew it was Regina and not a pizza delivery girl. He suddenly knew exactly how to become notorious.
Ben smiled his full wattage smile at Alexa.
“If your future husband wasn’t here right now, I’d kiss you,” Ben said, looking up to see Casey’s confusion. “But I don’t want to ruin my reputation as a nice guy.” Ben picked up her hand and kissed it. “Thank you, Alexa.”
“Casey, if you think you might be interested in a business partner, give me a call later this week. Right now, I have to go plan the demise of my reputation. I’ll let you know when my TV interview gets scheduled. Thanks for the excellent coffee and for loaning me your notorious woman for a bit. I’ll see myself out,” Ben said, striding off at a good clip.
Casey shook his head as Ben headed toward the door practically running.
“What the hell did you say to him?” Casey asked.
“I wouldn’t really have neutered him,” Alexa said, studying the hand Ben had kissed. “Regina would kill me. Have you ever seen her mad? She’s scary.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard several times. Come on, baby. We need to get you to bed. The coffee isn’t working.” Casey pulled her to her feet and hugged her close.
“I’ll let you have your way with me if you stay and tuck me in,” Alexa invited. “I haven’t had drunk sex in years.”
“Don’t push me woman,” Casey warned, steering her weaving form down the hall. “I’m not as nice as Kaiser. You tease me and I’ll nail you in a heartbeat.”
At the edge of their bed, Alexa spun her body around and plastered her mouth to Casey’s. She was hot and demanding even as she weaved from side to side.
Casey swore, stripped them both, and took great pleasure in driving them both over the edge before Alexa passed out.
Chapter 21
Ben dressed in the SydneyB suit he’d worn on his date with Regina, adding a new tie this time that matched the color of his eyes. He studied his reflection and smiled.
In some ways, he felt a bit like he was heading to lose his virginity, both excited and nervous about doing it right. Shaking his head free of stray thoughts, he grabbed the keys to his BMW and headed out the door.
At the TV studio, the newswoman planning to interview him came personally to meet him in the receiving area. Ben could tell she was surprised by his appearance because she pulled herself together a bit more when he smiled at her.
Ben took off his sunglasses slowly and heard the woman actually catch her breath a little. He mentally patted himself on the back. As soon as he could afford it, he was buying a lot more of Sydney’s clothes.
Ben held out a hand to shake her slightly nervous one. “Hello. I’m Ben Kaiser. You must be Stephanie,” he said, stretching her name out softly.
“Yes, that’s right.” Stephanie looked at the man, wondering what in the world this handsome man saw in Regina Logan. Logan was okay-looking for a woman her age, but this man could date supermodels if he wanted. He could date, well anyone really.
Even before he had called her, Stephanie knew Ben Kaiser was CEO of his company. Since he also dressed like a million bucks and drove a BMW, it upped the man’s value quite a lot in her perspective. Then top all of his success with a smile that could melt the entire continent of Antarctica and, well, men just didn’t get any better than him, Stephanie thought.
If he gave her even the slightest sign of interest, she was asking him out.
“I got the list of questions you sent over. You’re really willing to talk about those things on the air? Some of them are very personal,” Stephanie said to Ben.
“The only thing I draw the line at is negative insinuations about my dead wife. Catherine was and still is above reproach. I was a faithful husband to her for the all years we were together. You will not infer otherwise or I will get up and walk out even if we are on the air. Understood?”
Ben watched her face and saw her nod. “Fine then. I’ll answer anything you want to know about my relationship with Regina Logan.”
“Why exactly are you doing this interview, Mr. Kaiser?” Stephanie asked, seriously wanting to hear again what motivated him to contact her.
“I’m losing my position as CEO over falling in love with an allegedly notorious woman. Does that seem fair to you?” Ben asked her, his gaze level and sure as he met the challenge in hers.
Stephanie cleared her throat and shook her head. “No. I guess it doesn’t. Okay. Let’s get you prepped. The show will start in about thirty minutes.”
Stephanie led him down the hall to the makeup area, promising someone would retrieve him in a few minutes.
While Ben sat in a chair waiting his turn, he took out his cell phone and sent a discreet message to several people. Now it was up to others to make sure Regina saw the show. He was having Janet tape it anyway, just in case.
He got several confirmations back before he finally had to turn off the phone.
Standing just out of camera range, he heard Stephanie open the show and heard her explanation of him. Then he heard his name being called.
Ben walked over to the interview area hearing thunderous applause. He smiled and waved to the audience as he had seen Regina do.
Then he took the hot seat next to Stephanie Sawyer.
*** *** ***
“Dr. Logan,�
� Anna knocked rapidly and opened the office door without waiting for an answer. “A man named Casey Carter called and said you really needed to watch About Town with Stephanie today. He said to tell you Ben Kaiser was being interviewed. It just came on in the lobby. He said it was important for you to see the show.”
Regina jumped up from her desk and walked quickly to the lobby. Fortunately, there was only one patient there.
On TV, she saw Ben sitting in a chair near Stephanie and drew in a breath. She punched the button to turn up the volume. What was he doing? Why was he letting that awful woman near him? Hadn’t he seen what the woman had tried to do to her?
*** *** ***
“So, Mr. Kaiser. Let’s start with the basics. Were you ever a patient of Dr. Logan’s?”
“No. I was never a patient of Regina’s. I met her at a charity fundraiser where she was giving a speech. I asked her to dance, and then made her mad at me because I was shocked when I found out who she was. I was very intimidated by her reputation at first. Regina is very honest and doesn’t hesitate to say what she thinks.”
“I agree Dr. Logan is a very direct person,” Stephanie said, knowing she could not voice her real opinion of the woman.
Ben nodded and smiled. “Yes, she is.”
“So how involved are you with Dr. Logan currently?” Stephanie asked, smiling at Ben.
“We’ve been lovers off and on for a few months.” Ben smiled back at her.
“More off or on?” Stephanie asked, trying to tease Ben’s answer out with her cleverness.
“I still want her, if that’s what you’re asking.” Ben smiled full wattage as the audience laughed at his boldness. He heard many of the women sigh and wanted to laugh at the irony.
“Looks like Dr. Logan didn’t always return your interest. What about the pictures of her and other men? Like this one,” Stephanie used a remote to flash a picture of Regina and the Princeton professor on the screen behind them. “Dr. Vincent Emery looks really interested in her.”
Ben turned to study the photo, and then turned back shrugging. Damn it. Regina hadn’t mentioned the Princeton professor had been a couple decades younger than him. He had pictured some old guy when she told him the story. He’d never thought to check.
“The man asked her out, but she said no. Some reporter in her Princeton audience had been embarrassed by her, so he followed her and took this picture. The same press guy also tried to blackmail her when she refused to identify her relationship with me.”
“Okay. What about this one?”
Ben looked at a picture of her and Alan having dinner. Neither he nor Regina had seen the picture, and he wondered about Stephanie’s source for it. Regina was smiling but tense about her date. No one would ever have bought that dinner as a budding romance. He was glad he hadn’t been meaner to her about it.
“You know, I hate that awful pink suit. I’m going to burn it first chance I get. The guy in the picture is a friend of hers, and he’s gay. Got any real pictures?” Ben asked, making the audience laugh again.
She showed the first one ever taken of them together.
“That’s one of my favorites. A mutual friend was trying to hook us up. Regina wasn’t having it. See me whispering in her ear. I was begging her to take me home with her. I have that picture on my refrigerator.” Ben smiled over his shoulder, and then turned back to the interviewer, who seemed to be struck speechless for a few seconds by his admission.
Someone from the audience yelled she would go home with Ben if he begged her.
Ben laughed and smiled at the audience, pretending to scan for the woman. “Thanks. Will you talk to Regina for me?”
Stephanie flashed up a picture of Regina and Ben in his BMW on the way home from their date, and then others of them in the restaurant feeding each other bites of dessert.
Ben sighed at those. “Are you trying to get me to cry or something? I love those pictures. That was our one and only public date. It took me a long time to talk her into it.”
“What happened?” Stephanie asked, planning to use the conversation to segue into talking about his job loss.
“My company was harassed by numerous phone calls from the press wanting details. We also heard from some of our business clients who thought poorly of me dating someone like Dr. Logan. Regina refused to go out with me again,” Ben said sadly.
“Anything else happen after your date?” Stephanie prompted.
“Not then, but I’ve recently been asked to resign as CEO of my company. It was a unanimous vote among the board members so I really don’t have a choice in the matter. Since I’m still the primary stockholder, I’m letting them put me somewhere else within the company. Apparently, my ongoing relationship with Regina has made some people nervous about my judgment.”
Ben leaned on the table between Stephanie and him, looking at her deeply. “All my life people have told me I was a nice guy. Now I’m tired of being nice if it means I can’t have Regina in my life.”
Ben heard murmurs and gasps throughout the audience, and then thunderous applause.
“Looks like the audience agrees with you.” Stephanie reached out and put a hand over Ben’s. “I hate to show you the next picture, but you said you wanted the whole truth out, right?”
Ben nodded tightly and clenched his jaw. He lifted his chin so the camera could get a good angle on him. He made himself think of all the blocks between Regina and him and hoped he looked sufficiently upset.
Then they cut to commercial.
*** *** ***
In her office lobby, Regina was pacing in front of the TV.
Ben was telling everything. What did he hope to accomplish? Didn’t he know Stephanie would twist everything he said?
“Look at her. I can’t believe she’s touching him! That split-tongue snake has her hand on Ben’s, and he’s letting her do it. I’ll kill her. I’ll kill him. I’ll kill both of them.”
Regina paced and swore. The patient who had been waiting got up quietly and slid out the door. Regina saw him leave, but it barely registered in her brain.
After the patient left, Anna and the other staff came out to see what had made their boss mad enough to swear.
“Wow, look at the guy. He’s cute. Is that your boyfriend, Dr. Logan?”
Regina just looked in disbelief at her intern, who was young enough to be Ben’s daughter. The girl was drooling over him. Great, she thought, now her worst fears were confirmed. Ben could draw women of all ages like flies to honey. She’d probably never feel secure with him again.
“Yes. I’ve been dating Ben, but the situation may change after today.” Regina said as the show went to commercial. “You can’t date a dead man.”
She crossed her arms and waited for the show to return.
*** *** ***
When they came back from commercial, Stephanie briefly reiterated what had happened so far, and then she put her hand on Ben’s again.
“Ready?” Stephanie asked, oozing sympathy.
Ben nodded and tried to look upset again. Behind him was the picture of him kissing Regina while she was wearing her brunette disguise. Having it blown up to fit the giant white screen behind them emphasized certain aspects of the physical connection that eluded view in the smaller version, such as the way his knee was aggressively between her legs as he ground his pelvis against her hips.
Suddenly, Ben didn’t have to work so hard at looking pained about the picture. He knew he was a dead man because Regina was going to kill him over this alone. His knee had been against her crotch before the kiss ended.
“Who’s this you’re kissing so passionately?” Stephanie asked, hoping the cameraman was getting a good shot of Ben’s regretful face.
“It was a mistake,” Ben said softly. “I didn’t know anyone would be taking that picture.”
“Who is the woman?” Stephanie asked softly, looking sympathetic when Ben’s gaze dropped to his hands.
“The woman in the picture is a substitute for the woman I real
ly wanted. I’m not even into brunettes.” Ben looked at Stephanie, and she saw the truth of his words on his face.
“Ben, has Dr. Logan seen this picture?” Stephanie looked sad for him.
“Yes. Regina saw the picture. So did her friends. One of them threatened to neuter me.”
A couple audience members laughed, but not many. No one liked or tolerated blatant infidelity well. Ben had felt the tone of the audience shift the minute the picture had been shown. Several of the women in the audience would probably have helped Alexa do the deed.
Ben sighed and acted like he couldn’t stand looking at the picture. “I would never intentionally hurt Regina. Lately, I’ve just been so frustrated. I want her in my life. Shit, I want to marry her. Sorry—I just get so upset about this.”
Stephanie laughed, unconcerned with one small blip. It could be easily cut, but it was likely the networks wouldn’t even care. This interview was gold, absolute gold.
And Regina Logan was going to owe her.
“It seems to me you are sincerely regretful about your lapse in judgment. In her work, I’m sure Dr. Logan counsels couples through such things. Maybe she will forgive you and take you back. Let’s see what the audience thinks. What about it Falls Church? Does Mr. Kaiser deserve a second chance?”
The audience stood and clapped until Ben thought his eardrums would burst.
Then the show cut to commercial yet again.
*** *** ***
Regina swore viciously. Her office staff went scurrying back to their stations, behind the safety of the counters and files.
She knew they all believed the story. They’d brought her the papers.
They probably figured she was going to explode. They were right, just for a different reason.
She continued to pace, clenching and un-clenching her fists. She stomped back and forth talking to the TV.
“I can’t believe what you just said, Ben. You lying piece of shit, lying—ughh. There are no words for you. What are you doing? You’re messing up your life. Stop it!” She pointed a trembling finger to the TV. “Stop talking to that horrible woman.”
Dating Dr Notorious Page 20
