She saw Stephanie sympathetically touch his hand again and lost it.
“Get your fucking hands off him!” she yelled at the woman through the TV screen.
When Stephanie patted Ben’s hand again, Regina screamed.
*** *** ***
“So, Ben, we’ve got about three minutes left. Is there any special message you want to send to Dr Logan?” Please have three minutes worth, Stephanie prayed, crossing her fingers under the interview table.
“Yes. Actually, there is. Where’s the camera?” Ben turned in the direction Stephanie pointed. “Thanks.”
He scooted forward in his seat. “Regina, I hope you’re watching today. You know I’ve loved you since the first moment I saw you. I want to grow old with you. I’m sorry about the thing with the brunette. I swear you’re all I want in this world.”
Ben reached into his jacket pocket and brought out a ring box, which he opened and held out in front of him as he talked into the camera. In it was a giant solitaire. He heard the audience whispering and going nuts.
“Last time I asked you to marry me, I messed up the proposal. Look, this time I have a ring and everything. I know you were looking for a nice guy, and I know I’m probably just as notorious now as you are. But if I’m with you I can be a nice guy again. Marry me, Regina Logan. I love you.”
The camera cut back to a wide view of both Ben and Stephanie as the audience broke out into applause and screams.
Ben got a standing ovation.
Stephanie reached over and shook Ben’s hand as they signed off.
*** *** ***
Regina sat in the floor of her waiting area alternately sobbing and laughing.
Ann brought her a box of tissues and bottle of water. She squatted in the floor beside Regina to rub her employer’s back as she sobbed.
“He’s lost his mind, Ann. Ben lost his job because of me and now he’s told everything. The press will descend on him like a pack of vultures on a dead carcass,” Regina exclaimed.
“I don’t know, Dr. Logan. Mr. Kaiser looks pretty tough. If it wasn’t for the brunette thing, seems like he’d be the perfect man,” Ann said. “Are you going to forgive him?”
“Probably—Ben doesn’t really like brunettes,” Regina said, sniffing back tears, reluctant to blow Ben’s story wide open even with Ann. She still didn’t know who the information leak was in her office.
“Then you probably ought to say yes to his marriage proposal.” Ann stood. “You okay?”
Regina nodded. “I think I need to go home before the press shows up here. Close up for the day. You all don’t need to deal with this either. You’ll need to reschedule all the appointments tomorrow.”
Ann patted Regina’s shoulder and stood.
Regina pulled her knees up to her chest, laid her head down on them, and wept some more.
There was no going back now, she knew. The show was recorded. Tomorrow it might even be shown nationally.
Regina closed her eyes in anguish. “Ben,” she whispered, “you have no idea what you just brought down on your head.”
Chapter 22
Early the next morning, cameras and local news people lined up on the street outside the main office building of Winslow-Kaiser Builders. Cameras flashed as Ben climbed from his car, which he had deliberately parked on the street instead of in the parking garage.
Ben laughed bitterly at himself and the attention he’d brought to himself and the company, hoping what he was doing worked.
Several press people called his name, and he brought his focus to the nearest microphone shoved in his face.
“Mr. Kaiser, is it true you’ve been asked to resign as CEO of your family company because of your relationship to Dr. Regina Logan?” a woman questioned, shoving a microphone further into Ben’s face.
“That’s old news. Didn’t you watch the interview on TV yesterday?” Ben asked in reply, frowning.
“Sorry. I meant to ask, are you staying on in the company?” she amended quickly.
Ben gave the woman a small, tight smile. “Yes. Papers are being drawn up. When the deal is settled, the company will do a press release about the details.”
“Do you really want to marry Dr. Logan?” a tall man nearby asked, notepad in hand.
Ben stopped and waited while the man’s photographer took a picture of his smiling face. “Yes. I want to marry Regina. I’m carrying the ring around with me in case she shows up. Now you’ll have to excuse me. I have to go to work and sign my resignation papers.”
Ben looked around and glared at all of them, mentally questioning their nosy characters and choice of profession as he walked into the building. He didn’t have to fake his frown at all.
Alfred parked his racing green Jaguar on the street just behind Ben’s BMW. He and Daniel rode to work together today on purpose, feeling it was best for them to be seen together. They wanted to look like they were conspiring on the issue.
They heard reporters calling their names before they even got out of the car and turned to each other across the seat. Both of them swore and laughed.
“I don’t know how Dr. Logan deals with this all the time,” Daniel said, frowning. “This is freaking annoying to say the least.”
“Buck up, Daniel. Consider it your fifteen minutes of fame,” Alfred said, smacking Daniel on the shoulder.
Alfred climbed from the car and said loudly. “Winslow-Kaiser Builders plans to do a press release tomorrow. Today there is just a lot of business to take care of. Excuse us, please.”
“Will you confirm Mr. Kaiser has been asked to resign?” the woman reporter asked, tilting the microphone toward Alfred.
“The action was unfortunate, but Ben understands why we are making the request. I can assure you the steps being taken will not harm Ben or the company long term. Now excuse me,” Alfred pushed through the crowd and walked into the building as the cameras clicked and flashed.
Daniel paused, looked at the cameras and news people with open disgust. He had great admiration for Ben loving Dr. Logan enough to be willing to take this on for her sake. He gritted his teeth and glared at them all with genuine contempt.
“Ben is like a brother to me. Whatever happens, he will always be family. Business decisions are just that, they’re business. None of this is going to stop us all from getting together for Christmas,” Daniel said, fighting not to yell.
“Why take so drastic an action then to restructure the company?” the man with the notepad asked.
“People change. Ben has changed. His priorities seem to be different now.” Daniel gripped his briefcase and moved forward. “Excuse me.”
“You mean his main priority has changed to marrying Dr. Logan?” the man asked, hoping for some criticism, something that would make a good headline.
Daniel openly glared at the man who had asked the question.
“I wish to God Ben would marry the woman,” Daniel said fervently, “How much worse could that possibly be? I’m sure she’s not as bad as people think. Even if she were, Ben’s not much better these days. Now I really have to go.”
Daniel pushed through the crowd and saw Alfred standing inside the door waiting impatiently.
Alfred grabbed his arm and steered Daniel down the hall to the elevator, hoping the press wouldn’t catch Daniel smiling.
Alfred looked back one last time to see what they were doing. “Well, it wasn’t fun, but it was effective,” Alfred said.
Daniel said nothing further, just smiled at the floor. He was running what he said back through his mind, hoping he hadn’t said anything to upset Dr. Logan.
The press scribbled furiously and then rushed off.
*** *** ***
That evening Alexa and Lauren had to park down the street and walk back to Regina’s building. Then they had to fight their way through the crowd milling outside the lobby doors waiting for Regina to finally emerge.
When they walked into the lobby, Marvin smiled in greeting.
“Hey, Marvin,” Alexa
said, beaming. “Looks like you’re going to have a busy evening. Regina’s crazy fan club is in session tonight.”
“Going to get real busy when Mr. Kaiser shows up,” Marvin laughed. “Haven’t seen you around much lately? You got a new man or something?”
Alexa held out her engagement ring for Marvin to admire. “Casey’s a Marine,” she cooed.
“Nice. Not just a new man, but a real man,” Marvin agreed, approving.
“How about you, Ms. McCarthy?” Marvin asked Lauren.
“Still looking,” Lauren sighed, waving her naked left hand in the air, her thoughts immediately on Jim.
Marvin walked them to the elevators, glancing back over his shoulder to make sure no one had come into the lobby.
“Can I ask you a question, Ms. Ranger?” Marvin lowered his voice to a whisper as he swiped the card in the reader.
“Sure,” Alexa said, tossing her hair back.
“Why did Mr. Kaiser lie in his TV interview? That wasn’t no other woman. That was Dr. Logan. I’ve seen her sneak out of here in that outfit dozens of times. And he wears disguises too. One day Mr. Kaiser is a biker, the next he’s a rock star. This whole thing stinks. I never saw two people more crazy about each other.” Marvin held the door as Alexa and Lauren walked inside.
“You’re right, Marvin. Ben loves Regina to death. He’s pretending to be a bad guy by letting people think he cheated,” Alexa said, patting the chest of his uniform. She had no qualms sharing the truth with him. Marvin was the most trustworthy man she knew outside of Casey and Sydney.
Marvin shook his head in disbelief when the doors closed on the women.
Rich people, he thought. They led such crazy lives.
*** *** ***
Upstairs, Alexa pounded on the door and rang the doorbell.
“Open the door, Regina. We know you’re in there. Yes, we know the parking lot is full of press people. Sulking won’t change the fact.”
Lauren held up a hand to stop Alexa’s banging on the door. Alexa was always the bad cop, leaving her no choice but the play the good cop role. She put a hand to Regina’s door.
“Regina, please let us in. There’s no reason for you to be alone. We’re here to keep you company. Come on, open the door.”
“We’re not leaving until we see you,” Alexa warned, yelling again.
When there was still no answer, Alexa turned her back, crossed her arms, and leaned against the wall by Regina’s door. She swore several times, turned back, and pounded the wall with her fists.
Lauren lifted an eyebrow at the show of temper.
“I have the damn access code to get in,” Alexa informed her.
“How do you have her access code?” Lauren asked, shocked and pleased at the same time.
“I can get into all the living areas here because I own the place. I bought the building when Regina leased the condo. I needed a tax shelter and to know she actually had a damn sanctuary from the madness. So I made sure of it as best I could without doing it for her. I never told her. I never intended to tell her. Am I an awful woman?”
Lauren put a hand on Alexa’s arm. “You’re the best friend ever to use your money to help Regina have some privacy, even though we need to invade it. Now open the door, Alexa. I’m worried sick.”
Alexa grinned and punched a series of security override numbers on the card reader. The door clicked. Fortunately, the chain was not on.
They stepped inside and walked quietly through the apartment. There was an almost empty bottle of cognac on the coffee table, an ice bucket, and a single glass.
There was no one in the living room, and no one in the bed either.
They finally found Regina on the bathroom floor wrapped around the toilet.
“Oh shit,” Lauren swore, rushing and stooping to scoop Regina up into her lap.
Alexa got a washcloth from the linen cabinet, wet it with warm water, and handed it to Lauren.
When the temper left her, Alexa shook her head sadly and had to put a hand over her mouth to keep from crying. “Lauren, are we going to have to do an intervention for Regina’s drinking? She worries the hell out me anymore. I know she’s not been handling stress well lately. There has to be a better solution for her than getting drunk.”
“We’ll talk to Ben about it. See what he says,” she answered, nodding.
Lauren pulled Regina more across her lap. She patted Regina’s face with the wet washcloth. “Come on, honey. Talk to us.”
“He messed up his life because of me.” Regina said hazily, tears flowing again. “He’ll hate me one day. I couldn’t stop him. And that snake woman was touching him. Why did he let her touch him?”
Regina stared up into Lauren’s eyes. Lauren saw emotional pain and illness reeling in their depths.
“Snake woman? Regina, you’re not making any sense. The woman Ben talked about cheating on you with was you in your brunette disguise,” Lauren said, rocking her and trying to soothe her emotional pain at least.
“Split-tongue snake,” Regina spat, moaning and closing her eyes.
Alexa studied the ceiling. “Snake? Who the hell does she mean? Could she be talking about Stephanie?”
Lauren looked at Alexa eyebrows raised.
“You know, About Town with Stephanie—Stephanie, the interviewer woman who kept touching Ben’s hand in sympathy all the time she talked to him,” Alexa explained.
“He let her touch him,” Regina bawled, her heart seemingly completely broken by the fact.
They both looked at Regina’s sobbing form in disbelief. Finally, Lauren burst out laughing. She rocked Regina’s drunken body in apology, but couldn’t help laughing more as Regina cried harder.
Alexa joined in, leaning on the sink as their laughter echoed off the wall of the small bathroom.
Of all the things Regina Logan should be worried about, it was the woman touching Ben’s hand that had her bawling.
Lauren laughed until the tears were streaming and her stomach was aching. “Oh God, Regina. You don’t have to worry about the snake woman. You know Ben doesn’t like brunettes. All the blond hair dye in the world isn’t capable of hiding Stephanie’s dark roots.”
This sent both Alexa and her into another round of hysterical laughter.
“So much for age and maturity making things better,” Lauren said, choked, fighting back the laughter.
“Love makes you stupid. I feel sorry for any woman who makes a move on Ben Kaiser when Regina is sober,” Alexa said, choking on laughter herself.
When they had calmed and could control their laughter enough to really help Regina, Alexa brought a blanket from the bedroom. They dragged Regina onto it and carried her to the bedroom in it. They even managed to lift her to the bed and roll her out of the blanket.
“You know, you’re in pretty good shape for someone so skinny,” Alexa said, squeezing Lauren’s arm muscle. “Is this your vibrator arm?”
Lauren punched Alexa hard on the shoulder and sent her staggering while she laughed. “You are as mean as Regina. Besides, I’ve given up self-gratification now that I have a chance for the real thing again.”
“That’s ironic as hell to me,” Alexa said, walking to Regina and pulling a cover over her.
“What is?” Lauren asked. “My abstinence from self-gratification?”
“No,” Alexa said, laughing again. Not wanting to wake Regina, she motioned Lauren to follow her into Regina’s living room.
“I think the men in our lives are ironic,” Alexa replied. “I mean, it seemed like Ben Kaiser was a super nice guy, but really he was a closet sex fiend and a total alpha male. Then it looked like Jim Gallagher was a blatant cheater and so not a nice guy, but the truth is he’s running like hell from a real opportunity with a hot and desperate woman like you.”
Alexa shook her head. “No wonder I stopped dating. I’m good at this stuff, but it’s damn confusing out there. Well, I did recognize the alpha in Ben right away, but he’s definitely not like Casey.”
“Well, I sure didn’t see alpha anything in Ben,” Lauren said sadly. “He was just another cute, nice guy until I caught him kissing Regina in the garden at the country club. It was like Regina pushed some button inside Ben and suddenly he was a different man around her.”
They cleared the coffee table of all alcoholic evidence and poured themselves glasses of ice water.
Alexa laughed when Lauren sighed.
“That’s a really big sigh, honey,” Alexa said sympathetically.
“Is Jim ever going to make a serious move on me, Alexa?”
“Probably not without strong provocation to break whatever promises he’s been keeping all this time. It certainly is a mystery. I mean face it, Jim could have as many discreet call girls as he wants with his money,” Alexa said matter-of-factly.
Lauren actually paled at the thought of Jim using prostitutes. It hadn’t even occurred to her.
Alexa laughed and patted Lauren’s arm. “Lauren, honey. Jim would not have stopped at a hicky with you if he was used to going for a quickie with a pro. You’d have come back into my house with your underwear in your hand and a smile on your face. Trust me. The man is not getting serviced by anyone but himself.”
Lauren blushed at the erotic thoughts Alexa was conjuring with her comments.
“Please. Blushing?” Alexa snorted. “From the woman who brags about her collection of mechanical toys?
“I guess I just want it to be simple,” Lauren said wistfully. “I want something simple like Ben and Regina have with each other.”
“Right,” Alexa said sarcastically. “This is simple all right. Ben’s given up the CEO position in his company and Regina’s drowning her guilt in booze. This is simply awful, if you ask me.”
“I mean the sex part,” Lauren said quietly.
Alexa leaned over and put her hand on Lauren’s. “Simple sex is almost never good sex. I know because I had a lot of it and nothing else. Regina and Ben are the exception. Good sex is almost never simple, but it is always worth it. When Casey and I were first intimate, I was always worried about hurting him because of his injury. It was more inhibiting than being worried about getting pregnant when I was young.”
“How did you stop worrying?” Lauren asked, sipping her ice water.
Dating Dr Notorious Page 21
