out.”
Ben laughed when he saw eleven rapt gazes suddenly hanging on his every word.
Absolutely amazing , he thought. He usually had trouble getting this group to take anything he said seriously unless it involved the company’s money. He felt a little like Regina with all the attention his board members—family—were paying to his dating life.
He smiled and shook his head.
“I can’t believe I’m even telling you this because it’s really none of your business, but what the hell. The picture in the paper was a total surprise to me, but I admit it caught my interest in her. If Regina Logan can defend me on TV to the public at large, I won’t lie to you all and say I’m not interested in her,” Ben told them, his green eyes deep and serious. “She’s not like anyone I have ever met.”
“You should definitely ask her out then,” Janet said decisively, while ten other heads around the table nodded their agreement.
Several of the men, including Alfred and Daniel, snickered but still nodded in approval. Ben knew what Alfred and Daniel were thinking. He was never admitting to them how right they had been about her. He’d never hear the end of it, and that was the least of his worries.
“Janet, you told me yourself we got over twenty-five phone calls about the picture in the paper,” Ben said. “As CEO, it wouldn’t be right for me to bring that kind of media circus to the company all the time. I definitely am not in favor of using company resources to handle issues with my social life.”
All eleven faces looked deeply disappointed with his speech. Ben stared back at them. He found it hard to take in that he had worked all these years with a bunch of closet romantics.
“Maybe we could use a little notoriety,” Daniel suggested, leaning back in his chair. “Hanson’s financials are still better than ours. Their name is out there in the public eye, and you know we do better work. Maybe if you date Dr. Logan, we’ll draw some attention. You know what they say about any press being better than none.”
“Regina Logan’s a well known, mass-published, and very out-spoken sex therapist, Daniel. What kind of questions do you think her dates get asked by the press? I don’t think they’re going to be interested in what I do for a living,” Ben supplied.
“I’m only suggesting you consider it, Ben. From the looks of that picture, Dr. Logan’s interested in you, too,” Daniel argued, defending his view of the situation.
“What could one date hurt?” Alfred said, his eyes twinkling. “If the publicity is too much, don’t ask her out again.”
Ben had been thinking about a lot of things concerning Regina, but mostly with a part of him other than his brain. There was a difference between being conservative and being naïve. He knew if he kept sneaking to see Regina, eventually someone was going to discover it.
Maybe making their relationship public was the only logical next step, but Ben wanted to be sure he could handle the heat first. And he wanted to make sure the company wouldn’t melt in the spotlight his relationship to Regina was going to shine on him.
“All right,” he said finally. “One date. Don’t say I didn’t warn you about the media circus.”
When they’d left him alone in the room, Ben couldn’t stop thinking about openly dating Regina.
It wasn’t himself he worried about, but rather the company and the people who counted on him. The people he worked with had been a part of his life practically as long as Catherine. If there had been twenty-five calls about the one picture, there would likely be a hundred when he showed up around their conservative town with the notorious Dr. Logan on his arm.
He tried to imagine how easy this would be if Regina were just any other doctor, any other normal person. The image wouldn’t even form completely.
What would she do with all that fire if she wasn’t who she was?
He thought of her warning him—multiple times in
Ben laughed when he saw eleven rapt gazes suddenly hanging on his every word.
Absolutely amazing , he thought. He usually had trouble getting this group to take anything he said seriously unless it involved the company’s money. He felt a little like Regina with all the attention his board members—family—were paying to his dating life.
He smiled and shook his head.
“I can’t believe I’m even telling you this because it’s really none of your business, but what the hell. The picture in the paper was a total surprise to me, but I admit it caught my interest in her. If Regina Logan can defend me on TV to the public at large, I won’t lie to you all and say I’m not interested in her,” Ben told them, his green eyes deep and serious. “She’s not like anyone I have ever met.”
“You should definitely ask her out then,” Janet said decisively, while ten other heads around the table nodded their agreement.
Several of the men, including Alfred and Daniel, snickered but still nodded in approval. Ben knew what Alfred and Daniel were thinking. He was never admitting to them how right they had been about her. He’d never hear the end of it, and that was the least of his worries.
“Janet, you told me yourself we got over twenty-five phone calls about the picture in the paper,” Ben said. “As CEO, it wouldn’t be right for me to bring that kind of media circus to the company all the time. I definitely am not in favor of using company resources to handle issues with my social life.”
All eleven faces looked deeply disappointed with his speech. Ben stared back at them. He found it hard to take in that he had worked all these years with a bunch of closet romantics.
“Maybe we could use a little notoriety,” Daniel suggested, leaning back in his chair. “Hanson’s financials are still better than ours. Their name is out there in the public eye, and you know we do better work. Maybe if you date Dr. Logan, we’ll draw some attention. You know what they say about any press being better than none.”
“Regina Logan’s a well known, mass-published, and very out-spoken sex therapist, Daniel. What kind of questions do you think her dates get asked by the press? I don’t think they’re going to be interested in what I do for a living,” Ben supplied.
“I’m only suggesting you consider it, Ben. From the looks of that picture, Dr. Logan’s interested in you, too,” Daniel argued, defending his view of the situation.
“What could one date hurt?” Alfred said, his eyes twinkling. “If the publicity is too much, don’t ask her out again.”
Ben had been thinking about a lot of things concerning Regina, but mostly with a part of him other than his brain. There was a difference between being conservative and being naïve. He knew if he kept sneaking to see Regina, eventually someone was going to discover it.
Maybe making their relationship public was the only logical next step, but Ben wanted to be sure he could handle the heat first. And he wanted to make sure the company wouldn’t melt in the spotlight his relationship to Regina was going to shine on him.
“All right,” he said finally. “One date. Don’t say I didn’t warn you about the media circus.”
When they’d left him alone in the room, Ben couldn’t stop thinking about openly dating Regina.
It wasn’t himself he worried about, but rather the company and the people who counted on him. The people he worked with had been a part of his life practically as long as Catherine. If there had been twenty-five calls about the one picture, there would likely be a hundred when he showed up around their conservative town with the notorious Dr. Logan on his arm.
He tried to imagine how easy this would be if Regina were just any other doctor, any other normal person. The image wouldn’t even form completely.
What would she do with all that fire if she wasn’t who she was?
He thought of her warning him—multiple times in
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