Walker, from Your Health Today magazine. Shall I show him in?”
“I wasn’t expecting a reporter.”
“He said he knows he doesn’t have an appointment, but would you please just give him a moment?”
“All right, send him in.”
Trey entered, turning to thank the secretary before she closed the door. He stood, politely waiting for an invitation to sit from Kayla Saradon. While he waited, and their eyes held, Trey got his first impression of the woman. And it was quite an impression.
She was nothing like what he’d imagined—not hard or gritty or calculating. She was, in fact, the total opposite. Soft, feminine, and yet exuding a subtle strength that he concluded probably put her patients at ease. It was obvious to him she was determined to disguise her natural beauty with the severe hairdo and the loosely fitted suit. But she hadn’t succeeded. He was shocked at the way she seemed to emanate sensuality. The kind that is so deeply engrained, it can’t be muted, no matter the effort.
Kayla Saradon was, to say the least, the most striking woman he had seen in a long time, with the most compelling green eyes that she now turned on him in an inquisitive stare.
Trey immediately understood the pull she might influence over a nineteen-year-old boy, if indeed she had.
Hell, I feel it myself. I’d be her pool boy if she asked.
Out loud he said, “I appreciate your taking the time to see me, Dr. Saradon.”
“I don’t have that much time, I’m afraid. Won’t you be seated, Mr. Walker?”
He sat down across from her desk, offering a smile, which she returned, but just barely.
“You say you’re from Your Health Today ?”
“Yes. I’d like to do a story on you.”
“On me? Or my work?”
“Actually, on you personally. The woman behind the work, so to speak.”
“And do you have a business card, Mr. Walker?”
“Certainly.”
Trey handed her one of his bogus cards and watched her eye it critically before lifting those astonishing eyes back to him.
“Sorry to tell you this, but I don’t do personal interviews of that sort, Mr. Walker. By that I mean I do not wish my personal life to be an issue when other people’s mental health should be. I consider myself simply a conduit for my patients.”
“I understand. That’s admirable of you. But your admirers would like to get to know the famous Dr. Saradon in a personal way.”
“Famous? I hardly think that’s the case. I certainly don’t warrant that kind of attention, nor do I wish it. I consider the work I do important, and that is what I would like to advertise—for want of a better word. Not myself.”
Trey could feel the personal interview angle slipping downhill fast. He decided to change tactics. “I’ll be honest with you, Dr. Saradon.”
With raised eyebrows, she said pithily, “That would be nice. What have you not been honest about, Mr. Walker?”
Trey was impressed with the way she cut to the chase. He decided she was probably an excellent psychiatrist. “It isn’t that I haven’t been honest exactly, I just haven’t been as forthcoming as I suppose I should have been.”
“You definitely have my attention. Proceed.”
“You see, I’m a freelance reporter and this is my first assignment with Your Health Today , a kind of test if you will, and if I don’t get some kind of personal interview, I’m afraid any future assignments will be out of the question. I hate sounding needy, but I sure would appreciate some kind of literary bone tossed my way.”
“I see. Well, I certainly don’t wish you to lose your connection there, Mr. Walker. But other than what I’m sure you already know, statistically speaking, because I’m sure you’ve done your homework, I don’t know what I can tell you.”
“Just to be able to quote you would help—like on your marital status or possible marriage plans for the future. Whether or not you’d like to have children one day. Or your long-range goals in terms of your profession.
“I wasn’t expecting a reporter.”
“He said he knows he doesn’t have an appointment, but would you please just give him a moment?”
“All right, send him in.”
Trey entered, turning to thank the secretary before she closed the door. He stood, politely waiting for an invitation to sit from Kayla Saradon. While he waited, and their eyes held, Trey got his first impression of the woman. And it was quite an impression.
She was nothing like what he’d imagined—not hard or gritty or calculating. She was, in fact, the total opposite. Soft, feminine, and yet exuding a subtle strength that he concluded probably put her patients at ease. It was obvious to him she was determined to disguise her natural beauty with the severe hairdo and the loosely fitted suit. But she hadn’t succeeded. He was shocked at the way she seemed to emanate sensuality. The kind that is so deeply engrained, it can’t be muted, no matter the effort.
Kayla Saradon was, to say the least, the most striking woman he had seen in a long time, with the most compelling green eyes that she now turned on him in an inquisitive stare.
Trey immediately understood the pull she might influence over a nineteen-year-old boy, if indeed she had.
Hell, I feel it myself. I’d be her pool boy if she asked.
Out loud he said, “I appreciate your taking the time to see me, Dr. Saradon.”
“I don’t have that much time, I’m afraid. Won’t you be seated, Mr. Walker?”
He sat down across from her desk, offering a smile, which she returned, but just barely.
“You say you’re from Your Health Today ?”
“Yes. I’d like to do a story on you.”
“On me? Or my work?”
“Actually, on you personally. The woman behind the work, so to speak.”
“And do you have a business card, Mr. Walker?”
“Certainly.”
Trey handed her one of his bogus cards and watched her eye it critically before lifting those astonishing eyes back to him.
“Sorry to tell you this, but I don’t do personal interviews of that sort, Mr. Walker. By that I mean I do not wish my personal life to be an issue when other people’s mental health should be. I consider myself simply a conduit for my patients.”
“I understand. That’s admirable of you. But your admirers would like to get to know the famous Dr. Saradon in a personal way.”
“Famous? I hardly think that’s the case. I certainly don’t warrant that kind of attention, nor do I wish it. I consider the work I do important, and that is what I would like to advertise—for want of a better word. Not myself.”
Trey could feel the personal interview angle slipping downhill fast. He decided to change tactics. “I’ll be honest with you, Dr. Saradon.”
With raised eyebrows, she said pithily, “That would be nice. What have you not been honest about, Mr. Walker?”
Trey was impressed with the way she cut to the chase. He decided she was probably an excellent psychiatrist. “It isn’t that I haven’t been honest exactly, I just haven’t been as forthcoming as I suppose I should have been.”
“You definitely have my attention. Proceed.”
“You see, I’m a freelance reporter and this is my first assignment with Your Health Today , a kind of test if you will, and if I don’t get some kind of personal interview, I’m afraid any future assignments will be out of the question. I hate sounding needy, but I sure would appreciate some kind of literary bone tossed my way.”
“I see. Well, I certainly don’t wish you to lose your connection there, Mr. Walker. But other than what I’m sure you already know, statistically speaking, because I’m sure you’ve done your homework, I don’t know what I can tell you.”
“Just to be able to quote you would help—like on your marital status or possible marriage plans for the future. Whether or not you’d like to have children one day. Or your long-range goals in terms of your profession.
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