Filthy Doctor(17)

I didn’t even bother going back to the Four Seasons to check out. I had a sneaking suspicion that things might turn out this way, so I had brought my bag with me.

I caught a cab to the airport and switched my ticket to an earlier flight. Ten hours later, I was back home. Life goes on.





Chapter 19: Lucy





A week passed without word from Harry Prescott regarding the EP job on the Dr. Cole Walker Show. I figured it was for the best anyway, and quickly dismissed thoughts of the job from my mind and focused on the job I already had.

I was a little pissed off, feeling like a pawn in a chess match between Prescott and Cole, but I was also a little curious as to why Cole didn’t just call and apologize. I mean, wasn’t that what the interview was really about? Getting me to L.A. so he could apologize for being a lying asshole and we could pick up where we left off?

Or was I being too presumptuous?

Maybe Cole wasn’t interested in me anymore.

Maybe the interview was meant as Cole’s parting gift to me for playing and losing his game. I fucked you over, but hey, at least I got you an interview. Asshole.



“Okay, great show everybody,” I said, pressing the console button so everyone could hear my voice through their earpieces and headsets. “Have a great weekend.”

I took off the headset and mussed my hair as I watched the set go dark on the monitors and waited for everyone to turn off the controls and computers and exit the control room. I liked to be the last one to leave the room, just to make sure everything was switched off and put to bed. Plus, it kept me from having to make small talk in the hallway back to my office. I wasn’t trying to be antisocial, I just didn’t feel like talking. I glanced around at the blinking lights and switches, then shut off the overhead lights and went out the door.

I went down the stairs to my office to gather up my things. I was standing behind my desk shoving my laptop into the computer bag when I heard a tap on the door. I looked up to see someone holding a dozen roses in front of their face. When his blue eyes appeared from over the top of the bouquet, I felt my heart jump in my chest.

“Cole? What are you doing here?”

“Following a friend’s advice,” he said, coming into the room with the flowers at arm’s length, as if he were afraid to get too close too soon. “Can we talk, Lucy?”

“Sure,” I said, taking the flowers and holding them to my nose. They smelled wonderful. I blinked at him. “I don’t guess you’re here to tell me I got the job.”

“No, I’m afraid not,” he said with a sad face. He took off his overcoat and hung it on a rack by the door. “They chose Oprah’s former EP. Nice woman. Bit bossy, but that’s what it takes to keep me in line.”

“Wow, hard to compete with that,” I said. “So, why are you here?”

Cole took a deep breath and stared into my eyes. It was hard for me not to jump into his arms. He pressed his hands down on the back of the chair across the desk and worked up an apologetic smile.

“I wanted to apologize,” he said quietly. “And to let you know that I’ll be moving to Los Angeles next week.”

“Permanently?” The word tasted bitter on my tongue.

“Yeah,” he said, head shaking. “Permanently.”

“Oh.”

“And I was hoping you would come with me.”

I blinked at him for a moment, unsure that I’d heard the words correctly. I set the flowers on the credenza behind my desk and lowered myself into the chair. My head was suddenly swimming and my knees felt weak. This, I was not expecting, at all.





Chapter 20: Cole





The color drained from Lucy’s face and she sat down in the chair behind her desk. “Lucy, are you okay?” I asked, reaching out for her. “Do you need a water or anything?”

“Um, I need you to sit,” she said, waving a hand at the chair I was leaning on. “Then say all that again.”

I sat down on the edge of the chair and set my arms on the edge of the desk. “I said I was moving to L.A. and I want you to come with me.”

“Move to L.A. with you?” She spoke like she was drugged or something. “Are you crazy? I haven’t seen or heard from you in almost two months, and you show up today asking me to move across country with you? You’re nuts. I mean, you have to be absolute nuts.”

I smiled and held out my hands across the desk. “Yeah, I mean, I know this is all very sudden, but…”

“I haven’t heard that apology,” she said quietly. She leaned back in the chair and wrapped her arms around herself. “Before we even talk about moving to Los Angeles, I need to hear you say you’re sorry.”

Women. Go figure. I took a deep breath and granted her wish.

“I am sorry, Lucy. I should have told you about the syndication deal, but my agent ordered me not to. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you, it was that they didn’t trust anyone. I mean, the deal was worth millions of dollars. But that’s no excuse. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you and I’m sorry your feelings got hurt. I’d never hurt you, Lucy, not on purpose. You know that.”

“Do I?”

“I hope so.”

“And I’m just supposed to forgive you? Just like that?”

I gave her my best smile. “Again, I hope so.”

“I’m not sure it’s that easy,” she said, leaning forward with her arms still wound tightly around her. “You have to prove to me that I can trust you again.”

“You can trust me, Lucy,” I said, giving her a playful frown. “I’m a doctor. And I play one on TV.”

“Shut up,” she said, giggling as the ice in her heart began to melt. “You can’t lie to me ever again, Calvin. I just can’t take being lied to. I’ve had my fill of it.”

“I will do whatever it takes to prove that you can trust me,” I said. I gave her a dreamy look and wiggled my fingers. “Now, can we talk about L.A.?”

“In a minute,” she said. She leaned back and started unbuttoning her blouse. “First, close and lock that fucking door.”





EPILOG: Lucy





How could I do this. Forgive a man who had costed me my job. Literally.

But that man was all that mattered to me.

And being with him was all I could care about.

Why was forgiving him so easy? Probably because I was so ready for it. I was waiting for him to just say it, and the moment he said it, I showed him how ready I was.

It was no wonder Los Angeles and New York were on opposite sides of the country because the two cities could not have been more different.

New York prided itself on being the city that never slept. It was also a city that could overwhelm and assault your senses in more ways than one. New York was home to the world’s finest restaurants, theaters, museums, art galleries, and cultural centers. It was also freakin’ loud and noisy and hectic and full of assholes and garbage and stank to high heaven.

Los Angeles, on the other hand, was much more spread out and less cramped, but it had terrible traffic at rush hour, more than its share of assholes, and sometimes you could literally see the air in front of your face. Still, Los Angeles was home now. I’d make the best of it. Which wasn’t hard to do living in a Bel Air mansion with the hottest new star on TV.

Cole’s show had been syndicated in a hundred markets and was a bonafide ratings hit. It quickly went to number one in its time slot in major markets and new affiliates were signing on every day. Entertainment Tonight called Cole the best thing to hit TV since Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil. Thankfully, Cole’s ego wasn’t so big that he bought into the hype. He knew how bright his star was and how quickly it was rising. He also knew how quickly stars could fall to the ground. Maybe that’s why he got nervous sometimes before the cameras rolled. I found it hilarious that a guy who could literally take out, repair, and replace a human heart got nervous being on TV. I also found it incredibly cute.

We had been in L.A. for just over a month and were still settling into the new house, which was provided as part of Cole’s contract with Kingston TV. I had landed a job with the local CBS station in L.A., producing the noon newscast Monday through Friday. I went to work at eight and came home at five. The salary was less than a third of what I’d been making at WNN, but the bullshit I had to put up with, and the stress it caused, was slashed by ninety-nine percent. Money wasn’t everything to me. Of course, that was easy to say when your significant other was a multimillionaire.

Funny, that term “significant other”.

Cole and I loved each other deeply and had said the “L” word, but we still didn’t know how to refer to each other out in public. Were we boyfriend and girlfriend? Significant others? Partners in crime? Was he my man and was I his lady? Or were we just two old flames that had reunited to cause one hell of a bonfire?



“Your drink, madam,” Cole said as he came through the French doors with a mimosa in each hand. The pool area behind our house was totally secluded, which was why we never bothered to wear bathing suits when we lounged around the pool. I was lying naked on a lounge chair, my body slathered in sunscreen and still turning the color of honey.

I got up on my elbows and watched as Cole approached. He was also naked, muscles all sweaty and deeply tanned. His long cock swung from side to side as he came toward me. I licked my lips in anticipation of the cold drink and the hot cock.