I was opening my laptop when my phone rang. It could only be a few people as I was very selective about whom I gave my number to. I answered it without looking and was surprised to hear the doctor's voice on the other end. "Miss Brightwood? Lilly? This is Dr. Steinmann."
"Yes, doctor. This is Lilly. Is everything okay?"
"Yes, nothing to worry about. I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate you coming to see me today. I am returning to Des Moines but I am only a phone call away if you need me. If you have a question or a concern, please call me. I also want to take this opportunity to encourage you to think about your decision. Although not irreversible, if you do choose to change your mind after the procedure there may be more scarring. I want you to be 100% sure that this is what you want."
I could not understand it, but I was glad that he called me. I discovered that I liked hearing his voice — there was no denying that I was attracted to him. However, I had to keep it real. There was no way Dr. Steinmann was interested in me. This was merely a courtesy call—even my dentist did this. Do not get carried away. He's just being professional.
"Thanks for caring. It is a big decision but I feel confident that it is the right one. I will as you say, think about it but I look forward to our next meeting. I promise that if I have any questions, I will call you. Without hesitation."
"Good. That is what I want to hear. My secretary will be in touch about your appointment. She will call from my office so you should recognize the number. If you happen to miss her, she will leave a message giving you the appointment information. I look forward to seeing you again. Have a good evening."
"You too, doctor."
"Lilly? It is okay to call me Bullet. All my patients do. Unless of course you are uncomfortable with that?"
"Um...okay, doctor. I mean, Bullet. Bye."
30 minutes later I was telling Kate all about it. "Get out of here! He asked you to call him Bullet? Maybe he does that with all of his patients. Should I call Amanda and ask her?"
"And give her something else to talk about? No way. If it happens to come up in conversation, then okay but don't go out of your way to ask her. So what do you think? Have you ever had a doctor give you permission to call them by their first name?"
"No. Maybe he is into you. He is a red-blooded American, right? I mean you are beautiful and he is handsome—it makes perfect sense that you two hook up." Kate dug her chopsticks into her fried rice.
"Whoa, Nelly! We are not hooking up. I'm sure it was just a courteous gesture. It is kind of nerve-racking, you know, this kind of thing." I lay on the carpet next to the coffee table, which was currently being used as a dining table. "You know what is weird? Dr. Steinmann and Evan look a lot alike."
"You’re right! Although the good doctor is much more handsome to me. Maybe it's because he is a doctor and not a scam artist like Evan."
I sat up and reached for my shrimp fried rice, squirting it with soy sauce. I moved my chopsticks around to blend the sauce and said, "So is it wrong to sleep with your doctor?"
Kate looked at me with an arched brow. "You are really asking me this? Of course not, just take your time. In the meantime, I'll dig around and see what I can find out about Dr. Steinmann. Now that I've shared my wisdom with you, and ate your food I have a favor to ask. What are you doing Saturday night? And don't tell me camping. You've been gone every weekend."
"Well, strangely enough I do not have anything planned for Saturday. I thought about vegging out and watching some football. Why? What do you have in mind?"
Kate put her food down and reached for my hand. "Please come with me Saturday night to hear Riley play. He is really nervous and I want to support him but I don't want to sit in the audience by myself. It would mean a lot to me and to him. He heard what a great musician you are — maybe you could give him some tips."
I squeezed her hand and hugged her. "Of course I will come, but Riley Patterson? What happened to the girlfriend? I thought you were done with him."
"Girl, I cannot explain it. He needs me and besides the girlfriend is gone. He has been to Kate’s world after all." Kate laughed out loud. "No seriously, they had been in an open relationship but apparently it was only open on her end because she wanted me gone. Riley said no and she split. I know this sounds stupid but I think he might be the one."
My hands flew to my mouth in surprise. "So the great Kate Nicholson has met her match?"
My friend shrugged. "Not exactly, but he is trainable and I like having him around. So you’ll come? 9 o'clock Saturday night at the Allistair's?"
"Of course I will be there. This gives me an excuse to go shopping. I may even have to find a date. Or, I could just find one there."
"That might be easier than you think." Kate gave another wicked laugh but dug into her food without explaining what she meant. For the next few hours we did what students all over campus did—study for finals. I could not help but occasionally think about the handsome doctor. How soft his hair must feel. How warm his hands were. I wondered what his lips tasted like. Hmm... It was definitely hard to study.
Chapter Six
Bullet
I hopped aboard another plane this time leaving Kansas City and the exciting Lilly Brightwood. There was no friendly air hostess named Candy on this flight — just Stewart. Not interested. I took my spot by the window and stared outside thinking of my recent cases. Lilly had been the high point of this trip. My appointments after her were much less rewarding, a nose job, some liposuction and a tummy tuck. It was the usual crowd of older women looking to turn back time. Of course I would help them, that was my job. My last appointment was a repeat, Carmen Fuentes. Carmen was in her late 40s now. She had been one of my first patients, one of my first dalliances. What I used to find exciting and daring, her hand rubbing my crotch during the examination, her offers to "take care of me" used to thrill me. But now I felt tired. Tired of the games. Tired of being used as a toy for cougars. I was a damn good doctor — no one could take that away from me.
I had turned Carmen down, politely of course. Telling her I had to catch a flight. She knew that was BS, when had I ever turned her down, but I had to make a change if I was to ever get a girl like Lilly. Of course, I'm only human. I do love sex, but I had to curb the habit of sleeping with my patients. And not just for my sanity. I had received a phone call from a mentor, Dr. Huffington. During the course of the conversation, the doctor let me know that my dalliances were well known. He subtly suggested and then outright told me that I needed to change my ways. "Bullet you are a damn good doctor. Everyone is talking about you. You keep up the good work and you will retire in 15 years, but you have one bad habit and it's going to get you into trouble. If you ever do decide to join a practice or build your own clinic you need a clean reputation. Stop playing with your clients."
I knew he was right so I accepted his advice, but so far changing my playboy ways has been more difficult than I thought. I could say no but some of my regular clients seem to expect extra attention. It was going to take persistence and a hell of a lot of willpower to stand my ground. Yeah, I was taking his advice. A friend invited me to a club here in Kansas City this weekend and I planned to attend after a quick trip home.
My phone rang and it was my secretary. We hadn’t taken off yet so I answered it. "Dr. Steinmann."