Jason was watching her, concerned. "Let's go in to dinner," he suggested.
They went into the large dining room. It was oak-paneled, furnished with attractive antiques and portraits on the wall. A maid began serving.
Jason's father said, "That painting over there is Jason's great-grandfather. All the buildings he designed were destroyed in the earthquake of 1906. It's too bad. They were priceless. I'll show you some photographs of them after dinner if you ..."
Paige's head had dropped to the table. She was sound asleep.
"I'm glad I didn't serve soup," Jason's mother said.
* * *
Ken Mallory had a problem. As word of the wager about Kat had spread around the hospital, the bets had quickly increased to ten thousand dollars. Mallory had been so confident of his success that he had bet much more than he could afford to pay off.
If I fail, I'm in a hell of a lot of trouble. But I'm not going to fail. Time for the master to go to work.
Kat was having lunch in the cafeteria with Paige and Honey when Mallory approached the table.
"Mind if I join you doctors?"
Not ladies, not girls. Doctors. The sensitive type, Kat thought cynically. "Not at all. Sit down," Kat said.
Paige and Honey exchanged a look.
"Well, I have to get going," Paige said.
"Me, too. See you later."
Mallory watched Paige and Honey leave.
"Busy morning?" Mallory asked. He made it sound as though he really cared.
"Aren't they all?" Kat gave him a warm, promising smile.
Mallory had planned his strategy carefully. I'm going to let her know I'm interested in her as a person, not just as a woman. They hate the sex-object thing. Discuss medicine with her. I'll take it slow and easy. I have a whole month to get her in the sack.
"Did you hear about the postmortem on Mrs. Turnball?" Mallory began. "The woman had a Coca-Cola bottle in her stomach! Can you imagine how . . .?"
Kat leaned forward. "Are you doing anything Saturday night, Ken?"
Mallory was caught completely off guard. "What?"
"I thought you might like to take me out to dinner.
He found himself almost blushing. My God! he thought. Talk about shooting fish in a barrell This is no lesbian. The guys said that because they couldn't get into her pants. Well, I'm going to. She's actually asking for itl He tried to remember with whom he had a date on Saturday. Sally, the little nurse in OR. She can wait.
"Nothing important," Mallory said. "I'd love to take you to dinner."
Kat put her hand over his. "Wonderful," she said softly. "I'll really be looking forward to it."
He grinned. "So will I." You have no idea how much, baby. Ten thousand dollars' worth!
That afternoon, Kat reported back to Paige and Honey.
"His mouth dropped open!" Kat laughed. "You should have seen the look on his face! He looked like the cat that swallowed the canary."
Paige said, "Remember, you're the Kat. He's the canary."
"What are you going to do Saturday night?" Honey asked.
"Any suggestions?"
"I have," Paige answered. "Here's the plan . . ."
Saturday evening, Kat and Ken Mallory had dinner at Emilio's, a restaurant on the bay. She had dressed carefully for him, in a white cotton dress, off the shoulder.
"You look sensational," Mallory said. He was careful to strike just the right note. Appreciative, but not pressing. Admiring, but not suggestive. Mallory had determined to be at his most charming, but it was not necessary. It quickly became obvious to him that Kat was intent on charming him.
Over a drink, Kat said, "Everyone talks about what a wonderful doctor you are, Ken."
"Well," Mallory said modestly, "I've had fine training, and I care a lpt about my patients. They're very important to me." His voice was filled with sincerity.
Kat put her hand over his. "I'm sure they are. Where are you from? I want to know all about you. The real you."
Jesus! Mallory thought. That's the line I use. He could not get over how easy this was going to be. He was an expert on the subject of women. His radar knew all the signals they put out. They could say yes with a look, a smile, a tone of voice. Kat's signals were jamming his radar.
She was leaning close to him, and her voice was husky. "I want to know everything."
He talked about himself during dinner, and every time he tried to change the subject and bring it around to Kat, she said, "No, no. I want to hear more. You've had such a fascinating life!"
She's crazy about me, Mallory decided. He wished now that he had taken more bets. I might even win tonight, he thought. And he was sure of it when Kat said, as they were having coffee, "Would you like to come up to my apartment for a nightcap?"
Bingo! Mallory stroked her arm and said softly, "I'd love to." The guys were all crazy, Mallory decided.
She's the horniest broad I've ever met. He had a feeling that he was about to be raped.
Thirty minutes later, they were walking into Kat's apartment.
"Nice," Mallory said, looking around. "Very nice. Do you live here alone?"
"No. Dr. Taylor and Dr. Taft live with me."
"Oh." She could hear the note of regret in his voice.
Kat gave him a beguiling smile. "But they won't be home until much later."
Mallory grinned. "Good."
"Would you like a drink?"
"Love one." He watched as Kat walked over to the little bar and mixed two drinks. She's got great buns, Mallory thought. And she's damned good-looking, and I'm getting ten thousand dollars to lay her. He laughed aloud.