Sidney Sheldon - Nothing lasts forever

“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.

Kat turned. “What's so funny?”

“Nothing. I was just thinking how lucky I am to be here alone with you.”

“I'm the lucky one,” Kat said warmly. She handed him his drink.

Mallory raised his glass and started to say, “Here's to …”

Kat beat him to it. “Here's to us!” she said.

He nodded. “I'll drink to that.”

He started to say, “How about a little music?” and as he opened his mouth, Kat said, “Would you like some music?”

“You're a mind reader.”

Kat put on an old Cole Porter standard. She surreptitiously glanced at her watch, then turned to Mallory. “Do you like to dance?”

Mallory moved closer to her. “It depends on whom I'm dancing with. I'd love to dance with you.”

Kat moved into his arms, and they began to dance to the slow and dreamy music. He felt Kat's body pressing hard against his, and he could feel himself getting aroused. He held her tighter, and Kat smiled up at him.

Now is the time to go in for the kill.

“You're lovely, you know,” Mallory said huskily. “I've wanted you since the first moment I saw you.”

Kat looked into his eyes. “I've felt the same way about you, Ken.” His lips moved toward hers, and he gave her a warm, passionate kiss.

“Let's go into the bedroom,” Mallory said. There was a sudden urgency in him.

“Oh, yes!”

He took her by the arm and she started leading him toward her bedroom. And at that moment, the front door opened and Paige and Honey walked in.

“Hi there!” Paige called. She looked at Ken Mallory in surprise. “Oh, Dr. Mallory! I didn't expect to see you here.”

“Well, I … I …”

“We went out to dinner,” Kat said.

Mallory was filled with a dark rage. He fought to control it. He turned to Kat. “I should go. It's late and I have a big day tomorrow.”

“Oh. I'm sorry you're leaving,” Kat said. There was a world of promise in her eyes.

Mallory said, “What about tomorrow night?”

“I'd love to …”

“Great!”

“… but I can't.”

“Oh. Well, what about Friday?”

Kat frowned. “Oh, dear. I'm afraid Friday isn't good, either.”

Mallory was getting desperate. “Saturday?”

Kat smiled. “Saturday would be lovely.”

He nodded, relieved. “Good. Saturday it is, then.”

He turned to Paige and Honey. “Good night.”

“Good night.”

Kat walked Mallory to the door. “Sweet dreams,” ahe said softly. “I'm going to dream about you.”

Mallory squeezed her hand. “I believe in making dreams come true. We'll make up for this Saturday night.”

“I can't wait.”

That night, Kat lay in her bed thinking about Mallory. She hated him. But to her surprise, she had enjoyed the evening. She was sure that Mallory had enjoyed it too, in spite of the fact that he was playing a game. If only this were real, Kat thought, and not a game. She had no idea how dangerous a game it was.

Maybe it's the weather, Paige thought wearily. It was cold and dreary outside, with a gray driving rain that depressed the spirits. Her day had begun at six o'clock in the morning, and it was filled with constant problems. The hospital seemed tc be full of gomers, all complaining at once. The nurses were surly and careless. They drew blood from the wrong patients, lost X-rays that were urgently needed, and snapped at the patients. In addition, there was a staff shortage because of a flu epidemic. It was that kind of day.

The only bright spot was the telephone call from Jason Curtis.

“Hello,” he said cheerily. “Just thought I'd check in and see how all our patients are doing.”

“They're surviving.”

“Any chance of our having lunch?”

Paige laughed. “What's lunch? If I'm lucky, I'll be able to grab a stale sandwich about four o'clock this afternoon. It's pretty hectic around here.”

“All right. I won't keep you. May I call you again?”

“All right.” No harm in that.

“Bye.”

Paige worked until midnight without a moment to rest, and when she was finally relieved, she was almost too tired to move. She briefly debated staying at the hospital and sleeping on the cot in the on-call room, but the thought of her warm, cozy bed at home was too tempting. She changed clothes and lurched her way to the elevator.

Dr. Peterson came up to her. “My God!” he said. “Where's the cat that dragged you in?”

Paige smiled wearily. “Do I look that bad?”

“Worse.” Peterson grinned. “You're going home now?”