Page 12 of Wolf's Midlife Bite

“He sure as hell was determined to see you when he came in here to schedule his appointment,” Maggie noted. “I don’t think I’ve ever known a man willing to make a dentist appointment just to see a woman. Oh, wait. That’s today, isn’t it?”

Robin had sat in one of the other available chairs, and now she sagged against the back of it. She glanced at the office doorway before she leaned forward. “Yes, but Watson just told me I have to squeeze in another appointment for hisfriend.”

Maggie’s mouth went slack. “I just told him there was no room in the schedule. He already made me overbook a spot on Friday for another one of hisfriend’s veneers. I’m going to have a whole waiting room full of pissed off patients pushed well past their appointment times.”

“If it means he gets to rub elbows with the upper class of Eugene, he won’t give a shit,” Robin noted. “You should’ve seen him preening while he tossed that guy’s name around.”

“He might as well plaster it all over that tacky billboard outside,” Renee added.

“He doesn’t have to when he spends his weekends flying all those snobs up to Lake Oswego to play golf,” Maggie reminded her. “Then he’s all over social media, ever so casually mentioning his private plane and all the big names who’ve been in it. I mean, really, these people need fillings and root canals just like the rest of us. I don’t get what it is with him.”

“He’s probably just insecure and needs to surround himself with rich people to project an image and feel better about his miserable life,” Robin speculated.

“Speaking of insecure, the man’s in his sixties,” Renee noted. “There’s no way he can look like that naturally. He’s got to be going to one of those ‘spas’ or something.”

Maggie pulled a pencil out of the curly bun on top of her head and twiddled it between her fingers. “Maybe a little nip here and a tuck there?”

“Something,” Robin uttered. His hair was too dark and thick, and his skin was as smooth as a baby’s bottom. It was well done, considering she couldn’t spot any evidential scarring, but she knew something had to be happening.

Barb, Watson’s assistant, appeared. “Hi, Renee. I’ll take you back and get you seated.”

“Have fun,” Robin teased, her sister flipping her the bird as she followed Barb down the hallway.

The little bell over the front door dinged, and Robin and Maggie turned as a woman with a pinched face slowly sauntered through the waiting room. She carried her designer purse looped over one arm, and she glanced around as though she wasn’t sure she was in the right place. Robin recognized Christina Harding. Her husband was some sort of producer, Robin thought. Christina was a stay-at-home wife, but she kept herself busy by getting drunk and crashing her little sports cars. She stepped up to the counter. “I need to see Albert, please.”

Robin cringed. She hated it when his favorite patients referred to him by his first name when he’d made it very clear to the staff that they were never to call him anything but Dr. Watson. He insisted it was about being professional, but Robin knew it was more about his superiority complex.

Maggie, always quick as lightning on the computer, checked the schedule. Robin knew Maggie didn’t even need to consult the computer, because she usually had most of the day’s appointments memorized. “It looks like I could get you in on Monday.”

Lines from years of smoking radiated from Christina’s mouth, and they deepened as she pursed her lips. “I meant that I need to see him today.”

“Why don’t you have a seat for a moment, and I’ll see what I can do.” Maggie suggested pleasantly. As soon as she was out of Christina’s line of sight, she turned to Robin and made a face. They both knew what she was there for, and they didn’t like it.

A beeping noise blared from the TV in the waiting room. The placid daytime programming was interrupted as the view switched to a news anchor. “We’re here to bring you breaking news. The body of a young woman has been found in Spencer Butte Park by a pair of hikers. Police have yet to identify the victim. Speculation is mounting quickly that it could be Alissa Grainger, another hiker who went missing last week, but there is no confirmation just yet. We’ll bring you the latest news as soon as it comes in. We’ve reached out to the police department and the parks service for further comment, but—” The picture blinked out and turned black.

Dr. Watson was standing behind them with the remote. He showed his veneers once again, but this time, it wasn’t in the context of a smile. “You have jobs to do, ladies. I don’t pay you to sit around and watch the news.”

Robin stood from her chair and felt Watson’s eyes on her backside as she turned to head back to her operatory.

“Robin, you know I include a gym membership in your benefits package.”

Robin’s mouth fell open for a moment as she froze, looking for an answer. She was used to Dr. Watson being condescending, but she didn’t think he’d ever been so directly insulting. “I can always lose weight. But all the money in the world won’t fill the void in that cold, shallow soul of yours.”

The words escaped her lips before she could even think about them, but the doctor hadn’t seemed to hear them, already moving on to something he cared about more. He’d spotted one of his favorite patients in the waiting room and immediately went out to greet her with open arms. “Christina! How are you today, darling?” Dr. Watson gave her a light embrace and a peck on the cheek.

“Not well, I’m afraid.” She pouted up at him. The woman was nearly as old as he was, and she should’ve been well beyond pouting. She gently touched the side of her face. “I’m in an awful lot of pain with this tooth that keeps bothering me every now and then. Your girl said you wouldn’t be able to get me in until Monday.”

“Don’t you worry. I’ll make sure you’re taken care of. Why don’t you come on back with me for a minute?” Taking her by the hand, he led Christina to his private office. She emerged a minute later with a small square of white paper in her hand and a smile on her face. She didn’t bother to say goodbye to Maggie or make sure she could secure that appointment for Monday.

Robin and Maggie exchanged a long look and then went back to work. As Robin returned to her exam room to disinfect before the next patient arrived, she felt tension creeping through the muscles of her shoulders. There were plenty of legitimate prescriptions written in this office, ones that went through the computer system and could be quickly tied back to the examinations performed and the results thereof. These little favors that ‘Albert’ did for his friends, however, were always conveniently written by hand. It would take some investigating on behalf of a state agency to prove he was doing anything wrong, and she was sure as shit that none of those special patients were going to rat him out. Even if Robin could become a whistleblower and nail him to the wall, that would mean she’d lose the only job in the area she was qualified for that paid well enough to keep a roof over her head. God knows how expensive homes were in Eugene, and Robin had worked hard to buy her little bungalow. It put her between a rock and a hard place. Her only solace was knowing that karma’s a bitch. It would all catch up with the bastard someday.

She turned her mind back to Brody as she wiped down the chair and changed the plastic cover over the computer keyboard. He kept her thoughts active in a completely different way. She was just as unsure about him as she was with her work life, but it wasn’t the same. At least while she was figuring it out, she was going to enjoy the hell out of herself. Any man who willingly and purposefully gave her that much pleasure was worth spending time with.

She was smiling by the time the notification flashed on her computer screen, telling her the next patient had arrived. Robin headed out to the waiting room, both excited and nervous about the appointment that was yet to come.

7

Brody jiggledhis knee as he sat impatiently in the waiting room. He drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair, but it didn’t help. He needed something to do, something to keep him in check, and the bland home renovation show on the TV wasn’t cutting it. Maggie had given him a sly smile when he’d checked in, making Brody wonder just what Robin might’ve told her. At least she was smiling, so that was probably a good sign.

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