“Yeah? Sounds like a lucky bastard.”
I shrug, and he grins at the face I make. “I can’t disagree with you.”
“Two minutes,” someone calls and knocks on the door, opening it without waiting for a response. Candace takes one look at me and rolls her eyes.
“We need make-up in here again!” she yells down the hall.
“You should probably go,” I say with a sigh and he nods.
“That’s actually why I came in here. I just got a call from Blaze and I gotta run.”
I frown, too disappointed to even try and hide it. “Okay. Dinner tonight?”
“I’m not sure. This might be an all nighter.”
I nod and hate how easily he can get to me. My mood immediately picked up when he showed up here, and it’s plummeting again now that he’s leaving. “Okay.”
His hand slides in my hair, and he pulls me forward, planting his lips on my forehead. “I’ll text you later, Baby. I gotta go.”
People start filing into the room, and I nod, peeking up at him as he releases me. He slips out as they start fixing my make-up again, and I sigh, pushing away my disappointment so I can finish this shoot. With any luck, I’ll see him again later tonight.
Chapter Twelve
Alison
The nerves hit full force as I step out of my car and shut the door behind me. My stomach twists, and each breath I pull into my lungs echoes in my ear as my heels click against the concrete. The building that houses the radio station looms in front of me, and I stop for a moment, taking a deep breath. I’ve been a reporter for years but the thought of going in there and being on the radio makes my entire body tremble. I’m much more happy tucked away in an office somewhere, writing to everyone.
“Ali,” a familiar voice calls, and I turn, catching sight of Mercedes striding across the lot like she owns it. Who knows, she just might. I smile at her when she reaches me and wraps me in a hug.
“Hey, what are you doing here?”
She shrugs and checks her phone. She’s constantly glued to that thing. “Here for support.”
“Oh, you didn’t have to do that,” I say, even though I’m honestly touched. It’s nice having your boss in your corner. She glances up from the screen and locks her eyes on mine.
“You seemed nervous about all this, and I told you, I’ve got your back. I’m not Klein.”
“Well, thank you.”
She tucks her phone back into her bag and smiles brightly at me. “No need to thank me. We ready to do this?”
I look up at the building again and suck in a nervous breath before nodding. With Mercedes at my side, I do feel a little more comfortable walking into the bland reception area. From the muted gray carpet to the white walls, everything about this place is boring. Then again, I suppose they don’t really need to look good. It is radio, after all.
“Can I help you?” an older receptionist asks from behind the desk, and Mercedes takes control of the situation, walking over to her and hoisting her large bag up on the counter.
“Yes. I’m Mercedes Richmond, and this is Alison James. She’s doing an interview here today.”
“Yes, of course. Follow me, please.” She rises from her seat and starts off down the hallway to her left as we follow behind her. We pass a few empty offices, and when we reach the back, she stops and waves to a man behind a glass wall. He gives her a thumbs-up, and she turns back to us with a professional smile.
“Just wait here. He’ll be out in a moment.” She hurries off the way we came, and Mercedes grabs my arm, giving it a little squeeze.
“How you feeling?”
I nod, looking over the sound booth. “I’m okay, I think.”
“Just be yourself, Ali. It’s why I hired you and why people loved your article. Don’t forget that.”
I nod, smiling at her. Having her here really does help me feel better. “Wow, you give good pep talks.”
Before she can say anything else, the sound booth door opens, and a man who looks like the real life Shaggy from the Scooby-Doo cartoons pokes his head out. Long messy blond hair falls into his face, and his plaid shirt looks like it’s two sizes too big for his tall, lanky body.
“Alison?” he asks, looking between Mercedes and I. I raise my hand as she pushes me forward, still not looking up from her phone and I roll my eyes. He motions for me to follow him, and I start walking toward the door but he looks behind me to Mercedes.
“You’ll need to stay out here. There is a pair of headphones and a chair over there for you.” He points to a small desk that’s pushed up against the glass with a set of headphones laying on top. She finally looks up from her phone and nods, dragging the chair from the wall over to the desk as she plops her purse down and sets up shop.
He turns back to the booth and I follow him inside. “We don’t have a lot of time but I’m Sam. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too, Sam,” I say, offering him a polite smile.
“Just go ahead and have a seat over there and put those headphones on. I’ll introduce you, and then we’ll get started. Sound good?”
“That sounds great.” I take a deep breath as I move around the round desk and sit at the microphone next to his. He throws the headphones on his head and turns his chair to face me. Just as he starts counting down from five, I put the headphones on and set my bag down on the floor next to me, trying not to freak out that I’m about to go on the air.
“Welcome back,” he booms into the microphone as soon as he gets to one, his entire face coming alive as he speaks to his listeners. It’s easy to see why he does this. If you saw a side-by-side comparison of the man who greeted me outside this booth and the man I’m sitting next to right now, you’d never believe they were the same person. “I’ve got something exciting for you all today! Viral star, Alison James, is here!”
It feels weird to hear him call me a viral star but I guess that’s what I am now. But that doesn’t mean I like it.
“Now, you all may remember the article Alison wrote a few days ago about her horrible online dating experiences. She’s also the new advice columnist over at Champagne Dreaming, a blog run by Mercedes Richmond, daughter of billionaire Charles Richmond. Thanks for being here today, Alison.”
I startle and lean into the microphone. “Thanks for having me.”
“Oh, we’re glad to have you, and can I just say from guys everywhere, we’re sorry about those dates.”
I laugh. “Well, thank you but there’s no need. They are done and over with, and I’m happy to put them in my past.”
“So, I kind of have to ask the obvious question here, are you single? Did anything come of those dates?”
I open my mouth and close it again, not sure what to say. Are Storm and I dating? He’s always around but it’s not like we’ve talked about it. And yeah, I really like him a lot but still, we just met.
“Oh, boy, I’m judging by the look on your face that there might just be someone in your life.”
I laugh and tuck my hair behind my ear, trying to keep the blush from rising to my cheeks. “Well, it’s new so I’m not really sure what we are yet but I did meet someone.”