BEN
I walked into Dan’s office at the far end of the radio station and slid into the chair in front of his desk, sighing. “That was interesting.”
Dan was the promotions director for the radio station, and also my best friend. We met five years ago on my first day of work and hit it off immediately.
We had a lot in common—playing poker, golfing, eating Mexican food—but we also spent a lot of time together in conjunction with the radio station since he was the one who planned all my personal appearances, charity events, and live broadcasts. I had something on the calendar almost every single week.
Dan looked up from his stack of paperwork. “You two were cracking me up today. Very entertaining show.” He flipped through some pages, looking for something, but then glanced up. “You and Lori have got some amazing chemistry.” He buried his head back in the papers, searching.
I stared at him. “You call that chemistry? All we did was butt heads all morning.”
“I know.” Dan glanced up and smiled. “It was awesome.”
I laughed. “You really need to get out more.”
“Have you seen our social media? They went nuts over you two.”
“Kyle mentioned it, but I haven’t had a chance to check it out. I’m exhausted. You know I’m used to working alone and having another person with me is draining. It will take some getting used to, if it lasts.”
Dan looked up. “If it lasts? What are you talking about? You two have got it.”
“Have got what?”
“It! I swear, nobody would ever believe me if I told them that was your first time working together. It was like you both have been a morning show team for twenty-five years. Actually, you’re kind of like an old married couple.” He laughed.
I shook my head in disbelief. “Not funny.”
“I disagree. The show was flawless.”
“Whatever. Anything new on the schedule for me over the next couple of weeks?”
Dan pulled up the schedule on his computer and shook his head. “Not at the moment. We have the anniversary party, the charity poker tournament, and the pet adoption open house. I need to check with Kyle to see if Lori is going to be added to the slate for those. I would imagine she would be, which means you’ll need to re-record some new promos with Lori in them.” He typed something on his computer and turned the monitor toward me so I could see it. “We already added Lori to the morning show page on the website.”
I glanced at her photo and nodded. “That was fast.”
“You can blame or thank Kyle for that.”
“Don’t you think he’s jumping the gun? We don’t even know if all this will work out. I’m hoping she quits, actually. It would make my life easier.”
“If the show this morning was any indication, your ratings are going to shoot through the roof. I have a good feeling about it.”
“Funny, but I have a nauseous feeling.” I glanced at her photo again.
How could such an attractive woman get on my nerves so much?
Dan pointed at me. “You’re staring.” He turned the monitor back around.
“I was not.”
“She’s attractive. Can’t blame you at all.”
“I wasn’t staring.”
“She’s single, you know.”
“Stop it. And believe me, the whole world knows she’s single. Someone recorded her breakup and stuck it on Twitter.”
I couldn’t believe her boyfriend dumped her live on the air. Talk about not having any cojones. He should have had the decency of doing that in person, in private. But then again, he used her and then got rid of her, so maybe that was asking too much of the selfish man.
“What a bastard,” I mumbled.
Dan glanced up. “Who?”
I shook my head. “Oh . . . nothing. I was just thinking about what Lori’s ex did to her. Poor woman. That had to be humiliating.”
He arched an eyebrow. “I thought you said you didn’t like her?”
“I don’t.”
“Then why are you thinking about poor Lori and her feelings?”
I hesitated. “Nobody deserves what she went through.” I stood, ready to go record a commercial before heading home. “Anyway, I’ll talk to you later.”
Dan pointed to his computer screen. “Are you sure you don’t want to look at Lori’s photo one more time before you take off?”
“You’re being ridiculous, you know that?”
He chuckled. “And you’re not fooling anyone.”
I shook my head and walked out of Dan’s office, heading toward the production studio to record a commercial for a local restaurant.
Dan was smarter than the average bear.
Of course, I was attracted to Lori.
Even a blind man would be.
That short auburn hair.
Those beautiful hazel eyes.
Her dazzling smile kicked it up to another level.
It meant nothing, though.
I wasn’t going to let a pretty girl distract me from what I needed to do. One hundred percent of my focus was going to be put on making sure my ratings went up so I still had a job when all was said and done.
Kyle said that drama sells, and I knew that better than anyone.
That was my shtick, and listeners expected it.
The difference was, I needed to kick it up a notch.
I needed to turn up the heat on Lori.
Chapter Eight
LORI
“I love Dr. Tough Love!” Grandma Joyce stood in front of The Spot, a restaurant located within walking distance of her retirement community in La Jolla. “That was the most fun I’ve had listening to the radio in such a long time. What a team you two make.”
I hugged her and then pulled away, shaking my head. “Don’t you start already. Obviously, your judgment is off kilter, since that man can do no wrong in your eyes. Plus, you have the hots for him, which is quite disturbing.”
Grandma Joyce smiled as we walked into the restaurant and checked in with the hostess. “My discernment is quite fine, thank you very much. You’re the one who’s out of whack here.”
“How so?”
“You refuse to admit that Dr. Hot Stuff is spunky and hunky, but then you have no problem showing your support for octogenarian exhibitionists who are swingers. By the way, I’m pretty sure I’m living in the wrong community.”
I laughed. “You’re not moving again.” I gestured to the hostess, who waved us over. “Our table is ready.”
We followed the hostess to our table, which was by the open front window that overlooked the sidewalk and Prospect Street, the main drag in La Jolla.
Twenty minutes later, we were eating as Grandma Joyce continued to gush over the show. “Now, can you see how talented Dr. Tough Love is?”
“No, and you can call him Ben, since his on-air name is ridiculous. Really, I don’t see anything special about that man. I see an overbearing, arrogant guy who’s looking for attention.”
Grandma Joyce forked some of the jambalaya from the huge bowl in front of her and held it in the air. “Isn’t that the goal of being on the radio? You always told me that your radio show was number one in the ratings, which means you were getting lots of attention. I don’t see the difference.” She stuck the food in her mouth, chewing, watching me, her eyebrow arching as if to say gotcha.