“Oh . . .” She studied me for a minute. “But didn’t he already accept the job offer in San Francisco?”
I blinked. “What job offer?”
Debbie grimaced. “Well, maybe he was going to tell you after the meeting. It sounds like a pretty big station in San Francisco got word of the sale and offered him a job. It’s the number four radio market in the country, you know. Huge.”
Almost paralyzed from the news, I forced myself to nod and then gestured down the hallway. “Well . . . I’m going to talk with Ben now, so I’m sure I’ll get the scoop from him. I’ll see you later.”
“Sounds good.” Debbie reached out and squeezed my hand. “Hang in there.”
I was barely hanging on by a thread.
Walking down the hallway, I was so inundated by the thoughts swirling around in my mind that I actually bumped into the wall twice. It was bad enough the station had been sold, but this new information about Ben being offered a job at a radio station five hundred miles away really had my head in the clouds.
Had he really accepted an offer in San Francisco?
There was no way I would even attempt a long-distance relationship with him.
And when was Ben planning on sharing the news with me?
Right before he hopped on his flight to SFO?
My stomach quivered at the thought of it.
Was it possible that Debbie was misinformed? There was only one way to find out. I would just come out and ask Ben. There was no use in beating around the bush. I shook my head at the irony of becoming more direct like Ben, but then facing the real possibility of never seeing him again.
Don’t jump to conclusions. Get the facts.
I stopped before Dan’s office when I heard him ask, “Did you accept the job offer?”
I rocked back and forth on my heels, pretending to study the floor as I held my breath, waiting got an answer.
“Of course,” Ben answered.
All the energy drained from my body.
Was I missing something here?
Ben wouldn’t do that to me, would he?
What happened to us being a team?
“It’s a golden opportunity,” Ben added. “I’d be crazy not to take it.”
“You have the number one morning show,” Dan said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you started attracting even more attention. What did Lori say when you told her?”
“We haven’t had a chance to talk yet.”
“Well, do something special for her before you take off for San Francisco. You wouldn’t have gotten that job without her help.”
It was obvious I didn’t know Ben at all.
My body tensed and I started blinking rapidly, when everything became clear.
It was happening all over again.
Just like Zachary, Ben got what he needed from me and was tossing me aside.
Ben used me.
How could I have been so blind? How could I have been such a fool?
I swallowed hard and stood up straight, taking in a deep breath and blowing it back out.
There was no way I was going to let Ben do this without giving him a piece of my mind.
I took a step toward Dan’s office and—
My phone rang in my hand.
I checked the caller ID, surprised at who was calling.
It was Doug, the program director from my old radio station.
I stared at the phone, wondering why he was calling, of all people.
Ben stuck his head outside the office door. “Oh, hey. Do you have time to chat now?”
I stared at Ben, but it was as if I was looking right through him, because nothing was registering on his face. Not love, not compassion, not hope.
He didn’t care.
I held up my ringing phone. “I should take this call.”
What I really needed was to breathe, to get out of the building, and get some fresh air.
The walls seemed to be closing in on me.
Ben nodded. “No problem. I’ll be here when you finish.”
Yeah, but I probably won’t be.
I rushed down the hallway. “Hello?”
“Hi, Lori. It’s Doug. How are you?”
“Honestly, I’ve had better days,” I whispered. “Do you mind if I call you back later?” I walked through the lobby and forced a smile at Debbie before I walked out the door. I stopped at the edge of the stairs that went down to the parking lot. “Doug? Are you there?”
“I’m here—sorry. Just working on ten things at once, and one of them concerns you.”
“Hang on, Doug.” I pulled the phone away from my ear and glared at it. Of all the things to happen and people to call, the guy who fired me wasn’t on the list. Everything about the last fifteen minutes was a horror story.
And I still didn’t understand why Doug was on the phone.
Was he calling to gloat?
My head was spinning as I ran down the stairs like the building was on fire.
Fresh air would do me some good, I hoped.
I wanted to talk to Ben, but would it really matter now? Talking to him would just make me feel worse, and I already felt bad enough as it was.
Pushing open the door to the parking lot, I headed straight for my car.
I stopped and stuck the phone back against my ear. “Are you there?”
“I’m here,” Doug said. “Hey—I heard about the sale of the radio station. It sounds like they’re going to change the format to classic rock. Is that true?”
Had the sale of the station been made public? How did he already know, but I just found out?
I fished through my purse for my keys while cradling the phone against my shoulder. “We were just told that nothing has been made public or official yet.”
“Oh . . . well, I’ve got some connections and someone told me that privately, but that doesn’t matter. I’m calling to offer you your job back.”
I froze. “Pardon me?”
“Your job. We want you to come back. We need you, actually.”
I swung around and leaned against the car, shocked. “Doug, you escorted me out of the building like a convicted criminal.”
“I know, I know, and I’m really sorry about that. You know that’s company protocol for anyone who gets fired for insubordination. I don’t particularly agree with the process, but it was my responsibility to take care of it.”
“I don’t get it. You told me Rolando Tech would cancel their advertising contract if I wasn’t fired. What changed?”
Doug sighed. “What changed was the ratings. We just got the Weeklies in and it’s the second consecutive week the numbers went down dramatically during the night show. And Peter Rolando called Frank and told them their sales numbers were way down since your voice wasn’t on their commercial any longer. Now, everyone wants you back and I’ve been authorized to offer you a twenty percent raise.”
“Twenty percent?”
“Well, between you and me, I was told to offer twenty to start, with the option to raise it to thirty if you said no. No use in me pretending and beating around the bush. You can have a thirty percent raise.”
Another person who didn’t like to “beat around the bush.”
I had a feeling that phrase was going to haunt me for the rest of my life.
I pondered the job offer from Doug.
Why shouldn’t I take it?
I loved playing the love songs and dedications.