Читать книгу Rock My World - Cindi Myers - Страница 8

“I TELL YOU, NICK, this is gonna be great. The whole city will be talking about this one.”

Erica Gibson froze outside the office of the station manager of radio station KROK, her arms full of demo CDs, press packets, contest entries and miscellaneous envelopes that had arrived in the day’s mail. Six months of working as an intern/assistant/general flunky at the station had taught her that these were dangerous words. Station manager Carl Husack was forever hatching wild schemes to promote KROK (pronounced kay-rock, not crock he had warned her, her first day on the job. This despite the cartoon drawing of a dancing crocodile that appeared in almost every advertisement for the station.) Staff didn’t want to get too close to Carl when he was in full gonzo promo mood or they’d find themselves dressed like chickens passing out flyers in the parking lot at a Broncos game or hurtling down a ski slope wearing nothing but flesh-colored bikinis and strategically placed KROK stickers—both stunts to which previous interns had been subjected.

“Tell me again, because I can’t believe I heard you right.” Morning show host “Naughty” Nick Cassidy sprawled on the leather sofa across from Carl’s desk. Erica could just make out the silver-tipped toes of his black alligator boots.

“A bed-in,” Carl said. “You broadcast for seventy-five hours from a king-size bed in the main showroom of Mattress Max’s Furniture Gallery.”

Erica made a face. Mattress Max was the station’s biggest advertiser, known for his in-your-face, used-car-salesman approach to selling furniture. “You can’t beat a Mattress Max deal!” he screamed in commercials that aired on KROK twenty times a day.

“A bed-in.” Nick’s trademark sultry drawl tended to sound more like a croaking frog when he wasn’t “on.” “What’s so fascinating about me sitting in bed cuing up CDs?”

“You don’t just cue up CDs. We’ll make it a fund-raiser. People come by and donate money for the new homeless shelter the Salvation Army is building in Aurora. Get it—a bed-in to raise money for more beds for the homeless?”

The more Carl talked, the more he sounded like Mattress Max, with that same frantic quality.

“I don’t know, Carl. It sounds boring as hell.”

“Not boring. Not boring at all. It wouldn’t just be you in the bed. We’d put one of the female jocks with you. The public will love it.”

Nick leaned forward. Now Erica could see the wave of ink-black hair that dipped over his forehead, and the end of his nose jutting out like the prow of a ship. He had, as Carl himself said, “A face only radio could love,” but that didn’t stop him from making time with every female who crossed his path. In fact, the whole Naughty Nick show was based on the premise that he was the biggest player in Denver. And as of last month, it was the top-rated morning drive-time show among the coveted demographic of twenty-four to fifty-four-year-olds.

“Now I’m getting interested,” Nick said. “Who’s the lucky lady?”

“I don’t know yet. It’s not like we’ve got a lot to choose from. There’s Audra Benson, the late-night gal.”

“She’s seven months pregnant!”

Erica stifled a laugh at the horror in Nick’s voice.

“What about Bombshell Bonnie? She’s hot.”

“Bombshell” Bonnie Remington was the station’s weather and traffic “girl,” a bleached blonde whose main claim to fame was once having posed for a Playboy feature on “Wild Women of Rock Radio” and her short-lived affair with afternoon drive-time jock Adam “the Hawk” Hawkins. Right before Erica came on staff Bonnie and Adam had apparently had a very public bust-up and in the months since the chill between them could have air-conditioned the building.

“Bonnie’ll never do it,” Nick said.

“Why not? She’s always whining about wanting more airtime. And she’s already proved she’s an exhibitionist.”

“Let me put it another way—I won’t do it with Bonnie.”

“Why not? She’s a knockout. The two of you will go over great together.”

“No way. The woman’s a ball breaker. You heard how she raked the Hawk over the coals when they called it quits.”

“We won’t have any more problems like that. You know the rules.”

“If you think forbidding dating among the on-air staff is going to solve all your problems, you don’t know Bonnie. I tried flirting with her once and she ripped me a new one before the commercial break was over. I don’t want anything to do with her.”

“Then who? It ain’t like we’ve got two dozen females hanging around the station who aren’t going to freeze up in front of a microphone.”

“What about that intern—Erline or whatever her name is?”

“Erica? You mean Erica, who managed to piss off not one, but two advertising accounts and draw an FCC fine the one and only time I let her near a microphone?”

Nick laughed, and Erica stifled a groan. Was it her fault she’d been shoved on the air at the last minute to fill in for Audra, who was in the ladies’ room, puking up her dinner? Anyone could have mixed up the commercials. And she hadn’t realized her microphone was still live when she started cursing her inability to straighten things out. She’d had to beg Carl not to fire her, and since then, he hadn’t let her near the broadcast booth.

Nick’s laughter finally subsided. “Come on, Carl. It’s not like she screwed up on purpose. And she’ll have me there to show her the ropes.”

“Just make sure that’s all you show her,” Carl said. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to give her a try….”

Did that mean Carl was going to let her do this? A live promo? She hardly had time to absorb the idea before the stack of mail shifted and began sliding. As CDs and Tyvek mailers tumbled to the floor, she let loose a stream of words that definitely were not allowed on air.

“Who’s making all that racket? We’re trying to have a meeting in here.” Carl stuck his head out the door. “Oh, Erica, it’s you. Come in here a minute.” Not waiting for an answer, he took her arm and hustled her into the office.

Nick looked her up and down and offered one of his trademark smarmy smiles. “Hello, beautiful.”

Nick called every woman “beautiful,” even if she was dressed like a bag lady and wearing a fright wig. “Hey, Nick.” She turned to Carl, trying to look innocent. “What’s up?”

Carl leaned against the desk. He was a short man with a wide face and jug-handle ears, dressed in green cords and a striped button-down shirt and red Chuck Taylors. He reminded Erica of a garden gnome. “How long have you been working here, Erica?” he asked.

“Six months.” As he very well knew.

“I think it’s about time we gave you some more airtime, don’t you?”

She cut her eyes over to Nick, who was grinning at her as though she was the special of the day. As if his player act impressed her. She focused again on Carl. “That is the reason I took this job.” It was bad enough a few detours in her career path made her one of the oldest interns in the history of the station—she didn’t plan to spend any longer than she had to shlepping mail and fetching coffee. She had her sights set on an on-air slot at the top rock station in Denver.

“Great!” Carl clapped his hands together. “We’ve got a fantastic new promo coming up that’ll pair you on air with Nick for three days next month. Not just the morning show, but live spots during the day as well. Terrific exposure.”

She glanced at Nick again, who leered at her. Three days in bed with that. She shuddered. “What exactly is the promo?” How would Carl spin this one?

“A fund-raiser for the new homeless shelter. Great, huh? Mattress Max came to me with the idea and I knew we had to get on board. Such a great cause.” He wasn’t looking directly at her anymore, a sure sign he was up to something shady.

“What exactly would I have to do?” she asked.

“Oh, nothing difficult. Just broadcast from the showroom floor of Max’s Furniture Gallery with Nick here.”

“You’d better level with her, Carl.” Nick stood, his six-foot-three, thick-set frame towering over her. “You’re gonna be spending three days in bed—with me, darlin’.”

She glared at the two men, trying to come up with a suitably scathing—yet not job-endangering—answer.

“She’s overcome with joy!” Nick patted her back. “Don’t worry, darlin’. Naughty Nick will take care of you.”

She curled her lip in a close approximation of a snarl. He actually took a step back. It was enough for her to find her voice again. “A bed-in?” She turned to Carl again. “Isn’t that a little sleazy?” She thought it was a lot sleazy, but this was, after all, rock radio.

“It’s perfectly respectable.” Carl put his arm around her. “Think of the great exposure. Think of the homeless shelter. Think how long it’ll be before you get another chance like this if you turn this one down.” His smile faded, along with the gnomelike jolliness. Now he looked like the hard-nosed businessman who had made KROK number one.

She glanced at Nick again. He was still leering. But could any man who ran his mouth that much be serious when it came to action? Besides, she was a grown woman. She could protect herself. And three days on the air! This could make her career. If she passed this up she might as well turn in her resignation and look for another job right now. She turned back to Carl. “All right. But I want a bonus for those three days.”

“A bonus!” Carl shook his head. “No can do.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “If I’m going to be on-air talent, I deserve a bonus.”

“She’s got a point there.” Nick’s hand was heavy on her shoulder. Since he was taking her side, she made herself stand still and not shake him off.

Carl frowned at them for a moment and shook his head. “All right. I’ll pay you the same thing an entry-level DJ makes. But just for those three days.”

She grinned. “Then we’ve got a deal.”

Carl dropped into his chair. “Great. See Belinda in marketing about getting your picture for the ads. And find something suitable to wear.”

Her smile faded. “Suitable?”

“It’s a bed-in. People are going to be stopping by, donating money. The two of you need to wear what you’d wear to bed.”

Nick chuckled. “In my case, that would be nothing.”

She glared at him. His smile vanished. “But I guess since this is for the public, I’ll find something a little less revealing. Don’t want to shock the folks.”

“You don’t want to get arrested,” Carl said. He turned to Erica. “Sex sells, so let’s see some kind of silky lingerie or something. Remember, it’s for a good cause.”

Right. For a good cause. Her career was a good cause, wasn’t it?

She backed out of the office, all chance of a graceful exit ruined when she stumbled over the pile of mail in the doorway. She gathered up the mess of envelopes and mailers and headed down the hall, dizzy from the thoughts racing through her head. Was she crazy? She’d just agreed to spend three days in bed with a man who thought he was a rock and roll Romeo—and she was expected to do it while wearing lingerie? She was out of her mind.

She took the stairs two at a time, racing toward her basement cubicle. Too late, she heard someone coming toward her and looked up in time to collide with a tall, very solid man.

Strong arms steadied her, and her cheek pressed against a broad chest which smelled of starch and Irish Spring. Who would have thought that could be such a sexy combination? She smiled, tempted to plead a sudden weakness and thus stay in his embrace a little longer.

Instead she sighed and pushed out of his arms. “Hey, Adam,” she said, brushing her hair out of her eyes. “I’m sorry. I was in a hurry and didn’t see you.”

“That’s okay.” Adam Hawkins’s brown eyes held an expression of concern. “Everything okay?”

She smiled, trying not to look as flustered as she felt. The truth was, within days of her arrival at the station she’d developed a serious crush on the afternoon jock. Not that he’d paid much attention to her. He was polite, of course, and had at least bothered to learn her name, unlike Nick and some of the others, who expected her to respond to “Hey, you.”

But Adam mostly kept to himself around the station. On air he was friendly and warm, but once he took off the microphone, he was a quiet man.

Was there anything sexier than the strong, silent type? Especially when the type in question had broad shoulders, fudge-brown eyes fringed with soot-black lashes, and a bass voice that vibrated right through her whenever he spoke.

Looking at and listening to Adam for hours every day for the past six months, Erica was certain the man had emotional depths and sexual skills just waiting for the right woman—meaning her—to discover.

Too bad their “relationship” so far consisted of mundane comments exchanged in the hall and a few long moments of eye contact.

One more reason to suffer through this gig with Nick. If she did a good job, maybe Adam would start to see her as more than a co-worker. Maybe he’d even wish he were in Nick’s place in that bed.

Of course, there was still Carl’s rule about on-air talent not dating, but she wasn’t official on-air talent yet, was she? It was a small loophole, but she wouldn’t mind exploiting it with Adam.

“You sure you’re okay?” He peered into her face. “You look a little pale.”

She nodded, and shifted the stack of mail in her arms. “I’ll be fine…eventually.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? What happened?”

She studied him through lowered lashes, debating how to break the news. Should she go for sympathy or triumph? “Carl’s giving me a new promo gig.”

“Oh?” Little worry lines creased his forehead. “What is it this time?”

“It’s nothing that bad. It’s good, really. Three days of on-air time, raising money for the Salvation Army.”

The tension went out of his face. “Three days on air? Hey, that’s great.”

“Yeah, the only drawback is I’ll be working with Nick. Not that he’s not a great DJ,” she hastened to add. “It’s just…”

“It’s just that he’s Nick.” He frowned. “Want me to talk to Carl? See if he can find somebody else?”

The thought that he cared enough to stick up for her made her go weak in the knees. She put her hand on his arm, as much to steady herself as for the chance to touch him. “That’s really sweet of you, but I’m okay with it, really. It’s a big chance for me.”

“Three days is a lot. What’s the angle? Some kind of contest or something?”

“Not exactly.” Why did she suddenly feel embarrassed? After all, he—and the rest of the city—were going to find out soon enough. “It’s a fund-raiser for the new homeless shelter.”

“Uh-huh.” He looked wary. “So what are you doing to raise the money?”

“We’re broadcasting from the showroom of Mattress Max’s Furniture Gallery.” She took a deep breath, her cheeks hot. “From a…um, a bed.”

“A bed?” The frown lines returned, even deeper this time. “You and Naughty Nick in bed for three days?”

She nodded. “It ought to be a blast, don’t you think?”

He looked at her a long minute, so long she began to feel a very different heat, this one starting somewhere in her chest and spreading downward, reminding her of some rather explicit sexual fantasies she’d indulged in starring the man in front of her.

But before she could wrap her mind around this idea, his expression relaxed and he patted her shoulder. A friendly, brotherly sort of pat. Not the pat of a man who liked the idea of getting her in bed himself.

“It’ll be all right,” he said. “I’ll talk to Nick myself and make sure he understands that he’s to behave like a gentleman.”

She would have laughed, except that she was still fighting an attack of lust. Gentleman and Naughty Nick weren’t words that went together. “Thanks. I think I can handle Nick.” If nothing else, a firm “no” and a strategically placed shove ought to do the trick. Still, she didn’t want Adam to think she didn’t need him at all. “Maybe you can stop by the Furniture Gallery and say hello,” she said.

“Yeah, uh, maybe I’ll do that,” he said. He opened his mouth as if to say something else, then shook his head. “I’d better get to work. Good to see you.”

“Yeah. Good to see you.” She turned and watched him climb the stairs. It was a guilty pleasure she indulged in whenever possible. Word had it a group of female radio personalities had voted it the best ass in radio.

When he was gone, she sighed and headed down the stairs. So much for fantasy. She had to deal with the real world now. She wondered what Carl would say if she showed up at the Furniture Gallery wearing a granny gown and wool socks? That was her preferred winter sleepwear, but she was pretty sure it wasn’t what he had in mind.

ADAM HAD EVERY intention of taking a laid-back approach with Carl, making a joke of the whole bed-in project and somehow persuading him to rethink the idea of having Erica participate. He was glad Carl was giving her another chance at on-air time, but in bed—with Nick? Adam’s head hurt just thinking about it.

Since the fiasco with Bonnie, he’d made a point of staying away from office politics. But Erica was too nice to turn loose with a player like Nick.

By the time Adam reached the station manager’s office he had the makings of a migraine and the first words out of his mouth were “Are you out of your mind?”

Carl looked up from a stack of computer printouts. “Some people would say I’m always out of my mind. Are you referring to anything in particular?”

“This whole bed-in promo with Nick and Erica. It’s crazy.”

“I agree. It’s so crazy it’s brilliant. The listeners will love it.”

“You don’t think it’s going a little too far?”

“Hey, it’s for charity. And they’ll both have clothes on. It’s not like they’ll be having sex on the air or anything. They’ll be doing the regular show, plus live feeds throughout the day. Only they’ll be doing them from a bed.”

At the mention of Erica and sex in the same sentence he had to sit down. Not that he hadn’t thought of her in that context before. More than once he’d caught himself admiring her great legs and indulging in fantasies of them wrapped around him. Women like her—petite, blond and curvy—were definitely his weakness, one he tried to keep under control. It helped to remind himself she was just a kid. She didn’t look a day over seventeen, though he figured she was at least twenty-one, since she’d graduated college.

Still, ten years was too much of an age difference for him to handle. So when she was around he did his best to keep his mind off sex, difficult as that was sometimes. He rested his elbows on his knees and leaned toward Carl. “Why Erica? Why not someone else?”

“You tell me. Who else could we use?”

He shrugged. “Why not Bonnie?” As far as he was concerned, his ex and Nick made a perfect couple.

“Why not Bonnie what?”

Adam groaned as Bombshell Bonnie herself filled the doorway. Dressed in white short shorts, gold high-heeled sandals and an orange tank top, she looked as if she was on her way to a job at Hooters instead of her afternoon traffic report.

“Nothing, darlin’. Adam and I were just talking.”

The look she gave Adam could have frozen lava but he was used to it. “Hello, Bonnie,” he said calmly.

As usual, she ignored him. “What’s this I hear about a new promo with Mattress Max?” She perched on the edge of Carl’s desk and leaned toward him, giving him an eye-level view of her cleavage.

Accustomed to Bonnie’s tactics, Carl was unmoved. “Who told you about that?”

She smoothed her hair back and smiled slyly. “Oh, a lady never tells.”

Carl snorted. “Well, it’s nothing to do with you.”

“Who’s doing the promo?” She looked at Adam. Thank God he wasn’t involved in this sleazy scheme. Bonnie didn’t need any more reasons to hate him.

“Nick and Erica are doing the promo.” Carl turned to the printouts again. “Now if you people don’t mind, I have work to do. And so do you two.”

Bonnie frowned. “Who’s Erica?”

“The production assistant and intern?” Adam stood and joined Bonnie beside Carl’s desk. “Erica Gibson.”

Bonnie wrinkled her nose as if she’d smelled something nasty. “The one who cussed during the two car dealer ads on air? I thought you fired her.”

“Now, Bonnie, everyone deserves a second chance.” Carl said mildly.

Adam shifted, remembering the second and third chances Carl had given him. He certainly understood about giving someone the opportunity to redeem herself. “She has a degree in broadcasting from the University of Colorado at Denver,” he said.

Bonnie narrowed her eyes. “How do you know so much about her?”

“We’ve had a few conversations.” Not long ones, and Erica did most of the talking, but that was more than Bonnie bothered with. The Bombshell didn’t go out of her way for anyone unless she saw some benefit to herself. One of the reasons Adam had split up with her was because he’d been appalled at the way she treated waiters and storeclerks.

Bonnie turned back to Carl. “I have more seniority than any intern. I’m entitled to any special promotion work. Plus our listeners know me.”

The thing about Carl was that he looked harmless until crossed. Now he stood and looked Bonnie in the eye, his expression hard and cold. “Last time I checked, my name is on that door over the title Station Manager. So I decide who does the promos and who doesn’t.”

Bonnie slid off the desk and stood. “Of course you do,” she said. “I only thought since I have more experience and the listeners know me—”

“You thought wrong.” He glanced at his watch. “Don’t you have a traffic report to do in five minutes?”

She pushed her lips out in a pout, but had sense enough not to say anything else. She turned on her heel and left the office with an exaggerated sway of her hips.

When she was gone, Adam turned to Carl again.

“Don’t say anything,” Carl said without looking up. “Erica’s doing the promo and that’s that.”

Adam knew when he was beaten. Carl hadn’t gotten where he was by being a wimp. “All right. But I’m curious. Why didn’t you give Bonnie the job? She’s popular with the listeners.”

Carl’s eyes met Adam’s, and his mouth twitched in the beginnings of a smile. “Nick refused to work with her.”

Adam’s eyebrows rose, registering his surprise. He’d have thought Naughty Nick would have been first in line to spend three days in bed with the Bombshell. “Did he say why?”

“He said he didn’t want her busting his chops the way she did yours.”

“Uh, yeah.” He didn’t like to be reminded of their very uncordial breakup.

“Hey, listen, I’m not trying to bring up a bad scene, but I don’t ever want anything like that happening here again. We got complaint calls for months. I mean, on the air she called you an effing rat b—”

“I know what she called me, Carl.” He glanced toward the empty doorway. “It’s no secret Bonnie has a bad temper.”

“You never should have gotten involved with her.”

“I know.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Hey, I was new in town, new to the job. She came on to me and I was flattered. But I’ve learned my lesson. It won’t happen again.”

Carl nodded. “One thing I like about you is you’re a man who learns from his mistakes.” He looked at his watch again.

“I know, I know. I’ve got a show to do.” Adam started to leave, but paused in the doorway. “You’ll tell Nick to behave himself with Erica, right?”

“Nick will behave himself. Everything will be great.”

Right. Everything would be great. But he was going to worry until this was over with, all the same. He might be unable to do anything about his attraction to Erica, but he hadn’t yet found a way to stop thinking about her.