Page 22 of Just Another Silly Love Song

Kyle folded his hands behind his head. “Lori . . . you need a job, right?”

She nodded. “Yes, but—”

“And Ben, you want to keep your job, right?”

I stared at him, not enjoying his threat at all.

The little Harry Potter weasel had all the power and he knew how to use it.

“I know for a fact that there arezeroon-air radio job openings in San Diego at the moment,” Kyle added. “Now, take a seat and hear me out on this.”

I glanced over at Lori, groaned, and then slid into one of the chairs.

Lori sighed and shook her head, as if she also thought we were both being sentenced to death by the electric chair. She glanced at the chair again, then at me, but kept standing.

Who does this woman think she is? She would be lucky to work with me!

Kyle picked up the pen from his desk and scribbled something on his notepad.

What is he doing?

He set the pen down, tore off the sheet of paper, folded it twice, and held it toward Lori like he was passing her a note in a high school classroom.

She blinked. “What’s that?”

Kyle grinned. “The first number I wrote is your guaranteed salary for the first month, which would be an official trial period that either of us can walk away from at any time. If the ratings go up after that, and I guarantee you they will, the figure that I wrote underneath that is your salary for the first year which would come with a contract.”

She hesitated, but then stepped forward and snatched the paper from his hand. She glanced over at me and then back down at the paper, unfolding it.

Lori’s eyes went wide and then she started laughing. “You’re kidding, right?”

Kyle shook his head. “Mornings pay a lot more than nights. You obviously knew that.”

“I did, but wow. That’s really . . . something.” She glanced back down at the piece of paper again, smiled, stuffed it in her purse, and sat down next to me.

I studied her for a moment. “You’re in? Just like that?”

Lori shrugged. “All things considered, yes. Money talks.”

I glanced over at her purse, wanting to know how much money they offered her.

She pushed her purse away from me. “Your curiosity is killing you, isn’t it?”

“It doesn’t really matter. You probably won’t even last a day with me.”

Lori nodded, her confidence a little disconcerting. “You’re right. I’ll probably end up killing you before the end of the third hour, then the morning show will be all mine.”

It was the first time I had seen her smile.

Too bad her hostile attitude canceled out her beauty. Plus, there was something slightly sinister in her twinkling hazel eyes that made me take a step back.

I turned back to Kyle, regaining my composure. “I still don’t understand how this is going to work. It’s obvious Lori and I don’t have any chemistry.”

Lori smirked. “You can say that again.”

Kyle grinned. “You both have gotten this idea in your heads that you’re supposed to have harmony on the air, and that you’re supposed to agree on everything.” He shook his head. “No way, Jose. That would be boring radio. I can hear people changing the channel, just imagining it. What makes you two special is that you’re opposites. That gives us a balanced show, gives us friction, and even better, gives us drama. Drama sells.”

“Wait . . . you want us to fight on the air?”