@Ginab2_1, to @wncbfm:Don’t care who Dave’s on the air w/but he needs to stop dressing like such a slob, IMO
Shelby, on the station’s Facebook page:I’ve been crying since you announced the split. Please don’t do this PLEASE
@Nutz69, to @wncbfm: WHO THE FUCK CARES CAN YOU GUYS PLAY AIROSMTH
Toby, on the station Facebook page:congrats to maybell but that lady would be tons hotter if she’d cut her hair short and call me
That level of public scrutiny made him uneasy. No wonder Mabel had been so careful about hats and sunglasses during their first outing. He wouldn’t be able to handle the pressure. Also, that last guy was deeply mistaken, as absolutely nothing about Mabel would be improved by cutting off her hair.
The duo gave a cheerful sign-off, and Jake suspected that not a single listener would ever guess the behind-the-scenes turmoil that had gone into those breezy four hours. He snapped off the in-room radio, slid his laptop into its carrier, and shouldered his luggage. When he shut the room door behind him, he imagined himself leaving all his longing for Mabel behind. Forgotten in a nightstand. Abandoned in the corner of the closet. From now on, he was all about the job.
The sharp-eyed Thea—Christ, had the woman been on duty for twenty-four hours straight?—spotted his bulging suitcase when he stepped off the elevator, and she had his final bill printed and ready to go by the time he made it to the desk. “Here you go! Easy checkout, right?”
“Right,” he replied with 90 percent less perk than she exhibited. “Hey, thanks for the tip about the apartment.”
He was turning to leave the hotel for the last time when she executed her famous across-the-desk lunge.
“I know I gave it to you before, but here’s my number in case work ever lets up.” She winked at him and pressed a slip of paper into Jake’s hand with such force that her red-lacquered fingernails dug painfully into his palm.
He looked down at it blankly before offering her a vague thanks, leaving the hotel, and tossing his luggage into the back of his Jeep. It wasn’t until he’d cranked the engine that it dawned on him: the overly friendly Thea wasinterestedin him. He groaned and thumped his skull against his headrest. That was the last thing he needed. His emotional turmoil over Mabel was already crowding out the work worries he should be addressing without adding a stranger’s romantic hopes on top of that. At least he was officially checked out of the hotel and could avoid any conversations aboutthatin the future.
He shoved the paper with her number into the cup holder he designated for trash and pointed the Jeep in the direction of the station. Yesterday he’d hunted down a tiny office in one of the high-rise bank buildings in downtown Beaucoeur. He’d be able to move in by next week, and all he’d need to do was supply a desk and chair. Until then, he’d operate out of his apartment after a quick stop by the station today to collect a few files he’d accidentally left behind during his storm-out yesterday. If he didn’t bump into Mabel, he’d be okay. Probably.
When he walked through the door, there was no sign of her, but he was greeted by an unusually hassled-looking Dave at the front desk, phone tucked under his ear.
“Judy out sick today?” he asked when Dave hung up.
“Today and every day. She quit yesterday.”
The dour, gray-haired receptionist with the penchant for cat sweatshirts had up and quit? “No shit.”
“She didn’t like working for the new management,” Dave said. “Sorry.”
Jake shrugged. “I’mnot the new management. What are you guys going to do?”
The phone rang again, and Dave looked down at it in distaste. “Find a new person as quickly as humanly possible, I hope. I’ve got way too much shit going on in my life to deal with this, but there’s nobody else around who can take care of it during the day. Certainly not my partner, because she hightailed it out of here the instant the mics were off.”
Because of you, Dave’s look said. Jake stood up straight and accepted the silent rebuke.
“I’ll talk to Brandon,” he promised, but Dave was already picking up the next call.
The man himself glanced up from his laptop when Jake entered the office.
“So Judy apparently—” he began, but Brandon cut him off.
“I know, I know.” Brandon jammed his fingers in his normally immaculate blond hair, and Jake didn’t bother to hide his smirk.
“Things not going as smoothly as predicted?”
Brandon pulled his hand away with a grunt. “I’ll take anybody. Find me a warm body for that receptionist position and she’s hired.”
Who the hell did he know in town? Brandon would just have to unfuck this one himself. “FYI, I rented an office in the Capital Bank Building downtown. I’ll work from there but will still be at your beck and call for updates and meetings. I assume that will suffice?”
“That will suffice.” Brandon leaned back in his chair. “Were you listening this morning?”
“I was. They did well.”
“Told you they’d fall in line.”
