Just Another Silly Love Song - Rich Amooi Page 0,23
smiled. “Of course. Anything.”
I leaned across the counter and whispered, “It’s about Ben Baxter . . .”
Her face lit up.
Debbie got out of her chair and moved closer, looking around to make sure nobody was listening. “I know. Gorgeous, right?”
I hesitated, not wanting to think about that or even answer the question. “Uh . . .”
Debbie leaned in even closer. “Yes, he’s single, in case you’re wondering.” She winked.
“No!” My response startled Debbie so much that she plopped back down into her chair. “I mean—that’s not what I wanted to know.”
“Oh, sorry. It’s just that almost every woman in the building has asked me that question at one time or another. What was your question?”
Now, I wondered if I should just let it go. I didn’t know her well enough to know if she would start spreading rumors if I asked if Dr. Tough Love was faking his persona on the air. She would probably think I was prying because I liked him, and that’s the last thing I wanted.
“Lori?”
“Huh”
Debbie tilted her head to the side, analyzing me. “You had a question about Ben?”
“Well . . .” Think fast. Anything. “Yeah . . . have you seen him?”
It was the safest question I could think of, since he had already left the building.
“Yeah—he’s right there.” Debbie pointed behind me. “Ben! Lori wants to talk to you.”
Okay, that question certainly backfired on me.
I froze as I heard the footsteps behind me getting closer.
Ben was directly behind me.
I could feel it.
He cleared his throat. “What’s up, Lori? You needed me?”
I twirled around to face him and forced a smile. “Same time tomorrow, I presume?”
Ben arched an eyebrow. “Yeah. Same time.” He analyzed me further. “You okay?”
“Fine!” I didn’t mean to yell. “I mean, yeah, completely fine. See you tomorrow.”
“Will I be seeing you with two mochas?”
“Ha. You think you deserve a mocha?”
“Well, yeah. I was on my best behavior today.”
“That was your good behavior?”
Ben nodded. “Of course. I was being a good boy.”
“I’d hate to see you when you’re a bad boy.”
He grinned. “That comes after hours and only by appointment.” He winked and walked down the hallway toward the sales offices.
What did he mean by that? And more importantly, why was I suddenly curious?
I turned back to Debbie, whose eyes were almost wider than her smile.
“What?” I said.
She leaned closer. “He likes you.”
“What?” I glanced back down the hallway, but he was gone. “Ben? Don’t be ridiculous. We have nothing in common.”
“Opposites attract.” Debbie winked at me.
I wiggled my finger at her and gave her a tsk tsk. “Not in this case. If one of us ends up dead, you’ll know who did it.”
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.