Page 59 of Ten Rules for Faking It
He shrugged, and Chris had no idea what was going on between the deejay and his producer.
“Everly has an idea,” Stacey said.
Chris was in the middle of looking her way when he caught the flicker of irritation on Mari’s face. He turned to Everly and smiled. It felt like days since he’d seen her, and that was stupid since it had only been a day. But he hadn’t chatted with her alone, away from a crowd, on the phone, or via text in a couple of days.The last thing you need to do is start making her a part of your daily routine. She’s an employee. Like Mari or Stacey or Mason.Only looking at them across the table didn’t make him want to move closer and see if he’d catch a hint of vanilla.
“Go ahead,” Chris said.
Everly glanced around the room, and he wondered if she picked up the tension from Mari. “I think we can grow the station and our audience in a new way. I’d like us to consider doing a podcast. Stacey’s segment on her opinions and whether people share them is one of our most popular. I think people enjoy the interaction—the human piece that is often lacking from online engagement.”
“I love podcasts, and my favorites are always the ones where listeners are invited to take part. Interviews and guest spots can be fun and pull listeners in,” Mari said, turning her body toward Everly.
Chris smiled, folding his fingers together under his chin as he listened to them go back and forth.
“Exactly,” Everly said, her face lighting up. God, she was stunning when she really dug into something she enjoyed or felt passionate about. He wondered… no. He wouldn’t let himself wonder about her passion in any area other than work. The sooner he left California and returned to his real life, the better. He was getting muddled, being pulled from his goals.
The conversations continued as they talked about segments, weekly promotions, schedules, and the live event coming up. By the time the next deejays were needed in the booth, they’d almost wrapped up. Everly stayed seated while Chris chatted with Jane about the upcoming staff party. When she left, he took a seat near next to her.
“You okay?” He liked the flush of happiness on her face. She was good at her job, and when she forgot to be nervous, well, she was magnificent.
“I am. I just wanted to apologize again for my party. I’m sorry you got dragged into it.” A deeper blush rose up her neck.
He tore his eyes from the view and met her gaze. “Don’t be. The take-home gifts were awesome.”
Everly’s eyes widened, and he was just about to tell her that he was totally joking when a laugh burst from her lips. She covered her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking.
He chuckled. It had been more than a little shocking to see condoms shooting out of the cardboard donkey. Her parents were unlike any parents he’d ever met.
Pulling gently at one of her wrists, he smiled at her reassuringly. “I was really honored to be part of it. No need for apologies.”
She nodded. “If you say so. Just don’t, uh, rely too much on thosegoodies.Most of them are about fifteen years old.”
Now his eyes widened, and as she told him about her mother stuffing condoms in her purse at every opportunity, he had a moment of longing. He loved his parents, but he couldn’t imagine them being that relaxed with him. His mother was gentle but firm and had always invited them to speak freely, but none of them had wanted to discuss their sex lives, and she’d seemed happy to pretend they never had one.
Their father… well, he was too busy building an empire after his own father died, and when he did have time, he was usually dating or marrying a woman who had no interest in his kids.
“You’re lucky,” Chris said as she stood up.
“Because my parents believe in safe sex even if it’s glow in the dark?”
Laughing, he stood beside her. “That and because they care. You matter to them.”
“I do. They’re a lot to take sometimes, but you saw them on one of the good swings. When they’re happy together, their love is amazing to witness.”
“Not so much when they aren’t?”
She shook her head. “I realized I don’t know much about you when my dad was grilling you the other night.”
They walked out of the room together toward his office.
“What do you want to know?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Do you like working here?”
His gaze narrowed. “Sure. It’s great. You guys are great.” Did she sense something? He hadn’t told them he was leaving because that was a sharp dart to an overfilled balloon. Staffers didn’t feel like giving their all to management that wasn’t sticking around. Plus, he didn’t want to worry them. He’d leave them in better shape than he’d found them, and his successor would carry forward with their triumphs.
“You have siblings?”
“Three. All older. One sister, two brothers.”
