Page 15 of Ten Rules for Faking It
Chris laughed. This wasn’t helping, but it was improving his mood. Opening up the laptop, he logged in to the station’s site, his heartbeat accelerating with every ping signaling a new message. People were commenting on Everly’s overshare yesterday. They were… invested. Opinionated.And mostly on her side.He’d changed the password on the email because he didn’t want her to have to deal with it. As station manager, it was well within his job description to take this on. He told himself that was the only reason he’d done it—that he’d do it for any one of his staff—but he knew he wanted to save her from having to see possible criticism.
NOAH:What about giving away a trip during their segment?
CHRIS:Trying to save money, not spend it.
WESLEY:Get sponsors. That’s how most stations do it.
NOAH:I say we ship Ari off to Bermuda. She’s terrible with directions, so she won’t make it back.
Chris laughed out loud. They all loved their sister. They weren’t as close to her as each other, but when the four of them were in the same room, the bond was undeniable. Just because she bounced on their nerves like a kid on a trampoline didn’t mean they loved her any less. But seriously, Chris needed to find a way to push her interests elsewhere.
WESLEY:Too bad she didn’t get picked up for The Bachelorette. That would have kept her busy for several months.
NOAH:WHAT?
Chris frowned at his phone screen. When the hell had she applied for that, andwhy?
WESLEY:She wanted to apply, so she asked me to help her with her audition tape.
CHRIS:You helped her? What the hell?
NOAH:Not cool, man. She’s a pain in the ass, but we don’t feed her to the wolves. Or sketchy singles, in this case.
CHRIS:Dad would have lost it if she got in.
NOAH:He wouldn’t have let her.
WESLEY:It’s all staged. It didn’t seem like a big deal, and she didn’t get chosen.
NOAH:I would have kicked your ass if she did.
WESLEY:Ari has a better chance of that than you.
Chris kept one eye on the phone, but his attention kept getting pulled to the subject lines of the emails that would not stop pouring in. Men and women alike were offering Everly advice, compassion, and, his least favorite, dates.You really need to get over this crush or whatever this is.He wanted her to be happy, definitely wanted her to date someone better than Simon the Snake, but thinking about her with anyone made his heart feel like it were caught in a vise.
WESLEY:I have to go. Some of us work.
NOAH:Same. You want to grab a beer later?
Chris felt a twinge in his chest. He missed going out for beers with his brothers. They were both in Manhattan, and though any of them could easily hop on a plane, they all worked too many hours to just drop everything.You’ll be back there soon enough.Definitely something he was looking forward to.
WESLEY:Sure. Too bad you can’t join us, C. Maybe when Dad lets you out of exile.
Chris smirked and typed back his response. It wasn’t polite.
He’d need to hire someone just to deal with the emails and social media if the response to Everly’s rant didn’t die down soon. Chris had spreadsheets littered across his table. He’d spent the last several hours going through numbers and research. Popping the top on a beer, he took a long swallow and went out to his patio. The sun was setting through the light film of hazy smog. Traffic moved below, music from someone else’s apartment filtered through the air. It was a perfect California night. Chris sighed heavily and leaned his forearms on the railings.
The thought of how many guys offered to take Everly out not only blew him away but pissed him off a little. Did these guys actually think they could email a “Hey, baby, I’ll take your mind off your troubles,” and she’d be all over it? What kind of idiot was Simon? The kind who had a woman like Everly—smart, funny, shy but sarcastic, hardworking, and so pretty it could drop a man to his knees—and blew his chances. She deserved someone who would bring out that cute smile—the one she got when Stacey said something funny on-air and she was trying not to laugh. She deserved a guy who would remind her every day that he was damn lucky to be with her.
You are not that guy,Chris reminded himself before taking another long swallow of beer.
He had four to six months left in this so-called exile.For as long as he could remember, he, Wesley, and Noah had been jumping through hoops their dad pulled out of nowhere like restless whims. The three of them had considered working elsewhere, but loyalty always won. That and a desire to prove to their father that all three of them could earn his respect. His pride.
Chris wasn’t giving up on the station. Unlike his dad, when he was in, he was all the way in. His father bought businesses like bags of chips, tossing them out if he didn’t like the flavor. Chris knew there was a way to build 96.2 into something bigger than his father imagined it could be. Chris trusted his own vision and his own gut. He could turn things around and wasn’t walking away until he did. His way. Maybe he couldn’t do anything about the guys Everly dated, but business was his… Chris lowered his hand, jolting when the glass bottle clinked against the metal railing. An idea swirled in his brain, making his heart pump heavily. Agoodidea. It could save the segment, boost the ratings, pull in even more listeners, and open up his dad’s eyes to the fact that Chris had a knack for taking something that was crumbling and rebuilding it into a work of art. This was the kind of thing his grandfather would callinspired.It was risky, but the payoff was huge.
Going back inside to his computer, he saw the fifty new emails that had popped up in the time he’d taken a break, and he knew he was onto something. This could be the key to getting what he’d been working his whole life toward: proving to himself, and his father, that he had a head and heart—though his dad always said there was no room in the corporate world for feelings—for business. He’d be able to move on to the nextstep, up and away from his father’s control.Still in his company, but not under his thumb.That had been the ultimate goal from day one, and even if it killed him to watch it play out, there might be the unexpected bonus of helping Everly find happiness—if that’s what she was after.
Win-win.Mostly.
