The next few weeks merged into one large blur. There was no doubt that Johnny’s appearance on the morning show was quickly becoming a radio sensation and Jenny was both pleased and slightly annoyed that the latest Arbitron ratings showed that their show was only slightly behind the number one shock jock’s, and he’d been on the air for over two years.
Except for that first day, Johnny had actually begun to show that he could really be a decent radio personality. The ratings certainly reflected as much. Jenny was almost starting to enjoy working with him and she began to relax about their working relationship. That was her first mistake.
It was a Thursday, Jenny would recall in saner times. The weather was overcast as California skies can sometimes be. There was slow drizzle, silent but deadly when it hit the freeways causing the usual rush hour traffic to become scattered with broken glass and twisted metal. It was the type of day when all you wanted t
The restaurant across from the station was almost empty by the time Jenny arrived for her meeting with Tony. She spotted him immediately and was mildly surprised how quickly he had changed his clothes. The thought crossed her mind that the three times she had seen him, he had been dressed in completely different outfits. The gym suit, the jogging suit and now a light gray business suit. Each was well matched and perfectly designed to give him both comfort and appearance for the occasion. She sat across from him and noticed he had only just started on his coffee.“I waited for you before I ordered. I usually don’t drink this much coffee.”Jenny didn’t know if that was a comment on his eating habits, or a remark about her being late. After being on the battlefield earlier, she was a bit sensitive. But he smiled and she relaxed, a little.“Ms. Reed, or can I call you Jenny?”“Jenny is fine, Mr. D’Amico.”
Brian was out of breath by the time he reached the front door of his house. He fumbled with his keys which would not cooperate and began pressing the doorbell until Denise opened the door.“Brian? What’s wrong?” She asked as Brian walked right past her.“Where is he? Where is that sonovabitch brother of yours?”“George? Why, what’s going on?”“You mean you didn’t hear? Well I’m not surprised. You have as much interest in KKTM as you did before you sold it out from under me, absolute zero!”Brian went into the kitchen and poured himself some coffee. Naturally it would have to be decaf. Since Denise had decided to join the health nuts, she had cleaned out the house of anything with fat, sugar, caffeine, or taste. Brian had to admit though, she was beginning to look better, but he had other things on his mind at the moment than Denise’s latest hobby. George or Johnny or whoe
Somewhere in the middle of a dreamless sleep, Jenny heard the sound of her doorbell. She turned to see the time and wasn’t surprised to notice that it was already past six. Putting on a robe, she called out for whomever it was to wait and after looking through the security peep hole, opened the door for Gayle.“Did I wake you?”“No, I had to get up to answer the door.” Jenny joked.“You look terrible. Should I make coffee?”“No, give me a minute to jump into the shower and we’ll get out of here. I need some high calorie junk food, and all I have in the house is yogurt and sprouts.”“Yuk! OK, I’ll watch the news, you go make yourself human.”Jenny went into the bathroom and Gayle turned on the television. She was just about to pick up the paper when she let out a small scream.“Jenny! Get in here, fast.”Gayle turned up the volume just as J
Johnny King drove up Pacific Coast Highway to his small apartment in Malibu. Denise had insisted on taking care of her wayward brother, and he wasn’t going to argue with her. It was strange, he thought, how much his kid sister had grown up in the past few years. She had always been the weak one, the dependent daughter, and dutiful wife. For awhile she had been able to get by on her looks, but after marriage she didn’t seem to care about anything but keeping her husband happy.Johnny didn’t know what had caused the change in his sister. When he’d called her to tell her he was coming for a visit, she had suggested he spend some time in L.A. and told him she was going to give him a job and an apartment as long as he behaved himself. Little sister was going to take care of big brother at the same time she was going to be making other changes in her life.When he arrived home, he took a hot shower and went through the mail. He was amused that he was
Charlotte’s was just starting to filter out the “Happy Hour” crowd when Jenny and Gayle arrived.“So, are you going to go to bed with him, or what?” Bob flashed his all too familiar grin as Jenny sat down at the bar.“Bob, give me something strong enough to make me forget that this morning ever happened.”“How about sex on the beach?” He laughed.“Not funny. Jack D, neat.”“Put an orange slice in mine please, Bob,”Gayle asked.“I wasn’t talking about the drink!” He winked at them.“God, my whole life just got turned upside-down and he’s making jokes.”“C’mon, Jenny. Lighten up. We have to think of a way to use this thing to your advantage. After all, it’s not like he broadcast you doin’ it.”“I wouldn’t put anything past that creep. Got a cig
Four o’clock Monday morning came much too soon for Jenny. For the first time in her career she was dreading going to work. Even though Laurie had uncovered some rumors about Johnny for something he had done while he was working in Canada, the details were sketchy at best. They’d spent most of the night going through Laurie’s contact list and making notes of people to call. But with the government offices closed for a special Friday holiday, there wasn’t any way to get more information until after the weekend.Jenny had hoped that she would be able to confront her tormentor with more than just an accusation, but Laurie explained it would take time to get the details, and time was one thing that Jenny didn’t have on her side. Then, there was Gayle. Jenny was half hoping that it was the drinks and Johnny’s attentions that had affected Gayle, but the fact that Jenny wasn’t sure depressed her. When men were concerned, Gayle’s loyalti
Jenny left the studio and headed to her office. She wasn’t surprised when she opened her door and found Gayle waiting for her.“I have a meeting in five minutes, Gayle.”“I know Jenny, but we have to talk. About Friday night...”“I don’t think we have anything to talk about. I hope you and that snake had a great time. I hope it was worth it.”“Jenny, I’m really sorry. I know how you feel about Johnny, but he’s not who you think. You really should try to get to know him before passing judgment on him, or me.”“Did you sleep with him?”“No. After you left we just talked until around three, then I went home. I tried to call you, but... ““Gayle, I was too angry to talk. You know the hell that shit is putting me through. I don’t care what lies he told you, my feelings as your friend should have meant more to you than his feeling up
“So, Tony, how did they like the idea?”“I’m not sure, Harry, I’d say it was about fifty-fifty. Thanks for the advice. I think this new format will really be an exciting change.”“It was the least I could do for an old college buddy. Consider it a thank you for introducing me to Kimberly.”“My pleasure, or should I say your pleasure. Thanks, again.”Harry Antonoplis hung up the phone. This was working out better than he thought. A third rate record producer, Harry now had the inside track on a top market L.A. radio station through his good buddy Tony D’Amico. Tony had no idea just how valuable Kimberly had been to Harry. She was more than willing to do anything he asked as long as the perks were expensive enough, and it didn’t matter if they were legal or not as long as she had her supply. And in the recording business there was always a good supply of whatever the customer w