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
Jenny saw Gayle sitting at the bar talking to Bob when she entered Charlotte’s, a few minutes past their arranged time. Gayle looked upset when Jenny sat next to her.“I was afraid you’d changed your mind,” Gayle said.“No, the meeting ran a bit late.” Jenny ordered coffee and a hamburger, and then lit her cigarette. “OK, so I admit I was angry at you for leaving with Johnny, but I think our friendship is more important than to let some jerk destroy it. I was just surprised that he’d come on to you, and more surprised that you fell for it.”“I know, you’re right, but nothing happened. All we did was talk, well all Johnny did was talk, and he did reveal something you might be interested in, so maybe it wasn’t an entire waste.”“I called Laurie to get some dirt on him and we were at it all weekend. She did find something, but we haven’t gotten all the details yet.&rdqu
When Jenny returned to her office there was a stack of mail and several phone messages waiting for her. And so was Brian.“Where were you?”He tried not to sound too anxious.“Excuse me?”“I’ve been calling all morning.” He wasn’t succeeding.“I didn’t know I had to check in with you.”“Bad day, huh?”“Not really, actually things are getting better. But as you can see, I have a ton of work here, so what did you want?” It was obvious by her tone, Jenny did not want to engage in a conversation with Brian, but her persisted.“I was worried about you. Denise is angry at her brother and asked me to check in on you.”“Oh? Well, you can tell your wife I’m fine. Johnny is fine. We’re all just fine. Now you can leave.”“Ok, so I’m concerned about you also.”“That’s big o
As the deadline for Johnny’s challenge drew closer, Jenny was surprisingly calm. The phone calls and letters kept coming in, but Jenny didn’t appear to be paying that much attention to them. What concerned her more was what was happening to the music side of her show. Before Johnny’s arrival, she and Wes had gone over the song list extensively before air time, but since Tony’s decision to have each shift play something different, Wes had taken total control of what songs were being aired. Many of the artists were unknowns, and for the first time since she joined KKTM, she was hearing the same tunes more than once an hour.Jenny made a mental note to talk to him about it, but for the moment she was busy with other events. Particularly her plans for Thursday, and the answer she was going to give Johnny that would get him off her back once and for all.After a quiet weekend, spent mostly on the beach and on the phone, Jenny was feeling pretty good
Much to Jenny’s surprise and she-hated-to-admit-it pleasure, “Red Wine For Breakfast “became an instant ratings hit. All week long, bottles of domestic and imported red wines were being sent to her and Johnny by the caseload along with phone calls and faxes from all over their listening area. Unfortunately for Jenny, her former supporters were now encouraging her to agree to Johnny’s proposal. They were all going to be in for a shock tomorrow morning, and none would be more surprised than Mr. King himself if Jenny’s plan was a success.If only Wes would stop playing the same songs several times an hour and not entering them on the program log, Jenny would be able to relax for the first time in weeks. She tried to talk to him, but he was uncharacteristically abrupt. Johnny was too busy gloating over his success and anticipation of Thursday’s show to notice, so Jenny decided to let it go. For the time being.She went down her list, che