All Chapters of Red Wine for Breakfast: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Jenny sat in her office conducting a silent inventory of her surroundings. Her radio license on the wall was proudly displayed next to a photograph of her accepting the Women In Communications Award for Excellence, two years ago. On the opposite wall hung the giant circular clock with that damn red hand ticking off what could very well be the last few seconds of her career at KKTM.On her desk were piles of paper. Fan mail in one, Arbitron ratings in the other. They were her only measure of success. The almighty numbers that were the constant divider between the best and the rest. No matter how many times she read her mail, it was those numbers that kept comparing her value with the hundreds of other disembodied voices in a profession that offered no guarantees and no security.Jenny looked around at her life contained within a windowless five by seven cubicle. There were no pictures of family. There was never enough time for the photographs or the relationships to dev

It was nearly ten o’clock when Jenny finally arrived at her health club. She had told Denise to meet her, but was relieved to find that it was only her and the usual small group of late comers who found the after-hours fitness gym a place to go when they didn’t have a date on a Friday night. Jenny hated to exercise, but found lifting free weights and sweating to loud music was a good way to work off the frustrations and anxieties of the day.She had just started her warm-up routine when she spotted Denise coming through the door. Denise waved meekly at her and was immediately approached by a salesman. Most of the clubs operated the same way. Five seconds in the door and they put the contract under your nose even before you have a chance to try out the equipment. Many of them couldn’t tell the difference between a muscle and a clam.“She’s just here as my guest, Brad. If she wants to join, it’ll be at the monthly rate, so don’t

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

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

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