Talk to Me E-Book

Nancy Moore

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

When Holly moves to a new city and slips into a high-profile job she soon finds herself with a stalker who sends her letters, flowers and leaves her phone messages. With a new job and a new handsome boss who feels protective of her will she be able to handle the stalker herself or be forced to let her boss step in and save the day? Talk to Me is a modern love story with a surprise ending that will keep you turning the pages.

Leseprobe

Nancy Moore

Talk to Me

To my husband who never got tired of brain-storming with me.BookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

Talk To Me

Chapter 1

Holly stared up at the surveillance camera, her red curls in their usual disarray. "Ray, my beloved, let me in!" As the door opened slowly, Holly swished inside the station lobby. "Thanks a bunch, Ray." She flung up at the camera.

Holly went past the empty reception area and reached across the desk to get her mail. She smiled at the thick stack of letters. Her fan base was growing. When she had taken over the nine to midnight radio slot of the local lonely hearts call-in show she had to deal with a barrage of unhappy listeners. Listeners who had been loyal to her predecessor, Jerome Kates, but his fan base was quickly becoming hers and the one-time mostly female fans were changing to more male callers.

Holly looked at the mail. At the moment she didn't have time to deal with it but she had it to look forward to after the show. She glanced at the clock on the wall....less than fifteen minutes until air time. She should have left her apartment earlier but her mom had phoned and then there had been an automobile accident on the interstate. Holly shook her head...trying to tamp down the butterflies in her stomach. The butterflies that visited her just prior to show time. Just contemplating three hours of air time that was her responsibility to fill made her tummy do another flip-flop. The first caller of the night always made her tremble inside. She looked at the program print-out that had been put on the top of her stack of mail and smiled. Two new advertisers had just signed a six month contract and Ray had mentioned he had three more in negotiation. Her show was a hit!

Holly turned her backside toward the double doors that led into the control room, still clinging to a hand full of letters. The door swung back into her causing her to lose her balance and fall. "Watch it!" She mumbled as she tried to reclaim what dignity she still had. She looked up into chocolate brown eyes. She had collided with a hunk! His black hair and eyes were movie star quality.

He reached out a hand that had obviously been pampered. "I'm so sorry." His hand felt warm and strong. Holly felt her face flush as a tingle from his hand to hers jolted her back to reality. "Are you okay, Miss?" He was still holding onto her hand as she tried to pull away.

"I'm okay." She stood up, adjusting her slacks.

He held the door open and stepped back, waiting for her to enter the control room. Holly peeked through the glass window and threw up her hand at her Johnny Brown, her call screener. It was his job to gather some preliminary information on the callers before routing them to her. He would get their vitals, age, occupation and physical description. Then when someone called to talk to that particular person, Johnny would give Holly a thumbs-up and put them on a three-way. Holly would make the introductions and see if a match could be made. Holly could feel eyes on her back. She turned, surprised to see the handsome man who had literally 'bowled' her over just seconds ago, still there. "I'm sorry, my name is Holly Anderson. I'm the host of Talk to Me.

"I know." He smiled. "I had you pictured as a tall, blond woman."

"Voices can be deceiving. Sorry to disappoint." Holly snapped.

"Not at all." He grinned. "I like petite red heads, too."

Was he flirting? Holly looked down, breaking eye contact. "And you are....?"

"Sorry, I'm Brad Jamison and I'm here to ......"

A tap, tap, taping on the control room window interrupted their conversation. "That's my fifteen second cue." Holly disappeared into the control room and slid her body onto a stool. She grabbed a pair of headphones and pushed them down on her head. The theme music started and she turned her full attention to the microphone.

"Good evening everyone out there in radio land. I'm Holly Anderson. I hope everyone is having a good week. It's Thursday evening and for all of you looking for a date for Saturday evening you've arrived at the right station. WBLG in Nashville is the station that will hook you up with what could be your perfect match. To meet your Mr. or Miss Right just call 1-800-889-0111. I'm here to help you every evening from nine until midnight....so call now. Your perfect match is waiting." Holly heard the door to the control room snap shut leaving her alone with the callers. She looked up as Brad joined Johnny in the control room to converse about what she had no clue.

Every time Holly had a short break she could see the two men deep in conversation. The talk looked heated! The way Brad looked through the glass at her made her suspect she was one of the topics they were discussing, but what? She was puzzled. Brad Jamison looked slightly familiar but she was sure she had never met him until tonight and that name didn't ring any bells.

She saw Johnny hold up ten fingers----ten seconds until sign off. Holly began her closing dialogue. "This is Holly Anderson until tomorrow evening at nine wishing all you listeners out there a good night." She removed the headphones and laid them down beside the now dead microphone. Another show in the books! The calls had gone exceptionally well and Holly felt a certain degree of pride. She hoped it wasn't misplaced since she had no way of knowing how the couples she had introduced would connect. She closed her eyes and sent up a short prayer that everyone she had introduced this evening would be safe in any relationships they might decide to pursue.

Talk to Me had started out before Holly had taken over as a sort of 'off-the-wall' lonely hearts club but Holly had taken it seriously and felt committed to getting couples paired up and possibly even leading them to long-term relationships. She knew she had been motivated by her failed relationship and the realization of how difficult it was to find the perfect mate. She cleared the stack of papers and the almost empty coffee cup from her desk. Holly's evening was done but she felt empty. She was glad her callers weren't privy to her love life, or lack of it. She spent the majority of her weekends with a good book and a hot bubble bath surrounded by scented candles and mood music.

She pushed opened the door of the control room and ran directly into Brad Jamison's rock-hard chest. He grinned but didn't retreat. She was paralyzed for a few seconds as she felt her body sink into his. He stepped back and waved his hand, bowing ever so slightly. "Sorry." He mumbled but the smile on his face told Holly he wasn't the least bit sorry. He looked like he was enjoying it.

"No, problem." Holly shot back. She hoped he hadn't picked up on how her body had reacted to his touch. She was sure her face was red. "The control room was unusually hot tonight." She blabbed as he continued to grin. Drats! He's on to me. She diverted her eyes from his lips as she wondered how it would feel to kiss him.

"Your show is ..... different." He commented when she didn't say anything.

She could feel her temper start to bubble up, typical for a red head. "How so?" She asked and then wanted to bite her own tongue. She didn't want his critique. She was doing very well thank you.

"When I was working out in California there was a show similar to yours but it wasn't nearly so serious. It was all in fun. I think you may be a little too serious about this role of matchmaker."

"Matchmaker!" Holly parroted.

"You come across as a female Dr. Phil." He chuckled.

His smugness irked her but she held her tongue. So now this guy is an authority on my show and he has the mistaken notion I care about his input!

"So would you like a few pointers?"

"Let me see....you think I've taken the show's theme too seriously and....."

He cut her off, "I didn't mean to offend. Just offering some ideas. Just forget I offered."

Holly stepped back a few steps. The audacity of this guy! "I'm impressed. It didn't take you long to find my faults!" Her tone as sharp as a steak knife.