I sat up in my chair, slightly offended, but trying to act cool about the whole thing. “It’s agreatshow.”
“Okay, I agree, but the numbers don’t lie.”
I nodded, thinking about it. “I know the ratings have been stagnant, but I’ll turn it around.”
Kyle sat on the edge of his desk. “The problem is your female listeners, or the lack thereof. Having a male-dominated audience is great for an all-sports radio station, but our advertisers pay more for female listeners because they tend to make more of the shopping decisions at home.”
I tapped my fingers on his desk, slightly annoyed that he didn’t think I knew that. “It’s not like my ratings are going down because the show is terrible.”
Kyle stood and walked toward the window, glancing out of our second story building that overlooked Highway 52. “We need to get your female numbers up. I already came up with an idea and the suits in the corporate office agree one hundred percent.”
“What are you talking about?” I didn’t like that he made a decision without talking with me first.
“We’re going to add a woman to your show.”
“What?” I stood and began to pace. “I don’t need a woman on my show. I don’t need anyone on my show except for me. I built this program from the ground up, all by myself, and I’ll figure out a way to get the ratings up without you needing to give me some sidekick.”
Kyle took a couple of steps toward me. “The top five radio shows ahead of you in the ratings have a maleanda female host in the morning. It’s not a coincidence. Listeners enjoy them, the balance, the yin and the yang, the back and forth. One person plays off the other person, especially when they have opposite personalities. Believe me, I’ve researched this tirelessly and I think that’s the only thing that is missing from your show.”
“A woman . . .”
Kyle nodded. “It’s not as bad as it sounds.”
“It’s worse.” I blew out a desperate breath. “What if I don’t go along with it?”
Kyle cocked his head to the side. “Do you know how hard it is to find a primetime radio job right now? You could be unemployed for months or even years.”
“I would lose my job?”
“It’s not even open for discussion.” Kyle came around to my side and sat on the edge of the desk again. “A woman will breathe some fresh life into the show, add some personality, give it a new dynamic, and get the ratings back up. That’s what weneedright now. Trust me. And who knows? You may end up enjoying it.” Kyle grinned.
“Right . . . This hasbad ideawritten all over it.”
“Well, that remains to be seen, but I think you’re wrong. And I need to know if you’re on board with this. Let me know by tomorrow.” He slapped me on the back and walked out of his office.
I stood and walked toward the window, glancing out at all the cars zipping by on Highway 52.
A song popped into my head out of nowhere.
“Should I Stay or Should I Go” by The Clash.
The lyrics of that song pretty much nailed my situation on the head.
“If I go there will be trouble,” I mumbled to myself. “And if I stay it will be double.”
Chapter Two
LORI
I kept my composure and lowered my car window to talk to the perpetrator in the parking lot in front of Peet’s Coffee. “What are you doing?”
The man in the black BMW with the black hair leaned toward his open passenger-side window. “I’m trying to park. You’re in the way, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“I was here first.”
“I don’t think so, ma’am.”
Okay, it was bad enough that he thought he was there before me when I was clearly there first, but the wholema’amthing really made my left eye twitch.
