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“You’ve both been doing extremely well in your individual timeslots, and now that Hayden’s had time to settle in and build an audience, I thought it was time to try something new. I came up with the idea to pair the two of you for a weekly two-hour, Thursday night call-in show.”

Chuck smiled. “Imagine my surprise when you called to ask if you could join Hayden for his show last night. It had to be the Lord’s will because I couldn’t have planned it any better.” He appeared quite pleased. “You didn’t know it at the time, but it was a trial run, and I think it went exceedingly well. How about you?”

“With all due respect, Hayden carried the show last night.”

That much was true. Violet mainly agreed to sit beside him in case he needed a swift punch to the arm to wake him up. She’d chimed in a few times on calls. More than anything, he’d enjoyed the pleasure of her company beside him during his entire shift.

“I’m not worried,” Charles said. “I’m sure you’ll work well together. Violet, you’ll keep your same schedule except for Thursdays. You could come in two hours later that day if you want, or on another day. We’ll work out the details later.”

A narrow frown line marched across Violet’s forehead. “So, will we alternate taking calls, or will we both respond to the same caller?”

“We can vary the routine, but I think it’ll be more interesting if you both offer your opinion,” Charles answered. “If they happen to differ, then so be it. I’m looking forward to the give and take between you myself. Presenting callers with a balanced, fair, andgodlyview of their circumstances is our goal. We can call this a trial period if you’d like, but at the same time, I’d like to move forward as though it’s a permanent change. If needed, we can make adjustments as we go.”

Hayden shifted on his chair. Rarely was anything in the radio businesspermanent.

After only a brief moment of hesitation, Violet nodded. Her smile looked a little strained, however. “When are you thinking of starting?”

“In about three weeks.” Chuck appeared visibly relieved. “How about the first Thursday night in May? I’m thinking a seven to nine p.m. timeslot should work well.”

“I’m in,” Violet said.

“Wonderful. I’ll get Jillian to put together print ads for the local newspapers. Our promo team can hang posters in the shop windows in town. We’ll have cards printed up. Unless you have another name to propose, we’ll simply call itLive with Violet and Hayden. And, again, we can change the name later on.”

“So, you’re good with this idea?” Hayden asked. Violet should be pleased she had top billing, so to speak. He didn’t care. In fact, he’d insisted on it.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” She angled her head like a queen granting an audience with her subjects. Not particularly enthusiastic, but he’d take it. Her one concession to lingering nerves was the tightening of her hands on the arms of her chair.

What’s wrong with this picture?Hayden wasn’t buying it. Call him paranoid, but nothing came this easy with Violet Simmons.

Chuck was off and running. “Excellent! I’ll need you to start doing promotional spots as soon as possible, and it’d be great if each of you can draft out some ideas for on-air promos. We’ll record them over the next few days so we can start getting them into a regular rotation on the air.”

Hayden kept his frown to himself. Scripted material didn’t work especially well for him, and he came across as stiff and insincere. Nonetheless, he’d give it his best effort. If the station’s “promo team”—the owner’s wife, fourteen-year-old twin sons, and nine-year-old daughter—could pitch in to help, then he’d come off like a heel if he balked. Live, on-air promos were one of their best advertising tools, so he’d place his emphasis on those.

Slapping his palms on his thighs, he lifted out of the chair. “Okay, let’s do this.” He looked over at Violet, expecting another royal nod.

She rose to her feet beside him. “I’ll talk up the show on-air today and draft a couple of promo scripts. I’ll print them out for when you come into the sound booth, Hayden.”

“I appreciate that.” She couldn’t know how much. “I’ll do the same.” Guaranteed they wouldn’t be as well done as hers, but he’d try.

“Is there anything else, gentlemen?” Violet’s gaze moved between him and the boss.

“This is going to be the best thing for the station yet!” Chuck couldn’t hide his anticipation as he dismissed them. The man was almost giddy.

After closing the office door, Hayden hurried down the hallway and around the corner, following the sound of Violet’s footsteps on the hardwood floor. “Violet, hold up a second.”

When she pivoted to face him, the sight of her dress swirling around her slender, shapely figure, nearly sucked the breath from his lungs. “That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say?”

A hint of a smile upturned her lips, drawing his gaze to her mouth. Besides the dress and shoes, something else was different about her today.

“What do you expect me to say, Hayden?” she said. “You and Charles obviously think it’s a good idea, so who am I to protest?”

Here we go.

After starting to cross his arms, Hayden shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I guess I expected a little more pushback.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Violet started to walk away but spun around unexpectedly. “Why do you enjoy getting my . . . my goat so much?”

He chuckled. “That’s my line for you, sweet—”Oops.Endearments wouldn’t go over well with this woman. “I welcome our spirited debates, but I don’tenjoymaking you mad. Although, your eyes shoot these little sparks of fire at me when you’re irritated. It’s actually a remarkable thing to witness.”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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