Diamonds and Dreams (2 page)

“You mean
he’s a Scrooge?”

“No!
 
When the little girl left her purse on our
table while getting change from the cashier, Brant slipped a hundred dollar
bill inside it before he left.
 
He must
have thought no one noticed him do it.
 
And can you imagine the little girl’s face when she found it later?”

“Maybe Brant
is rich and gets his kicks by leaving anonymous gifts to unsuspecting
recipients.”

“I doubt
it.
 
When I knew him a few years ago, he
earned the same salary that I did, and believe me, it wasn’t enough to qualify
either of us as being tremendously wealthy.”

“Then
perhaps he experienced a poor childhood and does whatever he can to help kids
now.”
 
Lindsay felt touched by this
thought.

“That’s probably
more likely to be true.
 
Being an only
child, Brant told me once that he never knew his father who died shortly before
Brant was born.
 
Growing up wasn’t easy
for him.
 
He explained that he often did
odd jobs when he was young to help his mother pay bills.”

For the
first time, Lindsay began to consider Brant as a person to be respected for his
admirable qualities rather than one to be resented because of the threat he
posed concerning her career.
 
Perhaps
they’d be able to work together without disastrous consequences, after all.

“I suppose
you heard by now that Brant and I will form the new weekend team.”

“If you’ll
work with Brant, I should warn you about him.
 
In New Orleans he chose to project an image which was a unique
combination of the stereotyped boy next door and also a playboy.
 
Somehow Brant put forth enough sentimentality
and vulnerability that people liked him a lot.
 
At the same time, Brant was still able to play the type of guy who
always gets the last word.”

“It sounds
like he can project himself as a complex character.”

“If
Desi
allows him to act like this at WBKB, you should be
aware that Brant can slide in remarks that can be more cutting than a surgeon’s
scalpel if you get on his bad side.
 
Yet
he always remembers to use tact.”

“I hope he
and I can work peacefully together, but if we don’t, I can handle any
underhanded attack he might make in an attempt to steal my job.”

“Unless he
changed, Brant plays fairly, not dirty, but you’d better stay alert.
 
He’s no pushover.”

“You make it
sound like he could be serious competition.”

“If you go
up against one another, he will be.
 
I
don’t want to see you hurt.”

“Thanks, but
I’m not worried about Brant threatening my job…at least not yet anyway.”

The weekend
came too quickly and brought with it the kind of hot, humid weather that
Lindsay remembered her only sister, Constance, an asthmatic, always
dreaded.
 
It was difficult to believe
that twelve years had passed since she was fourteen, and Constance, three years
older, died.
 
The pain of losing her
sister still ached inside Lindsay and she suspected it was these sorrowful
memories that prompted her parents to move to Florida recently.
 
There they could retire without seeing daily
reminders everywhere of their elder daughter.

Wearing a
new pale blue linen sheath that she hoped would boost her wavering
morale,
Lindsay prepared to initiate the new format of their
program.
 
Brant was already upstairs,
reading over the scripts when she arrived at the station.
 
Apparently, he hadn’t relied on clothing to
inspire self-confidence since he was dressed casually in blue jeans and a
short-sleeved yellow cotton shirt that exposed the rippling muscles of his
sun-bronzed arms.

“I’m glad
you’re early,” he addressed her without looking up from the script.

“Did you
want to talk to me about something before we go on the air?”

He
nodded.
 
“What do you think of this
idea—you and I project the image of two singles enjoying life to the fullest
instead of being stuck working on weekends?
 
We could exchange some light banter which will lead listeners to presume
that you and I might have a special relationship off the air as well as on.”

“No way!
 
I refuse to deceive the listeners.
 
The idea of presenting ourselves as a couple
seems pointless.”

“Not
really.
 
When our listeners get
accustomed to associating the two of us with the show, they’ll automatically
think of us as a pair.”

She held her
head high.
 
“I won’t do it.”

He gestured
with his hands and said, “Okay.
 
Desi
and I just thought it might add a little spice to the program.”

“You don’t
waste time, do you?”

He looked
puzzled.
 
“What do you mean?”

“Already you
went behind my back when you met with
Desi
and
somehow persuaded him to side with you before I ever heard the suggestion.
 
If your idea concerns me, why didn’t you ever
stop to consider my feelings on the subject before you went rushing to tell
Desi
about your brainstorm?”

“Perhaps I
should have spoken to you first,” he admitted.
 
“Please accept my apology.
 
It
wasn’t my intention to exclude you, nor did I mean to antagonize you.
 
The welfare of our program was my sole
purpose for introducing the subject.”

She looked
directly at him, wanting to be certain that he understood her feelings
clearly.
 
“My thoughts are that we can present
a fine show without adding sexual undertones.
 
Besides, the audience can be our toughest critics.
 
They’d eventually catch on that you and I
aren’t
really a couple off the air.
 
Then we’d look like what we’d be—two
phonies.”

“Maybe
you’re right.
 
I wouldn’t want to be
exposed as a fake.”

Switching on
his
mic
and adjusting his headset, Brant didn’t wait
for Lindsay to introduce him on the air.
 
Bubbling over with confidence, he appeared as comfortable with the job
as if it were already his and she was no more than a guest on his show.
 
“Hello, Columbus.
 
I’m Brant Diamond, part of your new weekend
team.
 
I hope you’re all enjoying
yourselves because there’s no time like the present to leave your cares behind
while my leading lady, Lindsay, and I help you unwind by listening to your
favorite hits.
 
Having fun, Lindsay?”

“Sure,” she
lied, peeved that he appeared to mock her.

He played a
song and grinned as he turned off his microphone for a few minutes.
 
“What’s the matter, Lindsay?
 
You look like you’re ready to pull out
someone’s hair—namely mine.
 
Is it really
so hard for you to share your job?”

She gritted
her teeth and pretended that it wasn’t.
 
“I’ll get used to it.”

An hour
after they were on the air, Lindsay concluded that her worst fears about Brant
came true—he
was
good.
 
Too good.
 
His eloquence of speech and quick wit marked
him as a true professional and blended to form the hard-to-find traits of a
terrific disc jockey.
 
This brought mixed
emotions to her since it was imperative that both of them make a good
impression as individuals and also as a team.
 
However, she secretly hoped that she’d be the best, but now it was
difficult to determine which of them could add the most to the show.

Through the
clear glass panels that divided the radio room from the outer office area, she
saw
Desi
waiting outside.
 
He flashed them the “thumbs up” signal, then
disappeared.

After the
show, Lindsay stepped out of the broadcasting booth and extended her hand to
Brant.
 
Strength emanated from his smooth
palm as he shook hands with her.
 
“Congratulations.
 
You did a fine
job,” she complimented him.

“Are you
disappointed that I did?
 
If I’d been
less dynamic, you could feel more secure about your position here if I
presented no competition, right?”

“I enjoy a
challenge more than I like giving in to ugly feelings of jealousy.
 
Envy destroys any kind of relationship.”

He arched
his eyebrow.
 
“You impress me.
 
Surely, I didn’t expect you to act like such
a friendly rival toward me, the person who can steal your job.”

Lindsay met
his gaze directly.
 
“You won’t steal
it.
 
If you become WBKB’s only weekend
disc jockey, you’ll have earned the honor because I don’t intend to let you
gain the position so easily.”

“So, this is
war?
 
Only without the
heat?”
 
He teased her, but there
was a hint of truth to his words.

“You bet it
is!
 
May the best host
win.
”

A short time
later, she reached her brown brick, ranch-style house several miles east of
Columbus where office buildings and paved parking lots were replaced by
sweet-smelling meadows and fresh air.
 
Lindsay sat at a table in her tiny jasmine-colored kitchen that smelled
of spicy dried flower wreaths which hung on the walls and tried in vain to
banish all thoughts of Brant from her mind.
 
Despite her rivalry with him, she had to admit that he was
fabulous-looking and possessed a pleasant, although sometimes moody,
personality as well.

Could we ever be friends?
 
Perhaps, but it would hardly be wise for her to accept if he were ever
to ask her for a date.
 
Too many problems
could arise later to complicate things.
 
No matter how much she was attracted to Brant in the future, she must
keep her distance.

“So she
didn’t like your idea?”
Desi
said to Brant, who sat
across from him in the station manager’s office.
 
“I figured she might not approve of entering
into a game of deception, even if it would boost the ratings.”

“Something
about Lindsay makes her stand out from other women I’ve known,” Brant revealed
his private thoughts.

“It’s
probably her genuine concern for others’ feelings.
 
Or perhaps it’s the inner strength that
complements her personality.”

Brant leaned
back and folded his hands behind his head.
 
“I hope she doesn’t resent me too much now that we share the same job.”

“Don’t worry
about Lindsay.
 
She’ll be a fair,
friendly rival.”

“I wouldn’t
count on that.
 
After all, she’s a
woman.”

“So?”

“Aren’t
women born deceitful creatures?”
 
Like Sondra,
he thought.

“Not all of
‘
em
.
 
Not
Lindsay.
 
You speak as if you’ve been
stung by the love bug.
 
Want to tell me
about it?”

“Beneath
that hard crust you wear, you’re a perceptive man,
Desi
.
 
I was twenty-four years old and working a six
month stint as a morning deejay in New Orleans when I met Sondra Dailey, the
program director at the station.
 
Shortly
before that time, my dear mother died unexpectedly with heart failure, so I was
hurting badly then.”

“And Sondra
was willing to comfort you?”

“She showed
me understanding and compassion like none of the women I’d ever dated.”

“You loved
her?”

“I thought
so.
 
When I proposed and she agreed to
marry me, I felt overjoyed, but my happiness was short-lived.”

“She broke
your heart, eh?”

“For
awhile
, but I got over her.
 
One week before we were to wed, Sondra called long-distance from Miami
to tell me she changed her mind and reunited with her ex-boyfriend.
 
She already left Louisiana to be with
him.
 
I lost all respect for her
afterward.”

“But just
because you had a bad experience with one woman, you shouldn’t be suspicious of
the rest.
 
Take Lindsay, for
example.
 
She and I have had our share of
squabbles, but I’ll admit she’s honest, considerate, and loyal as well as
bright and fun.
 
I’d trust her with my
life.”