Love in the Air (4 page)

Sullivan located a match at last, lit his cigarette and inhaled deeply. He sat down, lounging back in his swivel chair, his eyes on her. Kay cleared her throat needlessly and said, “It’s great to be back in Denver, Sul—Sullivan.”

“Is it?” He lifted a dark eyebrow and his mouth quirked into a hint of a derisive smile. “I’d think old Denver would be a bit tame for a lady who spent the last five years in L.A.”

“I’m a rather tame lady, or don’t you remember?” Her level gaze met his.

Wide shoulders lifted slightly. Sullivan took another long drag from his cigarette, letting the smoke drift up around his face. “Ah, that’s true, but then that was five years ago. I’m sure you’ve learned a lot, both professionally and personally.” His eyes challenged her to deny it.

“Sullivan, I would certainly hope I’ve progressed professionally. If not, then I’m in the wrong line of work and I don’t believe that is the case. It was you who first told me I had potential, talent, and that I should learn and polish and strive to get better each day, each year. That’s exactly what I’ve done for the past five years.” Kay took a needed breath and continued, hating the triumphant look on his smug face. She was squirming and he was quite obviously enjoying it immensely; it made her fingers itch to slap his hard swarthy cheek. “I am an air personality, Sullivan Ward, just as you are. There’s nothing that makes me happier than being on the radio and I intend to spend the rest of my days doing what I love most.”

Kay stopped speaking, her face flushed, blue eyes snapping. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.

“All finished?” he asked amusedly, crushing out his cigarette. Her reply was a narrowing of her eyes. Sullivan shook his dark head. “Good, now that you’ve set me straight, maybe we can get on to the business at hand.” Rising gracefully, he slid his hands into his pockets again and slowly circled his desk. Kay tensed as he neared her. He stepped directly in front of her chair and half sat, half leaned on his desk. “Where shall we begin?” he mused, looking down at her.

“Why don’t you give me your little speech about you being the program director of this station and as such you do all the—”

“Damn you, Kay.” He leaned menacingly close. “Sam Shults may have hired you back, but I’m your boss, do you understand me?” Those black eyes were flashing fire. Kay gripped the arms of her chair and wished she’d kept her glib tongue still. “I will indeed give you my speech and I’d advise you to listen. I’m not quite as easygoing as I once was and I can’t be pushed around; not even by silver-haired beauties with big blue eyes and bigger egos. Be as ambitious as you please, Miss Clark, but as long as you’re stuck here at Q102 awaiting your next big chance, you’ll damned well do as I tell you. You may be the big star, Kay, but here at this particular radio station, I’ll be the one—”

“Sullivan,” Kay interrupted bravely, “will you just wait a—”

“No, Kay, I won’t. We both know why you’re here. Well, fair enough. Your career took a downturn, you lost your Los Angeles radio deal and you’ve come back down to the minor leagues for a while.” Slowly, Sullivan leaned forward. He put a hand on either arm of Kay’s chair, trapping her. His dark, handsome face was very close to hers. Cold black eyes impaled her and the smooth, velvet voice she loved so much said flatly, “How long do you plan to stay this time, Miss Clark? Three months? Six? Till you get a decent offer from some radio station in Chicago? Atlanta? Miami?”

Kay looked directly into his eyes. Anger rising rapidly, she lifted her small chin and smiled up at him. “Why, Sullivan—” she leaned closer to the hard-featured face above hers “—I’ve no intention of doing anything so foolish.” She lowered her lids demurely; her smile widened and she looked back up at him. “Those cities would hardly be a step up, don’t you agree?” She laughed and shook her silver head dismissively. “New York, Sullivan. The Big Apple. That would be the proper showcase for my talents, don’t you think? That’s where I belong.”

Sullivan’s dark eyes flickered dangerously for one brief instant. His hands left her chair and he stretched to his full, imposing height.

“Baby,” he drawled, “that probably is where you belong. One thing is certain, you sure as hell don’t belong here.”

Kay rose before him, standing so close she had to tip her head back to look up at him. Longing to throw her arms around his neck, she wanted to confess that she never really wanted to be anywhere again but right here with him. She’d only said she belonged in New York in order to hurt him the way he’d hurt her. Kay watched the chiseled, hard face, the clenched jaw, the cruel eyes. His lean body was rigid, tensed. She had hoped some of the old warmth and feeling between them still remained, but she realized now the feelings were completely one-sided. Sullivan Ward didn’t even regard her as a friend.

“All the same, Sullivan, I am here. I’m your partner once again on the morning show and I’ll be in the control room at six o’clock tomorrow. Now, if you’d like to run through a practice play set, or discuss our first show, I’ll sit back down and we’ll go about this like two intelligent professionals. If not, I’ll be going.”

Sullivan nodded. “Let’s play it by ear in the morning. Might make the show fresher.”

“Good enough,” Kay agreed, turned and walked to the door. Pausing, she turned to look back at him. “Sullivan?”

“Yes?”

“I see you still have your chinning bar.” She smiled, looking up at the steel cylinder stretching across from north wall to south.

“Yeah,” he said, a hint of a smile on his mouth. “Not many changes around here, I guess.” He inclined his head in a sweeping gesture. “My office is pretty much like it was when you left.”

Kay noted the framed awards and gold records dotting the wall. The records were recognition for being the first disc jockey in the country to break a hit record on the air. The awards were for various honors, and for achievements Sullivan had made in the field of broadcasting. A long leather couch, custom-built for the tall man who sometimes used it for a bed, still sat in place beneath a wide mirror reaching almost to the ceiling. A closed interior door led into Sullivan’s private bath. He’d often joked that his salary was not the most important consideration in his employment contract. A chinning bar and a shower were. Without those two items, Sullivan Ward refused to work.

The only thing missing from the old days were the many color photographs of her. All had been removed from the walls, from the credenza, from his desk. Not a trace of her remained.

“Do you still chin yourself when something’s bothering you?” Kay smiled, recalling the way Sullivan spent a lot of time lifting himself up to the chinning bar when he had a particular problem.

Sullivan’s face colored beneath the darkness of his complexion and he ignored her question. His voice soft and modulated, he said, “See you in the morning, Kay.”

“Yes,” she said, “in the morning.”

When Kay left Sullivan’s office and stepped into the corridor, a smiling, attractive woman materialized from an office next door. She smiled warmly at Kay.

“Miss Clark, I’m Janelle Davis, Sullivan’s secretary. If you’ll just come with me, I’ll show you to your office.”

“Thank you, Janelle.” Kay followed the tall, slim woman with short brown hair and warm gray eyes. Janelle Davis looked to be about Sullivan’s age. She was attractive, well-groomed and pleasant. She directed Kay to a small office all the way down the hall from Sullivan’s. A keen female intuition told Kay that this tall woman was very fond of Sullivan Ward. That suspicion was confirmed when Janelle, helping Kay settle into the new office, spoke of him. A warm light came into her expressive gray eyes when she mentioned his name. Kay could tell the woman was trying very hard to hide the jealousy she was experiencing because of Kay’s arrival back on the scene.

“I’ve tried to stock your desk with anything you may need, Miss Clark,” Janelle was saying.

“Please, Janelle, call me Kay. And thanks for your help. It seems you’ve thought of everything.” Kay smiled and looked at the neatly stacked notepads, sharpened pencils, ballpoint pens. There was even a crystal bud vase on the corner of her teak desk.

Hands clasped together, Janelle smiled back at Kay. “I’ve labeled the buttons on your phone. If you need to speak to Sullivan, press my number and I’ll put you through to him,” Janelle said possessively.

“I’ll do that, Janelle,” Kay assured her. “And let’s have lunch together soon.”

“Sure,” Janelle agreed and backed out, closing the door behind her. Janelle had hardly made her exit before Kay’s line was buzzing.

Kay’s well-shaped brows lifted in puzzlement and she raised the phone to her ear. “Hi,” came the bubbly female voice, “this is Sherry…you know, the receptionist.”

“Hi, Sherry, what’s up?”

“I’ve just got a minute, the phones are real busy, you know. I’m calling about lunch. Want to go over to Leo’s with me at noon?”

Kay bit her lip and hesitated. If it were like the old days, all the jocks would be at Leo’s, including Sullivan. “Sherry, I don’t know.”

“Oh, Kay. I’m dying to hear all about Los Angeles, I’ve never been there and please say you’ll go. I’ll even buy.”

Kay laughed. “You’ll do no such thing, Sherry, but I’ll be delighted to go to lunch with you. Sure you wouldn’t like to go someplace other than Leo’s?”

Disappointment in her voice, Sherry said pleadingly, “But, Kay, I want everyone to see you with me. Gosh, that’ll be half the fun.”

“Leo’s it is.” Kay was won over by the guileless charm of the impressionable young woman. “And it’s my treat.”

Leo’s place was just across Broadway, but by the time the two women reached the heavy mahogany door with its oval stained-glass inset, Sherry had, unasked, filled Kay in on almost everything presently going on at Q102.

“And I personally believe that Sullivan’s secretary—did you meet her yet—is absolutely crazy for him and he thinks a lot of her, of course, she’s so kind and efficient. They have dinner together at least once a week, but actually I don’t think Sullivan considers her as anything other than a close friend.” Sherry paused for a quick breath and hurried on, “He’s strange. I mean, he’s such a handsome hunk and all the women just go all weak-kneed over him, me included, and sure, I’ve seen him out with some really beautiful ladies, but none of them last very long. It’s downright puzzling.” Sherry’s auburn brows knitted for one second, then she smiled warmly. “He’s never given me a second thought, treats me like a kid sister, you know, he’s always teasing me and he can be loads of fun when he’s not…Then, lately, I don’t know, he’s been short-tempered. I don’t understand it. Oh, and too, you know that chinning bar in his office? Well, for the last week or so he’s always hanging on the darned thing. I have to buzz and buzz to get him to the phone and I know it’s because he’s chinning.” They were at the door of the restaurant, much to Kay’s relief. “By the way—” Sherry grinned “—Jeff Kerns, he’s Sullivan’s best friend, he says that—”

“Jeff’s still here?” Kay was overjoyed with the news. Lovable, witty Jeff Kerns had been at Q102 as long as Sullivan Ward, which was at least a dozen years. The two men had grown up together and had moved from their home state of Montana to Denver to begin their broadcasting careers. “I can’t wait to see him.”

“Jeff will probably be inside.” Sherry tugged open the heavy door and followed Kay into the dim room. Kay’s eyes scanned the familiar, intimate restaurant where she’d spent so many pleasant hours seated next to Sullivan. She’d listen almost reverently while he, his long arm draped possessively around her shoulders, had talked of music, promotions and talent with the assembled crew of disc jockeys and salespeople and secretaries from the radio station.

The restaurant wasn’t crowded today. The heavy luncheon traffic had thinned and many of the tables in the cozy downtown restaurant and bar were empty. High-backed wooden booths still held a few late diners, and the long polished bar to the left of the black-and-white tiled entrance was occupied with a few drinkers, mostly young executives who worked in the downtown Denver skyscrapers.

“C.A.!” Kay heard Jeff’s familiar voice shouting from a table in the very back of the room. She smiled. Jeff never called her Kay. On that first long-ago day when Sullivan had introduced her to his best buddy, Jeff Kerns had looked her over with unabashed approval, letting his twinkling blue eyes come to rest on her hair. And he’d stated softly, as though he were thinking aloud, “You’ve the hair of a Christmas angel.” Then he’d grinned, shook her hand warmly and said, “That’s exactly what you look like, honey, a beautiful Christmas angel. I’ll call you C.A. for short.”

Jeff was making his way toward her, grinning from ear to ear. Snatching from his head a white sailor cap, he crushed it in one hand and threw his arms wide open. “C.A., you little doll, you’re prettier than ever.” He gave her cheek an affectionate kiss.

“Jeff, it’s great to see you again.” Kay was beaming happily at the man who held her in a bear hug. Then, over his shoulder, she noticed a glowering Sullivan Ward looking directly at her. Sullivan’s eyes lowered the minute she saw him, but Kay knew he didn’t want her here and she wished she’d persuaded Sherry to go someplace else for lunch. It was too late now.

The outgoing Jeff had positioned himself between the two women and was propelling them to the table of station employees, saying to Sherry, “Now this changes nothing between us, Sherry, honey, but you’ll have to understand I’ve been in love with C.A. for years. You’ll just have to learn to share.” His impish eyes sparkled with his teasing.

“You’re full of it,” Sherry responded good-naturedly and smiled at the table full of men, all rising to acknowledge the presence of ladies. Kay’s eyes automatically went to Sullivan. He rose more slowly than the others, as though he resented the intrusion.

Jeff, paying no attention to the less than pleasant expression on Sullivan’s face, said pointedly, “You can get lost, Ward. C.A. is going to sit by me.” He pulled out a chair and handed her down into it. “Sherry, why don’t you scoot in over there between Sullivan and Dallas?”

When everyone was again seated, Jeff looked across the table at Sullivan and said, “This’ll be a good time for C.A. to meet the crew.”