Rock Radio (34 page)

“I know.  This trip took me miles from reality.”

“It was great.”

Dana hesitated before telling Cody the deep fear that gnawed at her brain, but past relationships taught her one thing...withholding only prolonged a certain agony.  If this was meant to be, it was meant to be no matter what she said.

“Cody,” she began, stopping to look at him.  “Are we reality?  Or are we just the side effect of a great vacation?”

He didn’t hesitate.  “This is very real for me.”  He looked at Dana, concerned.  “I’ve told you things I’ve never shared with anyone.  Don’t you know by now how I feel about you?”

“I...guess...”  Dana stared at her feet, embarrassed.

Cody touched her arm gently sensing her vulnerability.  “Dana, I have feelings for you that are deeper than I can express.  Don’t doubt it.”

She looked into his eyes.  “I won’t.”

They fell into each other, sealing their pact.

Dana pulled back.  “I better get moving...or I’ll miss the plane.”

“Would that be so bad?”

“Well, I would be stranded here...” she tapped her index finger on her forehead, “tempting, but then I’d miss work, probably lose my job...”

“Then you could come travel with me and be my rock groupie.”

“Oh, my parents would be so proud.”

They laughed as they stepped into her room.

“So, I’ll call you tonight.”

“Yes.”

“And we’ll figure out when we’ll see each other again.”

Tears unexpectedly welled in Dana’s eyes.  The idea of leaving him hit her hard.  “I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you, too.”

They kissed one last long, soft, kiss.

“I love you, Dana.”

“I love you.”  She wiped her eyes.  “C’mon, let’s go, before I take you up on your offer.”

“That doesn’t really inspire me to help you.”

She smiled.  Cody picked up her bags and they silently went down to the lobby.  Liam and Sharon were already there.

“Glad you decided to make it m’lady.”

“Liam, your concern is touching, really it is.”

Liam and Sharon rose to their feet.

“Ready Dana?” Sharon asked with the concern of a girlfriend who understood how hard it was for her friend to leave the man she loved.

“Yeah.”  Dana turned to Cody.  “I love you.”

“I love you.”

One last kiss and she was walking away.

“I’ll have a surpri
se for you when you get back...” he called out.

Dana turned, smiled, blew him a kiss...and was gone.

Jonny looked at the clock.  In just a few hours Dana would be home and his self-imposed solitude would be over.  He’d had it with being alone.

It gave him too much time to think.

He moved into the kitchen and opened her food closet.  He stood blankly in front of her shelves of health snacks and boxes of butterscotch
popcorn.  Boredom always led him to food.  In the past week, he’d put on five pounds.  He grabbed a box of the sugary sweet coated popcorn, plopped back down on the couch and flipped on the television.  It was Sunday, nothing was on.  A shop at home channel intrigued him.  They were selling faux diamond men’s jewelry.  Tacky rings were the style of choice today on “Men’s Diamond-ite Day.”  The overly happy hostess and obviously in a hairpiece man were entertaining in their absurdity.

The phone broke his concentr
ation on a gaudy men’s Diamond-ite crusted pinky ring.

“Hello.”

“Jonny, it’s Ted.”

He sat straight up, “What’s up man?”

Ted wasn’t into pleasantries.  He got right to business.  “I had a long discussion with Heather.  She’s quite angry.  Seems she thought you were going to put her on the air.”

“Well...you can’t trust what she says.”

“And I can trust you?” he said.

Jonny, ever the bullshit artist, answered confidently.  “Yeah, you can.  We’ve worked together for years.”

“And you screwed around with an intern and lied to me about it.  So not only are you a liar, but you also have no respect for the rules or for me.”  Ted wasn’t about to bow down to the great ‘Jonny Rock.’  Jonathan Roeker was replaceable.  They all were.

Jonny sensed his intense anger and back
ed off.  “Sorry, man, I wasn’t trying to insult you.”

“Then don’t.”

“Okay.”

“As I was saying, I had a long discussion with Heather.  She is seriously considering taking legal action against the station and myself for allowing this to happen.”

“But dude...you weren’t even involved.”

“I’m your boss and I have liability.”

Jonny let out a long breath.  “I’m sorry.”

“So am I.”  Ted cleared his throat.  “Anyway, here’s the deal.  The one thing Heather wants more than anything else is an air shift.  I’ve called a PD friend of mine on Long Island and he’s found an opening for her.  I think if I put this to her in the right way, she’ll take the job and go quietly.  If this works, I’m going to need for you and her to sign a document stating that you had a relationship that was consensual.  That will remove the legal threat.”

A sense of relief began to come over Jonny.  “Do you think she’ll go for it?”

“Well, she really wants to be a deejay and I believe if I inform her that a lawsuit would most likely prevent her from ever having a career in radio she might start to rethink things.  Then I’ll offer her what she really wants, a job as a disc jockey.  Most likely, she’ll accept.”

“I have no idea how to thank you.”

“I’m not done.”  He paused.  “Jonny, I have to suspend you for two weeks without pay.”

“Wha...?”

“That’s the best case scenario for you.  When I meet with the General Manager tomorrow he may decide to fire you.”

“But, it was just a slip up...I’m an asset to the station.”

“Take the
et
off your ass
et
and that’s what you are.  Don’t kid yourself, there’s another Jonny Rock out there who’d love your job and who’d probably show up for his shift, not voice track,” he let those words hang in the air, “and he probably wouldn’t sleep with the interns.”

             
Jonny gulped.  “I...I...”

             
“Stop.  It’s not worth wasting your breath.  I’m going to speak to the GM about you tomorrow.  In the meantime, you won’t be working this week, but I will need you to be at the station in the morning in the event that Heather agrees to sign the paper.  I don’t want to give her a chance to change her mind, so I’ll need you at the station at eleven sharp.  I’ll have you wait in your office, you are not to have any contact with Heather.  If she signs, I’ll call you in and you’ll sign.  End of story.”

Jonny didn’t know what to say.  He didn’t have to, Ted continued.  “I don’t like this any more than you do.  Hopefully, Heather will sign and then we’ll figure out where we go from here.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

“Then radio may have to get along without Jonny Rock.”

Ted hung up the phone, leaving Jonny still hanging onto the receiver in disbelief.  The disconnection beep stirred him from his momentary lapse.  He replaced the hook in shock.  His marriage, his career...it was all falling around him.

Jonny went back into the kitchen and began rummaging through the cabinets.  He searched frantically finally finding Dana’s small stash of alcohol and wine.  She wasn’t a big drinker, so every holiday bottle that she’d ever received as a gift was sitting in the back of the cupboard.  Next to the wine were barely touched bottles of rum and vodka.  He grabbed both liquor bottles, a tall glass and returned to the couch.  He poured half a glass of rum and drank it quickly.  The alcohol scorched his throat.

He didn’t mind the pain.

He finished glass, after glass, after glass.

And then passed out.

              Larry watched the seaplane make its quick descent onto the water from the comfort of his stretch black limousine.  His palms began to sweat.  Within minutes the passengers began to disembark.  He placed on his dark sunglasses, adjusted his hat and stepped out of the limousine with his pre-made sign in hand - it read “DANA DREW.”

He saw person after person step off the plane.  He grew anxious.  He’d checked the flight every half-hour that morning to ensure it was on time and he was there for its arrival.  And then, his fears were allayed.  There she was.  Dana.  A bit more tan, her black hair flowing in the wind...she looked unbelievable.  He held his sign up high.

Dana saw the man by the limousine and her heart caught in her throat.  Yes, that was her name he was holding on the sign.  A limo ride.  Cody had really outdone himself.  His surprises were getting better each time, but they were still no substitute for him.

“Hey, check that out,” she said to Sharon, motioning to the limo.

“From the station?”

“I think from Cody...he said he had a surprise for me when I get back.”

“He loves you a lot,” Sharon said, a hint of jealousy in her voice.

Dana smiled.  “So I guess I won’t need that ride from you back home.”

“All right,” Sharon said, turning to give Dana a good-bye hug, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yep.  Take care.”  Dana breezed by and walked to the limousine.

Larry couldn’t believe it.  His plan was in action.

“Hey,” she said grinning, “I’m Dana Drew.”

“Then this ride is yours,” Larry said.  “Let me take your bags.”

She obliged, following him to the trunk of the car.  “This is an amazing surprise from Cody.  What did he say?”

Cody?  Who’s Cody?
  Larry decided to go with it.  Whoever this Cody was, the idea that he had something to do with this was obviously making Dana calm and agreeable and that was fine with him.

“Yeah, he’s a great guy.”

“So what did he say?” Dana probed.

Larry thought fast.  “He said he hopes you enjoy the ride.”

“Was that it?” she said, hoping for more.

“Umm yeah.”  He shrugged his shoulders. 
What else do you want from me?  And why are you thinking of this Cody?  I’m the one you’re supposed to be thinking of!

“Okay...sorry, I didn’t mean to be a pest.”  She looked apologetically at the thin man with the light brown eyes before her.  For a moment, she thought he looked familiar, but the moment passed quickly.

“Would you care to step in?”  Larry opened her car door.

“Yeah.  What’s your name again?”

Larry hadn’t anticipated so many questions.  “Uh...Larry.” 
Fuck!
  He wasn’t going to say his real name until later.

“Thanks,” she said, brushing by him to get into the car.

Larry breathed a sigh of relief.  She didn’t recognize him yet.  That was good.  He wanted her to see him in his true element, not as some lousy limo driver.  He shut the door and got into the front seat.  There he poured a glass of champagne and put three sleeping pills into it.  He waited for them to dissolve before lowering the partition that separated them.  He decided to go with the Cody angle.

“Dana, this is a special treat from Cody.”  He reached back and handed her the champagne flute.

“Oh, thanks,” she said, taking it without question.

Larry smiled, so proud of
himself for thinking so fast on his feet.  He began to pull out of the parking lot, watching her in the rearview mirror slowly sip the champagne.

“So did you have a nice trip?” he asked.

“Wonderful,” she answered.  Dana sipped the champagne, thinking of her weekend with Cody.  She took another drink of the sweet liquid.  She missed him terribly.

Larry drove in silence, heading onto the highway.  He kept an eye on Dana.  She consumed the champagne rather quickly.

Now, it was only a matter of time.

Dana leaned her head against the window.  She hadn’t realized how tired she was from the weekend.  “I’m just going to close my eyes,” she said to the driver, hoping he’d get the hint that she was in no mood for conversation.

“Okay,” Larry replied, thrilled at her request.

A few minutes later she was completely out.

“Dana?” Larry said.

No answer.

“Dana?” he said louder.

No answer.

She was unconscious.  Larry hit the gas and sped north on the highway.  The clock was running now, he had to get home before the medicine wore off.  Luckily he was able to make good time.  Fifteen minutes later they were at his complex.  Larry parked the limo in front of his house and ran to unlock his front door.  He looked around quickly to make sure no one was around, then opened the car door.

There she was.

Dana Drew.

And she was all his.

The sight of her stopped him in his tracks.  She looked so peaceful, so beautiful.  He stroked her raven hair.  It was so soft.  Then he bent down to kiss her cheeks and then her lips.  He shook with excitement.