Bro-mance 101 (8 page)

“Now, you’ve got it.”

“We could have a made a love connection.”

“Well, I wouldn’t take it that far, but you get my point.”

“Thanks man.  I gotta go.  I’m at work, and I don’t need to get caught on the phone.”

Devlin
laughed
,
and then
took a few more calls before going to commercial break.  The minute the mic was on mute, Ramon burst into the studio, pulling loose the
fat
knot of his abstract patterned tie.

“What the hell is wrong, Dev?
Did somebody spike your latte?”

Devlin
chuckled
.  “What are you talking about?” 

“
What’s with the warm and fuzzy feelings
?  It’s as if…as if…you’re getting in touch with your feminine side.  God forbid!  This is not your usual blend of advice.”

Devlin batted the air as if swatting a horsefly.  “
You’re nuts
, man
.
”

Ramon waved a piece of
paper
in Devlin’s face before reading it aloud.  “The Devlin I know wouldn’t say,
‘Not all women are bad.’
And
‘c’mon man, you need to put yourself in your girlfriend’s shoes.’
  Oh, and the coup de gra
s
:
‘Relationships are a give and take
, bro
.  You can’t do all the taking and no giving.’
  Ramon squinted in a feeble attempt to give Devlin the evil eye.  “
I feel like you got kidnapped and brainwashed by a bunch of bra-burning feminists
!”

Devlin smirked.  “
It was actually one panty-dropping feminist
–and
she would not appreciate the
‘
kidn
a
pping
’
remark.
”

“
I’m serious
, Devlin
.
”

“Me too.”  The look of confusion
on Ramon’s face was so comical
Devlin
was
compelled to launch into a
discussion
a
bout
his encounter
with
Zhané
in the elevator
last week
.

“And you say she was looking for me?”
Ramon asked incredulously. 

Devlin leaned back
in his chair
and crossed his arms over his chest.  “Yep.
Good thing she finally found me.
 
In addition to finding each other’s sweet spots, we had a fascinating conversation
.”

Ramon
sa
nk
in
to
one of the empty chairs in the studio
.  “
T
his is
no good.
This woman,
this Jhane…”

“
Zhané
,” Devlin corrected. 

“However you say it. 
She’s got you g
oing soft.  You need to get your
edge back.
”

“She said some things that made me
question
the advice I’ve been giving.  I’m starting to look at things from a new perspective.”

“
No!
”  Ramon
leapt up, nearly knocking the
chair
on its side
.  “Hell no!  Yo
u
can’t let her do this to us.
”

“
Us?
”

“Uh, I mean you,” he backtracked.
 

Devlin c
huckled.
“
No, you
didn’t
.  You meant
us
.”

“
Okay,
us
.
”  He sat back
down
and ran a hand through his head of thick, black hair
. 
“
You’re my top ranked show, Dev.  You fill a niche.  Men need you.”

“
Zhané
said I need my listeners
more than they need me.
”

“
You do
n’t believe that, do you?”

“
Ma
y
b
e.” 
The crazy thing was, the more
Devlin
thought about it, the more
Zhané
’s
a
r
gument had validity.
The show had become an outlet for him to vent.  He couldn’t deny he saw a little of himself in each listener who called in.  Perhaps he really was telling them to do all the things he wished he’d done.  Instead of getting back on the horse and trying again, he’d been afraid to show vulnerability.  It occurred to him that
maybe
he was living vicariously through his listeners. 
Zhané
was the only one who
’d
had the balls to say it to his face.

“
Well,
I
need you
,” Ramon said.  “
KLUV needs you.  We
’ve
got bills to pay, bro.  So, put this woman out of your mind.
”
 

Devlin rubbed the stubble on his chin.  “
You
don’t know how hard I’ve tried.”

Ramon stood.  “
Try harder
,” he ordered
.  “We have a set formula.  Listeners have a certain expectation when they call into this show.  Everything is riding on you. 
If you
deviate,
listeners will drop off,
sponsors might pull their ads, and we won’t have any money.”

Devlin nodded, letting the effects of Ramon’s words sink in. 

“And w
hile you’re at it,
” Ramon added, “
take your own advice: 
Don’t Get Got!
 
It sounds like you’re falling
hard for this chick
.
”

Devlin blew out a deep breath.  “I heard you the first time.”

“Good.” 
Ramon
clapped him on the back as he
prepared to leave. 
“
Remember
, o
ur livelihood is
in your hands
.”

SEVEN

Zhané
tried to
concentrate
on the PowerPoint presentation
displayed
on her
computer
screen.  In
less than an hour
, she was scheduled to present this proposal to a panel of fifteen employees, which included her direct manager
, an
important client,
and members of the marketing and finance departments. 
Under normal circumstances, she could use her superb
oratory skills
to deliver a flawless presentatio
n, but today didn’t qualify as
normal.  In fact, no day for the past two weeks could fit into that category.  Ever since she’d found herself trapped in that elevator with Devlin Hart, she hadn’t been able to push the
incredibly erotic
encounter from h
er mind. 

Random thoughts of the man
kept
creep
ing
into her subconscious,
pop
ping up like a spring-loaded jack-in-the-box when she least expected (or welc
omed them).  She had work to do
.  Sh
e was too busy to
waste her time thinking about
him.  With a roomful of her peers and managers
who would be
watching her every move
, she needed to
bring her ‘A’ game
. 
She closed her eyes
,
and willed the words on the screen to embed themselves into her cerebrum. 

I just need fifteen minutes to think.  I can do this!

The moment she found some semblance of focus, her secretary, Marji,
p
eered through Zhané’s open office
door.  Her
deep
blue eyes matched the
lapis colored blouse
that was
fastened
at her neck
to the top
button
.
  “Sorry to interrupt,” Marji announced, “but you have a visitor.”

“
Damn,
”
Zhané
stood and
cursed under her breath
.  “
Is the
client here already?
He’s early.”

“
Nope.
”  Marji shook her
head, causing her
long, blonde ponytail
to sway in response
.  “
This
visitor
doesn’t lo
ok like any client we ever had.”

Marji left the room
,
and
Zhané
look
ed up to see
a handsome, Hispanic
man
stroll into her office. 
Within the few seconds it took
for
Zhané
to
scan the man’s
deeply tanned skin,
jet-black hair,
and tailored gray suit,
he’d crossed the short distance from the door to
her
desk
and extended his hand.

“
Ramon
Aiello,”
he smiled, flashing
what had to be
thirty-two pearly white teeth.  “It’s a p
leasure to finally meet you.
 
I heard you got
sidetracked
looking for me
a few weeks ago
.”

Zhané
’s h
eart ping ponged
as she locked eyes
with
the man
. 
No doubt, he was here to tell her to keep her nose out of KLUV’s business.  She steeled herself for a fight
as she accepted his
firm
handshake
. 
“To what do I owe this honor, Mr. Aiello?  And how
on earth
did you know where to find me?”

“
Zhané
Williams is quite a unique name.  Go to any search engine and you’ll find that name attached to one of the
n
ew rising
female
stars
in the
oi
l and
g
as industry. 
I decided that a
ny woman who is tough enough to
melt
Devlin’s cold exterior is a woman I ha
d
to meet.”

Immediately, she realized Ramon knew what had transpired in the elevator with Devlin.  She smirked. 
“I guess Devlin Hart never
heard of
don’
t kiss and tell
?”

“
Well, you did more than kiss!
”  Ramon
kept his alta
r
-
boy smile in place, which helped soften the blow of his words.  “
Of course,
a
ny
man would brag about that. 
And as beautiful as you are,”
he added
, “I can’t say I blame
Devlin one bit
.”

She
shot
him what she hoped would be a look of reproach.  “
My business
with KLUV studios is concluded
, Mr.
Aiello.”

“Or
so you thought
,” he answered slyly
.

Zhané
pulled her blazer over the sleeveless designer wrap dress she wore
.  “
I have a meeting to attend
, so if
you don’t mind…”

Instead of retreating, Ramon i
nvited himself to sit down
, easing his long limbs into a chocolate colored leather chair near her desk
. 
He crossed one slender ankle over
the opposite knee. 
“It see
ms you made quite an impression on Dev.
”

She folded her arms
across
her chest.  “
H
e must not be easily impressed.”