On-Air Passion. Lindsay Evans

down, sweetie,” Shaye said. “Ahmed was just doing that for a laugh and to make the whole advertising give-and-take seem more interesting. He didn’t mean anything by it.”

      “You weren’t there. He meant every damn word—”

      The sound of her desktop phone ringing cut Elle off. “Who is that?” she asked, too irritated to bother getting up to look herself.

      Shaye peeked over at the phone’s display. “It looks like the radio station.”

      “Jesus... What now? They want to humiliate me some more today?” Elle clambered to her feet and answered the phone, putting it on speaker so Shaye could hear, too. She sat down behind the desk. “Romance Perfected. Elle Marshall speaking.”

      “Elle, long time no chat!” Clive Ramirez’s booming voice rang through her office, and Elle exchanged a pained look with Shaye. “I wanted to tell you the latest developments myself.”

      “What, nobody claimed our prize?”

      “Just the opposite, my dear girl! Our phones rang off the hook even after we had a winner. They loved you and Ahmed together.”

      Elle rolled her eyes. Those people must love a train wreck, because that’s all that was. “That’s good, I suppose. If the business gets some of that love, too.” She grabbed a pen and notebook. “So, who won the prize? I’ll reach out to them today.”

      “Well, an interesting thing. The woman who won the prize gave it back to you.”

      “What?” Elle exchanged another look with Shaye as her stomach sank. They paid all that money for the radio ad for nothing? “She doesn’t even want to use us for free?” Shaye looked just as horrified as Elle felt.

      “No, no. It’s not that.” Clive’s voice rose in a way that did not put Elle’s mind at ease. “Everyone who called in loves your business idea. This woman included. But she wants you to use the service yourself. For a date with Ahmed.”

      Elle blinked at the phone, sure she wasn’t hearing Clive correctly. “You’re joking.”

      “Nope!” He sounded far too happy with that one word. “I think it’s a brilliant idea that has the potential to work out even better for your business and for the station, of course.” When Elle didn’t say anything, Clive made a low sound of disappointment, obviously tempering his excitement for Elle’s benefit. “Listen, I can tell you’re reluctant, so why don’t I give you the rest of the day to think about it?” Elle glanced at her watch and saw that it was only a few minutes past noon. “Keep in mind how much free publicity this will be for your business,” Clive said. “And, to sweeten the deal, I’ll even give you back half of the fee you paid for the radio spot.”

      Shaye started to make frantic motions at Elle from her perch on the corner of Elle’s desk. “Tell him you’ll do it,” she whispered, waving her hands to get Elle’s attention, as if Elle could ignore her. “Just say yes.” Shaye mouthed the words over and over, looking like a fish trying to breathe fresh air.

      Elle swiveled in her chair, turning her back to her business partner. “Thank you for the opportunity, Clive. I’ll think about it and get back to you.”

      “I understand. Call me back before five to let me know.” He gave her his direct number before hanging up.

      “Are you crazy?” Shaye practically shrieked once the call was disconnected. She jumped up from the desk, curls and breasts swaying, hands on her hips. “Call him back right now and tell him you’ll do it.”

      “Are you serious right now?” Elle refused to make herself a target for Ahmed Clark’s bitterness and cynicism again. Once was enough.

      “Oh, please!” Shaye paced in front of Elle’s desk, hands on her hips, high heels sinking into the plush carpeting with each step. “It’s just a date. And a date with a rich, hot guy at that. You won’t suffer by going out with Ahmed Clark, Elle. Not like how our business is suffering. You know we need this.”

      Shaye was right. And Elle knew it, but...

      “Did you hear how he talked to me on freakin’ live radio? He dismissed our business like it was some sleazy... I don’t know, like a hookup service or something.”

      “It doesn’t matter what he thinks,” Shaye said, her voice pleading and soft. She stopped pacing and fixed a plaintive look on Elle. “Once we get Romance Perfected noticed by people who follow and maybe even socialize with Ahmed Clark, the date you went on to make this all possible will be nothing but a distant memory.”

      “A bad memory,” Elle said, already feeling her resolve weakening.

      She crossed her arms and dropped back into her chair, softly cursing. Romance Perfected was a dream she and Shaye had had together for years, a dream that finally materialized in the form of a small business still toddling along on trembling feet. Over a year ago, they’d had to file for Chapter 11. After a lot of hard work, she and Shaye had managed to save their four-year-old business from going under, but they still needed a boost to get fully in the black.

      If this small thing was what it took to get Romance Perfected finally where it needed to be, then... Elle spat another string of curses and refused to look up at the triumphant smile she knew Shaye was already wearing.

      “Fine,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll do it.”

       Chapter 3

      “What’s got your boxers all twisted this morning?” Sam’s question, delivered in his driest tone, followed Ahmed into the back of the town car as he settled into the leather seat in preparation for the ride to the airport.

      After a quick glance at his watch to make sure they were going to be on time for the rally, he shrugged at his cousin. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

      “Bull.”

      Sam had a point, though. At the radio station, Ahmed had been too much. He’d mercilessly teased Elle. But it hadn’t come off as teasing. Instead, his behavior had come dangerously close to bullying. Good thing Elle could take care of herself. When she’d growled back at him, refusing to back down in the face of all the crap he threw at her, Ahmed had nearly combusted from the heady cocktail of lust and admiration.

      The only thing that had saved him from completely losing his mind was a firm mental reminder that this was his job. He was at work, and this was supposed to be all business.

      However, that reminder hadn’t completely stopped his eyes from gluing themselves to her backside the moment she jumped up from the chair and started to walk away from him.

      Satisfied his momently lapse was at an end, he put Elle Marshall firmly out of his mind and himself back on track with the conversation with Sam. “Anyway, it was just entertainment for the folks listening to the show.”

      “Since when did you give a damn what entertains the people listening to your show?” Sam asked, sprawling on the opposite seat of the town car. “The whole point when you started this gig was to be yourself and give voice to the politics and social issues that matter to you. Not become another kind of mindless clone.”

      A sound of irritation rumbled from Ahmed’s throat. He could never fool Sam, not since they were kids. He didn’t even know why he tried. “She got under my skin, and that’s all I’m going to say.” He leveled a warning glance across the small space. The conversation was over.

      But that wasn’t the way it worked between them.

      Three hours later, Ahmed and Sam stood near the front of a crowd of hundreds in Mississippi, both of them dressed in jeans and T-shirts, while a congressman from Georgia, a nationally respected education advocate, rolled his tremendous voice through the crowd, chiding the state for letting down some of the most vulnerable members of its population.

      Ahmed