plans,” she repeated. “Did you hear what Ms. Whittaker said? If we go through with this nonsense, we’ll have to see each other every day. You’ll have to come in to the studio and give progress reports.” She shook her head. “You don’t think this is completely nuts?”
“It’s weird as hell, but I’m game,” he said.
“There has to be more of a reason than your lack of a busy schedule.”
“Why?”
“Because this is… It’s absurd!”
“Is it?” Darlene asked. “Is it absurd when you tell Noelle from Brooklyn that she’s not really in love with her boyfriend? Is it absurd when you teach Cindy from Queens that she’s weak and spineless because she couldn’t say no?”
“I never said she was spineless. Besides, that’s different.”
“Why? Because it’s not your life on the line? Because your heart isn’t at risk?”
Jamie turned her gaze to Darlene, and Chase was surprised the writer’s hair didn’t catch fire. This was not a mutual admiration society. These women were out for blood.
Maybe he’d been too hasty. What sounded like a laugh a few minutes ago was becoming complicated. He didn’t do complicated. On the other hand, Jamie had that luscious mouth.
Darlene touched his shoulder. “Chase, have you ever seduced a woman?”
“Yep.”
“How many?”
“All of them.”
Darlene grinned. “So you think you can seduce Dr. Jamie?”
“Yep.”
Jamie’s eyes looked like they were ready to pop. “Are you serious? Every woman just falls into bed at the crook of your finger? Obviously that statement is a gross exaggeration.”
“No, it’s not.”
“What, you’re so fabulous, no woman can resist you?”
“No woman I’m paying attention to. I don’t know all that much about the world, and I am, after all, only a guy who drives cars, but I do know what women want, and how to give it to them.”
“Oh, please. That’s the most arrogant crock of—”
“How long do you think it’ll take Jamie to succumb?” Darlene asked, barely masking Jamie’s curse.
He chuckled. “I don’t know. It depends on how willing she is to play her part honestly.”
“Explain that, please.”
He turned from Darlene to Jamie. “She needs to walk into this with no prejudice. It has to be real—as if I asked her out and she said yes of her own free will.”
“Jamie, how do you feel about that?”
“I think this joke has gone far enough.” She lifted her cup with shaky fingers, then put it down again without taking a sip. “Why don’t we hear from some listeners. Mr. Newman, thanks for being such a good sport, but you can go now.”
“Not on your life,” Darlene said, her tone as sharp as a knife blade. “There are only two ways this is going to end. Either you’re going to come in here in two weeks, in front of Chase and all your listeners, and tell us you stayed strong, that he didn’t seduce you, or you’re going to admit you’re a fraud.”
“Ms. Whittaker, I invited you here as a courtesy. I agreed to be interviewed. I didn’t sign up to be made a laughing stock.”
“Oh, I’m not laughing. I’m dead-on serious. Because, Dr. Jamie, I don’t believe you’ve ever been with a man like Chase. I don’t think you’ve been with a real man. Because if you had, you would know that sometimes the mind takes a back seat to the body. You’re just like the rest of us poor slobs, babe, and you know it. You’re playing with your listeners’ hearts, and their lives.”
“I take what I say seriously. I’ve got a PhD in human sexuality. I’ve dedicated my life to this work.”
“But you don’t even date! You can’t tell us you understand what we go through if you’re safe inside your radio station. It’s time to put up or shut up, Dr. Jamie.”
Chase watched Jamie look through the window as she abruptly gave the station identification, not even trying to respond to Darlene’s diatribe. Fred Holt stood with his nose practically pressed against the glass. He didn’t look happy. The woman—what was her name?—the producer, was freaking out. She was yanking on Fred’s coat sleeve. Chase’s old buddy Cujo was grinning like the cat that ate the canary. Chase knew why, of course. Ratings. This little experiment would be a ratings monster. The Arbitrons would go through the roof.
He hadn’t been involved with radio since he was a teenager, despite his father’s wishes—but he knew the game. He knew what it took to be successful. His father had never understood that he found it all boring. He would never be at the mercy of numbers. Chase needed physical challenges. Excitement. The unexpected.
He turned to the lovely doctor. She still looked flushed, but the pink in her cheeks was fueled by anger now. She was trapped, and she didn’t like it. It would be a challenge to get through her defenses—to weaken her resolve. Of course, he could do it. There was no doubt. Not because he was Don Juan, but because women wanted to be seduced.
He understood the game, and he was an excellent player—probably because he knew he had nothing to lose. It was never going to develop into anything more than some hot sex and some laughs.
This was a dumb stunt, and he shouldn’t have agreed to be part of it. He still wasn’t certain he shouldn’t back out. But going for it would accomplish several things. He’d have something to do while he waited for his next race. He’d help the station, sort of a tip of his hat to his dad. And he’d get Jamie into his bed.
Okay, so he didn’t give a damn about the station, and he’d never been bored a day in his life. The reason he’d said yes was that he wanted to sleep with the sex doctor. His motive wasn’t so different from Darlene’s—he wanted to show Jamie her theory was all wet.
He didn’t listen to the radio often, but he did tune in to Jamie’s show whenever he had the chance. He liked the sound of her voice, the way she laughed. In fact, after he’d seen her the first time, the talk show had taken on a whole new level of meaning. He’d never failed to get turned on by Dr. Jamie. Something about her stirred him up, made him hard. She was a fantasy, and soon she’d be a reality.
Jamie threw her headphones on the desk as the second commercial began. She didn’t say a word as she yanked open the heavy door. A moment later Chase saw her approach Fred. Man, she was one angry lady. Of course, he couldn’t hear the conversation, but he could read the expressions and the gestures. Jamie didn’t want to play.
“I’ve got her,” Darlene said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Chase wondered if she realized she’d spoken aloud. “What do you want her for?”
She jerked around to stare at him.
