01 Only Fear Read Free Page A

fill her in. She’s usually up late.”
    “Gives you an excuse to talk to her.” His crush on the girl was evident to everyone within fifty feet of the pair. She wondered if Sharon knew that he flushed bright red all the way to his ears whenever anyone so much as mentioned her name.
    God, sometimes she felt so old. When was the last time she’d had that zing of new love? College? That had been years ago. At thirty-three, she’d given up feeling that kind of electric connection again.
    Brad had been in love. Her younger brother had even talked engagement to his long-time girlfriend before… Well, it was best not to go down that road now. Not unless she wanted to spend some more quality time in the ladies’ room tonight, slumped against the wall.
    David grinned. “Exactly. We could use her help anyway, right? If Owen calls back, we’ll have a big show on our hands tomorrow night, just like last time. We’ll be golden.”
    She frowned. “Not everyone was happy about his opinions last time.”
    “Yeah, he set off several nights of angry response calls, not to mention the letters.”
    That he’d upset people was putting it mildly. In fact, his discussion about personality disorders had almost sparked an all-out war of words with her listeners. And Owen had clearly enjoyed it. She’d responded to every one of the calls and letters.
    “But Steveroni was happy,” David added.
    Since he was turned away, pulling his usual post-show energy drink from the fridge, David missed her eye roll. The station manager, Steve Marconi, was not her concern. Technically, he was her boss, and therefore should be important to her, but she’d lost respect about the twelfth time he’d “bumped” into her. The not-so-innocent brushes of his hand were usually followed by an invitation to “dinner.” She couldn’t get much clearer than no, other than maybe hell, no. But she strived for professionalism and she couldn’t let herself say that to him. She was not interested in making Steveroni happy.
    “Maybe we can encourage Owen to call again, maybe even more frequently.” David popped the top to his drink and took a gulp. He paced the room as he had before, excitement reddening his cheeks so that the freckles that dotted them almost disappeared. “I’d bet we can increase listener numbers by double, maybe triple.” Maggie blanched. Seeing her negative reaction, David hurried on. “I’m not saying you don’t already have a large audience. You’ve become the most popular radio personality in Chicago.” He misunderstood her scowl, and continued to press his point. “I’ve heard Steveroni grumble that you would leave if some other, non-university station offered you more money.” That was news to her. “It’s only that if you had a regular verbal exchange with Owen, more people might tune in.”
    She didn’t want the popularity. She’d rather be an unknown. But she wanted to help people, and her radio show was the best way she knew how while still protecting her…boundaries.
    “I mean, he loves to talk with you. He can be a jerk about it, but your topics seem to challenge him. He almost can’t resist calling in to argue.”
    Maggie cocked her head. “And you want to create a stalker out of him.”
    It was David’s turn to blanch. “No. That’s not what I’m talking about. Oh God, Doc, is that what you thought?” He shook his head adamantly as one finger picked at the tab at the top of his drink. “I would never encourage that.”
    “And yet that’s exactly the characteristics I hear in Owen.” She rubbed her arms to ward off another sudden chill, then rose. “Look, let’s just let things lie for now, shall we?”
    Shamefaced and deflated, he nodded solemnly. “Whatever you say.”
    Maggie felt as if she’d kicked a puppy for licking her face. Kicked him hard, with steel-toed boots. David was always supportive, always upbeat and a great production director. He was also filled with the naive idealism of