Morning Man Read Free

she’s the one bothering me. I just met the girl and already, she’s suffering from a feverish bout of Tack Attack. I practically had to pry her off me.”
    Dayna rolled her eyes. “Dream on, cowboy.”
    Bonnie’s face puckered. “Cowboy?”
    “She’s been staring at my chest like I’m nothing but a sex object,” he said, draping a beefy forearm over his pecs. “I feel so violated.”
    Dayna had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. “God, you’re arrogant. I’m surprised you actually found a hat to fit such a big head.”
    He tipped the brim of his cap. “That’s ’cause I got it from the same place I buy my underwear.”
    “Really? I didn’t think they sold hats in the ladies’ department.”
    “Enough!” Bonnie squinted hard, giving them each a once over. Whatever she was thinking, it caused her eyebrows to knit into an intense frown. “Both of you, in my office. Now.”
    The boss turned on her heel and marched to the end of the hallway, the wayward pair loping close behind.
    “Thanks a lot,” Dayna huffed under her breath. Just marvelous. Third day on the job and she was already getting hauled in for a reprimand.
    * * * *
    Certain types of women brought out the devil in Tack, and…oh, who was he kidding? All women brought out the devil in him. It wasn’t his fault that he’d been blessed with a big mouth that either got him into trouble or got him laid, which inevitably led to a hell of a lot more trouble anyway. That’s why he’d steered clear of messy entanglements except those without strings attached. In his mind, all persons of the female persuasion, no matter how soft and curvy and sweet, fell into two troublesome categories: the headaches and the heartaches.
    Dayna Cook appeared to come with headache and heartache as a package deal. If they hadn’t literally run into each other, he probably could’ve avoided her too, but there she was in front of him, with those big, honey brown eyes, great mouth and golden waves of hair falling around her heart-shaped face. Damn. It would’ve been fun getting into trouble with this one. It would’ve also been smarter if he’d kept his distance. But, true to form, he couldn’t keep from flapping his gums. And then once she got all feisty and rosy-cheeked, standing up to him like she would have none of it, all bets were off.
    “Sit,” Bonnie commanded as she walked around her desk. Before Dayna chose a spot, Tack plunked down in the middle of the boss’s plump, cream-colored couch and patted the cushions on either side in invitation for her to sit thigh to thigh. She snarled her lip adorably and then sat in one of the armchairs facing the boss’s desk.
    Bonnie held up a piece of paper. “Do you know what this is?”
    “It looks like an Arbitron report,” Dayna replied. Goody two shoes.
    “And do you know what it says?” She paused, but didn’t wait for either of them to answer. “Our ratings have slipped eleven percent from last quarter. Eleven percent. If that wasn’t bad enough, we’re losing listeners in the key twenty-five-to-fifty-four demographic.”
    “Yeah, but we’ve always been up and down,” he jumped in. “We’ll rebound by the fall book.”
    Bonnie picked up another piece of paper. “You see this report? It says that we’ve lost more female listeners in the morning show than in any other daypart.”
    So what? Numbers didn’t scare him in a business where they fluctuated constantly. “It’s a blip.”
    “It’s a trend,” Bonnie countered. “And if you don’t do something to turn it around immediately, God help me, it’s going to be a pink slip with your name on it.”
    She meant business and Tack knew it. Unlike most guys he’d run with in the business, he hadn’t been fired once since his first day on air, and he wasn’t about to spoil an immaculate employment record when he was this close to grabbing the brass ring.
    “But boss, The Rise Guys have always skewed male. We’re country. We’re a