Chance on Love (2 page)

How the hell they had ever managed to get along, let alone become besties, was beyond Stephanie’s understanding. Unlike most people, though, Amber had a good heart. Still, Stephanie wasn’t in the mood for any of her rah-rah bullshit.

“Yeah, yeah,” she grumbled. “What’s your great news?” She suddenly perked up. “Did that broadcasting company decide to leave us alone?”

“No, they still plan to give this station an overhaul.”

Stephanie’s shoulders slumped.

“But guess who’s being considered for anchor?” Widening her eyes, Amber pointed to herself as her mouth dropped open.

“Congratulations,” Stephanie said in a flat voice.

“Come on, Stephie Baby,” Amber said, using the nickname that had annoyed Stephanie for well over a decade. “This is fantastic! You know I’ve wanted to make anchor for years.”

That was true. Amber had switched career tracks from behind the scenes to wanting to be in the spotlight. She’d been a reporter for a couple of years now, and was chomping at the bit for her chance to shine. Stephanie softened—as much as she ever did. “You definitely deserve it.”

Amber gave her a big smile. “Well, thank you. You’re probably up for a promotion, too.”

“Yeah.” There was a good possibility she’d be promoted right out the door. Super.

“The interim General Manager is coming today to meet everyone and get a feel for the place. He’s supposed to discuss all of the upcoming changes—promotions and whatnot.”

Stephanie bit back a laugh. Interim, hell. He wasn’t going anywhere. She’d known assholes like this one was bound to be. A little taste of power was all it took—no way was he giving
that
up. “Where’s Kenny?”

As the other person that Stephanie actually cared about at the station, Kenneth Thomas had been the News Director for years. He was skillful, commanding respect without being overbearing. She’d looked up to him ever since he’d first been a producer. He’d taken her under his wing and showed her the ropes, without ever making her feel like a nuisance. When she’d been the low woman on the totem pole, no one had given her the time of day except for him. She’d never forget that.

If anyone was overdue for a promotion, it was Kenny. Ideally, he would become GM and Stephanie would get his former spot as News Director.

Ideally.

Things had a way of not working out for her, however, so she was bracing herself.

Amber shrugged. “He’s around here somewhere.”

“I need to see him,” Stephanie said, heading for the door. They had to formulate a plan. They’d close ranks on these corporate assholes, let them know they couldn’t just barge in and change everything—no matter how much money they had.

Some people still had journalistic integrity. Not many people, but some, damn it.

Amber’s high heels clicked loudly against the floor as she rushed to catch up. “Corporate will be here any minute,” she whispered furiously.

“Screw corporate.” She quickened her pace, leaving Amber behind. Before she could knock on Kenny’s door, it opened.

A black man with an imposing build at six feet, three inches and the body of a former football player, Kenny had a serious demeanor, but still managed to give off a friendly, approachable vibe. “Hey, kid.” He nodded his head in the direction from which she’d just come. “Let’s go.”

Stephanie frowned. “Where?”

“Meeting.” Kenny started walking so she had no choice but to follow him or be left behind. His bald head glistened beneath the overhead lights as they made their way to the large conference room.

Tugging on his arm, she hurried to keep up. “We need to talk.” She leaned in. “Get a plan together.”

He gave her a little smile, and shook his head. “No time, kid. There’s never enough time,” he muttered, pulling the conference room door open for her and waiting until she entered ahead of him.

She didn’t have a chance to wonder about the cryptic comment. Amber pulled her down by the arm, and she landed unceremoniously on the chair next to her.

“Isn’t this exciting?” she gushed.

Kenny had a seat on the other side of Stephanie as the room buzzed with quiet energy. There was an odd blend of anxiety and excitement in the air.

Stephanie leaned toward the anxiety end of the spectrum.
Pfft.
Leaned.

She was
all
the way on that end.

The conference door opened, and three men entered to stand in front of the room. They looked to be in their mid-seventies to eighties. Great. If she even had a job after this, she’d be taking orders from someone’s great-grandpa.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the apparent alpha of the elderlies said, his voice resonating with prestige and certainty, “as you all know, there are big changes coming to KMLP. Overseeing those changes will be a new General Manager. Mr. Wilkerson didn’t, ah, quite work out.”

A tiny smile played at her lips. That was an understatement. Wilkerson had gotten shit-faced at the Christmas party and proceeded to talk major crap about the network with which KMLP was affiliated. His major mistake was forgetting what kind of business KMLP was—someone had videotaped his little tirade, and the recording found its way to the head honchos.

They weren’t pleased, to put it lightly. Wilkerson had his walking papers before he’d even had the chance to sober up completely. It was delightful, really. The man had made everyone’s life living hell.

Upon first receiving the news of his sudden departure, she’d wanted to party like a college student on spring break, but then it hit her. They’d traded the devil they’d known for one they didn’t. And what if this one was even worse?

“No, don’t worry,” alpha elder said. “You won’t have to deal with any of us old coots.”

Her coworkers shared an uncomfortable laugh.

“The man of the hour is running a bit behind, but he should be joining us shortly. In the meantime, allow me to introduce myself properly. I’m Ross Lucas, the CEO of RL Communications...”

Stephanie sat back and crossed her arms, listening as he talked about the history of his media corporation. After that, each of the other execs had a turn to chat while everyone waited for the man who was way past fashionably late.
Nice
.

This guy was supposed to oversee an entire television station and he couldn’t manage a nine a.m. appearance at a scheduled, mandatory meeting. She couldn’t wait to get a load of this schmuck.

The door opened behind her, but she didn’t turn.

Alpha elder, Ross, extended his arm. “Speak of the devil.”

Exactly.
Stephanie rolled her eyes.

“Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce your interim GM, Chance Valentine.”

He took his place next to the older men. Stephanie’s jaw dropped momentarily before she remembered to pick it up. She was loath to admit it, even to herself, but the schmuck was gorgeous.

“Oh, um, wow,” Amber said under her breath.

“Damn it,” Stephanie muttered. This was an added complication she
so
did not need.

Chapter 3

Even from this distance, Stephanie could clearly see the mischievous glint in his blue-gray eyes—more gray than blue. He had thick, black hair, and a killer set of dimples that flashed whenever he smiled. He looked to be even taller than Kenny, which put him around six-four or five.

She couldn’t tell much about the physique beneath his expensive suit, but if everything else was an indication, it was breathtaking indeed.

“Thanks for the introduction, Gramps,” he said, giving the alpha elder a hearty slap on the back.

The older man shot him a harsh look.

Her coworkers laughed again, sounding more natural this time. Some laughed longer and more loudly than others, namely the resident studio tramp, Carly Samuels. Her name was actually Carlene, but the former model and constant beauty pageant winner, now nightly news co-anchor, insisted on the nickname. Of course, that meant Stephanie called her Carlene at every opportunity.

Rich chocolate-brown hair that lay just past her shoulders, long legs, fake boobs, and a dazzling smile, thanks to a cosmetic dentist in Edmond, one of the more affluent parts of the Oklahoma City metro area, Carly was a stunner. And she was more than happy for everyone to acknowledge it.

This is probably why it gave Stephanie such a secret thrill when the sexy schmuck’s eyes went right past her without a second look as he scanned the room. His gaze briefly landed on Stephanie’s and she could have sworn she’d felt a tingle. It started in her stomach and traveled farther south in a nanosecond.

She took a deep breath and averted her eyes. Sexy or not, he was still the enemy and would be treated accordingly.

“Let’s get down to brass tacks, shall we?” His deep, low-pitched voice slid over her body in waves.

She appreciated the fact that he didn’t like to mince words. But that was all she appreciated about the man. Yep, that was it. Her eyes roamed over his imposing form before she gave herself a mental scolding.

Don’t even think about it, girl.

Except...it was difficult to think of much else. Though, having been cheated on just the day before and ending what she’d thought was a beautiful seven-month relationship probably meant that it wasn’t the best idea for her to be ogling a man she’d hated sight unseen.

“I’m Chance Valentine, but y’all can call me Chance.” He flashed a wicked smile that displayed both dimples to maximum effect.

She thought she heard Carly’s panties hit the floor.

“I’ll be your General Manager for the time being.”

Stephanie couldn’t stop herself. “And how long will that be?”

A hush fell over the room as his blue-gray gaze snapped back to hers. “As long as I want it to be, I suppose,” he said with a smirk.

“Yippee,” she said, arms still crossed.

“Steph,” Amber chided quietly.

Stephanie felt Kenny’s elbow. “Watch it, kid.”

The new interim GM cocked his head as he regarded her. “What’s your name and what is it you do here?”

Ooh, she was in trouble now. She was shaking in her five-inch pumps. “Stephanie Love. And I’m the Assistant News Director.”

The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. “Not anymore.”

Gulp.
Okay, now she really
was
shaking in her pumps—with seething anger. This smug son of a bitch thought he could just waltz in, give her the boot, and she’d take it like a good little girl? He had another think coming.

If she were on her way out the door, she would definitely be leaving a hell of a last impression. Fireworks in January—the show was starting at approximately 9:07 in the morning.

“Come again?” she asked, voice cold as ice while she glared at him.

He sat down on the edge of the conference table and folded his arms. “You heard me.”

She stared daggers at him. “Mr. Valentine, I have a suggestion for you.”

Amber groaned. “Don’t do it,” she whispered.

Staring straight at Stephanie, he asked, “What’s that?”

She leaned forward. “Why don’t you introduce your—”

“Stop it,” Kenny scolded under his breath.

Lips to my ass,
she finished mentally. Only Kenny had the power to get through to her in time.

The sexy schmuck lifted his eyebrows as he waited for her to continue.

Stephanie cleared her throat. “Introduce your...self to our News Director, Kenneth Thomas.” She linked her arm with his. “He’s a wonderful asset to this station so no matter what
my
future holds here, his should be secure.”

He glanced at Kenny before turning his attention back to her. “No matter what your future holds here?” He narrowed his eyes. “Are you planning on resigning, Love?”

She frowned. “No, I just—you were about to—huh?”

“I only meant that you were no longer Assistant News Director because I have a new job for you.”

“Oh,” she said softly. She wasn’t usually rendered speechless, but this man had that effect on her. “Oh?” Could it be, Lord? News Director? She resisted the urge to put the edge of the table in a death grip. Her dreams were finally—

“Executive Assistant.”

Totally dead and in the toilet. May as well flush instead of staring at ‘em like they were sideshow freaks. She managed to find her voice. “I—I’m sorry,” she shook her head, “I heard ‘Executive Assistant.’”

Valentine grinned at her, and she wanted to slap him silly. “That’s right.”

“Well, then who’s taking over the News Director position when Kenny’s promoted to GM?”

He frowned. “When Kenny’s promoted?”

“Uh,” Stephanie arched an eyebrow, “yeah.”

“Mr. Thomas isn’t being promoted.”

“Why the hell not?”

Somewhere in the background, Carly gasped.

“Simple. He’s leaving the station.”

The air rushed from her lungs as she turned to Kenny. “What?” She’d endured the stings of many a betrayal, but this one kind of smarted.

He gave her a sad smile. “Sorry, kid.”

“He’s gone as far as he can here,” Valentine said.

“Oh, bullshit.” She shot up off the chair. “You people come in here with your thousand dollar suits, and you act like this is a game of Monopoly or something. These are people’s lives you’re screwing with. You make me sick.” She marched to the door of the conference room and threw a dirty look back at the schmuck. “You don’t have to fire me, Valentine. I quit.”

****

“Steph, please, will you calm down?” Amber sat in front of the desk as Stephanie searched frantically for another box. Any size would do—she just wanted to start shoving more of her crap into it.

“Calm down?” she asked incredulously. “That man just fired Kenny and had the gall to sit there and act like it was Kenny’s decision.”

“Maybe it was, you don’t know.”

“Oh, please. He’s busted his ass for this station for decades and now, when he has a real shot at making GM, he decides he wants out? Whatever. The nasty truth is that Valentine may be hot on the outside, but he has a fucking glacier where his heart should be.”

With her hands on her hips, she began pacing. “No, Kenny wouldn’t choose this. But of course he’s too much of the strong, silent type to complain, to shout from the rooftops how unfair it is.”