Rick went on with his professional spiel, and Christie tried to examine that prickly feeling. Or smother it. Why should she care if Yvonne flirted with Rick, or whether there was anything behind it? That kind of jealousy was kid stuff, and she'd outgrown it a long time ago. There was no call for it now. Anyway, Christie reminded herself, Yvonne was always calling her "hon." And wouldn't she be a little more discreet if there was really something going on?
"...We'll be out here 'til three, so stop on by. This is Rick Fox with KYOR, your station for the best songs of yesterday and today."
Yvonne stopped the recording. "Thanks, handsome."
"You got it, gorgeous." Christie prickled again. "Wish me luck out here."
"Luck out there." Unexpectedly, Yvonne turned the microphone in Christie's direction. "Hey, say hi to Christie."
"Christie?" His tone changed abruptly. "What's she doing there?"
Yvonne looked startled. She grimaced at Christie, who quietly pushed the microphone back toward Yvonne. "She just dropped by, wanted to see if she could help out. I thought I'd show her some stuff when I get off the air. Maybe straighten up that mess we call a production room."
"Okay just make sure you get your own work done."
Yvonne blinked at the monitor speakers. "Not a problem. Talk to you later." She cut off the phone with a frown.
Christie said, "Is he always like that?"
Yvonne shook her head, still frowning at the speakers. "No. Never." She set the machine to play back Rick's recorded break after the next song. "He must be having a bad day."
"It didn't sound like it, until my name came up. Do you think I got on his bad side somehow?"
"In three days? Don't be silly. Anyway, you've hardly been around him."
"He's always like that with me. I mean, he goes back and forth. Like when he called last night-"
"Rick was listening at midnight? On your first shift?"
"Is that unusual?"
"Nah," Yvonne said, "probably not." But she didn't sound too convincing.
Rick leaned back in his chair, one eye on the Gavin trade magazine charts, as he and Yvonne went over which songs to add or drop from the play list next week. "Where's your shadow today?" he asked, keeping his tone casual. It was the first day in a week that Christie hadn't been at the station by early afternoon.
"I told her you and I were going over the music right after I got off the air," Yvonne said. "She said she'd be in later."
"Doesn't she ever sleep?" It sounded more impatient than he'd intended.
Rick wasn't sure what Christie's frequent visits were doing to her sleep schedule, but they weren't doing anything for his concentration. He kept getting distracted by the sound of female laughter from Yvonne's office across the hall. If Christie had been getting in the way, the problem would be easy to solve. But she was making herself useful, taking some of the weight off Yvonne's shoulders. She was willing to help with anything-filing, organizing tapes and CDs, or helping to pack up the van for a live remote broadcast. All further proof that Rick had made a good call when he hired her.
Yvonne was studying him. "What is it with you and her, anyway?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." His answer came out a little too quickly.
"Do you have some kind of problem with her?"
Rick raised an eyebrow. "Aside from the two of you gabbing across the hall like magpies, no. I don't have a problem with her. Why?"
The problem was, he found her just about impossible to ignore. Try as he might. When she wasn't in Yvonne's office, she was up and down the hall on one errand or another, usually singing some snatch of a song. Often, it was the one that was on the air; just as often, it could be some obscure country song or show tune. Not that she was too loud; in fact, the singing always got quieter as she went by his door, and always picked up again when she passed it. Well, no wonder. He'd been all but rude to her, and there was no good reason for it. He could shut his door, but that would be the final act of defeat. In five years as program director here, he'd made it a point to always keep it open, always be available.
"You've barely said two words to the girl since she got here," Yvonne said. "And why in the world were you monitoring her first air shift? You probably scared her half to death."
"The CD player jammed, and I bailed her out. She complained about that?" Rick caught himself raising his voice.
"No." Yvonne backed off. "She just told me about the problem with the player, and she said you called."
"I told her she was doing a good job. Did she tell you that?"