Page 98 of 7 Days and 7 Nights

He took his mother’s hand in his and gave it a squeeze, knowing all too well the emptiness she described.

“Sandra’s found her own way,” his mother said. “She’s got Dan and the boys and the restaurant. But I worry about you. You spend all your time sidestepping that hole, when what you really need to do is fill it in.”

Matt smiled at the mental image. “So you’re saying I need some emotional fill dirt?” Today’s conversation with his mother would go a ways toward filling in the bottom layer of that hole; Olivia could probably dump in a whole truckload if only he would let her.

He let himself really think about Olivia then. He thought about her sense of moral rightness, her desire to help others, and her determination to fight for what she believed in. She saw right through him and insisted on loving him anyway. Though he had no idea what she thought he had to offer in return, she seemed very certain he was worth having.

Wouldn’t it be a pisser if she was right?

Across the lake the ducks changed formation, the mallard once again taking the lead. When they reached Adam’s rock, they waddled ashore and shook themselves off in the fading light. A breeze ruffled their feathers and skimmed across the water to tease the branches of a nearby elm. There were good memories in this place, too, and it was comforting to be here with his mom. With a new sense of purpose, Matt took his mother’s arm and helped her up from the bench.

“Sandra said she thought you’d be heading home soon.”

"Yeah,” Matt said. “I have an appointment with my agent tomorrow morning, and then I’m going to drive back to Atlanta. I’ve got some loose ends to tie up.”

???

Matt’s agent, Brad Hanford, pushed his half-eaten omelet aside and sat back in his chair. “Let me see if I’ve got this straight. You want me to tell Syntex Communications—the biggest syndicator of radio programming in the universe—that you are willing to consider their proposal for an opinion show with Olivia Moore. But you want them to lock her into the deal before you’ll commit.”

“Well, it does sound a little... unusual, but I have my reasons.”

“Yes, I believe they’re called fear and cowardice. The woman has already admitted she loves you, Matt. All you have to do is grovel a little. Men do it all the time. It isn’t all that painful.”

“But that’s the beauty of it, Brad. I won’t have to.

Syntex is salivating to get us. It’s their idea, let them do the courting. Olivia gets national syndication... and me.

Everybody wins. We’ll be working together and everything else will fall into place.”

Brad shook his head. “You are one pathetic son of a bitch. Do you want me to keep talking to TLK?”

Matt shrugged. “It can’t hurt to have a fallback, but there’s no way they can match Syntex’s offer.”

Hanford picked up the check and gave Matt one last look. “You seem pretty sure of yourself. What if Dr. Moore’s not interested? She told the world she loved you over three weeks ago, and you’ve been on a dating rampage ever since.”

Matt shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He had screwed up the whole communication thing pretty royally, but if there was one thing he figured he could count on, it was Olivia’s ambition.

As much as she’d hated the idea of the food bank remote, she’d gone along to protect her career. She might want to chew him up one end and down the other, but there was no way the Olivia he knew was going to turn down the offer of a lifetime.

“I may not know a hell of a lot about relationships, Brad, but I do know Olivia. This is exactly what she’s been working toward since I met her; there’s no way in hell she’s going to turn it down.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

Work with Matt Ransom? I’d rather slide down a sharp razor and land in alcohol!” The faces regarding her from around the conference table registered shock and disbelief, which, Olivia suspected, made them mirror images of her own.

Unsure what to do next, she stood up and gathered her things. Her agent, Karen Crandall, stood more slowly, telegraphing her reluctance with every tortoise-like movement.

“Olivia,” she said, “why don’t we sit down and hear what they have to—”

“No, I’m sorry. I’d love to be a part of Syntex Communications, and a male/female counterpoint show is very tempting, but I can’t do it with Matt. How do you argue thoughts and feelings with a man who won’t admit he has any?”

“Liv Live’sa great show, Dr. Moore,” Syntex’s CEO, Edward Simms, said. “But we already have several call-in advice shows. You and Matt Ransom together eat up the airwaves. A star vehicle likeThe Way We See Itdoesn’t come along every day.”

Olivia looked Edward Simms straight in the eye. She opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again. She wasn’t sure she had the strength to turn him down again.

This was the opportunity of a lifetime. And it was totally wrong for her right now. She needed to say no and mean it. Just as she should have said no when Crankower wanted to lock her in that apartment with Matt.

She’d known then that being in that kind of proximity and under that kind of pressure with Matt was an emotional disaster waiting to happen, but she had ignored her survival instincts because of her need to be the last talk show host still standing. Once again she was being forced to choose between emotional health and professional success. As she’d told her listeners over and over, a person was nothing more than the sum of her choices.

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