Page 2 of Heartsmashed
“Oh, get this—my ex-best friend. The one he said he couldn’t stand the whole time we dated.”
I hit the button that played a chorus of boos.
“I just don’t understand what I did wrong?—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, let me stop you right there,” I said. “Don’t you dare take responsibility for your ex being an ass”—I glanced up at Leon, his hand tensed over the bleep button, and decided to give him a break—“unfortunate human,” I finished. “Did he leave anything at your place?”
“Yes, but I don’t even want to see him to give them back.”
“Oh, you won’t be giving anything back. Here’s what you do. Bag it all up. The pictures, the hoodies, anything that reminds you of him. Take it down to a shipping dock, find an empty barrel, and set that—bleep—on fire.”
I grinned to myself and waited for her reaction, but when all that met me was silence, I glanced down to see the call had been disconnected. One look at Leon told me exactly who’d done it, and I growled.
“Looks like my producer didn’t think that was good advice,” I said into the mic. “But trust me, it helps. Next caller, what’s your heartbreak?”
“Yeah, hi. Listen, I’ve been a fan of your show for a long time, but man, it’s gotten depressing lately. All you do is complain about guys and play sad music that should’ve stayed in the nineties.”
I let out a low whistle. “Tell me how you really feel.”
“I feel like you need some therapy.”
“And how much did my ex pay you to call and tell me that? Thanks for the advice, now here’s some for you: suck myass.” I ended the call before he could give me any more shit, and to my surprise, Leon didn’t bleep me out. When I glanced up at him, though, I realized why—he’d been too busy letting my oldest brother, Hudson, into the control room. Wearing his ever-present suit, he held up a to-go bag, which told me that he andDrew must’ve gotten dinner somewhere good nearby for him to stop in. I held up a finger and leaned forward again.
“Let me make one thing clear,” I said. “I don’t hate all men, just the ones that make terrible decisions. And yeah, maybe I come off a little bitter lately, but it’s not like I don’t still believe in love. My moms are about to celebrate thirty-five years together, so it still exists, though right now I’m tempted to believe that’s because they’re women.”
One of Hudson’s brows winged up at that as he stepped inside and leaned against the wall to wait for my next break. I could smell the delicious aroma of whatever was in that bag, and decided to wrap things up quick.
“So if anyone else want to call and give me hell, save your breath. The broken hearts of New York need me.” I pulled up the sappiest song I could find and hit go, giving that caller something to choke on.
Hudson waited until the On Air light went off and tucked the bag under his arm before giving me a slow clap.
I lowered my headphones around my neck and got to my feet to greet my brother. “You approve of that, huh?”
“Just glad to hear you’re not crying anymore.”
“What? I never cried.”
“You did. Every store within a mile radius was sold out of Kleenex for a month.”
Rolling my eyes, I snatched the brown bag from him and flopped back in my chair to rummage through the contents. “I’m giving you a pass, since you brought me food.”
“Sawyer,” Leon buzzed in. “You’d be owing me a year’s salary if I hadn’t caught your mouth in time.”
“Just keeping you on your toes, buddy,” I said, ignoring the way he grunted and cursed in response. I pulled out a pint of wonton soup from my favorite place around the corner and eyed my brother warily. “What’s wrong?”
He pulled at the left cuff of his suit and didn’t look at me. “What do you mean?”
“I know for a fact you don’t like this place, which means you stopped there specifically for me.”
“Because I’m a thoughtful brother?—”
“I would agree, except the last time you did that, it was because you wanted to break the news of Rome losing the vintage microphone Mom and Mama gave me after my first year on air gently.” I set the soup on my desk and crossed my arms. “So what is it this time?”
Hudson opened his mouth like he was going to refute that, but then seemed to think better of it and sighed.
“Fine. You’re right. I just wanted you to hear it from me.”
“Hear what from you?”
