Page 47 of The Midnight Frequency

“Almost all of the comments have been about your repeat caller.”

“Madison.”

“Yes.”

“Is that a negative thing?”

“No and yes. No, because, hey, any attention from listeners is good. But yes, because you never want your show to turn into a hyper-fixation on something you can’t control.”

“Like if a caller calls in or not.”

“Exactly. I mean, hopefully this Madison calls in a few more times just to fan the flames of interest. But I think it is also smart to pivot some more of your content to ensure long-term success.”

Her words were too practiced, almost as if she were reading from a script. There was nothing of her natural warmth right then. No extra words, let alone the babbling I’d come to expect from her. And found charming in a way I couldn’t explain.

“Pivot how?”

She sighed out her next breath. “Can I not mince words here?”

“You may speak freely.”

“Alright. Well, you can sometimes be a little clipped and, um, unkind.”

“Unkind.”

“Yes.”

“Could you give me an example?”

“There was the woman who called in about her werewolf boyfriend’s shedding habits.”

“Yes.”

“And you suggested that she date someone who doesn’t turn into a dog every month.”

“It would certainly reduce the shedding problem significantly.”

“So you said. But it wasn’t the nicest thing you could have said.”

“I wasn’t under the impression it was my job to be nice.”

“I mean, no. You’re free to be whoever you want to be. I’m just speaking from a place of practicality. The fact of the matter is, most of the people who call into your show are having these little issues with their paranormal partners. And they are seeking the advice of another paranormal because they are worried about how to navigate these issues tactfully.”

“I’m not an advice show.”

“I’m not entirely sure what kind of show you have,” Maggie said, tapping her pen plunger up and down over and over, making the studio fill with little clicking sounds.

“It was meant to be more of an opinion show.”

“The paperwork I have from your hiring claimed that Mr. Lane believed your show was to be some sort of human/paranormal advice show.”

“That may have been part of the meeting,” he admitted.

“Because your old radio show was an advice show, and Mr. Lane wanted to capitalize on the possible nostalgia.”

She’d been looking into me.

The last we spoke, she’d had no idea of my old radio show. Clearly, she’d spent the weekend doing research.