Read Online Cross-Checked by Lily Harlem - Free Book Online

coming up and needs to study.”
    “So it’s just you two,” Ray said, looking at me, then Brick, then back to me.
    I nodded and sat on the couch. Immediately a guy came up and started fiddling with my wire and a sound pack. He curled the thin black lead up my back, secured one end on the waist of my jeans and tucked the other into the knot holding up my halter. He clipped a minute microphone to the seam of my top and gave me a tiny, transparent earpiece, which I slotted in. I could hear the producer firing out instructions to floor managers. Their answers echoed back loud and clear.
    “Can you hear me? Carly, can you hear me?”
    I turned my head. Who the hell was that?
    “Can you hear the producer?” my young sound guy asked. “In your earpiece?”
    “Er, yes.” I frowned.
    “Excellent, excellent,” came the voice down my ear. “You look great, Carly, it’s only a five-minute slot. Just act natural.”
    “Thanks, yes, yes I will.”
    I glanced at Brick. He was reattaching the microphone on his lapel, frowning as it proved fiddly in his big fingers. I reached over and quickly did it for him trying desperately to ignore the heat from his body radiating onto my hands and arms and the wonderful scent of his spiced aftershave. I needed to keep my cool right now not get hot and flustered by his sexy, overwhelming presence at my side.
    “So, nice and straightforward,” Ray said. “Just a short chat about the charity, the song and the athletes involved and then we break to the video. Nothing to worry about, no trick questions.” He paused, gnawed at the inside of his cheek and studied us both. His eyes narrowed and I wondered what was going through his mind. “It’s all about the result,” he said, grinning broadly and giving a slight shake of his head. “Money for the kids, isn’t that right?”
    “Yep,” Brick said, leaning back on the couch and letting his knee brush mine.
    I crossed my legs away from his. Knee-touching on national TV was not the plan for tonight. I had something else in mind.
    “And here we go,” the voice in my ear said. “Three, two, one, live on air.”
    Ray swung his attention to the camera. “Good evening,” he said enthusiastically. “Welcome to the Ray Lenon Late Show. This week we have an amazing lineup in store for you starting tonight with an Olympic athlete and an NHL hockey star. And on Thursday don’t miss the winner of last year’s best actress Oscar and, wait for it, on Saturday night we’ve got the one and only Julie Harmen, the new belle of the ball on the modeling scene.” He sat forward. “All this and a sneak peek at the song set to raise millions for the children’s charity, Promises. I’m telling you, folks, you’re not gonna want to miss this. It’s the start of something big.”
    Applause rang through the earpiece. I looked beyond the line of cameras. There was no audience, just staff and darkness.
    “So for our first guests,” Ray said, grinning at me and Brick. “Please welcome Orlando Vipers star The Brick along with Carly Flannigan, Olympic gold-medal winner in endurance cycling.”
    More applause.
    I smiled and glanced around at the crew. The cameramen were practically hidden behind their huge lenses. Floor runners clutched clipboards, one held a cable in the air. A sound man maneuvered a furry gray boom above our heads and a light flashed manically above the door. On Air it said in red writing.
    “So tell me, Carly, what’s all this about? We’re not used to seeing the nation’s finest athletes in the recording studio.” Ray leaned forward and smiled broadly. “It’s somewhat of a novelty.”
    I pulled in a deep breath and tried to ignore the producer asking for more light on camera six. “It’s about giving something special to the children of Florida. Not the kids who are on vacation to see Mickey Mouse but the ones who live there, the ones who are sick, the ones who are on the poverty line.” I creased my brow into a frown.