THE CRITIC by Dyanne Davis Read Free Book Online

romance writer? No way, no way.  Not after what they’d done to him. In taking Gina from him they’d taken away his opportunity to fulfill his promise to his mother. She’d never asked for much from him, just for him to get married and give her grandchildren before she died.
    He’d known it was motherly manipulation, but still, he’d given her the promise. Why not?  His mother was as healthy as a horse. It had only been when she’d turned up the guilt that he’d convinced himself that he cared enough for Gina to marry her and give his mother grandchildren.
    Two weeks after Gina’s betrayal his mother had been killed in a car accident, leaving Jared feeling guilty for having never fulfilled his promise. Of course common sense told him his mother’s death was a tragic accident and that even if he’d married Gina there would not have been time to give his mother the grandchildren she’d wanted. Still, unbearable grief over losing her had made him focus on his promise to her. He’d been close to both parents, and after his father died suddenly of a massive heart attack, Jared had grown even closer to his mother. After the accident he’d needed someone to blame for his failure to keep his promise, whether they deserved it or not, he’d blamed romance writers for taking Gina from him, thus robbing him of the chance to produce the grandchildren his mother had wanted. 
    Sure, the past weeks had been a lot of fun and he’d called in a lot of favors to go national, but now it was getting dangerous.  He was beginning to feel again.  It was time to stop the game. Jared turned as his office door opened and Derrick rushed in, his face red with excitement, a bag clutched in his arms.
    “Jared, you won’t believe it.  Another bag of mail just came for you.  Man, you’ve gotten more mail in the past two weeks than this entire station has received in two years.  You’re a hit.”
    Jared peered at Derrick.  “Don’t you know how to knock?”  He wasn’t really annoyed at the intrusion but at himself for what he’d been thinking.
    He watched as his boss, the owner of the station, looked down toward the floor as though he were a little kid being scolded. He’d forgotten how sensitive Derrick was in certain areas.
    “Sorry about that, man.  I just got excited,” Derrick apologized.
    “We’ve gotten all the mileage we’re going to get out of this.” Jared paused, knowing how his next words would be received. “I’m thinking of backing off, leaving the women alone.”
    “But you can’t.  I’ve taken out a full page Ad in both the Chicago Tribune and the Sun Times , an opinion poll asking people to vote if they think she should come back on the show.”
    “There’s no way she’s going to do that.”  Jared ignored the hitch in his throat.
    “It doesn’t matter; the whole thing will give us more publicity.  Advertisers are even calling, wanting time on your show. Man, this feud is turning into a real cash cow.”
    Jared gazed at his friend. He had been the one to rescue him from the hell his life had become in Los Angeles. He’d visited when he realized what a deep depression Jared had sunk into after his mother’s death. He’d begged Jared to help him out with his struggling independent television station by coming back to Chicago and hosting a show. They’d both known what Derrick was doing. He’d made up a job for Jared to get him out of L. A., to help him come out of his depression.  He looked at the pleasure beaming from the man’s ruddy cheeks.  How could he deny him a chance to make a go of his dreams? The feud with the writers was bringing money to the station.
    A tiny ping of conscience nagged at him. He was positive Toreas Rose was receiving some flack from this. He could tell from the comments in the letters. He would feel like a real heel if he didn’t try once again to dissuade Derrick.
    “Listen, what if what we’re doing actually ends up hurting the woman?  I never