Must Like Kids

Must Like Kids by Jackie Braun Read Free Book Online Page B

Book: Must Like Kids by Jackie Braun Read Free Book Online
Authors: Jackie Braun
Tags: Romance, Contemporary, kiss
office on Monday, meaning she was responsible for making the coffee. After setting it to brew, she booted up her computer. She heard the maker gurgle out the last bit of java and went to pour herself a cup. Then, seated back at her desk, she picked up the telephone and got down to work. She called Dexter Roth first, touching base with him on the progress of the marketing team’s current strategy. With that marked off her lengthy to-do list, she dialed the first of several contacts she’d plucked from her bulging Rolodex.
    Over the course of a decade in business, Julia had learned which ears to plant a bug in when she needed to generate buzz. Since time was of the essence, she started with the local network television affiliates. Their morning shows, which ran on soft news, were always hungry for a hot topic to pull in viewers. Thanks to his verbal gaffe, Alec was definitely that. Indeed, she was banking on the fact that he was hot enough the networks might wind up picking up the story, too, and air it nationally. That would save them time and perhaps even some travel.
    By ten o’clock, she had Alec booked for that Thursday on Rise & Shine, Chicago! On Friday, he was set to appear on a popular Windy City radio program The Morning Commute with Leo & Lorraine . Julia hadn’t cleared either time with him in advance. She figured she’d made it plain to him already that job number one at the moment was damage control. If that meant rescheduling meetings and finishing up paperwork on off hours, so be it. That shouldn’t be a problem for him since he already worked evenings and could be found in his office on weekends.
    Alec didn’t sound pleased when she called him at eleven with an update on the week’s itinerary.
    “ Rise & Shine, Chicago ? The last time I caught that show the featured guest was a dog that had been trained to use indoor plumbing.”
    “I bet that generated good ratings for the show. My hope is that so will you.”
    “Are you comparing me to a domesticated pet?”
    “I wouldn’t dare.”
    He mumbled something under his breath.
    “Bad weekend?”
    “No. It was fine. I went out on a date Saturday night. You?”
    He said it like a challenge.
    “Home with the kids. Boring by your standards, I’m sure. We made popcorn and watched a movie.”
    “What was the movie?”
    It almost pained her to say it.... “ Parent Trap .”
    She thought she heard him chuckle. Then he was all business. “I thought I was going to be doing events out in public.”
    “You will do those, too,” she promised. “But the TV appearance and the radio segment will help drum up interest in the meantime and, hopefully, start to shift the current tenor of public opinion.”
    Again, he muttered something she couldn’t quite catch, but he agreed, so she went on.
    “You also may be getting a call from a Sun-Times reporter in the next day or two. I gave her both your office number and your cell. Her daughter attends school with mine. I ran into her over the weekend at Danielle’s soccer game.”
    “Calling in favors?” he asked.
    “I suppose it could be viewed that way, but I don’t tell Lori Mercer what to write. I offer ideas that she may or may not find intriguing enough to follow up on. If she calls you, you can set up an appointment, but get in touch with me before you do the actual interview.”
    “Sure.” He waited a beat, then asked, “Did they win?”
    “Who?”
    “Danielle’s soccer team.”
    “Oh. Yes. Two to nothing.” Even though it wasn’t necessary, she added, “She blocked a couple of really tough shots.”
    “You sound proud.”
    “I am. Very.” Julia was smiling when she glanced up to find her assistant standing in the open doorway. Sandy was holding the coffeepot, her brows raised in question. Julia didn’t think the question was whether or not Julia wanted a refill. Even so, she beckoned for Sandy to come in and held out her half-empty cup for a warm-up. For Sandy’s benefit as well as her

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