Too Close to Touch by Georgia Beers Read Free Book Online Page A

Gretchen’s enormous mahogany desk, perched her pad on her knee, and waited for Gretchen to Þ nish typing whatever it was she was working on. Charts, graphs, and computer reports were strewn all over the desk’s surface. A long-cold mug of coffee sat on a leather coaster near the keyboard.
    Gretchen’s brow furrowed with concentration as she switched from her computer keyboard to a large adding machine, then back, her lips pursing and un-pursing as she thought about her task. Kylie watched Gretchen’s hands as she typed, admiring them. They were small and feminine, but looked strong, like Gretchen could go from typing or applying make-up to climbing a ladder or swinging a hammer
    • 43 •
    GEORGIA BEERS
    without missing a beat. She’d taken off her black suit jacket and tossed it over the back of her chair, the red short-sleeved shell giving Kylie her Þ rst view of Gretchen’s bare arms. Her smooth, porcelain skin looked impossibly soft, and Kylie was embarrassed to realize she wanted to touch it, to test its softness with her Þ ngertips. She swallowed and quickly looked down at her pad as Gretchen Þ nished what she was doing.
    “So. I noticed you had lunch with the reps yesterday.” Gretchen leaned her forearms on the desk and focused serious eyes on Kylie.
    Kylie nodded, wondering when Gretchen had seen the group of them. “They had a few tables in the cafeteria and asked me to join them.”
    “I don’t suppose they were happy about the meeting.”
    “Um, no.”
    “And how many calls have you gotten from them today?”
    At that, Kylie chuckled. “A few.”
    “They’re going to try to get you ‘on their side,’ you know.” She made quotation marks in the air with her Þ ngers. “They think I’m the Snow Queen or something.”
    Kylie pressed her lips together and nodded again. Actually, it was Cruella De Vil. The woman obviously knew what kind of reputation she conveyed. Kylie made no comment.
    Gretchen laced her Þ ngers together and leaned her chin on them, studying Kylie for several long seconds. Arching one eyebrow, she stated simply, “You think I was too hard on them.”
    A dozen responses leapt into Kylie’s mind and she opened her mouth to speak in her own defense. Something in Gretchen’s gaze wouldn’t allow her to settle on anything but the truth, however. She let out a breath. “Yeah. I do.”
    “How so?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “How was I too hard on them?”
    Kylie squirmed slightly in her chair, feeling like a deer caught in the headlights. “I…maybe…” She had no idea how to phrase what she wanted to say without sounding completely out of line, and she felt some resentment begin to bubble at being put on the spot. She stammered instead, “Um…”
    Gretchen sighed. “Just spit it out. It’s not rocket science. What would you have done differently?”
    • 44 •
    TOO CLOSE TO TOUCH
    “I think…” Kylie cleared her throat. “I think you could have been a little nicer.”
    Gretchen seemed to absorb the statement and nodded slowly. “A little nicer.”
    “Yes.”
    “Interesting.” Gretchen continued to nod, but her gaze hardened.
    “First of all, I’m not here to be nice. If a few blunt words are all it takes to make Roxy cry, she needs to grow some thicker skin.” Gretchen sat back in her chair and folded her arms. “Second, their numbers are way down and they all need to get their shit together. This isn’t high school.
    It’s the real world and they need to start acting like grown-ups.”
    Kylie felt herself becoming defensive and didn’t like it. After all, she’d worked with these people a lot longer than Gretchen had. “You don’t even know them. They’re the best sales team on the east side of the country, Gretchen. They’re good salespeople.”
    She knew she might have crossed a line when she saw Gretchen’s eyes ß ash. “Are they?” Gretchen asked. “Have you seen this report?”
    She tossed one of the computer printouts in Kylie’s