Read Online Can't Touch This by Marley Gibson - Free Book Online Page B

Orr, Ted Williams, Larry Bird and four others I’ve never heard of.  Guess they didn’t like my seven dwarfs idea.
    “Be right there,” I say, eyeballing Griz.
    “I still have to hear about your trip and whether you and that hunky Kyle got it on,” Griz says in a stage whisper.
    Why does she keep doing this to me?  I know I’ve had your stereotypical bad date syndrome in the past, but she’s not doing anything to help by pushing me at a work guy.  “Would you be quiet?” I say shushing her.  Down the hall, Jack signals for me to hurry.
    “We’re not done, Vanessa,” Griz calls out after me.
    “I’m sure we’re not,” I mutter.
    I step into the room full of sales and client service people there to send Aislin off into motherhood.  There are presents lining one table and piles of fresh bagels and cream cheese down the middle of another.  There’s also a sheet cake with a picture of a stork on it.  Aislin, about to burst at the seams, starts to cry over the gesture.
    I covet a slice of cake, but move back into the corner of the room so Jack can give a quick speech.  “We’re going to miss her, but Vanessa and I can hold down the marketing fort while she’s gone,” he says.
    “Think you can handle it all?” Ted asks me.  There’s a blob of pink icing in the threads of his goatee and I find it hard not to focus on it.
    “Hey, it’s my opportunity to prove my worth, right?” I say.
    “Jiles likes team players.”
    “Well, that’s who I am.”  I’m going to be one of the company’s best.
    Aislin sits in front of me and scoops a bite of cake into her mouth, then says, “You’ve talked to Kyle Nettles about his client services plan, right?”
    “We talked a little bit about it on the plane,” I say.  “He’s a nice guy.  Wicked cute, too.”  I lick cream cheese off my fingers and hope Aislin didn’t catch the last bit.
    Did I really say that out loud?  I have to watch myself.
    “Did I hear my name?”
    I smell him before I see him.  A tangy, citrus scent that mixes lightly in the air.  Panic zips through me as I wait to see if he heard what I said.  It doesn’t look like he did, so I let out a relieved sigh.  It’s true, though.  I bet the girls back in research already have the skinny on everything Kyle-related.  I’m still afraid he’s just a Jiles Wannabe.  Plus, he’s for looking, not touching.  A no-fly zone, so to speak.  Good thing for company rules, otherwise, I’d be obsessed with this guy.  But I’m Vanessa Virtue, marketing professional.  I’m focused.
    I swallow hard and say, “Aislin and I were talking about your customer service plan.”
    Kyle nods his head and presses into worker-bee mode.  I notice he’s wearing the same color scheme as Jiles and the Willies and wonder if they called each other this morning to see what the others were wearing.  Is he really this much of a suck up or is it just dumb luck?
    He explains.  “We want to do this ten city tour with client round-table discussions to address concerns they have.  We’re trying to be pro-active and start a dialogue.  I can’t worry about booking the room, making sure there’s water on the tables, what’s for lunch...so, that’s where Vanessa comes in.”
    Aislin nods.  “Right up your alley.”
    I’m still blinking hard over the term “start a dialogue.”  Do they teach you to talk like this in business school?  No wonder our American economy is in such a challenge when companies and clients can’t just talk to each other.  They have to “start a dialogue.”
    Jack feigns interest in the business-talk as he flips through the “Curious George” book I gave Aislin for the baby.  “Oh, this is the one where George eats the puzzle piece and goes to the hospital,” he exclaims.
    “I had a crush on The Man in the Yellow Hat when I was a kid,” Aislin adds.
    “Me too,” I admit.
    Kyle snickers.  “You like tall men, don’t you?”
    Taken aback, I ask, “What do