Too Close to Touch by Georgia Beers Page B

time.” She Þ lled Pete in on Kylie and what a competent, helpful assistant she’d been. “We did have a bit of a tiff last week, though I’m sure it’ll be Þ ne.” Her tone was less conÞ dent than she’d intended and Pete instantly picked up on it.
    “What happened?”
    “She disagreed with my methods and made me aware that I’m being too hard on my sales staff—you know, the underperformers I mentioned.”
    Pete grimaced. “Oh, poor Kylie. I guess she’s clear now about that being a big no-no. Poor girl.”
    “It was no big deal. I laid it out for her and she got it.”
    “What did you say? You didn’t make her cry, did you?”
    Gretchen gave him an indignant stare. “No, I didn’t make her cry.”
    “You say that like it’s never happened.” Pete winked at her.
    “Shut up.” Gretchen sipped her wine. “I simply told her that salespeople don’t like being told they’re not doing well, and that it was natural for our team to try to get her to side with them against me. I said I wasn’t there to make friends, and her opinion of my methods didn’t matter, and that I needed her working with me and not against—” At Pete’s aghast expression, she stopped and demanded, “What?”
    “You told her that her opinion didn’t matter?”
    “It doesn’t.”
    “But you told her that? To her face? Jesus, Gretch, way to make her feel valuable.”
    Anybody else would have gotten a sarcastic, angry retort. Pete was different…because he knew her so well and he was usually right.
    Gretchen pushed her remaining vegetables around with her fork.
    “Too harsh?”
    “I’d say yes, but that’s just me. She didn’t cry, so that’s a plus.”
    “No. She just packed her stuff up and left. It was late.”
    “Uh-huh. When was this?”
    • 52 •
    TOO CLOSE TO TOUCH
    “Thursday night.”
    “And how was she yesterday?”
    Gretchen thought back to the previous day and her interactions with Kylie. Work had gone smoothly. Things had gotten done with no problems. Kylie’s friendly, smiling face appeared in her mind, causing the corners of her own mouth to turn up slightly until it occurred to her that Kylie had barely smiled in her presence at all yesterday. She’d been very business-like. Very distant and cool. Very much like Gretchen.
    “Crap,” she muttered.
    After several long seconds, Pete commented, “Interesting.”
    Gretchen’s eyes snapped to his face. “What do you mean,
    ‘interesting’?”
    Pete pressed his lips together, obviously trying to decide how far to push her. “I mean, it’s interesting that it’s bothering you a little bit.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “You like her.”
    “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
    “Jesus, Gretch, relax. It’s not a crime to like somebody. I’m just saying you seem to give a shit about what this woman thinks of you.
    That’s unusual for the Gretchen Kaiser I’ve known for more than twenty years. That’s all.”
    “She’s nice,” Gretchen said, shrugging.
    “And you don’t want her to think you’re a complete bitch.”
    Gretchen sneered at Pete’s feeble attempt to hide a grin. “Well, she already does, so it’s kind of a moot point now.”
    “Uh-huh.” There was a glimmer in Pete’s blue eyes, but he let the subject drop.
    v
    So far, Monday had been complete and utter chaos. The phone rang incessantly. Five times, it was Jason calling to pump Kylie for information. By the third call, she wanted to throttle him. Margo Wheeler was chomping at the bit to see Gretchen, who kept putting her off. With the new Þ scal year beginning on the Þ rst of June, Wheeler needed budgets and sales projections in place. The tone of her voice said she was getting a little nervous. The way Gretchen dodged Wheeler told Kylie she was getting a little nervous, too.
    • 53 •
    GEORGIA BEERS
    Kylie avoided any attempt to be personal with Gretchen. After her dressing down on Thursday, she had sulked, cried, gotten angry, and then