Without a Hitch by Andrew Price

it’s ambiguous
whether you use it or not, or did I say it’s ambiguous except when you use it? 
Different people will interpret it differently.  The word ‘may’ can do the same
thing, so use ‘can’ or ‘must’ instead.  When you choose your words, make sure
you put them in the right order.  There’s a huge difference between ‘I badly
need to write’ and ‘I need to write badly.’”
    “What about
substance?” Theresa asked.
    “Wilson speaks
in buzzwords to hide his ignorance.  Use words like ‘the mission,’ ‘goal
oriented,’ ‘forward looking,’ and ‘paradigm’ as substitutes for real analysis. 
Just don’t use too many at once.  He’ll probably want to tell a couple of
jokes, nothing too offensive, but make sure the punch line leads into the point
he’s making.  I’d throw in some statistics to give the whole thing an air of
thoroughness.”
    “I should just
give this to you to write.”
    “I could be
talked into that.”
    Theresa tensed
up.  Her romantic interest in Corbin sometimes resulted in her ascribing
particular meanings to otherwise innocent words and phrases.  It often took
Corbin a few moments to realize they were no longer talking about the same
thing.
    “What have you
got in mind?” she asked, folding her arms tightly.  Her leg shook nervously.
    “What have you
got?” Corbin asked, still unaware of the change in Theresa’s attitude.
    “How about a
beer at that bar of yours?” she suggested.
    Before Corbin
could respond, Molly appeared at the office door.  Although she could not have
missed Theresa’s presence, Molly initially acted as if she didn’t see Theresa. 
“Hey Corbin, I’m going for coffee, you want to—,” Molly stopped mid-sentence,
having “now noticed” Theresa.  “ T !” she exclaimed with a false smile. 
“I didn’t see you.”
    Theresa
shuddered.  “Am I doomed to find you everywhere I go today?” she asked
rhetorically, without turning to face Molly.
    “You should be
so lucky,” Molly responded.
    Theresa and
Molly kept running into each other all morning.  After an initial exchange of
pleasantries, each encounter became progressively more combative, with both
doing their best to get under the other’s skin.  Molly was winning, because
Theresa misunderstood the game.
    “What can we do
for you, Molly?” Corbin asked.
    “I just came to
see if you wanted to get coffee with me.  I know how much you enjoy our
chats.”  Molly replaced her usual sarcasm with a pleasant, if not downright
affectionate manner.  This made Corbin suspicious.
    “No, it’s pretty
close to lunch time.”
    “Oh, lunch
sounds like a good idea.  Where are you going?”
    “I’m not sure,”
Corbin lied.
    Molly walked
over next to Corbin.  Theresa, still sitting on Corbin’s desk, sat about a foot
to Molly’s right.  “That’s a fantastic tie,” Molly gushed, as she reached out
and stroked the yellow geometric shapes on Corbin’s blue and silver tie.  “Where
did you get it?”
    Corbin saw Molly
sneak a peek at Theresa, which told him the reason for her overly-friendly behavior. 
Flirting didn’t come easily to Theresa.  And while she was aggressive in her
pursuit of Corbin, one thing she seemed unable to do was make physical
contact.  For Molly, however, touching was just part of flirting and flirting
came easily to her, especially when she didn’t mean it.  Rubbing her fingers
along Corbin’s tie was intended to taunt Theresa.
    “Nordstroms,” he
said, retrieving the tie from her hand and leaning back out of her reach.
    “It’s really
nice.  So, what were you saying about lunch?”
    “He wasn’t,”
Theresa spat out.  She wrinkled her brow and folded her arms even tighter.
    Molly let her
jaw drop and covered her mouth with her hand.  She wagged a finger back and
forth between Corbin and Theresa.  “Oh gosh, did you two. . .?  I’m sorry, I
didn’t know you two already had plans.”
    “Drop it!”
Theresa