Animate Me Read Online Free PDF Page A

of the king-size pillow my arms are wrapped around.
    • • •
    I’m about ten Bucky drawings into my day when Dani slips into my cube. “Have you seen this?” she says. “They’ve asked me to color it. Kevin is planning to make it a storybook. He’s already done a dozen drawings.”
    “On the company’s time, I bet.” I sigh and I reach out for the drawing.
    “No doubt,” she agrees.
    It’s a straightforward view of the couch in Andy’s apartment. I know because I recognize the Darth Vader poster hanging crooked on the wall. In the drawing Andy and I are sitting with our two life-size vinyl girlfriends. He is lovingly brushing the hair of his babe, and I’ve got my hand firmly planted on the large breast of my plastic vixen. Judging from the ‘O’ shape of her open mouth, she’s rather pleased. My eyes are bugging out behind my glasses, and my cheeks are red.

    I make a face, but frankly I was expecting to see a drawing of this the moment Kevin suggested it. It’s just too juicy of an image not to do a caricature.
    “Please tell me this is the only one that includes me,” I urge Danielle, or Dani as she prefers to be called.
    “Yeah, your solo appearance,” she confirms. “As for Andy…well, let’s just say that he will never live down letting it slip that he had to send Brandy back to the factory for some ‘tightening’. I mean, for fucks sake, I almost lost my lunch.”
    I shake my head solemnly, “Yeah, not one of his brighter moments.”
    “Hey, for real — do you have one of these at home too?”
    Thankfully Dani has always felt like one of the guys to me, otherwise I would have passed out in embarrassment. “No! No matter how desperate I ever get I cannot imagine doing it with a doll.”
    “Okay, I overheard one of the assistants mention that when she dropped something off in your cube she saw Google open with the words
vinyl dolls
in the search box.”
    “That’s because I collect the little Japanese vinyl cartoon dolls…they’re collectible, like the ones you can get at Comic Con.”
    “Oh, I love those!”
    “Hey, what the hell was this assistant doing reading my computer screen anyway?”
    “Probably scoping you out. The assistants have a pool going about whether you’re gay or not since you haven’t hit on a single one of them.”
    “Are you trying to kill my afternoon or what? They remind me of the mean girls that bullied me in high school. You know, I was in a good mood until you brought all the rainbows and sunshine into my cube.”
    “Sorry, I just like to know what people say about me, and thought you may feel the same. Just disregard and delete, and we’ll move on.” She turns to leave.
    “Hey Dani,” I call out when she’s a few steps away.
    She turns back and looks at me.
    “Can I get a good copy of that after you’ve colored it? I’m going to frame it up for my Mom for Christmas.”
    She knows I’m teasing her but she smiles anyhow, “Sure thing, Nathan!” And she all but skips down the aisle.
    As unflattering as that drawing is, it’s still a keeper.
    At four-fifteen I’m half-way into Brooke’s office when Brooke’s assistant, Morgan’s, shrill voice pierces my calmness.
    “She’s not here, Evans.”
    Evans? What have I done to her?
    I try to push down my embarrassment. “Okay thanks, Morgan, do you know when she’ll get back?” I ask politely, looking down.
    “Not for the rest of the day. She, Arnauld, and the other execs had a meeting with the management team that came in from New York.”
    My expression falls as I stand with the drink and wonder what to do next. I need to see her and get my Brooke fix, and it hadn’t occurred to me that she wouldn’t be here.
    “I’m onto you, you know,” Morgan brags in her irritating voice.
    “On to me?”
    “These afternoon coffee visits, you’re buttering her up for a pitch. Do you think she’s stupid? I’m sure she knows what you’re up to and it won’t work.”
    “But I’m not doing