Oh, Keep Your Shirt On: A Sweet Romantic Comedy (Shaped By Love Book 2)

by Michelle Pennington

  Only then did I realize that there was no way to make this seem like a no-big-deal kind of favor. Better to just get it all out in a rush. “The woman who hired me at Booms and Nibbles needs a fake boyfriend. I told her you’d do it.”

  He stared at me, unblinking, for several seconds, then got up and went to the kitchen counter.

  “Aren’t you going to say something?” I asked, surprised at his lack of reaction.

  Damien picked up his phone and swept his fingers over the screen, then held it to his ear.

  So rude! Angry at being ignored, I couldn’t hold back a sharp protest. “Hey! I’m talking to you!”

  He held up a finger for me to wait while he wandered back over to his chair and plopped down again. A second later, he spoke into the phone. “Mom, guess what? It turns out that Krista can come to the wedding after all.” One of his eyebrows twitched. He covered the speaker and bent toward me to whisper, “She’s really excited.”

  I just bet she was. “What are you doing?”

  But he wasn’t listening to me. “What’s that? Oh, I don’t know. Let me ask.” He looked at me again. “Should she put you down for chicken or steak?”

  I closed my eyes in defeat. He’d won, and there was no point in denying him his stupid victory lap. That didn’t stop me from giving a grumpy sigh. “Steak.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  As if I wasn’t keyed up enough over Damien coming to the office to play the part of Tessa’s boyfriend, he kept sending me aggravating texts all day, almost as if he was trying to punish me for making him do this.

  You might want to send out an email and warn your coworkers about the eye-candy coming to your office today.

  I’m having a good hair day. Gonna slay some hearts. Hope you don’t fall under my spell.

  Have you considered that Tessa might fall for me and dump the other guy? Sure you want me to come?

  The fact that every one of the texts made me smile as much as roll my eyes didn’t make it any better. The guy was just out of control, and in this mood, there was no telling what he might do once he was in the office. Just in case he planned to do something crazy, I sent him one text in response.

  I’ve got plenty of supplies here to make signs. I could even save them to take to the wedding on Saturday. You might want to watch your back.

  Feeling like I’d for sure shut him up with that one, I put my phone down in triumph—only to pick it up again a minute later when it pinged with a new message. Preparing myself for the worst, I looked over and saw that he’d sent me a picture. Of his bare back.

  He’d taken a selfie in the bathroom mirror with his shirt off. With an arrogant pose that displayed a whole new angle to his athletic build. Clearly the guy didn’t skip back day in his workouts.

  I still hadn’t unstuck my eyes from the picture, despite my burning cheeks, when I got another text from him.

  How about if you watch it for me?

  As embarrassed as if he could see me gawking at his picture, I slammed my phone down hard enough that I had to check for cracks on the screen before getting back to work. But even as I focused on finishing the last few tasks Mr. Jennings had given me, my mind flashed back to Damien’s living room two days ago when he’d said, “Seeing me without a shirt on must really unsettle you.”

  Was he doing this on purpose? If so, why?

  I still hadn’t figured it out when the lunch hour rolled around, and I felt like I should have. There was no way Damien would be trying to “unsettle” me because he was interested in me. I mean, sure the guy flirted with me, but that was just part of his personality. He could no more resist flirting with women than he could resist the need to breathe. Despite my inner wariness, I’d come to just accept and even enjoy that facet of his charm. I felt safe because there was no way he meant any of it seriously. Why would he? I’d seen the girls at his party last week. Not to mention he wanted me to be his date to the wedding because I was scary and intimidating.

  The truth was, he was a friendly guy who didn’t know what boundaries were, and I was his next-door neighbor. One that he had a use for. So, no, he was definitely not sending me drool-worthy photos because he was interested in me like that.

  Finally arriving at that conclusion eased my mind considerably. I was able to relax again until I chanced to look at the time on my computer and saw it was noon. My stomach clenched. Eek! He’d be here soon.

  “Please don’t embarrass me,” I murmured under my breath.

  “Are you talking to me?”

  I looked up, breathing in sharply through my nose when I saw it was Melinda, the owner of the company. Tessa had introduced me briefly before, but we hadn’t spoken since, though she’d nodded and smiled pleasantly on the few times she’d come into the office. Just my luck that the one time I decided to talk to myself, she was there to hear me.

  “No, Ms. Braswell. I’m sorry. I was talking to myself.”

  She chuckled. “No worries then. I have a lunch appointment with Logan. Do you know when he’ll be free?”

  “He’s probably ready now. Should I let him know you’re here?”

  “Please. I’m starving.”

  I jumped up and went around to knock on Mr. Jennings’s door. When he called for me to come in, I peeked inside. He was on the phone but had paused his conversation. “Ms. Braswell is here for your lunch appointment.”

  He nodded. “Thank you, Krista. Tell her I’ll be right out.”

  Closing the door behind me, I returned to where Melinda waited next to my desk, scrolling on her phone. “He’s finishing a phone call but says he’ll be right out.”

  She smiled, not taking her eyes from her phone. “Thank you. Will it make you uncomfortable if I wait here?”

  “Not at all,” I said, even though it did. She owned the whole company, after all. There was nothing else to do but sit down at my desk and try to look like my normal, calm self until she left. But then I got another text from Damien that made my heart beat uncomfortably again. I could read his whole message just on the notification bar.

  I’m here. Watch me rock this.

  “You know,” Melinda said, bringing my attention back to her again, “I keep thinking that you look really familiar, but I can’t figure out why.”

  Caught by surprise, since my mind was so focused on the whole Damien thing, I just blinked at her. “I…don’t know.” After trying to decide if she looked familiar to me, some wispy memory flashed through my brain, but it was so ephemeral I couldn’t figure out what it was. “I recently worked as a hostess at The Loft. Was that it?”

  Her eyes swept over my face, her eyes narrowed slightly as she studied me. “Maybe. I’ve eaten there before.”

  Mr. Jennings came out of his office then. I saw the way he glanced into Tessa’s office before he turned toward Melinda. “Sorry I kept you waiting. Are you ready to go?”

  Melinda glanced at me one more time but stepped towards him with a warm smile. “Yes. Let’s go.”

  I relaxed as they walked away. I listened as Melinda continued speaking to him. “You look stressed. Is everything okay?”

  I couldn’t help shaking my head because Mr. Jennings was not the only one stressed, and things were definitely not okay. And, oh dang… If Mr. Jennings was heading out through the front just as Damien came in, they were sure to meet.

  And then, right on cue, Tessa left her office and headed for the elevator.

  Yep. They were on a collision course.

  All I could do was wait in growing stress until I heard the elevator open down the hall. I stood up and leaned over the counter, desperate to see if everything was okay. When I saw Damien, tall and every bit as handsome as he thought he was, everything just seemed to stop. Seeing him here in the office in jeans that hugged his backside in just the right way and a blue, collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to show off his forearms was almost like looking at a stranger. But a stranger that I felt oddly possessive about.

  Why did it bother me to watch Tessa tug
on his arm and then whisper something in his ear? He said something I couldn’t understand, then nodded at me and let her lead him away.

  I could just imagine the reaction he would get from the other members of the staff since Tessa was taking him to the break room to eat the food he’d brought with him. And that was, of course, the whole reason we were doing this. I had to firmly remind myself of that in order to stay in my seat for what seemed like an excruciatingly long time. I tried to take my mind off whatever was happening in the break room by eating the peanut butter sandwich I’d brought from home while scrolling through one of my favorite online art galleries.

  It didn’t do much good.

  When Melinda and Mr. Jennings got back from lunch, he came over to my desk. “I’ll be working from my hotel the rest of the day to finish up my report. If anyone desperately needs to get a hold of me, they can contact me there, but otherwise, don’t let anyone know where I am. I’ll be back briefly in the morning before I’m gone for good, so in case I don’t get the chance, I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done. You definitely reduced the chaos and distractions that were impeding my ability to work.”

  “You’re welcome.” Unable to help myself, my eyes flashed across to Tessa’s empty office. “Even though some distractions were beyond my control.”

  He grinned. “Well, I didn’t want to be saved from all of them.” But despite his smile, he seemed restless and on edge. He looked at his watch and asked, “Don’t you think they should be done eating soon?”

  I was in full agreement with him. “Any time now, I’m sure.”

  Instead of waiting in his office like I had to, however, Mr. Jennings headed for the elevator. Me? I just had to kick my heels and scroll through more art. But since I’d ended up slouched over my desk with my head propped up on my hand, I missed seeing Damien leave. I only knew when I heard Tessa go back into her office.

  And if things had been weird so far, they continued to get more ominous as the afternoon went on. Everyone knew that Mr. Jennings was making his final report for Melinda. An air of nervous waiting seemed to hang in the air.

  Massively curious, I could only suffer as time dragged on. With Mr. Jennings gone for the rest of the day and basically done with his work here, there was almost nothing for me to do but sit and try to look busy. It was the worst. I was on the point of going to beg Tessa to give me something to do when Melinda beat me to her office. I spied on them as covertly as I could from my desk. It seemed to be a completely relaxed conversation from what I could see of Melinda’s posture, but something big was happening.

  Even though I had no idea what it was, I couldn’t help but wonder what that would mean for me.

  When Tessa left work early without even glancing at me, a heavy air of hurt hovering over her, I began to feel like maybe something truly terrible had gone wrong.

  My phone rang, scaring me so badly I squeaked. When I saw Damien’s name, I answered before the third ring. “Why are you calling me?” I winced at the accusatory frustration in my voice, especially since it was only partially caused by him.

  But as usual, Damien wasn’t at all bothered by my grouchiness. “I’ve been debating whether or not I should tell you something. I have no idea if it’s a big deal or not, so I figured I’d let you decide.”

  “Well, what is it?”

  “I met Melissa Braswell in the lobby when Tessa came down to meet me. She acted like she didn’t know who I was, but from the way she kept looking at me, I knew something weird was going on. She even made a joke about my last name being Little. I don’t know, it just felt weird, but I played along and acted like my usual charming self. But then on my way home, it hit me who she was.”

  “Are you going to just spit it out or what?”

  “She’s my ex-girlfriend’s mother.”

  “How many ex-girlfriends do you have?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t counted. But look, this is the one my mom wants me to get back together with. The one that’s going to be at the wedding.”

  I closed my eyes as I realized what he was saying. I’d just set Tessa up with a fake boyfriend who was the ex-boyfriend of her boss’s daughter...who apparently was still obsessed with him.

  At best, it was a weird and awkward coincidence. At worst…this could be very, very bad.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The next morning when I got to work, I watched anxiously for Tessa, but for once, she hadn’t arrived early. Mr. Jennings had, however.

  “Krista, I need your help,” he said after a quick greeting.

  I studied him, noting an air of excited expectancy about him instead of his usual calm. Hopefully, that meant good things were coming for Tessa. I’d worried about her—and by extension, myself, all night. “Of course. What do you need?”

  “I need to have a private, uninterrupted meeting with Tessa this morning. Can you make sure there are dry-erase markers in our usual conference room?”

  A warm glow at being trusted filled me. I would miss working for him. I just hoped I would be able to develop such a good working relationship with the new CEO. “I’m on it,” I said, hurrying to leave my things at my desk.

  When I went to the conference room, the only marker in sight had dried out because someone hadn’t gotten the lid on tightly enough, and it took me a few minutes to find more in the supply closet and set them out for Mr. Jennings to use…for whatever he had planned.

  As I walked back to my desk, I glanced into Tessa’s office and saw her and Mr. Jennings in the middle of what looked to be a tense discussion. From the way she stood, something was seriously wrong. But all I could do was go to my desk and be ready to help any way I could.

  Just as I sat down, Melinda popped out of her office, looking cheerful. “Oh good. There you are, Krista. Will you have Tessa come in to see me as soon as she’s free?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Thank you.”

  I looked across to Tessa’s office and saw her step back against the glass with Mr. Jennings only inches away. Then his hand landed on the glass over her head as he stared down at her, speaking with an intense, angry expression.

  Look away, Krista! But I couldn’t.

  Good heavens. Was he going to kiss her? Right here in the office?

  Apparently not. Seconds later, he strode out of her office on a wave of palpable emotion and disappeared into the elevator. I was left blinking and horrified at the realization that I now had to go in there and tell Tessa that Melinda wanted to talk to her.

  Gathering all my courage, I went over and knocked as lightly as possible. When Tessa opened the door seconds later, I concentrated on maintaining a calm, neutral expression that wouldn’t betray the fact that I’d just witnessed her scene with Mr. Jennings. Or the fact that I saw the tears in her eyes. “Melinda wants to see you.”

  “Thank you.”

  As I sat back down at my desk, I got a text from the last person I expected. Mr. Jennings. Wait for us by the conference room, please.

  My eyes widened. He seemed so confident that she’d agree to go, but I doubted it. Still, there was nothing else to do but head that way.

  While I waited, Angela came out of the bathroom just down the hall. She smiled when she saw me and headed over.

  Great, I hadn’t expected to have to shoo someone away from me.

  “How are those bralettes and swimsuits working out for you?”

  “Well, I’ve only tried on a few of them, but they all fit. In fact, I’m wearing one right now.”

  Her eyes dropped to my chest, almost as if she wanted to strip my shirt off and check the fit for herself. “Oh, I’m so excited. I got a new sample in today that I’m dying for someone to try. Can I give it to you?”

  Aware that Mr. Jennings and Tessa might arrive at any minute, I nodded. “Yes. In fact, why don’t I come by your sample room later?”

  “Sure. I’m going to go ask Rian if she’ll try it out too, so if I’m not there, just come find me.”


  I tried not to look too anxious for her to leave. “Yes. I will.”

  She smiled and waved, her big bangle bracelets clinking on her arms. “You’re going to love it,” she called over her shoulder as she walked away.

  I hurried into the conference room to wait before I got pulled into any more conversations. Less than thirty seconds later, Mr. Jennings and Tessa came in. Whatever had blown up between them, it was obvious that they were a good ways toward making it up again.

  “Good luck, sir,” I murmured to Mr. Jennings as I headed out.

  “Please stay close by to ensure we aren’t interrupted.”

  I nodded and shut the door behind me.

  Being the lookout for a secret romance was surprisingly boring. Whatever they were doing in there was taking forever. After a while, I leaned against the wall and began counting the speckles on the ceiling tiles overhead.

  When they came out, both radiating an almost nauseating level of happiness, Tessa smiled at me. “Thanks, Krista.”

  My smile came naturally. I was truly relieved for them. “Anything you need.” And I meant it, which she probably knew, considering the fact that I’d now arranged a fake date for her with one man and stood guard so she could enjoy a secret make-out session at work with another.

  I was about to follow them, but Mr. Jennings turned back, laughing. “Then you might want to go erase the board in there. And, uh…don’t judge us too much.”

  When I saw what they’d left written on the board, I understood why. Apparently, Mr. Jennings had been presenting some sort of report on how Tessa was attracted to him and how much he loved her. Did love turn everyone into such goofballs?

  One more reason to avoid it.

  Though, if I was honest with myself, I was rather envious. What would it feel like to just throw caution to the wind and listen to your heart?

  After I’d straightened the conference room, I headed back to my desk, but Tessa reached out of her doorway and pulled me into her office.