A Man Worth Shaving For: A Sweet Romantic Comedy

by Michelle Pennington

  She laughed. “Heck yeah. Not that I’d want special treatment or anything, but I’m sure we could be professional about it. Besides, who said anything about me seducing him? I’m kinda hoping he’ll seduce me.”

  I was so done. “You couldn’t even get him to take you to lunch. Trust me, he knew exactly why the two of you were hanging around outside his office at lunch. Stop being so obvious.”

  Rian’s sweet expression had turned sulky. “Not all of us get to sit in our office and stare at him all day. Yeah, I saw you watching him too.”

  “I did notice you weren’t wearing a T-shirt today,” Angela said. “And you’re wearing makeup again.”

  “Not because of him.” I refused to blush again. “I’ve worn this shirt at least a dozen times to work.”

  Angela raised an eyebrow at me but didn’t argue further. “Look, we’re just having fun, Tessa. We know we don’t have a chance with the guy, but why not enjoy the thought of it, you know?”

  I looked across the table at the two of them, Angela with her flawless beauty and Rian with her sweet, flower-like prettiness. Both of them were intelligent, capable, and stylish. If they didn’t think they had much of a chance with Logan, my chances must be infinitesimal. Which of course, I knew already, but facing the reality of it was depressing. “Sure. I guess. We’d better hurry and get back.”

  Angela glanced at the time on her phone. “Yeah, I still have to get my sample racks into the conference room. No more talking, ladies. Time to eat.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Normally there would be no reason for an HR director to go to a meeting like this, but Melinda always wanted her whole management team to be informed and invested in our products. I always enjoyed the meetings, but today it was for an entirely different reason.

  I grabbed a seat near the center of the conference table so it would be easy to see both Angela’s presentation and Logan’s reactions to it. As everyone came in, some of them bringing lunch with them, Angela sorted through her product samples with one of her assistants and I saw a lot of lace and sheer fabric. This was going to be hilarious.

  If it had been any other guy, not so much. But chaste, straight arrow Logan who blushed just when he said the name of our company?

  Why I wanted to see him be embarrassed or uncomfortable I didn’t know. Maybe because he had unsettled my whole life. Maybe because Angela had been right about me dressing up more than usual. I bit my lip to stop a smile as another reason occurred to me. Maybe just because he was adorable when he blushed.

  Logan walked in then, and every woman in the room turned to look at him. I watched as his eyes took in the situation. He winced, but it was so slight I wondered if anyone else even caught it. His expression was otherwise flawlessly impenetrable.

  He walked along my side of the table as he went to the head of the room, passing behind me. I was all too aware of how close he passed to me, but I looked down at the table, refusing to glance over my shoulder. Then a folded piece of paper dropped down in front of me, landing on my phone.

  I pulled the note close and glanced left and then right. Since I was sitting between Rian and Dawn, I hesitated to open it. I wouldn’t put it past either of them to read my note, and I had no idea what was in it. Then I rolled my eyes at myself, because really, it wasn’t like it was going to be a love note or something. I opened it and quickly read his message, written in a heavy, careless script. Thanks for lunch. And for saving me.

  I folded the paper again, doubling it over once more, and shoved it down in the pocket of my jeans. Glancing over at Logan as he sat in the chair at the head of the conference table, I gave him a small nod. He responded with a smile, a quick, secretive one. It felt so…intimate—a private connection that only we shared.

  Even turning away from him didn’t settle my fluttering insides. Ugh. What was I going to do about this? Trying to distract myself, I picked up my phone and sorted through emails until Angela called the meeting to order.

  “I think everyone’s here now, so let’s get started,” she said in a bright, commanding voice. “First of all, I’d like to start by showing you a presentation on our last quarter’s sales as well as how our Valentine’s promotion is going with only six days left before the holiday.”

  As she pulled up her power point, I glanced at the calendar on my phone, surprised that Valentine’s Day was so close. Of course, I never paid much attention to it except for business reasons, but it was easily one of our biggest seasons. Sure enough, it was February eighth.

  “Sales for the year-end were strong with Christmas and gift cards in December. Down from our stretch goals, but our projections were close.” She went on to show some graphs with actual numbers before moving to a slide with a lacy red negligee, luckily displayed on a hanger instead of a model. “Red and black were once again the most popular colors for Christmas and so far Valentine’s Day, but surprisingly, our cute nightgown with the heart and arrow print sold more than any of our sexy line, as well as the matching bras and panties.”

  While Angela flashed through each of the individual items and their sales numbers, including which sizes sold best in each, I glanced at Logan. So far, he looked at ease, occasionally writing something in his leather notebook.

  But then Angela turned to the rack. “Now we get to look at everything I’m considering for our summer line. One of the conclusions I’ve made from the last six months is that our curvy girls want lingerie with underwire and plenty of shaping and support.” She pulled a red nightie off the rack that had massive, molded cups and cascades of sheer lace. “This comes in black as well, but I pulled this one because it’s easier to see the design. I got a lot of input from Tessa on this one, so I feel confident it’s going to hit that curvy market well.”

  My face flamed. I was sure it had to be redder than the nightie, and if I could have slid down under the table, I would have. Was Logan looking at me? I couldn’t bring myself to look, but it felt like he was.

  “Do they really want underwires?” Janice asked. “I had one like that, and it creaked every time I moved. It was uncomfortable and totally distracting.”

  “Probably because it was cheap, since it wasn’t exactly made for extended wear. Those things only stay on a few seconds anyway,” Dawn said, looking at Janice like she was an idiot.

  Usually, I handled it okay if the ladies started talking about their personal experiences. I mean, that’s what we all based our opinions on. And maybe mine were purely based on what looked good and felt comfortable on me when Angela forced me to try samples on for her, but there had never been an attractive, single man in the room before. Dang it. This was supposed to be embarrassing for him, not me!

  “Underwires aren’t as popular with women who have small figures, but Tessa assures me that they’re essential for anything above a C-cup. In fact, she’s suggested we sell these by cup size as well as by dress size, which I think is a great idea, since we all know how much variation there is with the female form.”

  My eyes were literally glued to the table. Not surprising, really, since my whole body was paralyzed with mortification.

  “But surely young, perky women don’t need underwires,” Dawn said, her tone dry.

  “Tessa is young and perky,” Angela pointed out in my defense.

  I couldn’t stay quiet a moment longer. “Can we leave me out of the presentation, please?”

  Angela’s mouth fell open slightly. She looked between me and Logan. “Yes. Um…sorry. We’ll move on to panties next, and you didn’t even help me with those this time. But before that, what do you guys think? Should we stick with the lace? Tessa always likes lace because it’s feminine, but I was thinking some really drapey chiffon would be nice too. What do you think, Mr. Jennings?”

  I couldn’t help but look at him then. His eyes were lowered as he jotted something down in his notebook. Dear heavens, what was he taking notes on? But his hand froze, and his neck turned red against the crisp white of his collar. After a long moment, he l
ooked up at Angela. “My opinions don’t matter. Go ahead with your presentation, please.”

  Angela laughed. “Actually, I’d love to see what appeals to men as well, but don’t worry. You can just fill out the survey I always send out after my presentation.”

  Logan looked down, tapping his pen on the table. A sign of annoyance, perhaps? Then, as Angela moved on to showing her new panty styles, his eyes slowly lifted to meet mine. I could have sworn my heart stopped beating. His expression was both apology, commiseration, and something warmer I didn’t dare put a name to.

  Somehow, I had to sit through the rest of the meeting, burning from the inside out, unable to breathe normally. Why had I been stupid enough to come to this stupid meeting? For the next fifteen minutes, I didn’t hear a word Angela said. It was almost like I existed in an echo chamber with the words “Tessa is young and perky” ringing over and over, repeatedly flaying me with embarrassment.

  Then, all at once, Angela’s voice cut through my misery. “Unfortunately, when Tessa tried out the stick-on bra in this line, she had a negative experience with it. Tessa, can you share exactly what happened?”

  “No,” I said, slapping the table violently in reaction. But my response was nearly drowned out by Logan’s.

  “No!” The way he said it was practically explosive.

  A palpable silence descended on the room as everyone looked back and forth between the two of us.

  It was too much. With jerky urgency, I grabbed my phone and pushed back from the table. “Excuse me. I have…something urgent I need to take care of.”

  In the time it took for me to cross from my chair to the door, the women behind me recovered from their shock and burst into conversation, no doubt wondering what the heck was wrong with me. I’d likely have texts blowing up my phone and people dropping by my office all afternoon. Well, there was no way I could face that. I wasn’t sure I could face anybody ever again. I definitely couldn’t sit across from Logan all day. Maybe by tomorrow I’d be able to face him without wanting the earth to gape open and swallow me.

  But there was also no way I could go home just yet, so I gathered up my laptop, a few files I needed, and a notebook and pen. There was a small, rarely used meeting room in the back corner of the office that had actual walls and privacy. Surely I could hide out in there for the last three hours of the day and escape after everyone had gone home.

  Chapter Twelve

  There’s a certain feeling that creeps over the office when everyone’s gone home. Something in the atmosphere shifts around five o’clock, but even without that, I would have known it was safe to come out when I heard the distant, throbbing beat of Hector’s eighties country on full blast. Still, I kept my head down, working because I wanted to make sure everyone—everyone—had left. Finally, when my eyes hurt and my head felt foggy, I glanced at my phone to see the time.

  Unfortunately, that meant I also saw the text notifications from Bossy Man, the ones I’d been carefully avoiding for the last few hours.

  Are you avoiding me? It’s not my fault Angela embarrassed you.

  And thirty minutes later, he’d sent a second text. For the record, she didn’t point out anything I hadn’t already noticed. Except for the lace thing. I made a note of that.

  That last text killed me. I couldn’t take anymore.

  Hector must have finished with the executive hallway, because I could barely hear his music as I entered it. From the sound of it, he must have been cleaning on the other side of the building, which was perfect. I might not blaze with embarrassment when I saw him, but I didn’t feel like making small talk with anyone right then.

  But when I rounded the corner by the elevator and headed toward my office, I glanced automatically into Logan’s office—just to assure myself that he was gone.

  He wasn’t.

  Our eyes met through the glass, and I squeaked in surprise. Apparently, the horror show of my day was not yet over.

  Desperate to get out of there, I dodged through my door and practically ran to my desk. The whole surface was a complete mess as usual, but it was just going to have to stay that way until tomorrow. I didn’t need to work that night, so I put my laptop and files down and grabbed my coat from the back of my chair. As I put it on, I turned around to get my purse and caught a flash of movement in the doorway.

  Logan stood there, watching me with no expression whatsoever on his face. He too wore his coat and held his computer case in one hand. Clearly, he was on his way out, so if I’d waited just a few minutes longer, I would have missed him.

  “You never answered my text.”

  I released a long breath. “Sorry. I was really busy. I’m fine. Thanks.”

  He studied me like he didn’t believe me. “I’ve been waiting to make sure. I even out-waited Bree—which is impressive because I think she wanted to walk out with me.”

  “Huh,” I scoffed. “I’m sure she did.”

  “Any chance she could work somewhere else? Maybe we could hire a temp. I can’t get anything done.”

  “I should have known it was going to be a problem. I mean, I knew it would, just not this bad. Don’t worry, though. I’m taking care of it. Hopefully, you’ll have someone new in a day or two. Depends on how persuasive I am.”

  He still stood in the doorway, not backing up even as I walked towards it, so I stopped and stared back at him, lifting my chin despite the way I quaked inside.

  “I have no doubt you’ll make it happen,” he said at last. “Is there any chance you could tell me you’re okay so I don’t have to worry about you all night?”

  His searching gaze was too much for me to take, so I looked down at his shoulder. “I don’t know why you would.”

  After a long moment, he raised my chin with a gentle touch. “Don’t you?”

  I stared back at him, not sure how to answer because the only thing that made sense was impossible. “I’m fine,” I said at last. “I suppose I’ll live down the embarrassment.”

  “If my presence is what made that so embarrassing, try not to be. I’d hate for that to hang between us.”

  “I noticed your skin was flushed as well.”

  He shrugged and smiled self-consciously—an expression that looked out of place on such a face as his. “I wouldn’t describe my struggles as embarrassment exactly.”

  My eyes widened as the meaning of his subtle inference shot through me. I studied him, but now he was the one looking anywhere but at me.

  Shifting restlessly, he stepped back for me to pass. “It’s late, so let me walk you to your car.”

  I didn’t respond and apparently didn’t need to. As I headed toward the elevator, he closed my office door and followed me. We stood side by side in the elevator, staring at the metal doors as it carried us back to the ground floor of the building, not speaking. Somehow though, it didn’t feel awkward, just heavy with restraint and unspoken thoughts.

  The first floor was made up entirely of stock rooms, shipping and receiving, a few meeting rooms, and the reception desk. Usually it was a storm of activity, so walking through it at the end of the day always felt strange, but especially now, with Logan’s footsteps echoing in cadence with mine. He walked ahead of me as we got to the end of the narrow hallway between stock rooms and came to the back door that served as the employee entrance. He pushed it open and held it with one hand so that I had to squeeze between his chest and the door frame. With so little space, it was impossible not to brush against him.

  As I walked into the parking lot, I was grateful for the blast of cold air that cooled my cheeks. There were only three cars in the lot, my black Corolla, Hector’s old truck, and a sleek Audi that must have been Logan’s—probably a rental. Since Logan’s car was closer to the door than mine, I said, “You don’t have to walk me all the way.”

  “I want to.” His voice was Breef, almost curt—but still his words caught me off guard.

  Perhaps that was why I walked more slowly, even thought my nose was practically frozen.
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br />   “Are you just heading home?” he asked as we got closer. He didn’t seem to be in any more of a hurry than I was.

  “I have to make one stop really quickly, but yeah. You?”

  He nodded. “Well, I wouldn’t call it home exactly, but yeah.”

  Why did my heart squeeze? Surely I was just imagining the somber, lonely tone to his voice. “You must be glad to get back home after trips like this.”

  “It doesn’t matter much, really. I’m never there long enough to make it feel much different from a hotel room.”

  I paused in the middle of digging my car keys out of my purse. “That sounds miserable. Are you going to keep that up for the rest of your life?”

  “I don’t know.” He put his hands in the deep pockets of his coat and leaned against the hood of my car. “I like the work. Diving into a new business that needs help and figuring out how to make it successful is fun. I enjoy the challenge of it as well as the chance to travel and meet new people. But I kind of feel like I don’t have any roots, you know?”

  Who cared if it was cold? Logan looked like a man who needed to talk. “What about your family?”

  “My parents and my sister’s family live near Denver, and my younger brother is in Oregon. I visit them at holidays and on vacation.”

  “And your friend from the other night lives here?”

  “Taylor? Yeah. We were buddies in college, so I called him up when I came into town. It’s the first time I’d seen him in years though, and I haven’t seen him since that night.”

  “Because of Madi, do you think?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know, really.”

  I looked at him a moment and then took a step closer. “Feeling gloomy tonight?”

  “Yes.” His eyes met mine steadily. “Wishing we’d met under different circumstances. Wishing I had a different kind of life.”

  “Does any of that mean we can’t be friends?”

  His lips curved into a smile. “How would you define friendship?”