Oh, Keep Your Shirt On - Michelle Pennington Page 0,32
my life—like my dad, a stepdad, several of my mom’s boyfriends, two stepbrothers, and a sweet neighbor lady who was the closest thing to a grandma I’d ever had. I’d even made a friend when I was fourteen—a loud, aggressively protective girl who helped me survive eighth grade as the only girl whose boobs didn’t grow in. But because of my mom’s romantic failures, she’d continually torn me up, broken any roots I’d put down, and moved me on to a new lonely existence.
So I knew from experience that keeping to myself was key to self-preservation. Losing people hurt too much.
Which is why it made absolutely no sense that even after realizing the trouble I was in, I tangled my life with Damien’s even further. But in my defense, Tessa needed help.
Monday was the lamest day of the year—Valentine’s Day. I’d completely forgotten about it until I arrived at work and saw flowers and a heart-shaped box of chocolates on the receptionist’s desk. When I walked by Tessa’s office, I saw that she, too, had been visited by the Valentine fairy. A teddy bear which probably weighed as much as I did regarded me solemnly with his black, unblinking stare. Unlike the other women at work, however, the very public display threw Tessa into a panic. I’d come to think of Mr. Jennings as an intelligent man, so I had no idea why he’d made this misstep. Probably because he’d gone out of town and guilt had overcome his common sense.
So he wasn’t there to see all the women crowding into Tessa’s office, begging her to divulge her Valentine’s identity. I watched her struggles through the day, wishing I could help somehow. Finally, Mr. Jennings sent me an email that gave me the perfect excuse to go talk to her. As soon as I saw Angela leave, I headed across the hall to Tessa’s office.
I glanced through the glass before I knocked and saw her staring up at the ceiling like the solution to her crises might be written there. When I knocked, she jumped about four inches into the air. “Come in.”
If only I knew how to look concerned so she’d know I understood and was ready to help, but I probably more nearly resembled a dispassionate robot than an angel of mercy. “Mr. Jennings asked me to set up a meeting with you for five-fifteen.” I waited for her reply, but she’d gotten lost in her thoughts again. After a long pause, I finally prompted, “Miss Young?”
She blinked but still didn’t answer. Instead, she crossed the room to shut the door. “The meeting is fine. Can I ask you about something else?”
“Yes.” Ugh. I wouldn’t be able to help her if I kept being stiff and awkward like this.
Tessa definitely looked stressed as she clenched her hands together and sat on the edge of her desk. “Have you by any chance heard any rumors about me around the office today?”
“No,” I answered honestly, even though I knew where this was going. “But then, I’m not exactly friends with anyone. I doubt anyone would tell me even if there are rumors.”
“Angela told me that people think Logan and I are having a fling.”
Despite having all the sympathy for her in the world, her perplexity tugged at my sense of humor, making me smile slightly. It hadn’t been hard to figure out. Every look they shared, the way their tone of voice changed when they spoke to each other or about each other, and even their body language gave away their feelings. Mr. Jennings’s boneheaded gifts were just the latest and most obvious giveaway.
Honesty was surely the right way to deal with this. “Well, unless they were all blind, someone was bound to notice eventually.”
“And here I thought we were being careful.”
The fact that she was confiding in me meant a lot. It helped me relax and finally open up. At last, my tone softened and warmed. “Well, it’s not anything you’ve done. It’s just something that sort of hangs in the air between you two.”
“Ugh. What should I do now? I can’t have everyone thinking that, and I’ve just told Angela that I’m dating someone else, but how do I make them all believe it?”
I totally understood why they were trying to keep it a secret. Mr. Jennings had been brought in as a consultant to steer the company onto a more profitable path. Part of his job was making recommendations on everyone’s jobs—who should be kept, who should