The Boyfriend Bylaws Read Online Free PDF Page B

“You can rest easy. I’m not interested in Steve’s job. Actually, I won’t be working here much longer. I finished my thesis.”
    My stomach sank. I couldn’t imagine Totally Fit without Matt. It just wouldn’t be the same. Out of nowhere, tears sprang into my eyes.
    “Don’t be sad.” He gave me a squeeze. “I’ll still be working out here.”
    What was wrong with me? Matt would have the PhD he’d worked so hard for. I should be happy for him. “Congratulations, Matt. That’s great.”
    The sound of breaking glass broke my thoughts and my eyes darted to the dusty air vent.
    “ Pietro . Look what you do to my desk.” Rudy sounded pretty irritated.
    “Relax, Rudy.” No accent. “It’s not like he knocked his drink over on purpose.”
    “There is glass all over my office. It is sticky everywhere.” Rudy sounded like he might snap. Must be the tension of losing the gym because Rudy normally kept his cool. “ Pietro , just clean up the mess. Go next door, get a mop and bucket, then fix this mess up.”
    “I’ll get it.” No accent so it was Nicollò who offered to get the mop.
    The mop. It finally registered. The mop’s in here.
    The door to Rudy’s office squeaked open and I rolled toward the others momentarily, then scrambled to my feet.
    Seconds later, the janitor’s closet door burst open, and in walked the sexiest guy I had ever seen. Dark hair, dark eyes and the body of a Greek statue. Or, an Italian statue as the case may be. Whatever. Either way, in his Armani suit—and one gold chain—I could see the man was built.
    He stared at the four of us critically.
    We all stood frozen.
    Then, the Italian God made eye contact with me. My knees went weak and I pressed a hand to the wall for balance, unable to speak. If this guy was surprised to see us, he hid it well. His mouth twitched and a dimple formed in his left cheek. “Hello.”
    Words failed me, but I had to do something so I hurried across the small room, removed the mop from the opposite wall, and handed it to him.
    “Thanks.” His dimple deepened and his brown eyes pierced mine as he grasped the mop handle. “I’m Nick.”
    Nick. Out of habit, I glanced down at his ring finger. Bare. He was single. My heart drummed a mile a minute and I breathed in deeply to calmly introduce myself. “I’m aaaahchooo!”
    Both hands flew to my nose and I squeezed my eyes shut. What. Just. Happened? The dust from the vent. This was Rudy’s fault for canceling the janitor!
    I sniffed several times, rubbed my nose, then tilted my head up and opened my eyes.
    Nick’s gaze seemed transfixed on me as he reached into his breast pocket, removed a white handkerchief and held it out for me.
    My heart melted. What a gentleman. I accepted the handkerchief and daintily dabbed at my nose.
    Suddenly, Erica appeared at my side—a hair in front of me actually, holding her hand out to Nick. “I’m Erica Conner and may I just say how thrilling it is to have such an, uh, authoritative man in charge around here.”
    It annoyed me that Erica had stepped up when I’d been here first. Still, I wondered why it didn’t grate on my nerves the way it did when she flirted with Matt. Weird, but the competitive part of me wouldn’t let her get away with upstaging me.
    I rolled my shoulder so it was slightly in front of Erica’s and broke their handshake. It may have been childish, but it sure felt good.
    She narrowed her eyes at me, then she turned back to Nick. “I’m not scheduled to work for another hour so I’d be happy to assist if you need help with…anything.”
    Nick turned back to me—ha!—gave a small smile, then held up the mop. “Actually, I’d better get this to Rudy before he has a coronary. Nice to meet you all.”
    “It was great meeting you.” Erica gushed. “Welcome to Totally Fit.”
    “Thanks,” he said, then stepped out of the closet leaving the door open.
    Erica spun toward the three of us and clapped her hands. “Things around here