Page 14 of Waste
Drew watched as Shelley paled further and studied him before she shook her head. “Thank you, but no. I don’t date. Jo does, however.”
Drew hid a smirk as Shelley threw her colleague under the bus. Jo perked up for a few seconds and sent him a flirtatious smile once more.
“It’s not Jo I’m offering my number to, by the way; my name is Drew,” Drew replied and began walking out of the shop. There was an indignant huff from Jo and an apology from Shelley to her. That rankled Drew. Why was Shelley apologising for him wanting to give her his phone number? Drew didn’t like that one bit.
Shelley
“Shels, guess what?” Jo mock whispered the following day.
“What?” Shelley murmured, in no mood for drama today. She’d spent a restless night tossing and turning. That guy, Drew, had thrown her off balance, and she’d had a couple of nightmares that jerked her awake.
“What?” Shelley asked, only half listening.
“That customer from yesterday. That was Drew Martin for sure! The country singer—he’shugeat the moment,” Jo squealed.
Shelley turned to glance at Jo and noted the extra special effort Jo had made. “You look very pretty today.”
“Yup, I do,” Jo preened. “If Drew comes back, then I want to be ready to dazzle him.”
“Good luck.”
“And Shelley, make yourself scarce if he does. I don’t want you distracting him like yesterday,” Jo warned.
Shelley turned to Jo, indignant. “The last thing I need is unwanted attention. We both know I did nothing to encourage Mr Martin, so stop right there!”
“You think I’m stupid, but I’ve figured out what you’re doing. That whole victim vibe and the distance gimmick are attracting men. Kudos for finding something that works, but you don’t want to compete with me. I saw Drew first, and I licked him,” Jo stated.
Shelley shook her head. “I can’t believe this. If you’re so desperate for a rich husband, go for it. What you just accused me of is despicable and inappropriate for the workplace. Leave me out of your gold-digging schemes,” Shelley exclaimed.
“Be warned, Shelley.” Jo had to have the last word, and Shelley allowed her it.
It was halfway through her shift when Shelley heard the deep voice belonging to Drew. She glanced up and saw Jo in full flirt mode and an expression of distaste on Drew’s face as he interacted with her. Shelley barely refrained from shaking herhead as she wanted to avoid encouraging any verbal exchange with Drew.
“I’ll ring Drew up,” Jo simpered and nudged Shelley out of the way with her hip.
“I wish you wouldn’t,” Drew replied clearly, and Jo tittered.
“Don’t be daft, you can’t mean that,” Jo said breathlessly. Shelley nearly laughed as Jo rang Drew up, and he refused to engage in her conversation. It was even funnier when Jo handed Drew his coffee, and her fingers lingered on his. Drew snatched his drink so quickly he almost spilt it.
“You arenotwelcome to touch me,” Drew spat angrily at Jo, forcing her to hesitate. Then, a bright smile crossed her face.
“You’ll invite me to, one day,” she said confidently, and Drew offered her a scathing glare that made Jo falter again.
“Highly unlikely,” Drew replied and headed for a table.
Shelley squirmed as his eyes focused on her, as if he was concerned, before he ducked his head and read his phone. Shelley ignored Jo as she continued serving customers until Jo straightened, pushed her chest out, and fluffed her hair.
“Was your coffee okay?” she queried, and Shelley looked up. In front of her stood Drew.
“Have you considered taking my number yet?” Drew murmured with a kind smile.
“Oh. No! Look, I’m flattered, but honestly, I don’t date right now. As I said, Jo is free.” Shelley tried directing him back to Jo, but distaste crossed his face. Shelley felt rather than saw Jo flinch.
“Jo is too overdone for my liking and too pushy. I like quiet and calm; I like you,” Drew replied, causing Shelley to blush.
“Shelley is a huge drama queen. She was attacked two months ago and continues to play the victim. You don’t want to be involved with Shelley. Even worse, the police still come aroundasking questions, like how her attacker was killed. Shelley claims to know nothing about it,” Jo said nastily.
With that spiteful comment, Jo sealed her fate. “That was uncalled for,” Shelley retorted as hurt stabbed at her.
