Shelby Nichols Consulting

Summer is always a busy time at my house, mostly because the kids are out of school. Between their activities, my work, vacations, and family events, I hardly have time to sit down and relax. That’s why I wasn’t too happy when Uncle Joey asked me for a favor right after I got home from an exhausting day. But how do you say no to a mob boss?

Grabbing a Diet Coke, I got back in my car and drove to Thrasher Development without taking the time to change out of my shorts and t-shirt. He wanted me there fast, so I figured he’d have to take me as I was. Twenty minutes later, I pulled into the parking garage and hurried to the elevators. Naturally, I glanced behind the pillar to see if Ramos’s Harley was there. Seeing it brought a smile to my face, even though I probably wouldn’t get to go on a ride. Still, I could always hope.

As I stepped into the office, I knew I’d made a mistake by not changing my clothes. Jackie’s brows rose, and she was trying to decide if she should send me into the meeting, or send me home to change. Before she could say a word, Ramos stuck his head out of the conference room.

“Good. You’re here. We need you.”

He didn’t seem bothered by my attire, so I hurried into the conference room. Inside, I found Uncle Joey, along with two men I didn’t recognize. They stood and Uncle Joey introduced me. “I’d like you to meet my niece, Shelby Nichols. Shelby, this is Tyson Lawrence and his brother Jordan Lawrence. They have a new start-up company and they’re looking for investors.”

They each shook my hand, wondering why Uncle Joey had invited me into the meeting. Was he thinking that I might want to invest? I smiled, but had no idea why I was there either. “It’s nice to meet you.”

After sitting down, Uncle Joey explained all about their product which turned out to be an app for keeping track of game scores and stats of professional sports. Why this was important was totally lost on me. I wasn’t really into professional sports. Of course, I watched all the soccer games my son played in, along with a few basketball and football games on TV, but that was about it.

I glanced at the brothers and picked up embarrassment and a little shock – all directed at me. They kept staring at my t-shirt, and thinking that I was going to be in trouble if Uncle Joey noticed what it said. One of them thought it wouldn’t be so bad if Uncle Joey wasn’t a mob boss, but this might just be the end of me.

I couldn’t remember what t-shirt I had on, let alone what it said. Glancing down, I tried to make out the words, but it took me longer than I liked since they were upside down. “If you think I’m crazy, wait till you meet my boss.”

Oops. There were right. I was sure Uncle Joey wouldn’t appreciate it at all. “I’ll be right back.” I pushed my chair back and turned away from Uncle Joey to head to the door. Ramos took in my flushed face, and followed behind me. Out in the hall, I let out my breath and sagged against the wall.

“What’s going on?”

“This!” I pulled my shirt out so he could read it. His brows rose and he wondered why I’d ever wear that to the office. “Hey… I’ve had a busy day, and when Uncle Joey called, I just came over. I didn’t even realize I had it on. I need to take it off before I go back in there. Do you have something in the apartment I could borrow?”

He was stuck on the taking-it-off-part, and imagining me going back in there without a shirt. It reminded him of the time I’d thrown off my clothes all the way down to my underwear. Right in the middle of a field. What a day.

“Ramos… stop that. Do you have something I can borrow or not?”

“Uh… we can go look.” He led the way to his apartment at the end of the hall. Inside, I followed him down a short hallway to the bedrooms. He thought there might be something left from a former girlfriend in the guest room closet, but that was so long ago, that he doubted it.

Since I was desperate, I hurried to the closet and opened the doors. It was empty accept for a bathrobe and a couple of scarves… or maybe that was lingerie? It was hard to tell.

Ramos had gone into his room, so I joined him. He pulled a few things out, but they were so big, I knew it was a lost cause.

“I guess I could always turn my shirt inside out and go back in there.”

Ramos nodded, but he thought that would be too obvious. Besides, he liked the idea of me in one of his shirts. Pulling out a dark-blue, light-weight t-shirt, he handed it to me. “Here… this is pretty tight on me. It might work. Go ahead and put it on. I’ll wait in the kitchen.”

“Okay. Thanks.” After he shut the door, I tugged off my shirt and pulled Ramos’s shirt over my head. It was huge on me, but the color was good, and I could tuck the front into my shorts for that half-dressed-look. Checking the mirror, I decided it wasn’t half-bad, and, even better, it smelled like his warm spicy scent. Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all. I joined him in the kitchen. “I think this will work.”

He glanced at me and nodded, thinking that it was pretty big, making the neckline a little low, but that didn’t bother him… at all. Pulling the neckline up, I followed him back to the meeting and pretended that nothing was different. The brothers didn’t say a word, but they thought I’d barely escaped with my life. Of course they were exaggerating, but I was grateful just the same.

The meeting wrapped up and they left, but I stayed behind to tell Uncle Joey what they’d been planning. At the end of our conversation, Uncle Joey glanced at my shirt. “Why’d you change your shirt?”

All sorts of excuses came to mind. Before I decided on one, I picked up that Uncle Joey had liked my shirt. He thought it was funny. But he had to admit that the moment I’d realized what it said was even funnier. “You should have seen the look on your face.” He chuckled. “All right. I guess that’s all for today. Thanks for coming, I really appreciate it.”

“Sure.” I shook my head and left the room. Smiling, Ramos came behind me and let me into his apartment. I went straight to his room and changed back into my shirt. Opening the door, I found Ramos waiting for me. “Thanks. I guess it was all for nothing.”

“Not necessarily. I enjoyed seeing you in my shirt. If you want to leave a change of clothes here, there’s plenty of room in the guest closet.”

I nearly choked. “Huh… right. Probably not… I mean… how would it look, you know? But thanks anyway.”

He shrugged, thinking it wasn’t that big a deal, but, knowing me, something would happen and I’d get into trouble over it.

I hurried to my car and managed to get home in one piece. What a day… but at least it had all turned out right in the end. Still, from now on, I’d make sure I checked my clothes before I headed into the office.