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Kieran caressed his wife’s hand with his. “I guess you’re right. I just…I know Zo and I know my brother and I just don’t want her to get hurt.”

“She won’t. As long as she knows who her boyfriend’s brother is, she won’t get hurt,”

Tiana chuckled, “but for now, let’s get some sleep.”

“Sleep?” Kieran sexily suggested. “I can go for another round.”

“Honey, I need to sleep.” Tiana smiled. “And so does little Tiana down there.”

Twenty-Three

Armed with a triple-shot of espresso in her already too-large coffee, Zoe anxiously sat in her SUV as she eyeballed the entrance to Fits and Giggles. It was still early enough for her to make an escape from the warm comforts of her bed.

And Joey.

Kieran had arrived long before she did, something unusual for him. Oh, she knew he was not happy.

Kieran was always calm and collected, keeping his cool under pressure and always smiling whenever he wanted. Joey’s demeanor after his brother made a surprise visit told a different story. Sex temporarily took Joey’s mind off things but he never quite came back to earth, so to speak, for the rest of the evening. Kieran being angry at Joey was one thing; being mad at him for potentially hurting Zoe was different.

She was up most of the night reworking the designs to Tyson’s Heart, partially inspired by Joey and his sometimes playful demeanor. The real reason she up most of the night was her worrying about her position with Kieran and her relationship with his brother. She felt silly thinking she would be able to keep their relationship a guarded secret from him. Did she honestly feel that Kieran would never find out?

Yes, if she was honest about it.

Silly love emotions aside, Zoe was more concerned about how Kieran’s reaction was going to affect their own working and personal relationship. There was never a romantic interest in each other but they were very close. She often made last-minute dinner reservations for him and Tiana. He occasionally gave dating tips to her from a male’s perspective. They had a working relationship that went beyond professional and even other Fits and Giggles employees were envious.

They were as close – if not closer – than siblings. Now that has changed. Indefinitely.

Forever.

Zoe let out a worried sigh. She knew Kieran wouldn’t fire her because of who she dated.

She was concerned, however, of how their relationship will affect his trust in her to be the designer behind Tyson’s Heart. She knew how important the fashion line was to him and Tiana and how much trust – and money – they both had already invested in her to run the line.

She just hoped that trust wasn’t irrevocably broken.

A chime on her cell phone snapped her out the deep thoughts. She looked down at the

message and smiled. It was from Kieran.

Are you planning to become a vehicle model or do you want to come inside and talk?

Zoe took another big gulp of her coffee and swallowed whatever was left of her pride. If Kieran was going to let her go, it was best it happened that day. She could save face and concentrate on other ventures.

She knew, however, she planned on groveling as much as she good before that happened.

Zoe walked into Fits and Giggles with a brave front on her face and broad shoulders. Even if she felt like crap, she wasn’t going to let anyone see it. Fake it until you make it was the motto of every aspiring actor and musician in Los Angeles. Zoe was going to use that as her cover as she braved Tropical Storm Kieran.

She made a bee-line to his office and was surprised to see him smiling behind his desk, with Tiana standing next to him. They both were happy. Dare Zoe thought,
thrilled
to see her.

“I’m glad to see you finally got out of your truck,” Kieran said, smiling serenely.

“I wasn’t sure if I should.” Zoe dropped her tote bag on the floor and sat in front of her boss’s desk. “I didn’t want to waste anyone’s time if my stay was going to be short.”

“Did you honestly think I was going to fire you?” Kieran raised an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Zoe answered.

Kieran chuckled. “Well, I wasn’t particularly happy that you two hooked up. I know how my brother is,” he admitted, “but I see how happy you are. And I see how happy he’s made you within the past couple of months. I’m still going to talk to him because I don’t appreciate him being all sneaky and coming out here without telling me, but what you two do is between you guys.”

Zoe’s eyes lit up like a child’s on Christmas morning. “You’re okay with us being

together?”

“As long as it doesn’t affect the fashion line, I don’t care,” Kieran conceded, “that’s my main concern at this point. I want your complete and total focus on the fashion line. What you do outside of it, really isn’t my business.”

Zoe folded her arms and a slow smile curled her lips. “Should I thank Tiana for this talk?”

“Yes,” Tiana interjected as she playfully shoved her husband. “I’m only here to make sure he spoke to you and said what he was going to say.”

“Tiana, you’re a godsend.” Zoe breathed a sigh of relief.

“Every so often I have to remind my husband of that, yes.”

****

“Oh hubba hubba hubba….” Liz fanned herself as eyeballed Joey entering Fits and

Giggles. “I love it when a good-looking man comes to visit.”

Margaret glanced up from cleaning the snack tables and made eye contact with Joey. “My, my, my…milk sure does do a body good.”

“Isn’t that one of Kieran’s brothers?” Another F&G worker, Charlene, commented.

“Yes, Lord…” the other ladies said in unison.

“Yes, yes, I scream
yes!
” Liz shouted as the other ladies howled in laughter.

Joey walked into Fits and Giggles, fresh out of a GQ photo shoot. A sharp white dress shirt complemented the dark suit. Hair was lightly tussled. Two large diamond studs adorned his ears that matched the He walked with a confidence that straddled the fine line of swagger and cockiness, as if he owned the place. It was a definite D’Amato brother trait and they all carried it.

“
Buongiorno
. I’m looking for Zoe.” He approached the women.

All of the ladies seemingly took a deep breath and exhaled simultaneously. “She’s meeting with your brother,” Liz finally commented.

Joey sighed. Ah, yes. Today was the day Zoe was going to talk with Kieran and Tiana

about Tyson’s Heart. No, that was a cover. They were going to talk to Zoe about
him
. Tyson’s Heart was an afterthought to what made Kieran pressed – and
pissed
.

Joey glanced at Kieran’s office and saw the blinds were up. Kieran was deep in thought while Zoe showed him and Tiana something on one of her sketches. Joey watched from the sidelines, carefully plotting his role. Should he interrupt? Should he continue to watch and be content in being an outsider?

It was that moment he realized that the situation he was in with Zoe was a different one from his past relationships. It wasn’t that she had her own goals and ambitions; she actually
pursued
them. Every passing moment he was falling more in love with her.

“Three peas in a pod,” Margaret approached Joey from the side as they looked on.

“Yeah, I’m going to wait until they’re done before I go in there.” Joey replied back. He knew the real reason why he wanted to wait but kept that information private.

“Zo doesn’t talk very much about you; I guess for
obvious
reasons,” Liz approached the pair and nodded towards Kieran, “but it’s clear she cares about you a whole lot. I’ve never seen her so happy.”

“Well, I hope to keep her that way.” Joey smiled, “her happiness is all I want.”

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” Margaret folded her arms, “she’s been beaming from ear to ear since she got back from New York not too long ago. I knew there was something more than just her going to meet with fashion designers.”

Margaret’s confession was news to Joey. He knew Zoe met with some people in the

fashion industry during her first trip out to New York; maybe that was what Margaret was referring to. “I support her in any endeavor she wishes to pursue.”

“Well, with the D’Amatos and Tiana backing her up, she can’t possibly fail.” Liz

commented. “That girl has too much talent and ambition to stay still. She won’t be a part of F&G

much longer. She is on her way to do big things.”

Joey smiled proudly. “I hope so.”

****

“So what do you think?” Zoe asked with caution and optimism. “I’ll take your suggestions and make the changes but what about everything else?”

“It’s incredible, Zo.” Kieran was amazed by her work. The sketches were colorful and full of light. Bright colors like orange, red, and cyan filled up the pages with designs that Zoe coined as urban-chic – Rocawear and Sean Jean meets Chanel and Burberry. “I just love them all.”

“I figured we can do lower-priced pieces for Target since you just partnered up with them and the higher-end stuff at Neiman Marcus for the rich and famous. The lines would be under different names so not to confuse anyone.”

“Well, I want Tyson’s Heart for the major brand that’ll hit Target,” Tiana suggested, “and the higher-end brand…hmm…I have an idea. Zoe, why don’t you come up with a name for that one?”

“Oh?” Zoe was surprised by Tiana’s generosity. “You trust me that much?”

“You’ve helped us tremendously so far,” Tiana smiled, “and this brand is just as much yours as it is ours. Why don’t you name it?”

“Hmm…” Zoe thought aloud. “It needs to be something hip and creative.” She began to

pace back and forth in Kieran’s office, with determined eyes and scrunched up nose. A hand was on her chin as she thought long and hard about a good name.

The first name she thought of – From J to Z – was obvious. It was a play on her

relationship with Joey. Zoe then thought about the obvious copyright infringement by the famous rapper and decided to go down another path. She continued pacing back and forth when she stopped and looked through the windows of Kieran’s office.

Joey, Margaret, and Liz were staring back at her. Joey had a proud smile on his face, as if he just witnessed the birth of a child. “Olive juice.” Zoe muttered.

“Olive juice?” Kieran questioned.

Zoe turned around to her boss. “Olive juice,” she beamed. “The new line will be called Olive Juice. Olive Juice for the girls; OJ for the boys.”

“That’s an interesting name,” Kieran wondered, “how did you come up with that?”

“Oh,” Zoe glanced back to Joey, “I was inspired.”

Kieran and Tiana looked past Zoe and saw Joey. “Oh.” Kieran deadpanned. He looked up and caught Joey staring back at him, with a half-smile perched on his face. “Ladies, will you excuse me for a minute? I need to handle some business with my brother.”

Zoe and Tiana gave each other worried looks before they left the office. “Play nice, guys.”

Tiana warned.

“I’m always a nice guy,” Kieran smiled. He beckoned Joey to come meet him in the office.

“They always say that before the knife goes in…” Zoe muttered.

Joey and Zoe gave each other fleeting glances and briefly touched each other’s hands as they passed each other. “Be nice, J.” She whispered to him.

“I won’t cause too much bloodshed,” he whispered back. Joey entered Kieran’s office and closed the door behind him. He took an extra precaution and closed the blinds.

“Oooh…” Margaret’s lips puckered up. “It’s about to be on and poppin’!”

“Shit…” Zoe folded her arms as she joined the other women and stared back at Kieran’s office. “This is all my fault. I should’ve never gotten involved with J.”

“It’s not your fault, Zo.” Tiana reassured. “You can’t help who you fall in love with.”

“I don’t want to come between them,” Zoe frowned at the thought, “I know how close the brothers are.”

“Trust me, sweetheart. It would take a lot more than you dating Joey to come between any of the brothers. They’re pretty tight-knit and unbreakable.” Liz added.

“I hope so.” Zoe couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling. “I just don’t want to be the reason for any problems.”

“You won’t be,” Margaret put a hand on Zoe’s shoulder. “Besides, they’re D’Amatos.

They’re tough.”

****

“So let it all out,” Joey collapsed in a chair in front of Kieran’s desk. “Tell me how awful I’ll be for Zo. Tell me how I’m going to play her and break her heart. Tell me how I’m going to ruin the fashion line. Let’s just get this shit over with now.”

Kieran leaned back in his chair, slightly rubbing his newly-grown goatee. “I’m not upset about you being with Zo, J. I’ll admit I wasn’t a fan of you two being together but I see how happy she is and I see how much she cares about you. What does bother me, however, is that you lied to me being here. That was wrong.”

Joey conceded. “I’ll agree. I should’ve let you and Tee know I was here but I was afraid of the backlash I was going to get if you two knew
why
I was here.”

“It would’ve been tense, yes, but I would’ve gotten over it,” Kieran offered a half-smile.

“We could’ve went out to dinner. You could’ve babysat for us.”

“Yeah, that’s the reason why I didn’t tell you I was in town,” Joey grinned.

Kieran stood up and walked around to his brother, who also stood. “Hey, I support you two together. I still stand by what I said before, though, and that doesn’t change just because I’m cool with your relationship. Just tell me: do you really love her?”

“More than anything, bro.” Joey answered.

“Then we’re good.” Kieran smiled and gave his brother a hug. “Then we’re good.”

****

“Soooo…” Margaret came back from the kitchen, holding a bowl of popcorn. “…did I

miss anything?”

“Nothing,” Liz shook her head. “No screaming, no cursing, no yelling. I mean, hell, what was the point of pulling down the blinds if nothing was going to happen? That’s bull!”

Zoe dropped her folded arms to her sides and made a hesitant step forward. “Maybe I

should go in there and talk to them?”

“Oh no,” Tiana shot her down, “let them handle it. If they start swinging, I don’t want you to get hit.”