Paws off the Boss - Casey Griffin (best books under 200 pages .TXT) 📗
- Author: Casey Griffin
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Book online «Paws off the Boss - Casey Griffin (best books under 200 pages .TXT) 📗». Author Casey Griffin
The tennis ball fell at her feet, and she tossed it again. When she leaned back, she found Aiden’s dark green eyes focused on her. Maybe it was a tactic, like one of the seven habits of highly effective communicators. Eye contact would be one, surely. But if that’s all it was, then why did his lingering gaze cause her cheeks to ignite?
“Do you treat the dogs at the rescue center?”
“Not yet,” she said. “But hopefully once I’m registered. I’d like to open a veterinary hospital one day.”
“That’s ambitious.”
Piper shrugged it off, feeling self-conscious. She knew it would be tough. It would mean remaining in her run-down apartment, working a lot of overtime, scrimping, saving, more sleepless nights. But it would be fine. She knew she could do it. She would do it. And at the end of it all, she’d look back and say she did it all on her own.
Sophie won the battle this time and brought the ball to Aiden. He bent down to wrestle with her for a minute, but her grip was too strong. Eventually, he gave up fighting her, and she dropped the ball of her own free will.
She sat on her haunches and waited for him to pick it up, staring at him, like, Come on. What are you waiting for?
He chuckled before lobbing the ball across the expansive park. “Where do you want to work once you graduate?”
“Anywhere, really,” Piper said. “But I want to volunteer more time at the center. Right now, we don’t have the facilities or money to treat the serious cases that come in. Using an outside vet seriously drains our funds, which prevents us from taking more dogs off the euthanasia lists around the city.”
“Really? That’s terrible.”
“Yeah. It is. Once I’m licensed, hopefully I can prevent some of that. We try to save as many dogs as we can and help find them good homes.”
He nodded like he’d ticked off another question on his mental list. “So, I’d like to go over some details and expectations of the job.”
“All right.” Piper didn’t think she could sit up any straighter.
“The wage will be seventy dollars. You can come over—”
“Seventy dollars a day?” Piper interrupted.
“No. Seventy an hour.”
“An hour?” she blurted. “Is that supposed to be a joke?”
He hesitated, blinking in surprise. “Is it not enough?”
“Enough?” Piper stared at him like he’d grown a tail. “It’s too much.” She wondered what would possess him to offer such a ridiculous wage. Who did he think she was, Cesar Millan?
Suddenly, she remembered stumbling into Aiden’s office the day before, wearing hardly anything, and how he’d followed her down to the taxi afterward. Of course. He’d jumped to the same conclusion so many telegram customers had before.
Piper received this kind of treatment all the time, requests for “private parties” or “photo shoots.” How did she not see it before? Probably because she’d never had a request for a dog walker. Plus, there was something about Aiden Caldwell. She’d expected more class from the man.
He doesn’t mix business with pleasure? Yeah, right.
Piper jumped to her feet and swiped Colin’s leash off the bench. He scampered over with the ball, ready to play some more, but the moment he saw her expression, he dropped it. She clipped on his leash and turned back to Aiden.
“Look, Mr. Caldwell. I don’t know what kind of girl you think I am, but clearly you have the wrong idea about me.”
Aiden stared at her, openmouthed, as she spun on her heel and marched away.
Burning with mortification, Piper stomped back the way they’d come through the dog park—which was difficult to do on wood chips. She should have seen it coming. A sexy CEO offering her a job the moment she needed it most? How desperate did Aiden think she was?
Piper, you fool. Of course it was too good to be true.
“Wait a minute!” Aiden called out to her.
She didn’t turn back. She kept her eyes fixed straight ahead, weaving through the packed dog park. The crowd had grown since she’d last noticed. She’d been too busy ogling the man who wanted to proposition her for … well, who knew what?
When Aiden caught up to her, Sophie was in one arm, his coat in the other. “Hold on a second. Wait. You’re mad because I’m offering you too much money?”
She spun to face him. “Seventy dollars an hour? What exactly are you expecting for that kind of wage? Another lap dance like yesterday?”
“I expect you to walk my dog.” His voice rose with what she guessed was insult. “It might be more than your average pay, but that’s what it’s worth to me.”
“You can hire anyone else in this city for less than half that.”
“I’m not asking anyone else,” he said. “I’m asking you.”
Piper gave him a hard stare, trying to figure out what game he was playing. She recalled her original fear, that he pitied her. And to her, that was worse than propositioning her.
She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not a charity case, either.”
He held his hands up in defense. “I never said you were.”
“Fine,” she relented. “But I earn my way. I work hard for my money.” She said it like a warning.
“Then earn it. What will it take? Negotiate with me. I’m all ears.” Aiden brought a hand up to where his tie should be. He seemed surprised to find it missing, like he rarely took a day off. His demeanor turned all business again, but this time, he was giving her the power.
“Well,” she began. “I’ll accept seventy dollars a day, but I’ll be walking Sophie for two hours.”
“An hour and a half,” he countered.
“An hour and forty-five.”
He nodded. “Done.”
“And I’ll take her for regular grooming when I take Colin.”
“All right, but I’ll pay.”
“The groomer is a volunteer at the rescue center. I get a discount because she’s my friend.”
“And Sophie is my dog. I’ll pay.”
Piper frowned but wasn’t sure how to argue that one.
Sophie’s head swung back and forth as they debated. The smile on her face said she was pleased to be the center of so much attention.
“Anything else?” Aiden asked.
“If you go out of town and you need a dog sitter, you call me first.” She thought Colin might like that.
“I thought you couldn’t keep pets in your apartment.”
“I’ll hide her. What’s one more, temporarily?”
They had a brief staring contest while Aiden considered her demands. Piper didn’t blink. Finally, his dimple made an appearance.
“You know,” he said, “I’ve been running my business for a while, and this isn’t how the average negotiation usually goes.”
Piper’s chin rose an inch. “Well, I’m not your average girl.”
“So I’ve noticed.” The tension broke, and he stopped fighting the smile.
If Piper had a dimple, it would have been dimpling, too. Okay, so he wasn’t a creep propositioning her. And he didn’t pity her. At least, she didn’t think so. She felt ridiculous now. But what was she supposed to think? Who offered that kind of money for dog-walking?
Someone brushed past them, carrying a large white sheet. Piper assumed it was for a group picnic, since a small crowd had formed in the open space. However, when they spread it out on the grass, big red letters were painted across it: SFAAC.
Others in the group started picking up boards, holding them aloft for the entire park to see. “Stop the killing.” “Put an end to puppy mills.” A retriever mix trotted through the park with a sign strung around his neck: “I can’t speak for myself. Please be my voice.”
“What is this?” Aiden asked.
A jolt of anxiety shot through Piper. “San Franciscans Against Animal Cruelty.”
She wanted to duck and roll into the bushes before anyone from the group could recognize her. Most of them were pretty cool. She’d even protested with them in the past. It was one SFAAC member in particular who she worried about running into. She’d never expected to see the group there, or she would have suggested Aiden meet her somewhere else.
“A dog park seems like a strange place to protest,” Aiden said. “They’re preaching to the choir.”
She watched as flyers were handed out. “I think that’s the point. It looks like they’re here to gain awareness and support from fellow animal-lovers.” She headed for the path, counting her steps so she didn’t rush. “Come on. It’s about to get too
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