Paws off the Boss - Casey Griffin (best books under 200 pages .TXT) 📗

“What happened to you?” she asked him.

“That one came in last week,” Zoe told her. “Marilyn said the last owner kept him in the garage. Nowhere to sleep but the concrete floor.”

“Poor thing. Don’t worry. You’ve got a comfy bed here.” Addison held him in her lap and combed his fur, careful of the calluses. “So, Pipe. What are you going to do now that you’ve lost two of your jobs?”

“I don’t know. They were both great because they were flexible. Plus, there were the tips. You know, when I wasn’t late. But I’m sure I’ll find something.” She frowned. “Before my landlord kicks me out, and the bank repossesses my car because I default on my loan, and the university kicks me out of the veterinary program.”

She tossed aside the brush and watched Sophie and Colin fight over it. “School ends in a couple of weeks. I could have had a job as a veterinarian by the end of the summer. I only needed to stick it out a little longer.”

“I’d hire you at my dog spa if I could afford the extra help,” Addison said, “but as it is, I’m still getting my feet under me.”

“That’s okay. I’m sure something will come up.” Piper took a deep breath, her shoulders kicking back, chin rising automatically. “I’ll be fine. Just fine.”

Zoe shook Toby off her leg again. “Well, when you can’t pay rent and get kicked out of your apartment, you can come stay with me.”

“Gee, thanks,” she groaned. “But really, thank you.”

The bell above the front door jingled, and the light tinkle carried into the back, announcing a customer.

All around, the dogs danced in their enclosures, barking, Who’s there? Who’s there?

Piper gave up on wrestling the brush away from the doxies and stood up. “I’ll see who’s at the front.”

Zoe dislodged her leg from Toby’s enthusiastic grip. “We’ll start getting some of these guys outside for playtime.”

“Coming!” Piper called out.

When she reached the entry to the reception room, she peered through the window set into the door. Then she spotted the person waiting at the counter. Gasping, she ducked down and out of sight.

Addison returned to let more dogs out of their kennels and spotted her cowering. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s him,” Piper hissed.

“Him who?”

“The him I gave an accidental lap dance to.”

“Really?” Addison’s eyes widened. She skipped over to peek through the window. “Oo-o-oh, he’s cute.”

“What are you looking at?” Zoe called from the other end of the kennels.

“Aiden Caldwell,” Addison stage-whispered over the barking. “Come check him out.”

Zoe was a whole foot taller than Addison, so when she joined in on the Aiden oglefest, she peeked over Addison’s blond locks. They shuffled until all three of them had their noses pressed to the glass to get a better look, their breath steaming things up—not that it wasn’t already steamy enough, considering their view.

While he waited, Aiden perused the message board cluttered with missing-dog flyers, trying to pat down his windblown hair. Piper noticed he’d exchanged his stained shirt for a clean one since she’d last seen him.

“That is not how I imagined him,” Zoe said. “He’s not just hot. He’s like cook-the-panties-right-off-a-girl hot.”

“No,” Addison breathed. “He’s like Henry-Cavill-meets-Chris-Evans hot.”

“Who?” Zoe asked.

“Superman and Captain America.” She shrugged. “There was a superhero movie marathon on TV last weekend.”

Zoe bit her lip. “He’s like I-wanna-make-babies-with-him-just-to-see-what-they-would-look-like hot.”

“Oh, your babies would look amazing,” Addison said. “With your Japanese background and that guy’s jawline, it would be like winning the genetic lottery.”

Piper gaped at Zoe. “This coming from the girl who would rather commit to her vibrator than a man for the rest of her life?”

Zoe gestured to the front. “For him, I’d reconsider my silicone matrimonial plans.”

“I know.” Piper groaned, banging her head on the doorframe. “Which makes the whole thing even more embarrassing.”

Addison gripped her by the shoulders. “Piper, listen to me. He’s obviously here to see you.”

“But how? I never told him I volunteered here. More importantly, after everything that happened, why is he here?”

“It couldn’t have been that bad, because the guy has somehow tracked you down and come here, despite everything that went wrong. So get over it and get out there.”

“You’re right. He’s just a guy,” Piper said to psych herself up. “A totally average guy who might be into me … maybe, possibly.”

Zoe caressed the glass with a manicured nail. “A mega-hot, superrich, I’d-give-up-coffee-for-the-rest-of-my-life-to-have-one-night-with-him guy.”

Piper eyed her. “Not helping, Zoe.”

Aiden dinged the bell on the counter to get service. At the thought of facing him again, the events of that afternoon flashed through Piper’s mind. The lap dance, the taxi, the handshake.

“I can’t do it,” she said. “Come on, Addison. You gotta go out there for me.”

“Nope. It’s your turn. Besides, I think I hear Sophie whining outside.” She twirled away, a playful smile on her lips.

Piper wheeled on her other friend. “Zoe. Look. You already admitted it. He could be the one for you. That could be your future husband out there.”

Zoe narrowed her eyes. “Pony up, cowgirl.” She winked before slipping out back.

Piper hesitated at the door a moment longer, remembering how Aiden had turned all “professional executive” on her in front of the cops. How he’d shaken her hand like they’d been concluding a business meeting. She’d figured that was that.

So, then, what was he doing at the center?

Light footsteps tapped up the corridor behind her. She thought maybe one of her friends had come back to rescue her from reliving the humiliation. Relieved, she turned around, arms open wide to hug her savior. But all she saw was fur, teeth, and paws coming at her like a tsunami.

It hit her hard. She screamed as she flew back against the door, which swung open under the weight of her and her attacker.

She fell on her butt, whacking her elbow on the ground. With a grunt, she sprawled on the reception floor, staring up at the water-stained ceiling tiles.

Piper blinked, dazed. At first, she thought her body shook from fright. It took her a moment before she realized what the gyration really was.

Toby was humping her leg, going to town like she was a Siberian husky show dog. Right in front of Aiden.