by Natalie Ann
“Good idea,” he said.
She sat on the floor with the dog on her lap as she pet him. “Any ideas on a name yet?”
“I’m at a loss. I thought maybe once I saw him I’d come up with something. Any thoughts?”
“Got a favorite band or singer? That is what my brother did. Stevie Nicks was always his favorite.”
“I don’t listen to a lot of music,” he said while he was taking the packaging off the crate. Guess he might not have caught her brother’s name.
“How about a food? Or sport?”
“Nope. I suppose I’m pretty boring in some people’s eyes.”
“Not in mine.”
He lifted his head and smiled at her. “That’s good to know. I’m sure I’ll come up with something soon enough. I’m going to call the vet they gave me too to see if I can get him in this week for his shots.”
“The doggie daycare place is open if you want to try for that this week, or are you waiting?”
“I’ll call on Monday. I already went to their site and saw what I needed to make sure.”
“Got your T’s crossed and I’s dotted?”
“Usually.”
She moved the puppy to the floor and then went to go get one of the bags and the bed, bringing them in the living room and taking the wrappers and tags off.
“So,” she said. “There is something I should tell you.”
He stopped what he was doing and looked up at her. The crate was together now and he was putting the mat in there, then lifted the puppy and stuck him in to see what he’d do. Nothing, just kept sleeping.
“What’s that?”
“Good move there. He’ll wake up and realize it’s a safe place.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t move when I picked him up. Anyway, what did you have to say?”
“It’s about my brother.”
“What about him? Harris, you said his name was, right?” he said.
“Yeah. Say his first and last name,” she said grinning.
“Harris Walker. Oh. Really? The Harris Walker? Pitcher for the Mets? The one that threw a no hitter then got in an accident?”
She frowned. “One and the same.”
“Sorry if that came off as insensitive. It just popped in my head.”
“I know. That is what people think of when they hear his name. That his career ended on the best night of his life.”
“He was at the height of his career. That’s too bad,” he said. “I was at that game.”
“You were?”
“I was. I was with a client in an executive suite. What a game that was.”
“Yeah,” she said. “We were all watching. It’s kind of hard to forget it. Anyway, he has a new life now.”
“Wait. He lives in Paradise Place?” he asked, grinning.
“He does. It’s common knowledge for those around here, but not many know exactly what house. I don’t make a habit of announcing he’s my brother.”
“I can understand that. I’m a fan, by the way. Not a superfan. I’m not sure I’m a superfan of anything. Now I understand your comments about knowing a bit of Manhattan. Did he live there?”
“He did after he got his big contract.”
“Why are you looking at me funny?” he asked. “It’s like you expect me to say something? Do you think I want you to get his autograph or something for me?”
“It’s happened before,” she said, laughing.
The puppy chose that moment to wake up and look at him. He started to move and then walked out, saw the toys on the floor with some balls and went to everything fast. “Whoa. Look at him go,” he said.
“He’s fast. You’re going to have your hands full.”
“Full like this,” he said reaching for her on the floor, his mouth going to hers, his hands in her hair. She wound her arms around his neck and let him have his way.
It didn’t take long before she was on her back, and he was lying on her, the puppy racing around them and then jumping on Caden. He lifted his head and started to laugh. “Guess someone wants to play too.”
He moved off her and as much as it was smart, she was missing his body heat too. “Then let’s play with him and wear him out good so he sleeps for you tonight.”
“I hope so,” he said. “Don’t suppose you’re going to keep me company tonight if he’s not wanting to sleep?”
“What do you think?” she said, getting on her hands and knees and playing with the puppy.
“I think I need to wait for when you’re ready.”
“I knew you were smart.”
11
Work Through It
Monday morning Caden was staring at the Keurig and debating on a second cup of coffee. He used to love the strong shit he ground and brewed and drank a pot of before he left for work daily. Then he’d have another pot during the day and maybe more at night.
Breaking that caffeine addiction had been tough, but man, did his stomach settle down afterward. He wasn’t as jittery and he knew that played into his blood pressure as well. The coffee was a food substitute for him.
Then he’d worried he’d gain weight since he was eating more but found the healthier choices, smaller meals, and exercise not only kept his weight stable, but put some more muscle on him.
He was feeling more energetic than he had in years.
Except this morning.
Saturday night, Jet—his new puppy was dubbed after the little ball of energy ran around his house when he woke up from every nap like he’d eaten a bag of coffee beans himself—slept in his crate by the bed for most of the night. He’d woken up once, Caden took him out, then the puppy cried himself to sleep.
Yesterday, Sarah had texted him to see how he’d done the night before with the puppy. He couldn’t convince her to stay and help him, even if he was doing it halfheartedly. No reason to push and turn her off, but something told him she might have caved.
But then he didn’t want regrets.
And the fact she’d come over yesterday and offered to cook dinner for him was a reward for him holding back when he wanted to rush forward.
He didn’t take her up on the cooking though. He’d been doing it himself for months now after watching cooking lesson after cooking lesson and reading up on new recipes.
Why not impress her with his skills?
“I didn’t expect you to be this good in the kitchen,” she’d said last night.
“I’m good at a lot of things.”
She’d laughed like he expected her to do. “I’m beginning to suspect that. Didn’t I say your middle name should be overachiever? How long have you been cooking?”
He was reluctant to say just a few months and then have her question why. Instead he answered with, “Not long. Anyone can learn with the internet.”
“Very true,” she said.
They’d eaten their dinner, they’d walked Jet. And she loved the name, especially when she saw the puppy flying through his house chasing a ball.
But a little after seven, she’d given him one hell of a kiss goodnight full of promises he couldn’t wait to see if she fulfilled in the future.
He’d watched TV after she left, enjoying a bit of baseball, then decided to call it a night. Was he itching to pick up his laptop and do some work? Yep, but part of turning over a new leaf on his health was the fact he had to disconnect more. That meant one solid day of not reading reports and trying to get a leg up on people.
He wasn’t trading on the floor anymore. He had a steady flow of clients, and was not hustling to get more. He had an office to run rather than quotas to make to meet his personal goals.
And when he’d gotten in bed last night, Jet decided he had his new owner’s number. He started to whine in his crate and there was no stopping. Not for hours.
By one, his eyes felt like they had sand in them, so he’d taken the dog out of the crate and put him on the bed, trying to soothe him. Somehow he woke up hours later with the puppy curled on his side, both of them falling to sleep
.
He knew it was a start of something bad, but he didn’t want to go through another night like that knowing he was sticking to his lone cup of coffee.
Before he was tempted, he let Jet out one more time, then put him in the crate. The crate he brought to the mudroom because he figured, at this point, the dog wasn’t going to go back in it in the bedroom. He grabbed his bag with his laptop in it and a snack. He’d be home for lunch this week, until he could get doggie daycare set. One of the many calls he had to make.
Twenty minutes later, Melanie popped her head in his office. “You’re here early.”
He looked at his watch. He’d been getting in at seven thirty, she was normally here before him, but he didn’t realize how early. Close to seven then by the looks of it.
He wasn’t always one to share about himself but decided it might help the staff see him as more human. And not one that was stupid enough to cut his hand while unpacking.
“I got a puppy on Saturday. Until I can get doggie daycare set, I’ll have to run home on lunch to let him out. It’s a new routine I’m trying to get into, so I was ready and just left.”
“Aw. I love puppies,” Melanie said. “Do you have a picture of him? What’s his name? What kind?”
This was why he didn’t share much. He pulled his phone out and turned it around and she walked in to look. “He’s mainly Boston Terrier. I got him at a shelter this weekend. His name is Jet.”
“Cute dog and name. Bet he’s a fast one.”
He smiled. “He is. Hence the name. Anyway, I’ll be slipping out for my lunch this week but then be back.”
“You can come and go when you want and not tell me,” she said smiling.
He knew that and wasn’t really doing it for any other reason than he would say when he’d be back. But his calendar that was shared with the office had him signed out when he had meetings. He wouldn’t put his lunch there.
“I know. But I haven’t been leaving for lunch and it’s not blocked on my calendar if I get a call. The last thing I’d ever want is someone to call looking for me and be told you don’t know where I am or when I’d be back.”
“That would never happen,” Melanie said. “I’d make up some excuse if I couldn’t find you. Maybe you were in the bathroom and got lost in there.”
He snorted. “I appreciate you covering for me if that happens.”
“Richard used to just take off and no one knew where he was. I’m used to it.”
He’d heard that too, but the guy had been working here for forty years and probably figured he deserved the leeway. He’d had a good rapport with his clients and it seemed that was enough for Mike and Kyle.
What wasn’t enough for him was John’s record that he was still looking into. Nothing was standing out other than the guy didn’t do a lot of work on his own or was slow to do what he was asked.
Melanie went back to her desk and he got to work, lost track of time again, and when his phone went off with an alert, he realized it was ten and he was hungry.
While he grabbed the container of mixed nuts out of his bag to keep in his office, he looked up the number to doggie daycare and gave them a call to figure out everything he’d need to do to get Jet there next week.
Ten minutes later, he was back to work when his phone went off with a text.
As much as he’d hoped it was Sarah, it was his sister Mia. Rather than text back and forth, which he really hated to do with his family, he decided to call her.
“There is the new proud papa.”
“Very funny,” he said.
“Your puppy is very cute.”
“Morgan sent you the picture?” he asked. He figured Morgan would be thrilled that he’d listened to her, but he didn’t tell anyone else in the family. Why bother when he knew Morgan loved the telephone game.
“Of course. Why didn’t you?”
“I didn’t need to. You still got the information,” he said.
“What’s the dog’s name?”
“Jet,” he said. “See, you know something before Morgan.”
“She was whining about that. Trust me. I told her not to push you or you wouldn’t name the dog for weeks.”
He laughed. “Just to tick her off I wouldn’t tell her, but I wouldn’t not name the dog. I need to call him something to come to me.”
“And does he relax you?” Mia asked.
“If you asked me that at one this morning I’d say I was ready to strangle someone. I was even tempted to go for more than one cup of coffee this morning.”
“He ended up in your bed, didn’t he?” Mia asked, her voice all soft.
“Don’t you have court or something?” he asked.
“Not at the moment. And I’m right because you tried to change the subject. Fine, I’ll change it. What’s this I hear you went on a date?”
“I’m not telling Morgan another thing for months.”
“You always say that and never follow through. And Morgan and I decided to ride with Mom and Dad for Easter this weekend. Are you okay with that?”
He sighed. “I figured as much. Morgan will want to check the puppy over herself to make sure everything is fine.”
“There is that, but we want to see you and your new place. Do you have somewhere for us all to sleep?”
“Plenty of space. I had beds delivered a week ago. You guys can all fight for your space when you show up.”
“How many rooms do you have again?”
“Two guest downstairs at one end of the house. The upstairs is a big loft area that I had some furniture put in and a TV. There’s an averaged-sized room up there next to it that I put a queen bed in and another full bath. Not sure what that space was supposed to be, but it’s a bedroom for me.”
“Does it have a closet in it?” Mia asked. “It can’t be considered a bedroom if it doesn’t.”
Mia was always the one that followed rules more than him. “A small one. So yes, it’s a bedroom, but my guess is maybe a teen would be up there and then have the loft for the rest of their space. Again, no clue what the people who built the house wanted it for. It is a nice guest quarter, but not a big room. Not as big as the rooms downstairs.”
“If the rooms are too big, we’d want to stay longer.”
“Not if I kick you out.” They were coming on Friday afternoon, and he’d leave work early so they could get in the house, then leaving Sunday afternoon after an early dinner.
“You love us and wouldn’t. And of course you avoided saying anything about your date.”
“I did. And now I need to leave. Bye, Mia.”
“Girlfriend?” he heard from his doorway and looked up to see Colleen standing there. She worked for John and they had been chatting on and off for a few weeks but not enough to say anything about work issues.
He knew there was more going on, but he wasn’t trusted by the staff and could understand that.
“Sister,” he said. “She’s more a pain than anything.”
Colleen smirked. “I’ve got two of them myself. Trust me, I know.”
He found it odd she’d ask if that was a girlfriend. He had no clue Colleen’s personal status other than she seemed to be around his age, maybe a year or so younger. He couldn’t always tell and didn’t care either.
Not unless they were flirting with him and he was getting that vibe too.
“Was there something I could help you with?”
She looked around, as if she was worried someone might see her. “I was asked to come talk to you.”
“By whom? Come on in. Shut my door if you’d like.”
“Thanks,” she said, shutting it and moving in. “A few people. I’d rather not list names.”
Which was going to turn into gossip, but he’d have to weed fact from fiction and though he hated shit like this and had to figure it out on his own, he wouldn’t turn anyone away either. “What is it that these people want you to talk to me about?”
“We know you’re new and will be making some changes. A few
people were wondering if they’d have any say on those changes.”
He crossed his arms and leaned back. “I believe I’ve said a few times I was looking for feedback and ideas. But with new management there are always changes.”
“I know. I agree. I also think there are things that need to change too.”
“Are you going to let me know what they are?” he asked.
She looked uneasy. She worked for John and he was wondering if he could use this as his way to find out more about the group John managed. “I’m working things out in my head.”
“I can appreciate that. How about an anonymous survey to start?”
“I think that would be great,” she said, looking relieved.
“After the survey, however, depending on what it says, I will expect to meet with people one on one. When things are anonymous sometimes people get petty without facts, or sometimes they don’t say all the facts to make the proper changes.”
“I know you are going to get both,” she said. “And I believe you’ll be able to work through it. Thanks for listening. I know you’re new to the area. If you want someone to show you around or let you know all the good hot spots, let me know.”
“Thanks,” he said. No reason to say he was dating someone. Four dates didn’t define a girlfriend in his eyes. Just because he’d like to see it be more, meant nothing.
12
More Direct
But three days later, Sarah was walking in his door with pizza at six thirty, a smile on her face and a big bag over her shoulder.
“Smells good,” he said, taking it out of her hand and going in for a kiss. She wound her arms around his neck and leaned into his body, rubbing up against him more than normal. “So do you.”
“Just showered when I got done working out.”
“Where do you work out?” he asked.
“There is a gym in my complex. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing. It’s not like I’ve got room for anything much other than a yoga mat.”
“Do you do yoga?” he asked. The dog came running from the other room and started to jump on Sarah’s legs. She leaned down to pick Jet up and gave him a little cuddle and a kiss on the top of his head.