Catching Her Rival (Mills & Boon Superromance)

by Lisa Dyson

  “For one thing, he’s been running around my apartment like crazy. He jumps on all the furniture, and when I try to grab him, he runs to the next thing.” Allie took the seat Jack had moved closer for her, and they all sat down. “Then, in the car, he paced the entire time. I thought he might relax on the ride. You know, like when people drive their babies around to get them to sleep?”

  Charlotte tried to hide her grin, but Jack chuckled aloud. “Babies and dogs aren’t quite the same. Has he had enough exercise?” Jack asked.

  “How much is enough?”

  Jack pointed to Harvey, now asleep at Jack’s feet. “Enough to make him do this.”

  “I guess running around my apartment and then bouncing around in my car were enough.”

  “Why did you decide to get a dog right now, Allie?” Charlotte asked. “Won’t it be difficult to work all day and leave him alone?”

  “It’s only for a little while. I’m fostering him,” Allie told her. “Anyway, what’s going on with your mom’s files?” She’d changed the subject away from the dog so quickly that Charlotte could have sworn she was hiding something.

  Charlotte filled them both in on her search.

  Jack took a long swig of his beer. “So thirty thousand dollars magically appeared one day, and then she wrote a check for the same amount a few days after you were born?”

  “Yeah. I have no idea where it could have come from. It seems like a lot of money to have gotten as a bonus from her accounting job back in 1986. But that’s the only explanation I could come up with.”

  “What about family? Might they have given or loaned it to her?”

  Charlotte swallowed a mouthful of beer. “There was no other family. My mom’s parents both died before I was born, and she was an only child.”

  “No great grandparents, great-aunts or uncles?” Allie asked. “You have no distant cousins?”

  “None that Mom ever mentioned,” Charlotte said. “She and I were it when it came to family.” As much as Allie had complained that her large family was overwhelming, Charlotte envied her. “I do remember a great-aunt who never married, but she died a long time ago. When I was nine or ten.”

  “Could the money have been from her?” Jack asked.

  “Not likely.” Charlotte racked her brain for details about Aunt Bonnie. “I’m pretty sure she was in debt when she died. I doubt she had thirty thousand to spare. I overheard my mother talking about it with her best friend, Marie. She helped my mother sell my aunt’s few possessions to pay off the medical bills.”

  “Is Marie still around?” Allie sipped her soda. “Would she have a clue about the money?”

  Charlotte hadn’t considered contacting Marie. “She moved to Maine about ten years ago. I haven’t seen or spoken to her since my mother’s funeral.”

  “Might be worth a call,” Jack suggested. “What about a transfer from her savings account? Could she have saved up that much over the years?”

  “I doubt it,” she said. “And I haven’t come across any paperwork from a savings account yet.”

  “You’re pretty sure the money wasn’t a bank loan?”

  “If it was, there should be a file with the documentation. I haven’t found anything yet, but I still have a lot more files to go through.”

  “Don’t take this the wrong way,” Jack said, “but she was an accountant. Could she have ‘borrowed’ the money?” He used air quotes for emphasis. and the twinkle in his eye cued her in that he was at least half joking. “She’d probably have a good idea of how to hide the evidence.”

  Charlotte couldn’t even imagine such a thing. Her mother, an embezzler? Impossible. “She’d never have done anything like that. She was always the kind of person who would go back into the store to return money if a clerk gave her too much change.”

  “Just a thought,” Jack said quickly. “I’m trying to look at all angles. Maybe jog something loose in your memory.”

  Charlotte wasn’t offended. If she’d learned one thing about Jack since they met a few months ago, it was that he spoke his mind. “I know. I hadn’t even considered it because I’ve never known a more honest person than my mom.” Though, frankly, Charlotte knew that she did need to pursue all angles, so Jack’s suggestion added another theory to the lengthening list. “Let’s change the subject. I’m only depressing myself with all these new questions.” She took a sip of beer. “How was coffee today?”

  Allie and Jack looked at each other. “It was good,” Allie said.

  “We came to a mutual understanding,” Jack added.

  “A mutual understanding?” Charlotte’s curiosity was aroused.

  After a noticeable and slightly uncomfortable silence, Allie finally answered. “We decided that getting involved wasn’t going to work for us.”

  Charlotte looked first at Allie and then at Jack. “Is that true?”

  He nodded. “Afraid so. Seems Allie the doctor isn’t interested in anything more than friendship with Jack the garbage collector.”

  “Huh? I’m lost.”

  Allie smiled. “It was Jack’s idea. I’ll let him explain. Anyway, I should get this guy home. Thanks for giving me a break with Harvey.”

  * * *

  JACK SAT IN his home office and opened his laptop. He’d left Charlotte’s a little while ago, passing up her offer of dinner. A cold ham sandwich wasn’t everyone’s idea of a gourmet meal, but he had more important things on his mind and couldn’t afford to stay any longer. He took a bite of his sandwich, enjoying the spicy mustard he’d slathered on it.

  He should have been working on his health services client’s presentation, but instead he opened his Facebook account. Nothing interesting going on with anyone he was friends with. Then, before he could think twice about it, he searched for Allie. He told himself he wanted to find out about her advertising agency, knowing full well there was more to it than that.

  She wasn’t easy to find. Since he and Charlotte were friends, he checked out Charlotte’s friends to see if Allie was among them. Voilà! Allie Miller, Owner of AM Advertising.

  He was about to send her a friend request but decided not to.

  Jack rarely became Facebook friends with women he was interested in. Made for hurt feelings when they broke up and he unfriended them. And he was definitely interested in Allie beyond friendship, even with their pact.

  There was something about her that drew him in. Something in her eyes from that very first moment he had called her Charlotte when she was in line for the bar at the wedding. He’d been able to read her thoughts through her eyes. Annoyance and something more. Interest? Probably his imagination combined with wishful thinking.

  To soothe his conscience, he hit the link on Allie’s page that took him to her AM Advertising page. Nice graphics in the header and a professional picture of Allie as her profile picture. He hit the link for her website and found a list of a few small local accounts in Providence, which included mostly family-run businesses like restaurants and ethnic grocery stores.

  Learning all he could about her business, he went back to her personal page. Allie’s security settings were pretty lax, so he took a look around. There were several pictures of his cousin’s wedding, ones that other people had tagged Allie in. There didn’t seem to be any she’d posted herself.

  He laughed out loud when, as he went through the photos, he saw one picture of Charlotte tagged as Allie.

  He clicked on the Send a Message button and began writing her a private note.

  Great to see you tonight and thanks for meeting for coffee today. I really enjoyed it and hope we can get together again soon. You might want to check your privacy settings as I could see private stuff on your page. Also wanted to point out that in one of the wedding pictures you were tagged in, it’s really Charlotte and not you. How funny is that? Talk soon—Jack, the garbage collector

  He’d barely sent the message when she posted a picture of Harvey on her page with the caption, “The newest member of my family.”

&nbs
p; He’d been really surprised to find out she’d gotten a dog. She didn’t seem to know much about them, either. Taking him for a car ride like a baby? He chuckled. He actually thought that was cute.

  But you really needed to be committed if you were single and owned a dog. That’s why he didn’t have one right now. A dog required a lot of attention, and he spent way too many hours away from home.

  A sudden thought came to him.

  Was it a coincidence that she got a dog just as they were both wooing the animal-food client?

  She wouldn’t have done this as a ploy to land the client, would she? If so, then she deserved the frustration.

  Even with that in mind, he checked the time and picked up his cell phone to call her.

  “Hey, pal,” he said when she answered on the second ring. “It’s Jack.”

  “Hi.” She was clearly out of breath. “Get down from there!”

  He couldn’t help but laugh. “What’s Harvey doing now?”

  “The little stinker jumped on a bar stool and then on to my kitchen counter. Every time I make a move to get him down, he barks and growls at me.”

  “Sounds like he’s trying to prove he’s the dominant one in your relationship.”

  “Right now, he is,” she said in a voice tinged with disgust. “Do you know anything about dogs? What should I do?”

  “I’m not an expert, but I had a dog growing up.” His dad had gotten him a dog after Jack’s mother died. His dad promptly left him and the dog to be raised by his grandfather. He’d save those details for when he and Allie knew each other better. “Jack Russells are supposed to be easy to train. Do you have treats to give him?”

  “Treats? Like what? A cookie or a potato chip?”

  “You really aren’t a dog person, are you?”

  “I didn’t realize you needed to have specific talents to own a dog.”

  He hesitated, then asked the question burning in his gut. “Did you get this dog hoping it will help you clinch the Naturally Healthy Animal Food account?”

  She didn’t answer at first. “You got me! But you know that’s how advertising works. Sometimes you have to do things out of the ordinary. Whatever it takes. Besides, didn’t we agree to not discuss our jobs?”

  “Right now that doesn’t matter.” Why wasn’t she taking this seriously? “We’re talking about another life here. You have no experience with dogs. What’s going to happen to Harvey after the account is awarded?”

  “He’s not permanent.”

  That wasn’t the answer he’d hoped for. “You’re planning to return him as if he’s the wrong size pants?”

  “No, no, nothing like that,” she said. “No matter what you think, I’m not that cruel. I’m fostering him. This is a temporary situation for both of us until he’s adopted into a good home. But, yes, I am hoping he’ll give me the edge when it comes to winning this account.”

  “I can’t believe you’d use him like that. Are you that unsure about your presentation?”

  “Stop it!” There was rustling on the other end of the phone.

  Jack waited for Allie to speak again. Then there was a loud crash, and she swore. Not loudly, more under her breath, but loud enough for Jack to hear.

  He certainly was getting a glimpse below the surface of the put-together woman.

  “Is everything okay?” he asked when there was silence on the other end.

  “Not really,” she answered. “Harvey knocked a vase—an expensive crystal vase full of tulips—off the counter and it broke.” She sounded defeated at this point.

  “Would you like help?” He made the offer without considering what he was saying. Not wanting her to think he was being forward, he added, “Friends can help each other.”

  She didn’t answer right away. Had he screwed up? Pushed her too quickly?

  She finally said, “It’s a long way up here to Providence on a work night.”

  Was that her way of saying she didn’t want him to come? “It’s up to you, Allie. I’m happy to give you a hand getting Harvey settled. I can even spend the night at my grandfather’s. That way I won’t have to come all the way back here tonight.” That should settle any questions she had about his motives.

  Although the fact that he was trying so hard to make her believe he had no ulterior motives made him think that deep down maybe he did have them. Um, yeah, no maybes about it, he definitely had ulterior motives when it came to Allie.

  Before he could back out gracefully, feeling bad about his motives, she said, “I’d really appreciate your help if you’re sure it’s not too much trouble.”

  Too late now. “I’ll pack a bag and be there in about an hour. Until then, Harvey’s probably better off on the counter. Be careful cleaning up the glass for both your sakes. Neither of you need the stress of stitches on top of everything else.”

  “Good point,” she said. “Except that he knocked over the vase when he was getting down from the counter, and now he’s made himself comfortable in the middle of my bed.”

  Jack’s mouth went dry as he imagined what her bed might look like.

  Only he wasn’t imagining Harvey in the middle of it, but himself and Allie.

  No question about it. He had ulterior motives.

  * * *

  ALLIE HUNG UP with Jack. Had she made a huge mistake by letting him come over tonight? He did sound like he knew something about dogs.

  At least more than she did, which apparently was not much at all.

  She was surprised he’d offered to help after his obvious disapproval of her business methods. He couldn’t possibly say he’d never done anything like this before. Everyone in advertising did it. Maybe he’d even copy her idea and foster a dog of his own.

  The sound of light snoring came from her bed. Harvey was sawing wood as he slept peacefully.

  Remembering the mess in the kitchen, she took advantage of the moment. Thankfully, the broken vase wasn’t anything meaningful to her. Before starting the cleanup, her stomach growled a reminder that she hadn’t eaten since noon. She decided to make herself a salad for dinner. She poured a glass of white wine and ate standing up, far away from the broken vase.

  No longer famished after finishing her salad, she dropped the torn and wilted tulips into the trash can, followed by the large pieces of glass. Then she sopped up the water and bits of glass with paper towels.

  “Ouch!” Blood dripped from her left index finger. She inspected it carefully and pulled out a tiny shard of glass.

  There was a knock on her door, startling Harvey awake. He went running to see who was there, bouncing and barking furiously. Allie grabbed a fresh paper towel to wrap around her cut finger and, after checking the peephole to make sure it was Jack, she opened the door.

  “What happened?” The expression of horror on Jack’s face made Allie look down and realize she had bled onto her white shirt.

  “It’s nothing.” She held out her wrapped finger. “A little cut from cleaning up the broken glass.”

  He entered her apartment, and she quickly closed the door before Harvey escaped. Not that he seemed particularly interested in escaping. He was more fascinated with the new person in the room. He crazily jumped at Jack’s leg, but Jack simply ignored Harvey the entire time.

  “Harvey, no!” She tried to act like the boss, but the dog wasn’t buying it.

  Jack shook his head. “Ignore him like I’m doing. Don’t give him the attention he wants until he calms down.”

  That was what Joan Broadwell had told her. Allie should have taken notes.

  Several minutes dragged on before Harvey finally gave up. As soon as he was tired of failing to get Jack’s attention, he sat down at Jack’s feet.

  Jack immediately leaned down to pet him, scratching him behind the ears and rubbing his chest. “That’s a good boy,” he cooed. “You remember me, don’t you?”

  When Jack straightened, Harvey stood up, and after a few seconds of indecision, the dog headed back to Allie’s bedroom. She supposed he was
taking up his former spot in the middle of her bed. She’d tackle that misunderstanding later.

  “That was amazing!” she told Jack. “You’re a dog whisperer!”

  He laughed. “Not quite. I just retained a lot from when I had a dog as a boy. At first my grandfather had threatened to give away Sheba, my German shepherd, because she wasn’t behaving—though I don’t think he would have gone through with it. But I made him a deal, anyway. If I couldn’t get her trained in a month, Granddad could give her away. But if I could get her to stop jumping on people and sit on command, I could keep her.”

  Allie invited him to sit down by pointing to the white contemporary sofa and black-and-white print chairs in her living room. “Seeing you with Harvey, I’m guessing you were able to train Sheba.”

  He followed her to the seating area and chose the chair across from where she sat on the sofa. “You better believe it! I’d already lost my mom, and then my dad left me with Granddad. There was no way I was gonna lose my dog, too.”

  His words obviously had a lot of pain behind them, but she didn’t want to pressure him into explaining. She didn’t know him well enough to pry into his life. There was plenty of time to learn more about him. They were friends now, after all.

  “So how’d you learn to train your dog?”

  “I went to the library and read every book I could find about dogs. Once I went through those, I got my au pair to drive me to the bookstore, and I used my entire savings from my allowance to buy several more books.”

  An au pair? The thought of how well-off his family must be crossed her mind, but instead she asked, “How old were you when you did this?”

  He considered it a minute. “Ten or eleven.”

  She stared at him. “Ten or eleven? What were you, a child prodigy or something?”

  He grinned and his eyes sparkled. “Not even close. More like determined. I’m very goal-oriented.”

  Not unlike herself. Although she didn’t always go about getting there by the standard or even easiest route.

  “What do you suggest for Harvey?” She looked toward her bedroom and listened for movement. No sound. She hoped that meant he’d gone back to sleep. Even if it was probably on her bed.