From Ice to Flames

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From Ice to Flames Page 3

by Hargrove, A. M.


  Kinsley stared at me and for a second, she looked exactly like her dad, with two tiny creases between her eyes as she thought about what I said. “Oh. Okay.” Then she went back to chatting with Wiley.

  “Man, she’s intense like Grey.”

  “Tell me about it. And I can only imagine the two of them tangling when she gets older.”

  “We’d better get going,” I suggested. As we neared the garage where Marin had parked her car, she cornered me.

  “I have an assignment for you.”

  “An assignment?”

  “Yes. I want you to get to know Dick’s owner. Anyone with a dog like that has to have a good sense of humor and I believe that’s exactly the type of woman you need in your life.”

  “I don’t think—”

  “It’s not an option, Hudson. If you don’t, I’m going to tell your mother.”

  “What?”

  “Yep, I’m going to tell Paige you’re dating someone and you need to bring her to Sunday dinner.”

  “Marin, are you blackmailing me?”

  “Not at all. I just want my lonely brother-in-law to go out with the woman. That’s it.”

  “Who said anything about me being lonely?”

  “I did. I’m a woman and can sense these things.”

  I was saved by the dinging of her phone. “That’s my hubby. He’s wrapping up at the hospital and should be home in forty-five. I guess that’s my cue.”

  Thank God. I didn’t want to say it, but she was getting a bit intrusive with my love life. “How is the cardiology business these days?” My brother was one of those kinds of doctors.

  “Robust. They need another doctor in his practice and he’s been on the hunt. If you know anyone?”

  “Sorry, I’m in the furry patient end of the business and I think I found someone for my clinic too.”

  “That’s great and if you hear of anyone, let Grey know. And remember, ask Dick’s owner out. Or else.” She wagged a finger at me. I only laughed. I loved my sister-in-law. I truly did.

  We parted ways and Wiley and I headed for home. I had to admit, my curiosity over Dick’s owner was growing. She did seem to be the kind of woman who liked to have a good time. I wondered if that extended to the between the sheets kind of fun, like a friend with benefits, no strings attached.

  Chapter Three

  Milly

  It had been a ball-buster of a work week. When I moved to Manhattan, I took a job in fundraising for New York City charities, a conglomerate which raised money for different causes. My former job in Atlanta was working at one of the local universities in their grant funding department. Getting people to part with large sums of money seemed to be one of my finer talents so this job was the perfect fit for me. Our first and largest fundraiser was coming up soon. It was a black tie gala that included a silent auction and it was to raise money for ten different children’s shelters in the city.

  This week I was securing donations for the silent auction. We were looking for items such as high-end trips, artwork, jewelry, that sort of thing. One of my co-workers, Ava, was also helping.

  The phone rang, and her assistant answered.

  “Milly, you have a call. It’s the caterer.”

  “Thank you.”

  I picked up the line. “Hello.”

  “Ms. Fremont.” Why do they have to be so formal up here? Back home, we’d already be on a first name basis.

  “Yes, Clinton. Is everything okay?”

  “Actually, no. I’m a little worried about the number of people that are coming.”

  Why was he talking to me about this? This wasn’t my responsibility. “Okay, Clinton. Have you discussed the logistics with Linda?”

  “Yes, and she told me to call you.”

  After I recovered from my shock, I flipped my notebook over to a fresh page. “Let’s start at the beginning. Give me your numbers and why you think we are overcrowded.”

  He spouted out his figures and I could see the issue. “Okay, let me discuss this with the Met and Linda, of course, and I’ll get back to you. We have plenty of time and wiggle room here.”

  He thanked me, and we ended our call. What the hell was Linda doing over there and why had she thrown me under the bus? I knew enough about catering and hosting these large fundraisers to know we had grown well past our capacity for the room the Met had given us.

  I walked across the hall to Ava’s office. She had been here for over a year and understood the office dynamics much better than me.

  “Knock, knock.”

  She glanced over her computer. “Hey, what’s up?”

  “You have a minute?”

  “Sure.”

  I dropped into the seat in front of her desk. “I have an issue that I’m not quite clear on how to handle. I thought I’d get your advice.”

  “Shoot.” She leaned back and set her pen down. I loved when people did that. It indicated you’d be getting their undivided attention.

  I explained what had just happened. “I don’t really know Linda well enough, or her work ethic to jump to any kind of conclusions here, which is why I’m sitting in this chair. I trust your opinion, Ava.”

  A finger tapped her cheek as her chin rested in her hand. “I’m trying to figure out how to be diplomatic.”

  I huffed out a laugh. “That pretty much told me what I needed to know. How about you answer yes or no. Did she drop the ball?”

  “Oh, yes. That’s something she’s famous for and then passing the big fat buck to others. Wait until the whining starts.”

  “Right now I’m more concerned about damage control. When they hired me to fundraise, I raise money. How many tickets did we sell?”

  Ava tapped the keys on her computer and laughed. “A hell of a lot more than we did last year. Twice as many.”

  “And she undersold our venue.” I was silent for a moment. “Who’s our best contact at the Met?”

  “Our president of the Board of Directors. He knows everyone.”

  “Glenn?”

  “Yep. I’d call him so he can put you in touch with the right person. But wait.”

  Her fingers tripped over the keyboard again and her printer came to life. She jumped up and then handed me the printout. “Here are all the facts and figures you’ll need. This should get him moving to assist you.”

  “Thanks. Would you consider this throwing Linda under the bus?”

  “Who gives a shit? If she did her J.O.B., we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

  “Truth. Thanks, girly.” I headed back to my own office to make the dreaded call.

  Glenn was way more helpful than I’d imagined. He was all over this when I told him our numbers.

  “Milly, this is fantastic. But how did this get so out of line as far as the venue is concerned?”

  “I think you’ll have to ask Linda. All I know is what Clinton told me and we don’t have a lot of time to get this rectified, which is why I came to you for your help.”

  “And I’m certainly glad you did. Let me make a few calls and I’ll get back to you today.”

  “Thank you and as soon as you do, I’ll call Clinton. He’s worried to death.”

  “The Met is huge. I’m sure we can get them to accommodate us somehow. Maybe talk them into opening another room. Security is the issue because of the art. All we’ll need to do to cover that is hire an extra team for the night.”

  “Thank you and I’ll wait to hear back from you.”

  After the call, Ava texted me wanting to know how it went. I gave her the thumbs up and went back to securing donations for the event. By late afternoon, I had a few more on board, one, in particular, was impressive. It was a trip to the French Riviera on the owner’s yacht for a week. How nice. That should bring in a sizable bid.

  Ava walked in and announced the Bid for Bachelors that would take place again this year.

  “Excuse me? What are you talking about?”

  “I just got a call from one of the board members. Apparently,
they’ve unilaterally decided to go with it again this year.”

  “Why are we just hearing about this now?”

  She shrugged. “We’re not. It was part of the event last year. You must’ve missed it somehow. I’ve got to say I’m pretty damn stoked. You should’ve seen the lineup last year. The dudes on the auction block were smokin’ hot.”

  “Oh yeah? Like how hot?”

  “Very hot. Like steam up the windows hot. No joke. And if they get the same caliber, I may bid on one myself.”

  “Can I ask, how much did these guys go for?”

  She chuckled, and it wasn’t your ordinary laugh. It was a deep sexy one. “Upwards of several thousand. One went for twelve.”

  “Twelve. As in thousand. Five figures.”

  “Yep. But I think it was staged. I think the guy gave some chick the money to bid so he wouldn’t have to go out with a stranger. But oooooh, was he ever a looker.” She pulled her blouse away from her chest and fanned herself.

  “Damn. How many single women come to this? And if all this is going on, who’s going to be bidding on my artwork, trips, and jewelry?”

  “Don’t worry. There will be old people and married people and a bunch of rich dudes there. It’ll all get sold. And this is done at a different time.”

  “I don’t know.” I was super worried about this.

  “Milly, get your donations, and I’ll worry about the hot bachelors.”

  I rubbed my neck. “Now I want your job. It sounds more fun.”

  She waved at me like I was crazy and left. An hour later, Glenn called with the news I’d been hoping for.

  “We’re in the clear. The Met decided to open up the mezzanine overlooking the main entrance where we’ll be having the event, along with the auditorium. So, we’ll have the bachelor auction in the auditorium, and then the mezzanine will free up a great deal of space for us.”

  “That’s great. I’ll let Clinton know. Are they limiting us to where we can set up the food and bars?”

  “No, but if you’re familiar with the floor plans, it might be nice to have bars located on the upper and lower floors. You might want to take a look at that.”

  “Yes, I will, and I’ll certainly let Linda know since she’ll be handling this.” It was her job after all.

  “Great idea. She should be on top of this. I think I’ll give her a call now. Thanks again, Milly. You’re doing an outstanding job.”

  “Thank you, Glenn. I appreciate that.”

  After the call, I texted Ava to see how close she was to finishing up for the day. We were supposed to go to happy hour to celebrate the end of the week in style.

  Wrapping things up now. You?

  I typed out: Just about done. Come and get me when you are.

  She sent a thumbs up emoji.

  About ten minutes later she waltzed into my office, happy as could be.

  “You ready?” she asked.

  “One minute,” I said as I finished closing out the document I was working on and shut down my computer. “Whoo. What a day. Let’s get out of here.”

  “So, where to? That place near your apartment?”

  “Yeah, and do you mind if we make a quick stop so I can take Dick out for a walk?”

  “No problem.”

  “Uh, you may want to stay in the lobby. Dick loves women.”

  She roared. “Don’t they all.”

  I joined in her laughter. “Yeah, well, he’ll slobber all over you.”

  “Don’t they all.”

  I used my index finger and made a circle. “You’re a funny one. But honestly, he’s a slobbery dude. It’s the breed. I just don’t want your clothes to get messed up.”

  “Aw, too bad, because I adore big dicks.”

  We were waiting on the elevator by now. “Stop. You’re ruining the image of my dog.”

  The weather was actually pretty nice today, even though it was late February. I was so ready for spring to arrive.

  “When will it get warm here?” I asked.

  “Who knows. It’s been known to snow in April.”

  My hand covered my throat, as I thought I was going to faint. “No! Don’t say that! I’ll just die.”

  Ava patted my back. “Don’t worry. If it does, it’ll melt fast.”

  “But … but I don’t want it to melt because I don’t want it to snow to begin with.”

  She only shrugged. “You’ll get used to it.”

  Not this southern girl. I might be wearing my goose down coat until June.

  Ava had mentioned grabbing dinner after drinks, so I asked, “Hey, what about we get sushi tonight? Are you a fan?”

  “I love it. And there’s a great place a block away from the Cocktail Haven.”

  “Perfect. I’ll walk and feed the dog and we’ll be off.”

  “Can I ask you something? Why the hell did you name that beast Dick?”

  “It was my stupid ex’s idea.”

  “Figures. Men and their dicks.”

  We got to my building and Ava took a seat in the lobby while I went to grab Dick. When we got back down, she snorted when she saw him.

  “Wow. You weren’t kidding.”

  “Told you he was huge. We’ll be back in a minute.” Dick was in quite a hurry, and who could blame him. Poor guy had been stuck inside all day and had to pee. And poop. Boy did he have to poop. I was going to have to get larger bags. And maybe oven gloves for days like these. Or better yet, a HAZMAT suit.

  “Good boy. Now let’s go home.” It was a good thing that mastiffs were basically the laziest dogs around. He strolled, not walked. I had to drag him home, and that wasn’t exactly easy, given he weighed more than I did. “Come on, boy, you can do it. We only went around the block.”

  We finally got back to the building and Ava just shook her head. “I need a picture of you two. Maybe you should just get a saddle.”

  Dick’s sad eyes gazed at her.

  “Aw, man. Don’t look at me that way,” Ava said.

  “See. You’re a sucker too.”

  “That face.”

  I patted his head and said, “Let me get him upstairs and I’ll be right back.”

  About that time, the elevator doors swished open, and out came my hot neighbor, along with his three dogs. Dick jerked to attention and then a burst of energy hit him. He jolted forward, ejecting me straight out of my shoes. Three steps later, I found myself face-planted on the floor, with Dick alternating between barking at McLuscious’s dogs and licking my hair and face—or what he could get to of it—drooling slobber all over me. Why did I always find myself on the floor at the feet of this man? And how was I ever going to impress him with dog slobber all over my face?

  Chapter Four

  Hudson

  It wasn’t easy holding back the laugh that threatened to explode out of me, but Milly was sprawled on the floor and that giant hound was covering her head in dog kisses. How could you possibly keep from laughing at that?

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  All I heard was something like Urghfurgul. I’m not sure if she couldn’t respond because of the dog or what. Then her hand pushed the dog’s head away as her friend cackled. I had to assume she was okay.

  “Here, let me help you up.” Before she moved, I lifted her off the floor. Her arms sort of flailed a bit until her feet were firmly planted on the ground. Dick eagerly wagged his tail as he waited for his master to pet him.

  “Sit,” I commanded. He checked me out and then his large ass hit the floor.

  “Oh, my. He’s never obeyed me like that before.”

  “It’s the tone you use that makes the difference.”

  “Milly, your hair is a slobbery mess,” her friend informed her.

  “Gross. I’m going to kill him,” Milly said, dragging her hand through the goo.

  “I have the name of a great dog trainer if you’re interested. He’s not too far from here,” I told her.

  She was still wiping the slobber off her cheek with a tissue that her
friend had given her. “Uh, thanks. I might just do that. Dick means well. He just doesn’t know how big he really is.”

  “It certainly looks that way.” I chuckled. The whole scenario was comical. “I'd best be going. I have to walk the dogs and then pick my son up at his friend’s place. You ladies have a good evening.”

  “Thanks, you too.”

  As I left, I couldn’t help but remember Marin’s words about asking her out. She really was beautiful, with her long auburn-brown hair and her large caramel almond-shaped eyes. But her plump mouth was what had me most intrigued. I imagined it was because my own dick had its ideas about that. Chuckling at my own little joke, I quickly walked the dogs and then went the few blocks over to where Wiley was.

  This was going to be an uncomfortable pick-up. The mother of Wiley’s friend had been hitting on me. She was single and had reminded me several times that she was available. She’d even mentioned that we should take the boys to dinner one night together. I was not interested in her in the least. She was nice enough, but she reminded me too much of my ex and that put me off.

  I texted her, said I was in a huge hurry, and asked if it would be too much of an imposition if she could meet me in the lobby. Thankfully, she was accommodating. When I arrived, they were waiting on me.

  “Daddy!” Wiley ran and jumped into my arms.

  “Hey, buddy, what’s going on?”

  “Nothing. I’m ready to go and see if we can pway with that wady’s Big Dick.”

  Oh, brother. Would he ever stop with this? I glanced over his head to see Laura, his friend’s mother’s, mortified expression.

  “He’s referring to my neighbor’s dog, a huge English Mastiff.”

  “Ah. For a minute there …”

  “I understand. Hey, thanks for having Wiley over. Wiley, what do you say?”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Wewand.”

  She grinned, because her last name was Leland. “You’re very welcome, Wiley and you can come back anytime.”

  “Bye Jeremy.”

  “Bye Wiley.”

  I set him down and we walked home.

  “Daddy, do you think we can?”

  “You mean play with Dick?”

 

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