Page 34 of Harboring Shantae

"He looks so playful. I would never have guessed he was a K-9."

Kyle must've overheard their conversation because with one command, Blitz went from rolling on the floor with the kids to at Kyle's side in a heartbeat.

"Ohhhh."

Everyone in the room chuckled at Shantae's shocked reaction. Panther had to admit it was kinda cute.

"Don't mind my husband. He likes to show off." Missy walked over to them and put her hand out. "I'm Missy. I know we met when you first arrived, but I can only imagine you were overwhelmed by all the people. This is my husband, Kyle, and, as you know, his K-9, Blitz. The little boy attempting to climb the tower of blocks is our son, Andrew. And his partner in crime helping him get up is Matthew, Zack and Leslie's little boy."

Panther shifted between watching Shantae's reaction to the situation and the little boys who looked to be about one wrong move away from toppling to the floor. Kyle had probably been doing the same because the next second, the Charlie Team member was moving fast across the room. As if he had anticipated what was going to happen, Kyle swooped in and caught his son just as the block tower gave way.

"I would like to say you wouldn't have your hands full, but that would be a lie. These two alone will keep you busy. Fortunately, they aren't here every day, and often times their fathers like to take them onadventures."

It was the way Missy said the last word that had Kyle clearing his throat. Everyone knew what kind of adventures the kids went on. Despite Leslie's protests, Zack was determined to raise a little hellion just like himself. No one ever thought that the quiet Kyle would be the same way, but boy were they wrong. Every chance he could, Kyle took Matthew out to train with Blitz.

"I'm sure they’re sweet boys."

Zack chose that moment to walk in. "You couldn't possibly be talking about my boy," he guffawed.

"So this is why you came to visit?" Missy turned her attention to Kyle. "The two of you are running away with the boys?"

"We just thought we would give you a little break while you showed Shantae around. Also? They love training Blitz and he's due for another session today."

"Uh-huh. If you say so. Just please bring them back cleaner than last time. It took me twenty minutes of holding them down to get them cleaned up."

"We promise," Zack replied before grabbing his son and bolting out the door. Kyle was right behind him. Both men looked like criminals, fleeing the scene, rather than highly trained operatives.

"Go ahead and go meet with Wes. Shantae's in good hands with me."

Panther didn't run off like his teammates. Instead, he waited for Shantae to smile at him. Once he was sure she would be okay, he left the room and went in search of his boss.

He found Wes in Nancy's office. She looked ready to throttle him.

"How many times do I need to remind you not to touch my programs?"

"You were on vacation and Missy was off that day. I figured I could handle one simple task," Wes argued.

"Obviously not, since you deleted an entire week's worth of data."

Yikes. It was rare that Nancy got upset. She had worked for Wes since the very beginning and was used to his lack of knowledge when it came to anything on the business side. Right now, though, Panther was concerned for Wes's well-being.

"I'm sorry. Maybe if you left instructions on how to use it, this wouldn't happen."

"Or maybe you should just stay out of my office, since this is why you hired me. And just to be clear, thereisan instruction manual. It's actually labeled ‘Instruction Manual’ and it sits right there on my desk in case Missy ever needs it, so clearly your observation skills are deteriorating."

Ah, fuck. Shots fired. If there was ever a time to step in, it was now.

"Excuse me."

"What?" both Nancy and Wes whipped around in his direction and asked at the same time.

"Trista said she spoke to you about me coming in to discuss something with you."

"Another woman who is constantly yelling at me," he grumbled, then walked out of the office.

Nancy rolled her eyes before going back to sit behind her desk, likely to try and fix whatever mistake Wes made. Panther took that as his cue to leave. He had to run to catch up to a stomping Wes, and finally found his boss in the situation room, mumbling to himself.

"You know Nancy is legit theonlyreason your employees get paid, right? Pissing her off doesn't seem like a smart move."