Page 15 of One Bossy Date
“Yes, I will. I’m good at other things. Outdoor things that bring people joy and laughter.”
“You couldmakethis job your own. That’s the beauty of it, Dax,” I said, drumming my fingers against the desk. “You can delegate the admin and spend time on the sites with the clients. I do mostly that in Chile. You could put your own stamp on the company. I know you learned more from Dad than you care to admit.”
With a burst of frustration, Dax stood from the chair stiffly and paced the room. “Look, man, just let it go. It’s not for me.”
“All right.” I sat back and lifted my hands in a gesture of surrender. “I’m sorry. Look, we’ll go for a ride tomorrow and get your mood back, okay? You able to ride?”
“Hell, yeah.”
I was only too relieved that tomorrow was the weekend, and I’d already considered the bike ride before seeing Dax. “Good. Glad to hear it.”
“Maybe we can find ourselves some eligible bachelorettes to warm our backs while we ride, huh? Release our tension and all?” He winked, clearly happy to move on to a new topic.
“Sure. Anything for you.”
“Look, just don’t tell Mom about this, okay?” He gestured to his ribs. “Even though I’m an adult, she’ll try to stop me from biking or doing anything that takes place outside.”
Smiling inwardly, I agreed. Dax and I had always enjoyed this one hobby together—motorcycling. When he’d turned sixteen, I’d bought him his first Ducati, and since then, it’d been our thing. The speed and the wind worked better for us than any kind of meditation or sport.
The road, the wind, the freedom. It blew all the stress away, better than anything else. Well, except maybe one thing.
Maybe I needed this ride as much as Dax.
7
ZOE
You never knew how your week was gonna go. You never knew. You seriously didn’t.
Two days after Caroline showed me the ropes, I slid the key into the lock and opened the door to my new client’s penthouse.Heavens. I stood frozen for a few seconds, holding my breath. The place was insanely beautiful—in a bachelor kind of way.
Caroline hadn’t mentioned anything about Mr. Anderson Windham being married, and his decorating style communicated that as clearly as if his name tag had had the suffix “bachelor” written on it. It was an open-plan design, so the view of Central Park was visible from anywhere in the living area. The first thing I noticed was the abundance of light—something I didn’t have in my kitty, broom-closet bedroom.
Most of the furniture was timber, upholstered with matching rustic gray material, and all counters and floors were white. In the kitchen, all the appliances and the plumbing fixtures were black, except for some copper pots hanging from a steel rack in the ceiling, looking unused. How slick—even the windows and glazed doors across the apartment were framed in black aluminum. I immediately remembered what Caroline had said about only being allowed to wear neutral colors in the office, and it became clear that it wasn’t only company policy, but rather a preference of the boss. I briefly wondered just how controlling this guy actually was.
Caroline had told me not to wear heels—and I hadn’t, but I believed I’d be fine in my chunky heeled boots, since they matched so perfectly with my knee-length, ruby-colored pleated skirt. To play down the heavy colors, I wore a white T-shirt tucked into the waistband.
Setting my bag on the entry table, I started searching for his cats while eyeing the counters for any food or instructions.
“Kitty, kitty, where are you, sweethearts?” I mumbled almost silently, not wanting to scare or wake them if they were sleeping somewhere.
While searching behind couches and under tables, my eye caught on the slightly open patio doors.Oh, no, could they have wandered out there?
I moved over and opened the doors wider, sticking my head out to search for the kitties, but instead grew distracted by what was beyond the patio. The greenery of Central Park stretched far ahead, and I squinted, trying to take in every detail. In an attempt to get a better angle, I stepped out—mindful to not cause any danger for the cats in case they decided to surprise-follow me. Right in front of me was a jacuzzi half-full of water, and I stooped down to check the temperature. The modern finishes across the penthouse, along with the jacuzzi on the patio, let me assume that the owner was no antiquated and grisly gazillionaire.
My fun conversation with Jim about finding a rich and handsome man to be my date played through my mind, and I laughed out loud. Even if he wasn’t old or unattractive, from what I’d heard so far, I doubted I’d be interested in spending an evening with this particular tycoon.
I kneeled beside the hot tub to reach in, when a familiar, yet unpleasant smell became dreadfully evident. I recognized it as…wet…animal.
Wet animal?
Oh, no, itcouldn’tbe.
Could it?
Suddenly, I heard a door farther into the penthouse burst open, and the sound of sharp nails clamoring across the tiled floor. Loud barks echoed off the apartment walls while I lost the ability to breathe. Had my laugh awakened them?
There was barely time to turn my head before they were upon me.