Page 18 of One Bossy Date
“She said they werecats,” she answered.
“I doubt that,” I said firmly.
Her shoulders lifted, then dropped again, her skirt dripping more. “Well…maybe she didn’t…now, I’m not so sure, see, but I was definitely under the impression that they were.”
She squeezed her hazel eyes shut with frustration, giving me the opportunity to drop my gaze to her feet. Yellow nail polish. Of course. Only to confirm my initial suspicions, I let my gaze travel upwards. Apart from her see-through T-shirt displaying her bra underneath, she stood in her yellow panties. I recalled the clip I’d found in the office café. She’d met with Caroline that day. It had been hers, of course, nobody else’s.
I set aside my displeasure about the whole situation to take a second glance at her body. I didn’t miss her curvy hips or her toned, shapely legs. She was clean shaven. Her whole body was a distraction. She was a distraction. I forced myself to look up at her face.
“You’re lucky that my dogs are trained not to attack unwelcome intruders,” I rumbled.
Her eyes, previously flaring with exasperated flames, now faltered nervously. They darted to the dogs beside her, and I noticed she had been standing as stiff as a board the entire time. That was odd. Wait. Could it be?
“Are you scared of them?” I asked.
“No! Not at all.” She shook her head and swallowed deeply.
“Why don’t you give them a rub then?” Maybe I was an asshole, but I wanted to watch her squirm.
She reached down at a snail’s pace, and awkwardly petted the air exactly three inches above Ares’s head, which he lifted excitedly. At that motion, she jolted, yanking her hand back to her side.
I shook my head.
“Wait here,” I grumbled. “I’ll bring you some dry clothes.”
* * *
Dressed in my slacks and shirt, I gave Caroline a call while I waited for Zoe to change in my room. The dogs had since settled on their beds in the lounge area. There was no reason to cause the young woman any more of a “challenge.”
“Caroline, I’m at my apartment with a woman called Zoe, who thinks my dogs are cats.”
“Oh, really? I’m so certain I told her they were dogs…”
I knew my assistant well enough to know when she was genuinely surprised, and when she was putting it on—like now.
“I assume you couldn’t find any of the usual dog sitters?”
“I couldn’t. I’m sorry, Mr. Windham, but—”
“So, you tricked Zoe?”
“No. Of course not, Mr. Windham. I just…assumed that she took on dogs as well.”
“I now have a distraught, wet, and angry woman in my apartment who seems to be terrified of dogs.”
“Oh, my goodness, no. I’m so sorry! I had no idea! I promise I wouldn’t have gone through with this had I known. I’ll give her a call right away and apologize.”
“No need. I’ll handle it. Next time, keep me in the loop.” I ended the call and put my phone on the counter. An icy voice sounded behind me.
“Maybe she didn’t tell you because of your attitude.”
Spinning around, I asked, “My attitude?”
“Yes.” She stood in my gym shorts and an oversized T-shirt with her arms folded across her chest.
“And what, pray tell, gives you the idea that I give her any attitude?”
She scoffed, rolling her eyes. “The fact that it never seems to switch off. Both times I’ve met you, you’ve been grumpy as hell.”