Page 36 of Gross Misconduct

I glanced at my watch. “Wow, is it that late? I should get going. Jeremy and I have a big day coming up.”

“That’s okay, run away from the truth,” she joked.

I gave her a hug and left before she came up with any other theories.

Two days later, people were still talking about Lex, and that meant they were still talking about Jeremy. Thankfully, news that Orla had left her husband hadn’t come out yet, and if she was smart—and I had no idea if she was—she’d keep quiet about it. The Kodiaks maintained their silence on the matter just as we’d agreed to, and instead, we let local journalists do all the talking. I had to hope that some other news items would push this off the radar. The problem was that a player as talented as Lex getting indefinitely suspended was big news.

I had to stop worrying about this, so I went dog shopping. I got two sets of everything for Chloe, our new dog. The rescue had already assured us no one else would adopt her, and I’d found myself staring at her picture Friday afternoon while I should have been editing some promotional articles. Her bio said that she liked to cuddle, was good with other people and dogs, liked walks, and wasn’t much of a barker. That was a good thing since I’m sure my neighbors wouldn’t appreciate any barking.

I’d even asked Whitney if we had a no-pets policy at Graham Place. Maybe I could bring Chloe to work with me so she wouldn’t be alone. Whitney said she didn’t know, but she put Oliver on it. Just as I was packing up for the day, he told me there was no policy about pets, and that no one had ever brought one in before. If Chloe was as sweet as her bio said she’d be, then having her around the office wouldn’t be a problem with no policy in place. And if someone demanded a policy, I’d make sure Chloe was grandfathered in.

The lady at the pet store was kind enough to assist me. She helped me choose food and suggested something that closely resembled people food. She explained what was in it, and that it was safe for humans to eat—not that I planned to eat it. She then cautioned me to start Chloe on it slowly while I weened her off whatever food the rescue had been giving her.

We picked out collars, leashes, and a raincoat, because who was I kidding? It was Vancouver. I grabbed some dog treats, dog bowls, and an assortment of toys. A few hundred dollars later, and weighed down by two huge bags of dog items, I set off for home. I’d wanted to pick up some dog beds, but since I was walking, there was no way I could carry it all, so when I got home, I sent Jeremy a text, asking him to pick up the beds. Yes, I was ready for Chloe.

As I got into bed that night, I kept thinking about what Tangi had said. Did I want kids? No. I was still pretty sure that I didn’t have a maternal bone in my body. Sure, I was excited about Chloe, but she was a dog. That was a whole other ball game from a kid. More importantly, I didn’t have anyone to start a family with, and that included Jeremy. He was a nice guy, super-hot, but we weren’t a match.

When I got up the next morning and ate my breakfast, I stared at everything I’d gotten Chloe. My normally half-empty fridge was all filled with dog food. This sweet girl wasgoing to have it all. I’d never really considered pet ownership before, and I didn’t know why. I’d loved animals growing up. Wolseley’s family always had at least three or four cats, and I loved having them on my lap. I also loved the Kildare’s German shepherd named Steve. Tangi didn’t know this, but when they’d had to put him to sleep when he’d gotten cancer, I’d cried myself to sleep that night. I loved that dog, and he’d loved me.

I finished breakfast and quickly got ready. Jeremy was due in less than half an hour. As usual, it was raining when he arrived. I let him up, and he whistled when he saw all the dog stuff. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw him carrying two large dog beds.

“Someone is going to be spoiled.”

“I want her to have a good life. Did you read her whole bio? She had a litter and her family dumped her at the shelter. Who does that?”

“Shitty humans.”

“Right. Very shitty humans.”

He set the beds down. “I picked them up on my way over here. I figured I’d let you pick which one you wanted. Thanks for picking up stuff for me. Let me know what I owe you.”

I looked at the bed and picked the one with a hint of pink. By the looks of it, he’d picked up the most expensive ones. “I figure after we pick her up, we could hang out here for a while to get to know her. Gemma, the woman at the pet store, said we should be careful about walking her until she gets to know us. Problem is that we don’t have backyards, so I got these ultra-safe harnesses. She isn’t going anywhere.”

He smiled and was biting back laughter.

“What is so funny?” I asked.

“You are really into this.”

“I’m not going to lie. I’m pretty excited.”

As we walked to the office since I still hadn’t bothered toget a car, I told him that I planned to take her to work with me. He thought it was a great idea.

“We also have to make sure we have the same discipline for her. We don’t want her to be confused.”

“Just so you know, I told the rescue director that we lived together. I think we should stick to that story today. I don’t know that they would love the idea that we are shuttling Chloe back and forth to our apartments. Dogs need an adjustment period. And since you have a more stable home, it’s probably best you keep her for at least the first month or two.”

How had I missed that? I’d been researching dogs since we’d decided to do this, but I guess people rarely adopted dogs they’d co-own. “You’re right. I’m sure you’ll come around and visit her?”

“Of course. She isourdog.”

When we got to the shelter, one of the attendants brought us into a meeting room. A few minutes later, the executive director and the same attendant returned with Chloe. She seemed a little shy at first, her tail firmly between her legs. She had floppy white ears tinged with black and the cutest face. Her eyes had almost a human quality as she stared at us, sizing up who was about to take her home.

I guessed she was about twenty to twenty-five pounds, and when Jeremy held out a treat for her, she tentatively made her way over. After taking the treat, she took one from me too. We talked to Wanda, the director of the rescue, while Chloe sniffed us both. I so badly wanted to reach out and pet her, but I knew she needed to let us know that was okay.

Part of me was worried she wouldn’t like me, but within minutes, she was coming up to me for pets and doing the same for Jeremy. I was in love with her already.

“Why don’t we give you some time with Chloe in our courtyard? That way you can make a finaldecision. In the meantime, Mr. Vaughn, do you mind taking some pictures with the staff? I know we shouldn’t ask, but we love our Kodiaks.”

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