Page 33 of Gross Misconduct

“Pets?”

Tangi pointed at me. “Yes! That’s it! Something like that.”

“He should adopt a pet?”

“Yes and no. Hear me out. Here is the scenario. The two of you are going to volunteer at a dog or cat rescue. Then you are going to adopt a pet together, because of course, the two of you love each other, and that’s the next logical step in a relationship.”

I was souring on this idea by the second. First, we didn’t live together, so who would look after the cat or dog? Did Jeremy even like pets? Maybe he was allergic to them. It would probably come as no surprise to him that I’d never had a pet growing up. I was too busy taking care of myself and my mother, how could I add a pet to the mix, but I’d always wanted one.

“So we are using the pet as a prop?” Wasn’t that exactly what I wanted to stop doing?

Tangi’s brow furrowed. “No! You’d pick a pet you actually wanted. Didn’t you always say you wanted a dog?”

“I wouldn’t know the first thing about taking care of one. And how do you know that Jeremy even likes pets.”

“I know he does. His parents have dogs. He loves them to death.”

How did I not know that? “It’s a thought.”

“Add to that a donation, some pictures, that kind of thing.”

“But is it enough?”

“It’s better than nothing. Unless you want to get engaged.”

Tangi had a point since I had nothing else to work with. It was time to find a pet rescue and my new dog.

Chapter Seventeen

Jeremy

We’d won the first game of our road trip in LA, but I couldn’t help but notice the boos every time I touched the puck. Even out here, people cared? I had taken Jill’s advice and stayed away from all social media. In an added move, all media was told that no one from the Kodiaks would be answering questions about Lex and his suspension. So far, that was holding up.

We lost our game in San Jose and lost again in Anaheim, and we were feeling shitty about it, so heading into our last game in Vegas, the mood was sour. We were staying in a hotel off the strip, but my stomach still managed to do somersaults at the thought of being here. I didn’t normally need anything to help me sleep, but was I grateful that my road-trip roommate, one of the young kids on the team, Bryce, had a bottle of melatonin. He gave me a couple of pills and told me to let them dissolve under my tongue. I thanked the kid who was one day going to be a superstar.

While he was fast asleep and softly snoring, I waited for thepills to kick in. I checked my texts, and I smiled when I saw one from Jill that she’d sent a few hours ago.

Do you like dogs?

She always asked the oddest questions. I replied, not expecting a response since it was almost midnight.

I have them back home. Never got one here because someone else would need to take care of it.

Okay. Let’s get a dog. I don’t know the first thing about taking care of one, but you can teach me. Do I need to dog-proof? How will I know it needs to do its business? I’ll check online. And maybe buy a book or two tomorrow.

This was the oddest text exchange, and if Bryce hadn’t been sleeping, I would have called her.

We are getting a dog?

Yes. Good PR. People love dogs. You take care of it when you’re in town, and I’ll take care of it when you’re gone. We can also get dog walkers.

For someone who knew nothing about dogs, she’d already been doing some research.

Do you think a dog is going to solve all my problems?

It’s better than Tangi’s idea of getting engaged. I’m sending you some dogs. See if you like any of them.

I wanted to explain that dogs were not the same thing as a pair of shoes, but I let her send through the pictures. I did think the medium-sized one that was white with hints of black specks on her was cute. Her name was Chloe, and she was about three years old. Friendly and potty trained. Good news for Jill. She’d probably get frustrated trying to house-train a dog. Then I stopped. Why was I doing this? First of all, Jill knew nothing about dogs. Second, dogs were a responsibility, and right now, I was pretty sure she viewed them as an accessory, and dogs werenotan accessory.

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