Page 5 of Just Bromantically Invested

I practice what I’m going to say in my mind, hoping I can get it all out right. I’m here for a quick look. Want to make sure my team is on schedule. Need to check things are done correctly.

Very standard, very routine, every reason for me to be here.

My phone goes off with a message.

Madden:

Bwroak!

At least he’s amused.

I approach the door, hands sweating, which is an odd reaction—given I’m the sensible one in all this, I’m also the one having to deal with the clients. I should have made Madden go to their door dressed like a chicken. Maybe one day, when we have a long list of clients and are in high demand, we’ll be able to play games like that, but for now, every job counts.

Once I’m at the front door, I ball up my clammy hands and knock.

There’s a voice down the hall, and after a few footsteps, Isabell answers. It takes her a second to place me. “Oh, hi.”

“Hi, sorry to disturb you,” I say, eyes drifting past her to the large glass doors at the back of the house. “I’m stopping in to check where my team is up to, if I may …”

“Of course, come in. It’s already looking wonderful.”

“Bit small though,” David says.

We get that concern frequently. “When you’re used to seeing a lot and then suddenly there’s nothing there, it’s a common perception to have. Don’t worry, your backyard is all accounted for, and once we’re done, it’ll look exactly like the renderings we went over.”

“Well,” he says grudgingly. “I guess we’ll see.”

I follow them through and fake a great deal of interest looking at a blank stretch of dirt. Then, movement catches the corner of my eye. I turn back in Isabell and David’s direction just in time to see, through the windows behind them, two orange-clad legs kicking and flailing in the air for a second before they disappear out of sight.

Dear god.

“Perfect. We’re right on track,” I assure them.

“What about all those footprints?” David asks. “Those are going to be gone before the grass goes down, right?”

They already should be. “Of course. They’ll be the first thing my partner gets to in the morning.”

“Right. Well, good.”

I thank them for their time and all but scurry from the house. As soon as I’m outside, I can make out Madden-the-chicken sitting in my passenger seat. The urge to shake him is strong, but I push it down as I approach, and his warm smile spreads across his face.

My door clicks open, and I slide into the stuffy heat of thecar, instantly hit by a wash of Madden’s sweat and a hint of his fruity bath wash. His eyes are shining blue in the afternoon sun as they meet mine. “So … what have we learned?”

“That I have the greatest best friend in the world.”

That makes me feel good, and it’s sort of hard to hold anything against Madden when he’s being his sweetest self. I look pointedly at all the yellow, fluffy feathers. “And …”

“That I need to keep a better eye on my clothes.”

I laugh. “Nothing about not working naked?”

He bristles like what I’ve suggested is ridiculous. “It was hot. My body wanted to breathe.”

“Did your body tell you that, did it?”

“Of course. I couldn’t stop sweating.”

“That’s what most people do on a hot day. It doesn’t mean they take off their clothes.”

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