Page 8 of Pretty Puppy

Ash grunted. “That sounds about right.”

“Umm, heads up. He’s also hardcore against any kind of cursing.”

“Duly noted.”

After going through the process of checking in and getting all the paperwork he needed, Micki had Arnie lead the way to his room. Ash plopped on the bed then fished out his cell. He’d be rooming with one other guy, but while he still had some privacy, he needed to give Owen a call to let him know he’d arrived.

A pep talk wouldn’t be bad either, but he wasn’t holding out hope for that. Up until the moment he climbed onto the bus, Owen had been trying to talk him out of his devious plan.

“Hey, I made it.”

“Oh shit, hold on. Let me go in the other room.”

“Daddy Rick?”

“I swear,” he whispered. “If Daddy finds out I’ve been plotting with you, he’s gonna…” Owen growled. “I don’t know what he’ll do, but it won’t be pretty.”

“Rick doesn’t know Lee or any of the other people up here, so there isn’t a chance he’ll find out.”

“Yeah, but I’mlyingto him.” Owen’s voice had risen a notch, so he was probably a safe distance away. “I’ve been consumed by guilt fordays.”

“Dude, don’t do that to yourself. Like I said,I’mthe big liar in this scenario. You’re the…exaggerator.”

“Right. Because you being hired by a rich Sheikh from Dubai to teach his secret boy pup that no one must know about or it would cause a national incident, totally happened.”

“But don’t you see the genius in that? He couldn’t check my references, or he’d be responsible for causing an uprising in a foreign country.”

“I see zero genius in any of this nonsense. I sense there’s about to be a shit show up there as opposed to a pet play event.”

“Owen, don’t you believe in true love, a love so strong it was meant to be? You’re doing something beautiful and praiseworthy.”

A loud groan could be heard. “Oh God. This is so going to fail. Why did I ever agree to get dragged into your hairbrained scheme?”

“Listen,Ethel. Drink some chamomile tea and keep your mouth shut and everything will be fine.”

“I doubt that,Lucy, and I hate chamomile.”

At the sound of the door lock, Ash’s heart jumped into his throat. “Listen,” he whispered. “I gotta go. Love you, and I swear it’ll all work out. I’ll throw myself under the bus to save you if necessary.”

“It’ll be necessary. Love you back.”

“Hey!” A short, but very fit, thirtyish man crossed the threshold with an enormous duffel. He tossed it onto the empty bed next to Ash’s then stuck out his hand. “I’m Jarrod. Nice to meet ya’.”

Ash rose from the bed and accepted the offer. After Jarrod gave Ash’s hand a hearty pump, he let go. Between this guy and Shane, there was a lot of overblown testosterone floating around. Ash drew his eyebrows together.Right. He was supposed to be a top, a pup Master.

Ash sucked in a breath and attempted to lower the register of his voice. “Same. Looking forward to showing these pups who’s boss.” The last word came out on a squeak. Ash cleared his throat. No way could he keep that up without shredding his vocal cords.

Jarrod tilted his head as he unzipped his bag. “I guess. We all have different styles. You’ll probably think I’m a wimp. I have a more gentle approach.”

Heat crawled up Ash’s neck and into his cheeks. “Of course. What I meant was ooh, boy. Can’t wait to get started.” He rubbed his hands together in emphasis. “Pup training is my life. Yup. Don’t know what I’d do if I wasn’t training those pups.”

Perhaps becoming a professional fibber.

Jarrod continued unpacking his belongings. “Wow, you sure are enthusiastic. That’s great. So, you’re in charge of the pups? Sounds like they’ll be in good hands.”

“Uh…”Wait. What?“You’re not helping to train the pups too?”

He’d been hoping to follow the lead of whatever the real trainers were doing.

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