Page 13 of Pretty Puppy

“I’ll do my best. Oh, and wish me luck tomorrow. I think the drill sergeant is going to be there to supervise.”

“That Shane guy you told me about? My friend never mentioned how intense he is.” Owen gave a low whistle. “Be chill. Don’t get all extra and call attention to yourself. It’ll be easier to fake your way through this if you stay below the radar.”

Ash poked out his bottom lip. “I don’t get all extra.”

“Oh, please. For real, I have to go. Talk to you tomorrow.”

After Ash ended the call, he forced himself up from the bed to change and put his phone on the charger. He needed to think, plan his next Lee move. Not only that, he intended to be in bed, lights out and fake sleeping if so required when Jarrod came back. The last thing he wanted to do was get into some drawn out conversation with the guy.

Owen was right about one thing. The more he kept his big mouth shut, the better chance he had of escaping his ruse alive.

* * * *

Ash gazed at the pups before him, his stomach churning as his life flashed before his eyes. He was toast. Burned up, blackened and crumbly toast. No way could he pull off being Mr. Pup Trainer to Royalty without getting busted.

“Good morning.”

So far, that’s all he had. Whatever crap he’d pulled off the Internet that morning had fled his brain as if trying to distance itself from his stupidity.

“Everyone doing good?” He plastered on his typical joyous fake smile. “Are we excited or what?”

The five men glanced between each other. After a moment, the smallest—and if Ash had to guess—youngest of the group, spoke up.

“I am.”

Ash had barely been able to understand him but was thankful at least someone was interested in what he had to say.

Ash let out a shaky laugh, then gave a big clap. The biggest guy of the bunch jumped at the loud echo the sound had made.

“Sorry. Uh, so…” He cleared his throat. “Why don’t we all introduce ourselves to begin with. I’m Asher Griffin, and I’ll be your trainer.”

Duh. They probably knew why he was there already.Things are going swimmingly so far. He swiped the back of his hand across his forehead, wondering why the heat was turned up so damn high.

“Uh, so… You.” He pointed at the youngest pup. “Let’s start with you.”

The shy boy introduced himself as Mason, with the rest following suit and giving their names. Ash padded the time by asking each one to tell a bit about themselves, where they were from, if they had any experience and so on. He took a surreptitious peek at his phone to check the time.

Yippee. That had used up all of five minutes of the one-hour intro session.

Ash caught a glimpse of Shane with his peripheral vision in the doorway. He had to start doing something puppyish soon, or he’d be sent to the dog pound. An inappropriate snort burst out of him at his stupid joke, and he slapped a hand to his mouth.

The features fell of the only pup who’d shown up with a full bodysuit and mitts for all fours, and Ash realized the poor guy had just finished introducing himself.

He stuck out his lower lip. “Just because I’ve never done this before, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t go all out. Did I screw up?”

Ash waved his hands in front of him. “No! That wasn’t directed at you. It’s awesome that you’ve taken the initiative. You should do whatever makes you feel comfortable, which is the main thing I want to get across to everyone today.”

With a sigh and a great measure of relief, Ash realized he had his topic for their first session. He planned to make notes as he went along, too. That way, when the second round of trainees came in the following week, he wouldn’t be having a complete meltdown again.

All the men nodded their heads and the pup he’d insulted gave him a small smile.

“So,” Ash rubbed his hands together. “With that in mind, lets start off by exploring our inner pup.” He remembered that advice from when he first began working with Lee. Of course, the thought of Lee cause a twinge in his gut, but he pushed it aside so he wouldn’t lose his momentum. “How many of you already know the name of your pup?”

And with that, he was off and running.

By the end of the session, all but one pup had a name and he’d sent them off on their lunch break with a promise that they’d go over the different kinds of gear that could be used. He’d have to run up to his room to gather up his stuff for a show and tell. He also hoped he’d have the room to himself so he could give Owen a call.

Right as he reached the doorway, Shane appeared from around the corner. “Ah, there you are. Do you have a minute?”

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