Page 14 of Billionaire Unreachable: Wyatt

“I don’t want you to pay me if we make this deal. I’d be benefiting enough,” I said hesitantly. “I love dogs. I’ve had several shelter dogs, but I can’t have one in my apartment here. And I’d be happy to leave what I cook on video for your dinner every night. Is Xena aggressive?”

“Oh, God, no,” Tori drawled. “She’s the sweetest little French bulldog you’ve ever seen. I’ve worked with her at the training center. It’s not usually a great breed for service dogs, but we came across her at the shelter, and we knew she’d make a good companion dog for the right person. She’s just a little…stubborn. We don’t have anyone who just needs a companion dog at the moment. Most of the people waiting need a dog with special skills, but we’ll find placement for Xena. We just need a little more time.”

I knew that Cooper and Tori worked with Jax as volunteers at his training center for service dogs for veterans.

I was also aware that the place occasionally got a little crowded when they had a high demand and a lot of dogs in training at the same time.

“She’s not sweet,” Wyatt argued as he fixed his disgruntled gaze on his sister. “She snores louder than a full-grown, male human, and she passes gas like one, too. She also has allergies, which means she needs special medications and even special shampoo. That dog is more high-maintenance than any human I’ve ever met. She obviously has a bladder the size of a pea because she wants to go outside a thousand times a day. You also neglected to tell me that her breed has separation anxiety. She whines every single morning when I leave.”

“Lots of breeds have separation anxiety,” Jax muttered. “And she wouldn’t be having separation anxiety if she wasn’t already attached to you.”

“She’s a mess,” Wyatt griped. “And I don’t want her to be attached to me. You called in a favor that I owed you. You knew I couldn’t say no.”

“She a sweetheart,” Tori said defensively. “And it’s not like you can’t afford to hire another dog sitter. Or you could try her in doggie daycare.”

“She wouldn’t like it,” Wyatt said unhappily. “She’s needy. She prefers one-on-one attention.”

I looked from Wyatt to Tori. My friend winked at me, obviously trying to convey the fact that no matter how much Wyatt complained, he still had some compassion for the canine.

I turned my head toward Wyatt again as I said, “I can’t believe you actually have a…Frenchie.”

I heard Jax snicker, and Wyatt instantly shot him a fuck-you look, which made me instantly regret my words.

I hadn’t meant for the comment to seem rude, but I’d peg Wyatt as the type of guy who’d prefer a dog that would rip someone’s face off. Not a sweet Frenchie that couldn’t stand it when he left the house every day.

However, it was obvious that Wyatt Durand actually had some humaneness for the small animal, despite all of his complaints.

“She’s not my dog,” Wyatt rumbled. “And I will pay you. I’ll be getting both a chef and a dog sitter. All you’ll be getting is a video and some pictures in a nice kitchen. That’s hardly fair. And you haven’t met the pain in the ass canine yet, either. You might decide to quit after your first day with her.”

I smiled at him and was disappointed when that smile was met with a stony, emotionless expression. “I’m sure she’ll be fine with me. How soon do you need someone to sit with her?”

For one shining moment, I’d started to see Wyatt Durand in a different light.

He’d acted like he was interested in me as a person. He’d been curious about my history, and had even complimented me on my skills as a chef.

No matter how much he complained, he obviously tried to meet the needs of the small animal under his care.

And then, he’d snapped back to the cantankerous man I’d met after Chase and Vanna’s reception.

Apparently, he had the social skills to act like a decent person, but those tendencies were fleeting.

Does it really matter? He’s offering me an opportunity I can’t resist. It’s a business arrangement.

“Tomorrow?” he asked coolly. “Xena has been staying in a suite at a dog resort while I was gone, but I’ll have to pick her up tonight.”

I had to try hard to keep a neutral expression on my face because I definitely wanted to laugh.

He’s keeping a dog he supposedly dislikes in a suite at a doggie resort?

Since I had no catering gigs scheduled until the following week, I had no reasonnotto accept.

I didn’t have to like the guy. I’d worked for several really unpleasant, arrogant, male bosses in the past. My occupation was male-dominated, and some of those men were total jerks. I really wouldn’t have to spend much, if any, time in Wyatt’s presence.

And just like that, Wyatt Durand and I were making plans for this mutually beneficial arrangement to start the very next day.

Wyatt

“What in the hell possessed you to offer Shelby your kitchen and a dog sitting job yesterday?” my brother Chase asked as we sat together in my office at Durand Industries the next day. “Everyone else offered, and there isn’t a single one of us who would have minded helping Shelby out.”

---