Page 17 of Billionaire Unreachable: Wyatt

The most unromantic male on the planet, and I was perfectly okay with that.

I signed off my computer as I added, “Now, if we’re done here, I think I’ll head out and make sure that Xena - The Warrior Princess didn’t make my new dog sitter quit on her first day. That would completely ruin my day since I’ve been looking forward to eating whatever Shelby decided to cook today.”

Chase glanced at the clock and back at me with a surprised expression. “Are you seriously going to leave the office at four-thirty in the afternoon?”

I raised a brow. “Aren’t you thinking about heading out yourself very shortly?”

My brother rarely stayed at the office after five anymore, so he had no reason to look at me like I was doing something wrong.

Truth was, I did want to check on my house and make sure disaster hadn’t struck on Shelby’s first day.

Number one…I did want to keep Shelby as a dog sitter. Yes, I could hire another dogsitter, but the vetting process was a pain in the ass since there were very few people I was willing to trust with access to my home.

Number two…I’d missed lunch, I was starving, and I wanted to see what she’d cooked today.

And number three…it seemed that I had a rare inability to concentrate well this afternoon.

I wasn’t sure I’d be able to focus until I’d satisfied my curiosity, and I saw no reason that I couldn’t go home a little early now that our meeting prep for next week was done.

“I leave at five now, but you’re usually the last person to take off at night,” Chase mused suspiciously. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you’re taking off at a reasonable hour, but that’s never happened before.”

Fuck!Was I always that predictable?

I stood, picked up my jacket from the back of my office chair, and shrugged into it.

“I’d like to make sure that Shelby is going to remain my dog sitter after meeting Cujo for the first time,” I grumbled.

Chase chuckled. “Xena isn’t exactly an attack dog. If Shelby can handle problematic horses that weigh over a thousand pounds, I’m pretty sure she can deal with a twenty-five pound Frenchie that just wants a little more attention.”

I frowned as I looked at Chase. “She worked with horses?” I asked.

“Yeah. She grew up helping her father train horses with all kinds of issues,” he replied. “She mentioned it at a barbecue we had while you were in Paris.”

I nodded and turned to leave, wondering why I was annoyed that my brother seemed to know far more about Shelby Remington than I did.

Shelby

Ilaughed at Xena’s antics as she cuddled up next to me on the floor, her head coming to rest against my thigh. She snuffled, and after acting like she was looking for the perfect position, she looked like she was settling in for a long nap.

I rubbed her belly, and she let out a satisfied sigh.

I’d let her come to me and get closer to me on her terms today.

While she could be a handful, she was also the sweetest, most adorable dog I’d ever seen.

She had a pretty, cream-colored coat with a black snout and dark, soulful eyes that she had no problem using to her advantage when she wanted something. Her huge ears had black tips that made those oversized ears look even larger and more noticeable.

Xena had happily hung out with me in the kitchen while I’d made a cooking video, a task that had taken me a while since I wasn’t used to the equipment or cooking in front of a camera.

Yeah, maybe I’d spoiled her a little by giving her small pieces of cooked chicken, but I’d made her work for it with obedience.

She’d obviously been well-trained by Jax’s canine center, and any stubbornness she had was simply fear and uncertainty.

She was a shelter dog that had been taken in for training.

While Tori didn’t know much about her history, it was pretty clear that Xena hadn’t had a secure home in a while.

Honestly, all the adorable canine needed was a routine and clear expectations to be obedient and joyful.

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