There were a few other dogs with their humans at the park, and as soon as Zeus ran off to play with them as soon as he was off the leash. Lauren perched on the top of a picnic table watching him run the perimeter. She nodded hello to the people near her table.
One of the women pointed to Zeus, who was playing chase with a large golden retriever, and said, “He’s gorgeous. Do you show him anywhere?”
Lauren shook her head, not quite sure how to answer. She wanted to avoid getting anywhere near the story of why she was there with Zeus.
“I’m just watching him for someone. He is a beautiful dog, though, you’re right,” Lauren said after a pause.
The woman nodded knowingly. “Ah, you like the dog better than the human.”
Lauren laughed. “That might actually be true. The dog certainly has caused less trouble.”
“In that case, keep the dog, ditch the guy.” She stood up as her dog, the retriever Zeus had been playing with, trotted up to them. The dog ignored her owner, instead nosing around Lauren’s foot.
“Come on, Zoe. Time to head home.” Zoe’s owner clipped a leash to the collar around the dog’s neck.
Lauren gave Zoe a friendly pat and then waved at the woman as she walked away. She’d often wished she could get a dog herself, but her apartment wasn’t dog-friendly, and neither was her schedule. She lived vicariously through her friends that had dogs, and hoped that one day soon she’d be able to have one of her own.
As she watched Zeus run and play, she thought about how affectionate Hakim was with his dog. In her experience, someone who cared that much about an animal couldn’t be all bad. And he had been so charming that morning.
But he could also be so arrogant. His attitude, especially at first, had indicated that he was used to getting what he wanted and would do whatever it took to make that happen. His whole plan to use her to get back at her mother was beyond immature, and Lauren wasn’t sure what had happened between the two business rivals to bring matters to that point.
Over breakfast, however, she’d seen a different person. A man who was funny and kind, and thoughtful. Lauren wasn’t sure what had changed, but maybe Hakim wasn’t so bad after all.
Zeus came running over, carrying a piece of rope someone had left in the park.
“What do you have there?” Lauren asked the dog, then played tug of war with him until Zeus let go of the rope and settled flat on the ground, his nose resting on crossed paws.
“Done already? Okay, then, let’s go see what’s next on our to-do list.”
Back at the house, Lauren made sure Zeus had water, then she curled up in a sunny spot in the library to catch up on her emails and check in with her VP.
Kayla answered on the first ring. “How goes the second day of servitude, genie girl?”
“Very funny, Kay. I am not granting him any wishes.”
“Except that whole wish of his to bring down your mother.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not doing anything to help him with that goal either. How are things at the office?”
“Fine. If you’ve got time, there are a couple of calls you could make. I’ve got a director and a location scout who would rather talk with you.”
“Yeah, I can do that. Text me the details and I’ll call them in the next hour.”
“Thanks. I’m going to send you a few things to sign electronically, too. We’ve got the final agreement from the new client, so we need your signature to wrap up the paperwork.”
“Got it. I’ll give them a call, too, to welcome them to the family.”
“That would be perfect.”
Lauren heard a worried note in Kayla’s voice. “Anything else going on?”
There was a long pause on the other end of the phone and Lauren could practically see Kayla dragging her hand through her long black hair in frustration.
“It’s probably nothing. I don’t want to worry you this week.”
“Kayla, tell me. How long have we known each other? I know you don’t worry without cause, so talk.”
“There were some wonky numbers in the accounting reports from last month.”
Lauren thought about what kind of problem that statement could indicate. “What kind of wonky numbers?”
“I don’t know yet. There were some payments that didn’t look right, and a couple of invoices that I’m sure were taken care of a few months ago. I’m taking a closer look through everything right now.”
“Do you want to get someone external to run a quick audit?” Lauren asked.
She trusted her accounting team, but there had been a few new hires as the company grew. It was possible that someone on the team wasn’t following the standard operating procedures, and that’s what was throwing off the books.