“Morning, Sam,” Jim said.
“Morning, Boss,” I said, attempting professionalism.
But I did feel nerves creeping up my spine, thinking about what had happened the last time Jim had popped in unexpectedly.
“I have a favor to ask, may I come in?” he had asked then.
“Of course!” I had said, nearly jumping out of the way.
“Thanks.”
It was only when he was well into the office that I had noticed the odd, vented, square duffel bag-looking object hanging from his shoulder.
“Is that a kennel?” I had asked.
“Yeah, kind of, it’s a sort of hybrid thing,” Jim had said, setting the bag down by my desk.
I suddenly had a very good idea as to the nature of the request he was about to make and my heart sank ever so slightly.
The dog, Benny, was a Pitbull pup. Their son, James, had brought home the adorable rascal he’d found and fallen in love with, but Jim’s wife Vicky was having none of it. So, Jim needed Benny out of his house temporarily, while he tried to bring Vicky around.
I had a yard, so I’d figured, “Why the hell not?”
The only problem was that that had been a week ago, and the pup, cute as he could be, was getting to be a handful. I kept him outside, but he was digging holes everywhere and more than once, his howling had woken me in the middle of the night.
“How’s Benny doing?” Jim asked me now.
“Oh, he’s great,” I’d lied.
“Oh, okay,” Jim said, his relief palpable, “I’m still working on Vicky, but it’s good to know he’s in good hands.”
I felt like a real asshole, and the guilt of Jim’s words was going to fucking haunt me. I kept trying to ignore it throughout my day, and up until the moment that I got home.
I dropped my briefcase onto its spot near the door and went out to check on Benny. Immediately I knew that something was wrong. The dog’s eyes were watery, his chest sounded congested, and his usually eager greeting was lethargic and subdued.
I didn’t even know that dogs could get colds, but it seemed like that was what was going on with the little guy. Apparently spending a week mostly outside would do that.
I knew I had to call the vet and get the poor little guy checked out. I hurried to call, and luckily they had an appointment right away.
Even as late as it was when I got there, the vet clinic was surprisingly crowded, with barking and meowing and whining galore.
Benny mostly just sat in his kennel sneezing, in that almost cute way that puppies have. I caught myself almost being concerned about him.
“Sam Nigel?”
I looked up at the sound of my name, and laid eyes on the absolute sexiest woman I had ever seen, standing before me. Because she was so physically ideal in every way, I actually found it difficult to find the right thing to say.
Her attractiveness was in no way mitigated by the fact that she was wearing unflattering vet scrubs in a hideous shade of green.
I could still see her curvy figure.
Her plump breasts that made me want to squeeze them.
Her round ass.
“Yes,” I said finally, realizing I’d paused for a long time.
It wasn’t the clever line I wanted, but it was the only thing I could manage to scrape out of my tongue-tied mouth.
“I’m Ronda Stamp,” she said, by way of introduction. We briefly shook hands – I grasped hers firmly, never wanting to let it go. “The veterinarian.”
She was the hottest vet I’d ever seen.
The hottest woman I’d ever seen, period.
Keeping Benny suddenly didn’t seem like such a bad idea.
Chapter Two
Ronda
I could hardly speak. Which was saying something, considering patient interaction was basically scripted out at my job. There were only so many things that could be said about a sick animal, which tended to be the main focus of every conversation. But I certainly wasn’t expecting someone like him to come in that day.
Usually my days consisted of tending to families with pets. Crying kids and fretting cat moms were one thing. What confronted me that Friday was something else entirely. A beautifully dressed, clearly rich, super hot guy with an adorable puppy and no partner or kids in sight.
Although it was possible that the lack of wedding ring was why he was here. I saw puppies that have eaten wedding rings at least once a month or so.
I couldn’t get over the way he was looking at me. It was a look I heard about, but never noticed being directed my way. If I didn’t know any better, I could have sworn he was undressing me with his eyes.
My face flamed and I cleared my throat.
“So, what’s going on with this little guy?” I asked, getting down to see Benny in his kennel.
I could almost feel Sam’s gaze on my body.