Catch

“Forgive me for that, Maren.” He flashes a dimpled grin before he lets out a sneeze.

His bicep flexes beneath the thin fabric of his blue and white striped button-down shirt as he raises his hand to cover his nose.

“Bless you,” I mutter.

His right brow arches. “I’m too far gone for that.”

Shaking my head, I push Dudley toward him because my hand is now dripping with puppy saliva. He’s an affectionate little dog, but I don’t do animal kisses.

Keats sneezes again, backing up as he does. “Get him the hell away from me. Heck. I meant heck.”

Glancing around, I feel like I’ve stepped into an alternate universe where the hottest guy in the world crossed paths with a charming nerd, and Keats Morgan was created.

“Mr. Morgan.” A woman with long brown hair dressed in a tailored white suit glides into his office. “I’m back from my break.”

The woman stares a path through me when she catches sight of me out of the corner of her eye.

“I’m Maren,” I say to her even though I doubt she cares. “I’m here to return Mr. Morgan’s dog.”

Maybe this woman will take Dudley off my hands so I can get the hell out of here.

“He’s not my dog.” Keats looks directly at the woman in the white suit. “You were supposed to take care of this, Jamie.”

“I did.” She approaches him. “I took care of it.”

“Then why the hell is he with her?” His arm waves in my direction.

“You said hell,” she points out.

“What?” he barks.

Dudley does too.

I try to calm the dog with a kiss on the head.

“You swore.” Jamie sighs. “You know what that means, sir?”

“You’re fired.”

My gasp gets lost in the sound of Jamie’s almost scream. “What, sir?”

“You are fired,” Keats repeats.

“Because I pointed out that you swore?” Jamie tosses her hair behind her shoulders. “You told me to do that.”

“I entrusted you with Dudley.” He steps toward me but then takes two measured steps back. “You told me you’d take excellent care of him, and she found him on the street.”

Jamie looks at me. “Where did you find him, Mary?”

“Her name is Maren.” Keats shoots me a glance before he turns his attention back to Jamie. “Why the fuck does it matter where she found him?”

“Sir, again you…”

“Swore,” Keats interrupts her. “I sure as hell did, and I will again if I goddamn feel like it. You gave me your word that you’d take care of my sister’s dog until she gets back to Manhattan. You failed, so you’re fired.”

Jamie stomps a shoe against the marble floor. “I am going to take this up with Human Resources.”

“Do I look like I give a fuck?” Keats pushes on the rolled-up sleeve of his shirt. “I want you out of here now.”

“I’ll go.” She glances at me. “This is all your fault.”

I stalk toward her with Dudley in my arms. “How so?”

“You should have just let him be.” Her finger trails in the air in front of Dudley’s face. “He’s a lot of work. He barks too much, and he squirmed out of his collar when he was with the dog walker. I couldn’t deal with it, so I gave him to my sister. Dudley must have slipped out of his collar again when she took him for a walk.”

“Get the hell out,” Keats orders. “You have two minutes to vacate the building before I call security.”

“Fine.” Jamie turns on her heels. “I hated working for you anyway. You can tell the poor soul that you hire to replace me that I wish them luck. You’re a monster.”Chapter 2KeatsAs soon as Jamie slams the door, I turn to the woman holding Dudley in her arms.

Maren, the dog rescuer, is beautiful.

Her curly red hair reaches halfway down her back. That paired with her ocean blue eyes and long legs makes me feel things.

I’d say I’m getting weak in the knees, but the reaction my body is having to her hits higher than that.

“I apologize that you had to witness that.” I shove a hand in the front pocket of my navy blue pants. “I should have spoken to Jamie in private.”

“No harm, no foul.” Maren shrugs. “I do need to go.”

She approaches me. For every step forward she takes, I retreat by a larger step.

“I’m trying to give you the dog.”

I stare at her. “I can’t take the dog.”

The toe of her black-heeled sandal taps against the floor. This woman might not have dressed to impress anyone today, but fuck me , she’s hot in her boyfriend jeans and white button-down shirt that’s tied in a knot at her waist.

The sound of a phone buzzing lures her gaze to the black bag slung over her shoulder.

She adjusts Dudley in her arms before she fishes in the bag and yanks out a phone.

I watch her lips move as she reads the message on the screen.