Color Me Pretty: A Father's Best Friend Romance

His treat, my ass. People refused to let him pay wherever he went. I’d heard the rumors. He had enough dirt on people to get his way. It was how he played dirty. The more scandal he could collect, the likelier he won at whatever endeavor he went after. I just needed to know what his intentions were with me because it certainly wasn’t innocent.

“You still look after the Saint James girl, don’t you?”

My phone cracked when I tightened my grip around it. “Watch yourself, Pratt.”

The fucker chuckled. “Relax. I happen to know she’s still friends with my youngest. Samantha. Remember? They’d play together all the time when they were younger thanks to the wives.”

The wives. I remembered everybody Della was around, and I never did like that little girl with half the fucker’s DNA. Samantha Pratt always got into trouble. She was just like her mother and wanted to be the center of attention. I didn’t doubt she picked up a few traits from her father too. Whichever they were, I highly doubted they were good.

“I recall,” I said dryly.

“Considering their friendship, we’ll be in each other’s lives one way or another. I have it on very good authority they’ve rekindled their friendship quite recently. I’m just saying, we might as well make the most of it.” His or else lingered in the dead air between us. I wasn’t stupid enough to believe he brought up Adele out of genuine curiosity. Hell, last I heard he didn’t even like the family he was stuck with because his daughter could cost him his reputation and his wife was no better with the amount of money she spent and men she tried roping in.

My lack of response fueled his amusement, but it was better than me feeding him anything else. He wanted a reaction and I wouldn’t give him one.

“You have a good night, Theo.”

If I ground my teeth any harder, I’d need to get them fixed. “You too.” Jackass. “Tell your wife I said hello. I’m sure she’d be happy to know I’m thinking about her.”

The disgruntled noise he made was satisfying right before I hung up. I didn’t know his wife well, but that didn’t mean she didn’t know me. She tried to get me in her good graces years ago for her own benefit. What that was, I didn’t care enough to think about, but from what I heard, it involved a lot less clothing.

When I arrived on the ground floor, I said my usual goodbyes to the employees who worked the front desk and doors with the tip of my head and decided tonight was a good night to bust out the good whiskey while I finished up some work at home. A nagging feeling told me to be cautious because whatever Richard referred to was going to involve more than just me if he didn’t get his way.

Like it did too often, my mind drifted to Della.

A few days into the new week, I decided to stop holing myself up between my offices. It wasn’t a surprise that I found myself at the high-rise apartment complex that a certain blonde was living in, five floors up. It’d been a while since I checked in and I never liked texting her if I could see her instead. She couldn’t bullshit me face to face like she could on a screen.

I wasn’t expecting the muffled sound of something sounding oddly like a dog on the other side of the door when I knocked. I paused when I heard it, whatever the hell it was, and convinced myself it had to be the TV. Some sort of documentary.

But then I heard, “Shh! You’re going to get me in trouble.” That was undoubtedly Della’s voice, which wasn’t as quiet as I bet she’d hoped. It made a grin tug at the corners of my lips, but as soon as a door closed inside, I wiped it away in time for the front one to open.

Della peeked her head through the slit and straightened as soon as she saw me. I was about to reprimand her on not checking the peephole first when I realized how pointless it’d be considering it was the same conversation every time I showed up. Which, admittingly, was too many times as it was.

I shouldered my way in, listening to her close the door behind me before she walked over to where I stood and crossed her arms over the ridiculous overall shorts she wore. They were spattered in paint, blues, reds, and yellows coating the front of her, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. The outfit was the same one her mother used to like dressing her up in and I always wondered if she was paying homage to the woman that I knew she loved so much.

My eyes found a large bag of dry dog food resting against the kitchen counter before an eyebrow quirked at a yapping noise coming from behind the door of her bedroom.

She winced at the deadpanned expression I gave her. “Before you say anything—”

“You know animals aren’t allowed in the building, Della,” I told her anyway.

Her frown was instant as she toed the floor with her bare foot. “They technically allow fish and small cats. I figured I could convince them that a small dog was no different.”

The yapping got louder.

Walking over to her bedroom, I opened the door and watched a tiny blur of brown dart out. I turned and watched whatever it was spin around in the open area between the kitchen and living room, chasing its tail. “What the hell is that thing?”

“He’s a mutt. Be nice!”

“They’re not going to care what size it is, there’s a reason dogs aren’t allowed.” I pointed to where the fluffball growled at the bag of food like it was offending him somehow. “They’re loud, for one. I have no doubt the pretentious assholes who live on your floor will complain. Then there’s the fact you live on the fifth floor. They need to be trained, taken out, and what if it has an accident?”

“I’ll clean it up.” I hated the way her voice sounded so small, but I was only trying to make a point. She bent down and scooped up the dog, letting it lick her jaw. “He’s kind of cute, don’t you think? There’s no collar and he’s way too skinny to have a home. I found him going through some garbage outside the building.”

I cursed. “You picked up a dog from

the side of the road?”

“It’s not like I picked up a human off the streets, Theo.” I had no doubt she’d do that too if she felt the person needed help. “How could you even question this cute little face? He’s got nowhere else to go.”