“Where’s my slush?” I teased.
“I didn’t think you wanted one.”
“Did you ask me?”
“You want me to get you one?”
“I’m just kidding, Hailey.”
“Here.”
Before I knew it, Elodie had shoved her spoon in my mouth. Now she was feeding me slush. I had to say, she had a very motherly instinct.
I felt a lot like a horny teenager having the hots for “Stacy’s Mom” right about now.
Chapter 12
* * *
Elodie
I set Huey’s travel cage down on the floor. “Hi. I called earlier. I have an appointment at eleven.”
The woman behind the reception desk typed into her computer. “You must be Mrs. LaCroix.”
“Definitely not. But I am Mr. LaCroix’s lackey, apparently. My name is Elodie Atlier, and I have Huey with me.”
“Uhh…okay. The doctor will be with you in a few minutes.” She stood and set a clipboard with papers on top of the counter. “In the meantime, you can fill these forms out, and let me know if Huey has insurance.”
I looked at her like she was nuts. “Insurance? Like, health insurance?”
“Well, yes. Pet insurance.”
“That’s an actual thing?”
The woman pursed her lips. “You can leave that section blank when you get to it if you don’t have any.”
I hefted the cage over to the waiting area and took a seat. The first few questions were easy enough—name, address, telephone number. But the rest of page one and all of page two and three were questions about Huey’s health history.
Great. Hollis was already annoyed that I’d had his secretary call him out of a meeting when I noticed Huey didn’t look well this morning. Now I’d have to bug him again. Not to mention, I hadn’t told him I was taking his bird to the vet with the credit card he gave me to use for food. I decided to text, instead of call.
Elodie: What’s Huey’s birthday?
A few minutes later he texted back.
Hollis: How the hell would I know? He was rescued in Australia.
God. What a jerk. And just when I’d started to think maybe I’d misjudged him.
Elodie: What about his medical history? What shots has he had in the last three years?
A minute later my phone rang.
“What are you doing?”
I rolled my eyes. Maybe you can’t teach old dogs new tricks. “Hello, Hollis. How are you?”
“Elodie, not now. I’m in the middle of an important business meeting.”
“If it’s so important, why are you checking your messages?”
I heard what sounded like something covering the phone and then a muffled, “Can you gentlemen excuse me for a minute, please?” A few seconds later, a door opened and shut, and Hollis came back on the line. “Where are you?”
“So you say excuse me and please to the people in your meeting and not even a simple hello to me?”
“Elodie…”
“Fine. I’m at the vet with Huey.”
He mumbled something I didn’t catch. “Why?”
“I told you when I called, he looks funny.”
“No one asked you to bring him to the vet.”
I sat up straight. “When someone’s in my care, I will make the medical decisions I deem appropriate. It’s part of my job.”
“This isn’t Hailey we’re talking about. This is a damn bird.”
“A damn bird who isn’t feeling well. Are you going to answer the questions or not? I have to fill out the papers before I see the doctor.”
“Where’s the office?”
“Dr. Gottlieb’s, a few blocks from your apartment.”
The receptionist called out. “Elodie Atlier and Huey?”
“I have to go. Thanks for all the helpful information.” I hung up before Mr. Grumpy could say anything more.
The receptionist directed me to an examination room, and a few minutes later an older gentleman in a white coat came in. “Wow. What a beauty.”
I liked him immediately, since he didn’t even seem to notice me and was actually referring to the bird.
“Thank you. This is Huey. I’m sorry I don’t know that much about him, other than he’s an Australian black palm cockatoo that was injured at some point and rescued. He belongs to my employer, who isn’t able to be here.”
“That’s okay. We’ll figure out what Huey’s problem is.” The doctor turned around, took a quarter-sized biscuit out of a jar, and opened the cage door. He offered it to Huey, who looked completely disinterested.
“That’s exactly what happened this morning when the little girl I watch tried to give him a treat. Usually when anyone comes into the house, he squawks and says a few words. But he didn’t say anything when I arrived this morning, and he didn’t take his morning treat. So I went back to the apartment after I dropped Hailey at school, just to check on him, and I found him sitting at the bottom of his cage sort of hunched over, instead of on his perch, and his feathers seem kind of…puffy.”
“Ah. Yes. Puffy feathers are often the first sign of illness. Birds tend to puff up when they’re cold, but if the temperature is fine, that’s often a symptom, as is irregular posture and changing positions.” He nodded. “Good observations on your part.”
Dr. Gottlieb stroked Huey’s feathers. “He seems pretty calm right now, so I’m going to give him an examination and draw some blood, if that’s alright.”
“Sure. Of course. Whatever you need to do.” Make the bill nice and big for the asshole who was too busy to talk about this poor little boy.
I watched while the doc checked Huey out and drew some blood from a vein in his wing. When he was done, he said it would take a little while for the results, and I should go take a seat in the waiting room. He kept Huey in the back, just in case there was anything wrong with him that might be transmittable to humans or pets.
I took a seat across from an older woman with a dog on her lap. I couldn’t help but notice how much she and her poodle looked alike—frizzy white hair, thin faces, long noses. To keep myself from staring, I rummaged through a pile of magazines on the end table next to me and plucked out a Cosmo—though I couldn’t help but steal glances as I flipped through the pages. Toward the middle of the magazine, I stumbled on one of those reader quizzes. This one was titled: What type of man is most attracted to you?
I scoffed. I knew the answer to that one without any questions. The asshole kind. Yet I started to take the quiz anyway.
Question one—When men compliment you on your looks, which word do they use most?
The choices were A. Gorgeous, B. Sexy, C. Beautiful, and D. Hot.
Hmmm. I’d have to say B.
Question two—What are you most complimented on by men?
The choices were A. Your face, B. Your legs, C. Your smile, and D. Your personality.
Considering rack wasn’t an answer, I circled A.
Question three—How would you describe your personality?
The choices were A. Outgoing, B. Shy, C. Funny, and D. Witty.
I was just about to circle A when a deep voice spoke from over my shoulder. “Is there an E for bossy bitch?”
Startled, my knee-jerk reaction was to toss the magazine at the sound, which resulted in my hitting the speaker square in the face.
“What the hell?” Hollis growled.
“It’s your own fault. Don’t sneak up on me like that. You’re lucky I didn’t take you down.”
Hollis’s face went from angry to amused. “Take me down?”
“Yes. I know self-defense.”
He chuckled. “I’m two hundred pounds. You’re not going to take me down, sweetheart. Even if you do know self-defense.”
“You’re an ass, you know that?”
“So I’ve been told. Now where’s my pain-in-the-ass bird?”
“Huey is in the back. I’m waiting for the lab results.”
Hollis walked around and planted himself i
n the chair next to me. “How long is this going to take?”
“I don’t know. But you didn’t have to come. I could handle it on my own.”
“Really? So why did you call me?”
“To let you know I thought your bird was sick, and because I needed medical information. But obviously, you didn’t give a shit.”
“I was in a meeting.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You were rude to me on the phone. Both times.”
Hollis ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “The bird is a perpetual thorn in my side.”
“What the heck did he ever do to you? I know, I know—he says your ex’s name whenever you walk in. Big whoop-de-do. Get over it.”
He scowled. “He cost me eighteen grand, for starters.”
My brows jumped. “You paid eighteen grand for him?”
“No.” His jaw flexed. “Forget it.”
“Uh, no way, Hollsy. I want to know what your issue is with Huey. He’s such a sweet boy.”
Hollis looked away and stared out the front window for a while, then cleared his throat. “I apologize if I was rude on the phone. Some big stocks took a nosedive this morning, and I hadn’t been as on top of my team as I should’ve been, so we took a big hit.”
“What is it you do, exactly? I mean, other than bark at people?”
“I’m a wealth fund manager.”
“Oh.” I nodded my head like he’d cleared up some confusion. Then I smiled. “I have no idea what that means. But it sounds awful.”
He chuckled. “It can be.”
“Miss Atlier?” the receptionist called.
I stood. “Yes, I’m here.”
Hollis followed me.
“Come on back. The doctor would like to speak to you.”
It turned out Huey had an infection. He needed IV antibiotics, and in order to administer that, he needed to be sedated. The vet said it would probably be two days before he was ready to come home, so I told the doc I’d be back tomorrow to visit. Hollis looked at me funny when I said I was going to visit Huey, but he was smart enough not to comment.
Outside on the street, Hollis looked at his watch. “I need to get back to the office.”
“Of course. Go ahead. I have a little while before I need to pick up Hailey, so I’m going to get some groceries.”
“I might be late tonight. I need to do some damage control,” he said. “Can you stay if I work a few hours later than usual?”
“Of course. I have no life.”
“Is that true, or are you being sarcastic? I haven’t figured out how to tell with you yet.”
I smiled. “No, it’s true. I wish I was being sarcastic.”
He hesitated. “Why don’t you have a life? I’m guessing men asking you out isn’t the issue.”
I arched a brow. “Are you saying you think I’m attractive, Hollis?”
“We both know you are, so cut the shit and answer my question.”
I had to work at hiding my smile. “I’m on a very long, self-imposed man strike.”
“How long is very long?”
I bit my bottom lip. “Going on two years now.”
Hollis’s eyes widened. “You haven’t had…” He shook his head. “Never mind. I need to go.” He started to walk away.
“Hollis!” I yelled.
He turned back and looked at me.
“Say goodbye.”
He shook his head. “Goodbye, pain in my ass.”
Chapter 13
* * *
Hollis
It was almost midnight.
I hadn’t meant to work this late. Even though Elodie had told me it wasn’t a problem and to stay as late as I needed, I didn’t want to take advantage. But the West Coast clients needed some schmoozing, and my staff had all stayed for damage control, too.
My apartment was quiet. It was damn pleasant to walk in and not hear Anna’s name squawked at me. I tossed my keys on the table and went looking for Elodie. The living room TV was on, but the sound had been muted, and there were subtitles flashing on the bottom of the screen. Elodie was out cold, lying on the couch a few feet away. I grabbed the remote and went to flick off the TV, but the show caught my attention. A long-haired Fabio-looking guy was unbuttoning his shirt when a woman with a shitload of cleavage on display walked in.
What’s this now?
Words popped up at the bottom of the screen as the woman marched over to the dude, saying something: “Merhaba tatlım.”
What the hell?
Was she watching a foreign soap opera or something? That’s what this shit looked like. I once had a client from Turkey, and I could’ve sworn merhaba was hello in Turkish. The woman who’d walked in on Fabio two seconds ago already had her tits pushed up against him.
I chuckled to myself and hit the Off button. Elodie was definitely different. I had no idea what to expect from her one minute to the next. Turning, I watched her breathe in and out a few times as she slept. She really was gorgeous. Relaxed as she snoozed, her features were soft and feminine. Earlier, her hair had been tied back, but now a piece of her thick blond mane had come loose and rested across her cheek. I had the craziest urge to push it back off her face. Her shirt was disheveled and pulled to one side, exposing a delicate collarbone and smooth, fair skin. I swallowed. Damn. While a part of me wanted to fix her hair, an equally strong part of me wanted to sink my teeth into that unmarked skin—leave bite marks where people could see them. It was fucked up, and I salivated, thinking, two years. Two years that beautiful body hadn’t been touched.
I scrubbed my hands over my face and walked over to the couch to wake her.
“Elodie,” I whispered.
She didn’t budge. So I tapped her shoulder. “Elodie?”
Her eyes fluttered open, and she stretched her arms up over her head. Her shirt rode up with the motion and exposed her midriff. I couldn’t help myself. I hadn’t been with a woman in a while, and being around Elodie made me lose my damn composure. Her stomach was just so smooth and flat, and her navel, an innie, showed off a sparkly diamond. God, I wanted to take that thing between my teeth and give it a good tug.
Shaking my head, I forced my eyes to look anywhere but at the damn nanny. I cleared my throat. “Sorry I’m so late.”
“It’s fine.” She gave me a goofy grin and sat up, pushing that lock of hair off her face as she rose. “I love getting paid to sleep.”
“I’m going to call you an Uber. I don’t want you taking the trains this late.”
“Okay. Thanks. I need to use the bathroom first.”
Elodie walked out of the room, and I used all my strength to keep my head down and focus on calling her car, not look at her ass.
When she came back, I was still standing in the living room. “Your car will be here in three minutes.”
“Oh wow. I better get downstairs then.”
She walked around the apartment, collecting her things.
“Everything go okay tonight?”
“Yes, fine. We ate and started a series on Netflix. Pretty uneventful. Hailey went to bed at nine, but I checked in on her an hour later, and she was still awake. I think she’s all pumped up about the last day of school tomorrow.”
I nodded. “I’m sure.”
Elodie grabbed her purse from the couch and slung it over her body so it rested diagonally across her front. I was behind her and had intended to walk her to the front door. But after a few steps she abruptly stopped, turned around, and grabbed one of my arms.
Before I knew what the fuck was going on, I was flipped into the air and laid out on my back on the floor. The wind was knocked out of me with the umpf of my landing.
“What the fuck!”
Elodie leaned over me, flaunting a gigantic smile, and offered a hand. “This afternoon you laughed when I said I could’ve brought you down. Now you won’t doubt my abilities anymore.”
“Seriously? You could have broken my neck.”
“I made sure you were on the rug and went g
ently.”
I pushed her hand away and got up by myself, dusting my pants as I stood. “That’s gently? Where the hell did you learn to do that?”
“I told you, self-defense classes.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’m guessing you’ve used that move once or twice?”
She grinned. “That was actually the first time I did it outside of class. And I’m so freaking glad it worked.”
She’d just knocked my manhood down a few rungs, and I’d probably be sore as shit for a week, yet I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You just elevated yourself from a figurative pain in my ass to a literal one. Get out.”
She opened the front door and turned back with a wink. “Night, Hollsy. Sweet dreams. And try not to dream too much about sparkly bellybuttons.”
***
The following day, Elodie called me at work just as I was going into a meeting with an important client.
I answered, “What’s up?”
She corrected me. “Hello, Elodie. How are you?”
“Hello, Elodie. How are you? What do you want?”
“Would you have any objection to Hailey and I attending an end-of-the-year party at one of her friend’s houses in Connecticut after school gets out today? I guess Megan’s parents have a second house in Greenwich, and since it’s so warm today, they invited a few girls over for a pool party.”
I scratched my head. “That shouldn’t be a problem.”
“We’re hitching a ride with them since I took the train in again today. So you’ll have to come pick us up in Connecticut tonight. Is that okay?”
I sighed. “As long as I’m not required to be there by a certain time. I don’t know when I’ll get out of here. Not to mention, Friday night traffic heading out of the city is going to be a nightmare.”
“That should be fine. We’ll just hang out until you get there.”
“Okay then, text me the address.”
“You sound kind of out of breath. Are you sure I didn’t interrupt one of your noontime rendezvous?”
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