by Magan Vernon
She nodded slightly, chewing on her bottom lip. “I hope you don’t mind. I did some back digging in your calendar so I could check out some of your meetings and the notes.”
“I see that. You really are making me think I need to streamline this process.”
She fiddled with the collar of her dress, but didn’t respond. Instead, she leaned over the table.
The buttons of her dress pulled at her chest, giving me a view of the lacy black bra peeking through the material
She was talking about numbers and different processes. I had to stop thinking about how beautiful those brown eyes of hers were, but once I started, I couldn’t stop.
Feck, what had gotten into me?
Even if there was a physical attraction, I was pretty sure the woman hated me. The old me, at least. The cocky sonofabitch from school. But I was different now, I’d like to think. But it didn’t matter. I needed to be looking for a wife, not just someone I could have some fun with. Grace was a family friend and even trying something, could lead to a disaster if it didn’t work out. Not to mention Sean’s rage that could follow if I hurt his best mate.
“I’ve got to take this,” Grace muttered, knocking me out of my trance.
I didn’t even notice her phone was buzzing until she sat down and with a grimace, put the device to her ear.
“Mum, I told you I was in a meeting,” she hissed. “Sorry to be short, but…”
Her mum seemed like a nice enough woman. I didn’t know much about her, as she wasn’t ever around her grandparents’ place growing up. But anytime her Mum was mentioned, Grace’s face soured. Especially now as she spoke with her.
“Blast,” Grace muttered. “Okay. I’ll be right there.”
She hung up and tossed her phone into her purse.
“Everything okay?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
She sighed. “I’m sorry to do this, but I’m going to have to take an early lunch, or morning break, or whatever this would be considered. I had to drop my dog off with my mum since she disturbed the neighbors at my flat, barking all day. But while she was out in the garden with Grandmum she got into some plants she shouldn’t have and has been getting sick all over the house. I need to meet Mum at the vet.”
I’d never had a woman need an escape call or an excuse to leave breakfast with me.
Especially since this was a business meeting and not a date.
Feck. What the hell was going through my head? This was Grace, not a woman I was trying to woo. And if she really was having a dilemma with her pup, no need to be an arsehole about it.
“Your dog?”
She stood up, frowning. “Yes, my dog, Jane Pawsten. She doesn’t like to be left alone or ignored for a few minutes or she starts getting into everything.”
I opened my mouth and closed it again, shaking my head. There was no easy way to respond to that.
I’d never had a pet myself and never actually understood the grand attachment to them, but the worried look in her eyes and shaking of her hands said this was more than just an excuse. She was really worried.
“I’m sorry again. I have to call a cab and get to the vet in Ballsbridge.”
I stood up, straightening my jacket before pulling out my wallet and placing a few notes on the table. If she was this worried, there was no way in hell I was going to let her go alone.
“No need to call a cab. I’ll drive you.”
She furrowed her brow, shaking her head fiercely. “You don’t have to do that. I’m sure you need to get to work.”
I smiled, trying to reassure her I really did want to help. “My assistant blocked off an hour and a half on my calendar, so I have some time. Besides, I care about families, even the four-legged kind. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to your little Jane Clawsten.”
“Pawsten… Like Austen but with a paw in front.” She put her hands up, still fidgeting from foot to foot. “Wait. Why am I explaining this to you?”
I took a step closer, so we were only a few inches apart. She looked up at me with those caramel eyes and I saw the tears brimming in them.
I swallowed hard. If something did happen to her dog and she was this attached, would she be able to afford the treatment? She only started working and I didn’t know anything about a savings or if Seamus was pitching in.
“Because I’m the one who is going to take you to save your dog,” I blurted before I could take it back.
“I’m really sorry about this,” she said with a sigh and stepped back.
I nodded and put my arm out, leading Grace toward my car. “No need to apologize. I understand.”
I wanted to wrap her in my arms and reassure her that everything was going to be okay. But I actually didn’t know if it would be. Or what kind of condition she’d find her pet in. I just knew that she would need someone there with her and I wasn’t going to leave her.
She laughed. “I just hope she’s okay.”
I nodded, worry settling in me, watching this girl’s face fall, but I smiled, figuring it was the least I could do. “Let’s go save Jane Pawsten.”
…
Traffic was light on the seven-kilometer drive to Ballsbridge.
The little white building stood out amongst the brick homes and bushes lining the cobblestone street. Not to mention that if my car’s GPS hadn’t told me we had arrived at our destination, I would have spotted the giant dog murals in the windows from a few meters away.
As soon as we parked the car, Grace bolted for the front door, running faster than I’d ever seen a woman in very high heels go.
Parking my car, I quickly followed her into the small, sterile lobby where three people sat on white plastic chairs. Seamus’s wife in her feathered hat, and the other woman must be Grace’s mum. She was the one who opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted as Grace pushed a little bell on the front desk repeatedly.
Finally, a woman in white scrubs entered from the back and approached the large wooden desk with a tired expression of sullen eyes and lips in a straight line. “Hello, how can I help you?”
“Yes. I’m here for my dog Jane Pawsten-Evans. Is she okay?”
I’d seen the nervous and the mischievous woman, but this was an entirely different Grace. Her hands shaky, shoulders slumped, and her eyes wide and wild.
I wished there was something more to do than just stand there.
But I was afraid if I even touched her she’d scurry away, thinking it wasn’t just for comfort.
The woman in scrubs nodded, turning to her computer and typing a few things before looking back to Grace. “Ah yes, the little Brussels Griffon. For how sick she was, you’d think she’d lose some of the energy.”
Grace laughed slightly but chewed on her bottom lip as she leaned on the counter.
Slowly I stepped forward and put my hand on her lower back. Instead of swatting me away, she leaned into my side. My mouth grew dry with a new warmth spreading through me, trying to hold back whatever was blooming inside of me.
Not the time to think about how she felt pressed up against me or how damn good her floral shampoo smelled. As soon as the back door opened, Grace pushed forward, out of my grasp and her whole face lit up.
“Janey!”
I don’t know what I expected, maybe something more meaty than the little tiny furball with an underbite who squirmed in the man’s arms that was holding her.
“Is that tiny Chewbacca thing Jane Pawsten?” I asked, pointing at the snorting dog.
I tried to keep the shock out of my voice, but I expected a lethargic beast to come limping out. Not this little thing.
And yet I found myself laughing at the little dog.
“Jane does not look like Chewbacca,” Grace said with a half scowl as she took the little thing gently in her arms.
The little dog barely covered her arms as she cuddled her close, scratching behind the little furball’s ears.
I moved closer, taking the dog’s tiny paw in my hand. “Nice to meet you, girl. I’m Jack Mur
phy.”
The dog squirmed and yapped, her whole body moving with each little noise.
“You wouldn’t believe that just an hour ago she was half asleep, coughing up big mounds of weeds on the carpet. Seamus stepped in one and you should have heard the words he started bellowing,” Grace’s Grandmum said, shuffling next to Grace, her eyes lighting up under the brim of her large hat.
“Mum, no need to talk about those type of things in front of company,” Grace’s mum said turning toward me with a an appreciative smirk that wasn’t appropriate for the situation.
Grace shuddered, keeping her eyes on the dog, but constantly glancing at the papers and listening to the woman in scrubs describe the aftercare for her dog.
I looked over her shoulder, seeing the amount and what care the dog went through. It seemed ridiculous, but then I remembered all of the bills that it seemed like were still coming in for Da’s hospital stay.
For anyone else it would have probably come close to bankrupting them. We were just lucky we could pay. I was sure not everyone else was. And to not be able to pay for your family’s care, feck, that really got me.
Maybe Da did pass in the end, but we did everything to make him comfortable and keep him with us a little longer. The same I was sure Grace would do for her family, even if it was just her dog.
“Mr. Murphy, I wasn’t expecting you to come with Gracie, but I do appreciate it. She does love that dog,” Grace’s mum said, adjusting the pearls around her neck and forcing me to turn my attention to her.
“I’m glad I could be here for her,” I said softly, glancing down at the little dog cuddled in Grace’s arms.
“You know, since we’re out anyway, maybe we can stop and get some tea. I do know there’s a little café around the corner from here. That is, if you and Grace aren’t too busy,” Grace’s mum said with a sickly-sweet smile.
Grace finished signing the last piece of paper then pulled out her pocketbook, cringing with each movement. “Mum, we’re not here for tea. Janey should be okay now after we give her this medicine and I’ll settle her down in her crate. I’ll be back as soon as I can after work and give the maids extra instructions for tomorrow,” Grace replied quickly. She glared at the older woman who glared right back.
I put my hand over Grace’s where she held her pocketbook, a new sense of urgency coursing through me. “Don’t worry about work today. Or about this bill.”
She blinked hard. “I can’t take the day off. It’s only my second day. And the bill? Jack you can’t…”
Before she could protest anymore I pulled my wallet out of my back pocket and placed a credit card on the sheets of paper. Then I slid the items toward the woman behind the counter. “Make sure all future bills go on this card as well.”
“Jack…you don’t need to do this. Really.”
Grace glanced back at her grandfather who was slowly approaching the counter.
“Jack, I assure you that we can handle this,” Seamus said with a shaky voice.
Grace shook her head. “No. Neither of you need to. It’s fine. It’ll go on this credit card and I can pay it off when I get my first paycheck. It’ll be fine.”
I mentally calculated what her first paycheck would be in my head. Sure, it would possibly be enough to pay for the dog’s bill, but what else? What about follow-up care? Or hell, even food for Grace and the dog.
No way I was letting her go without.
I looked at the little dog instead of the owner who was trying to fight me on paying when I knew she didn’t have the money for it. Jane Pawsten stared at me then my hand before sticking her wet nose on my fingertip and snorting.
I didn’t know what to make of that until she licked my hand then pawed at my knuckles until I scratched behind her ears.
“I think Jane might be saying thank you,” Grace said softly.
My gaze lifted to hers. The once fiery glare had now softened to a warm peek that made a low boil stir inside of me.
Before I could react, the little dog jumped out of her arms and was at my feet. She pawed and looked up at me with large, dark eyes.
“Jane,” she gasped, narrowing her eyes at the dog.
The dog looked over her shoulder and yapped then stared back at me.
I smirked, kneeling down and scratching the dog behind her ears.
“She’s not usually like this, I swear,” Grace sputtered. “Must be the medication.”
“I have a way with women.”
She zeroed in on Jane who had now curled on the floor, eyelids fluttering.
“I can take her if she’s bothering you, probably shedding on your trousers,” she offered instead of the quick comeback I was expecting.
I shook my head. “She’s fine. From the way you talked about her, I expected some ferocious beast.”
She knelt down beside me, running her hand over the dog’s fur. “She can be. You just have to know how to handle her.”
I met Grace’s gaze and wasn’t sure if we were talking about her or the dog anymore. But whatever it was, some unspoken thing passed between us. Something I hadn’t felt in a long time but was now making me rethink the girl squatting next to me. And I hope by the small smile, she was thinking the same.
“Are you sure you two don’t want to stop for some tea? I’m sure Seamus would love to catch up with you, as well, Jack,” Grace’s mam’s words interrupted us.
Grace sighed, standing up with the little dog back in her arms. “I wish we could, Mum. But really, Jack has a meeting and I need to get back to work, as well. Do you think you’ll be able to take care of Janey? If not—I mean…”
I took my credit card back from the woman behind the counter then handed a little bag of prescriptions to Grace. I needed to try and keep this all business between us, but I wasn’t an animal and wouldn’t make a worker come back with a sick family member. Even if the family member was a dog.
“Really, you can go home with the dog. Or even bring her into the office.”
Her eyebrows lifted so high I swore they disappeared into her hairline. “Bring the dog? Wouldn’t that be against some building codes?”
I shrugged. “It’s my family’s building so technically I make the rules. And she can stay in my office. I can call Connor right now and see if he can pick up a dog bed or whatever other necessities we need.”
Before I could pull out my phone, Grace furiously shook her head. “As nice as that sounds, I can’t inconvenience you like that. You’ve already done more than enough and I don’t know how I’m ever going to be able to repay you.”
“I’ve got a few ideas,” Grace’s Grandmum said with a laugh, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Mum,” Grace’s mum chastised.
“At least let me give you a ride home with the dog. Then you can keep an eye on her.”
Grace chewed on her bottom lip for a second. “I can’t make you do that, either. I know how important your ten-thirty meeting is.”
“I promise you we’ll text as soon as we get home and I’ll send pictures the rest of the day. I can even bring her by the office if she feels up to it,” Grace’s mum said, putting her hand on her daughter’s shoulder, who I swore slightly shuddered in response.
Grace looked between me and her mum before she finally sighed. “Okay. But only because I do need to get back to work. But please, please call me as soon as you get home, okay?”
Her mum nodded, taking the sleeping dog who snorted as she adjusted herself again.
My gaze followed Grace’s shaking hands that stilled at her sides once the dog was out of her arms and she went to give her mother more instructions. And just like that, the woman with the soft voice was gone, and back was my nervous assistant.
Would I get to see the woman who softened at my touch again?
And if I did, how the hell was I going to be able to resist her?
Chapter Seven
Grace
It had been a little over a week since we went to the vet with Jane.
Jack had
even sent a care package to the flat of gourmet dog bones and food.
No man, hell, no person had ever done something like that for my dog.
And while at the office, I was supposed to focus on finishing some HR paperwork before Fallon came into work, but my thoughts kept drifting to him.
He’d always been brooding, almost beastly. The only time he had ever smiled was when he was flirting or expecting something. Watching him melt for Jane Pawsten made every part of me acutely aware of the man before me. I had to count my breaths as I took them, so I didn’t let out a sigh watching him pet the little furball’s ears. And when he offered to have her come to the office without a second thought? It took everything in me not to embrace him right there.
But I couldn’t let my boss’s reaction to my dog cloud my judgment. This was a job, and he was the arsehole I’d grown up with. Not to mention, said arsehole was also my best mate’s brother.
Just because he had a soft spot for dogs didn’t change any of that.
The roll of the chair against the wooden floor signaled that Fallon was about to take the seat next to me. “Hey, Grace? Whoa…are you okay?”
I looked up from my computer where I had been staring at the same page for at least half an hour.
“What? Do I have something on my face?” I asked, wiping at my mouth. I hadn’t eaten anything since I wolfed down a little bit of toast and coffee as I ran out the door of my grandparents’ place. I’d been dropping Jane Pawsten off in the morning, then hauling arse back downtown to make it into work. Sometimes in between there I’d grab a coffee or something at a café if I had time. Or spare change I found in the couch cushions.
Fallon took her seat with a huge grin and I tried to focus on her instead of my imagination. “You can’t even wipe that blush off your cheeks. Something tells me things must be going pretty well with you and this job. Or is this about you and Jack? I’ve seen you two laughing on more than one occasion when he passes by your desk. I don’t think he ever laughed when Aileen was his assistant, nor I for that matter. You must be doing something right.”
I shook my head, mentally scolding myself. Blast. I needed to stop thinking about Jack so often. The funny moments that had us both laughing and the other ones that I wouldn’t reveal out loud. “No, no. Just amusing wording in these HR forms.”
