“Yes, of course. I think it will be great for morale around the building, and the dogs get some human time. Win-win.”
“Oh, thank God,” Alyssa laughed. “I really didn’t have a backup plan.”
“Let me know if you need anything. I’m only an elevator ride away.”
“Will do. Thanks, Evelyn. I appreciate what your dad offered us and I appreciate you upholding it.”
Evelyn gave Alyssa a shy smile.
With the partnership debacle cleared up, there wasn’t anything else to discuss. Evelyn wanted more than anything to keep the conversation going, learn everything she could about Alyssa, but that would have seemed weird, right? Unprofessional. Yes, definitely. Anyway, there was still a good chunk of the day left.
Bidding Alyssa goodbye, Evelyn sat a while processing. Not about the alliance between Four Paws and Crawford’s. No, she needed to process Alyssa. Sweet, beautiful, sexy Alyssa Fox. Partnered Alyssa Fox.
She’s a no-go, Ev, keep it in your undies, girl.
The sun had long set over London. Evelyn checked the time on her laptop, surprised to find it was only half five. The rest of the afternoon had been crammed as usual. Plenty of people needing her time. The last of those people was Roger, the IT guy. Evelyn hated talking to Roger because Roger only spoke to Evelyn’s cleavage. He also left the bloody door open after leaving. An open door meant people thought they could pop their heads in and chat. Evelyn was not about that at all. Not anymore, anyway.
Standing, getting ready to close said door, Evelyn chuckled when she met the little brown eyes of Bug, who sat squarely in the middle of her office again.
“Well, what are you doing here, young man?”
This time there was no stand-off, no staring competition. Evelyn manoeuvred herself round the desk and sank to her knees in front of him. Bug lifted his left paw, placing it delicately on Evelyn’s lap.
“Good God, you’re a charmer,” she giggled. Unable to resist any longer, Evelyn took his face in her hands and kissed his head before ruffling his cheeks. This seemed to be the magic action because Bug immediately moved closer, ramming his head into her belly, demanding more, which only caused her to laugh again.
“Alyssa is going to be worried sick about you again, Bug. You can’t keep running off.” Evelyn should take him back downstairs, but the thought of Alyssa paying her another visit was too enticing. Maybe they could chat a bit more.
The sound of footsteps hurrying down the hall gave Evelyn a spike of excitement. The rapid knock on her door made her smile.
“Come in,” she called.
The door pushed open, but it wasn’t the illustrious Alyssa Fox. No, this woman was a little shorter, with spiky brown hairand dark makeup. Her black dungarees had rips in the knees, and her top looked as if it was twenty years old.
“Oh, thank Christ,” the woman bellowed. Her hands dropped to her knees as she bent over, trying desperately to catch her breath.
“Can I help you?” Evelyn asked, getting to her feet.
“Sorry. Lil Barnes. With Four Paws.”
Ah, Alyssa’s partner. Evelyn couldn’t stop the zing of jealousy that shot through her body. Silly really, considering she’d only met Alyssa twice and the first encounter wasn’t exactly something to write home about.
“Of course. I take it you’re looking for this one?” Evelyn smiled, pointing at Bug, who hadn’t moved.
“Yup, gave me and Alyssa another heart attack. Thanks for that, mate.” She chuckled. “Sorry, he keeps breaking in.”
“The door was open so…” Evelyn shrugged good-naturedly.
“Well, I’ll be getting him back downstairs. The van is waiting for him.”
“Oh, you’re all done for the day?” Evelyn felt a pang of disappointment, knowing that Alyssa would be leaving.
“Yeah, it’s half five. Most of your staff are packing up to head home.”
“Of course. Well, see you tomorrow then, I guess.”
9
Glass Towers and Tangled Lights
