Thad arched his eyebrows. “That’s not a bad idea,” he said.
Ashanti blew out an exhausted breath. “I’ll be in my office.” She looked to Thad. “I know you have to get back to the—”
“No, I don’t,” he said before she could even finish. He started for her and Ashanti’s chest expanded with gratitude. Not caring that her staff was staring at them like guppies in a fishbowl, she took the hand Thad offered and guided him to her office.
Ashanti went straight for her chair and plopped down in it.
“It’s not even a Monday,” she said.
“Shitty days aren’t limited to Mondays,” Thad said. “Ask me how I know.” He walked over to her desk and perched himself against it. “Duchess is going to be okay, Ashanti. I needyouto be okay.”
“I am.”
“You’re shaking.”
Ashanti tried to still her hands, but they continued to tremble.
“Maybe Ishouldhave that drink,” she said.
“You can still have it,” Thad said. “We can get delivery. One of the best things about New Orleans is go-cups. You can have any drink you want, just say the word.”
“Thank you,” she said, trying her best to smile. She shook her head. “I won’t be able to eat until I know for sure Duchess is okay. And no one wants me to drink alcohol on an empty stomach. Happened once in undergrad. It wasn’t pretty.”
“First of all, Duchessisokay. I thought we already established that. She was smiling when she left. I didn’t even know dogscouldsmile.”
Ashanti laughed, for real this time. “She’s a happy dog,” she said. “She smiles all the time.” She put a hand to her stomach as her eyes filled with tears “It’s my fault this happened. That dog could have killed her.”
“Why are you taking the blame for this?” Thad asked. He hunched down and cradled her face in his hands. “You weren’t even here, Ashanti. How is it your fault?”
“Because I never wrote that damn note about the Akita not tolerating other dogs. His owner specifically asked me to do it, she even paid for private play time to protect the other dogs from him. And I forgot to make the notation in the file. I was too busy worrying about that big order for the dog treats.”
She shook her head. The emotion welling up in her throat made it hard to swallow.
“I knew something like this would eventually happen,” Ashanti said. “This is what happens when you have a million things going on all at once. Balls get dropped. I’ve been so afraid that I would mess things up with Kendra or Kara. I didn’t even consider causing my dog to get maimed.”
“Stop blaming yourself,” Thad said.
She looked up at him. “I can’t help but think about how much worse it will be if Duchess Delights continues to grow. It’s all been too fast. I can’t handle it. What happened today proves it. I should just call and tell the grocery store that I’ll have to pass on that order.”
“Don’t,” Thad said. “You’re too agitated to make decisionsabout this at the moment. In fact, I don’t want you to think about any of this stuff right now, just concentrate on relaxing.”
Ashanti knew he was only trying to save her from suffering further anguish, but that wasn’t going to happen.
How could shenotthink about the potential tragedy they had so narrowly avoided? Her dog could have been killed because Ashanti was stretched too thin and couldn’t keep her focus. Someoneelse’sdog could have been killed.
Ashanti’s breath caught in her throat.
What if another of the dogs had been attacked?
Sure, she had liability insurance to cover financial damages, but nothing would cover the damage to Barkingham Palace’s reputation. Never mind her own guilt. She wouldn’t trust herself to run this business were something like this to happen again. She barely trusted herself now.
She leaned forward and rested her head against Thad’s shoulder. She had some hard decisions to make.
37
You lied to me, Thaddeus Sims.”
Thad looked down at Ashanti’s upturned face, his eyes narrowing at the smile that played across lips he would give anything to kiss right now.
