“He’s outside?” Ashanti asked, aghast.
Just then, the front door opened and the teen, Kara, walked back in. “This guy has Puddin’ in a truck. We don’t do that around here, sir. Puddin’ is royalty.”
“The dog is fine,” Thad said. “The truck is locked and I cracked the window open.”
Kara looked him up and down in the most judgmental way possible. Then she looked to Ashanti. “Are we rescuing Puddin’ or what?”
“I’mrescuing Puddin’.You’regoing back to school. Can you take Duchess for me, Deja?” Ashanti handed the leash to the woman behind the reception desk and held her hand, palm up, out to Thad. “Keys, please.”
He sighed. “I’ll go get the dog. Does this mean he can return to daycare?”
“Of course,” Ashanti said. “I didn’t want you to take him in the first place.”
Thad went outside and, in a matter of minutes, was back with Puddin’. The moment the poodle saw the French bulldog, he ran to her and the two began frolicking around the lobby together.
“Look, I know you’re upset about the house, but the owner didn’t mention any other interested buyers.”
She held up a hand. “Forget the house. What’s the deal with Puddin’? Are you only taking care of him for Mrs. Frances, or are you considered his new owner?” Ashanti walked behind the desk without looking at him.
Thad stiffened.
He was trying to soften what he could tell was a big blow to her future plans, but she wasn’t making it easy. He wouldn’t have just let her have the house if he’d known she was interested in it, but maybe he would have continued their search. Von had lined up multiple properties for them to look at.
“So?” Ashanti asked.
“It’s probably best to think of me as his new owner.” Unfortunately.
“Then you will need to fill out this paperwork.” She handed him a purple folder with the Barkingham Palace logo embossed on the front.
Thad opened the folder and took a physical step back. What the hell was all this?
“Can’t you just transfer the information you already have on him? I didn’t have to fill out this much shit when I retired from the Army.”
“Sorry, but the primary caretaker must be on file. When you fill it out, please don’t forget to include two references and two emergency contacts.”
“Two references? I don’t want to apply for a job, I just want you to watch the dog. Why do you need references?”
Ashanti sighed.
“I get that you’re a new dog owner and probably don’t understand their psychology, but dogs tend to mimic the people around them. If you’re not a good person, it rubs off on your pet. Thus, the need to verify that you’re a good person.” She hunched her shoulders. “Of course, I don’t expect that to happen with Puddin’ because he has a strong personality and already gets along with the dogs here. Nevertheless, it’s part of the paperwork. You don’t have to fill out everything right now. You can bring it back when you come to pick him up.”
Just when he thought this place was over-the-top, he learned something else about it that made it evenmoreover-the-top.
“Fine,” Thad said, shaking his head. “Pickup is at six p.m., right?”
“Yes. It’s fifteen dollars for every half hour that you are late, up to eight p.m.”
“But isn’t it sixty bucks for the dog to stay overnight? It makes sense to just leave him here if I can’t get to him by six p.m.”
“You have to book an overnight stay three days in advance. Anything shorter is considered emergency boarding and costs ninety dollars per night.”
There was no way in hell it should cost this much to watch a dog.
“Any other questions?” Ashanti asked.
Thad shook his head.
He heard a whine. It was probably one of the dogs, but could also have been his bank account.
