“Can I come in? I’m coming in,” Maggie said, knocking on and opening Cora’s bedroom door at the same time. Cora had been napping more and more in the week since the Feretti dogs drop-off, finishing her daily roster of clients and retiring to the mountain of blankets on her bed.
“Hey, how did it go?” Cora asked, trying to pretend that she hadn’t been sleeping. Fritz barely stirred beneath the blanket.
Maggie beamed at Cora. She looked adorable, a mix of quirky and professional in a high-waisted lipstick-red skirt, faded chambray shirt, and leopard print heels. “Awesome. Amazing. Perfect.” She paused for effect. “C, they offered me the job! They didn’t even want to do a second interview! I am now the institutional giving associate for the Circle Theater. Pending a drug test, which thanks to a month-long break, I’ll pass.” She jumped up and down in place, and Josie hopped excitedly beside her.
“Aw, yay, Mags! I’m so happy for you!” She mustered up an appropriate amount of cheer and reached out to hug her friend.
“It’s all thanks to you. I owe you big-time.” Maggie sat on the edge of Cora’s bed. “Oh, and even better—a super hot guy on the Metro asked me for my number on my way there!”
“Whoa, it really is your lucky day,” Cora answered with a wan smile.
Maggie stared at Cora for a moment. “What’s going on? Is it cosmically impossible for us to be happy at the same time?”
“It sure feels that way. I’m okay, just freaked-out waiting to hear about the show.”
“That’s it? I’ve been pretty caught up in my own shit lately, I’m sorry I haven’t beenherehere, like, plugged in to you. What else is going on?”
Cora sighed. “You know Eli, my rescue buddy?”
“Of course—I love that dude! Kick-ass dancer. You’re working with his dog, right?”
“I was. But when we went on that rescue errand the other night, he told me that I make him feel used.”
“Ouch. Did you apologize?”
“Yup.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“It’s complicated, Mags. I’ve been suppressing it for a while, but I sort of have ... had ... feelings for him. And I tried to tell him but he shot me down, hard.” Cora’s eyes welled up.
“Wait, what? You likehim? What about Lord Douche?” Maggie had upgraded Charlie from just a plain douche to a titled one after meeting him. Her breakdown of him the day after the gala had been brutal.
“I’m not stupid, I figured out that he was sort of a jackass, but I ignored it. I washorny,I’m sure you of all people understand that. But he was such an asshole about those poor dogs on the night of the gala. And I haven’t heard a peep from him since. He didn’t even get in touch to see if I was okay.” Cora had kept the details of the Feretti dogs vague, only telling Maggie that she and Eli had taken some stray dogs to a rescue and she had missed the gala. “You know, I never laughed when I was with Charlie. I always felt like I had to be the best version of me around him to compete with Madison. But Eli? He made me laugh and he likedme. It totally snuck up on me. I didn’t even know how I felt. And now it’s too late.”
“It’s never too late! Haven’t you ever watched a chick flick? Let’s jump in your car and make a mad dash for his apartment, where you climb up the fire escape and profess your love!”
“Eleventh floor. Not happening.”
“So he shot you down. He wasn’t interested at all?”
“He had feelings for me, at one point. But now he’s dating that stupid hot blond chick he was dancing with at Café Fuego.” She threw herself back on the bed and blinked away tears.
“Oh, C. We can fix it; once a crush, always a crush, in my book—wait, is that your phone ringing?”
“Probably.” Cora shrugged. “Just another client inquiry, I bet. I’ll let it go to voice mail.” Maggie gave Cora a sour look and jumped off the bed to fetch the phone from her dresser.
“Stop pouting. Only one of us is allowed to be a drama queen, and that’s me. Answer it.” She thrust the phone at Cora.
“Top Dog Training, may I help you?”
“Hey, Cora, it’s Mia Nguyen. Do you have a second?”
Cora’s eyes went wide and she put her finger to her lips to preemptively shush Maggie.
“Hey, Mia, nice to hear from you! I do have time to chat.” Maggie recognized the name and gawked.
“So, Vaughn and I wanted to touch base with you and tell you what’s been going on with the show.” Cora’s heart quickened. Mia’s tone sounded upbeat, like she was about to deliver good news.
