His eyes narrowed. “Let me guess, you were fired from there too.”
She shrugged. “I organized a picket line outside. They weren’t very understanding."
She tipped her head back to look up into his eyes, and for once she didn’t have to channel anyone. “Please take her? It’s just temporary until I can arrange for something else. I promise I'll take care of everything. I'll set up a crate at your house, and I'll go buy her food right now. Just give it a few weeks and see if there's any difference in your poll numbers. Please?”
Theo studied her eyes for a long moment before seeming to decide. “Fine. But it’s temporary,” he added when she squealed.
“Thank you,” she said, and she would have kissed him in gratitude except for the voices down the hall.
“Good choice, Theo,” Charlotte yelled.
“Sucker,” Todd added.
Amber grinned happily up into Theo’s eyes. “You won’t regret this.”
“I already do.” He turned to leave.
"Wait. Did you need something from me?" she asked, remembering when he first came to her door.
He turned around, and she was surprised but the sudden flush of color on his cheeks. “I left something for you on your desk," he said gruffly, and went back to his office.
Amber looked over. Sitting on her desk was a tall, thick, delicious chocolate milkshake with a Post-it stuck to it.
In Theo’s bold, black handwriting, he had written:
#Imsorry #nottoooldtohashtag #teamgoatsandsquirrels
She swallowed hard, suddenly in danger of melting faster than the milkshake.
Chapter Twelve
“Tellme again how you managed to get Theo to adopt this mutt?” Ford asked later that afternoon. He had stopped by to talk to Theo and had been shocked into speechlessness at the sight of all Theo’s employees in Theo’s office admiring a dog.
“It’s temporary,” Theo said. “Is she going to pee on my rug?” he asked Amber.
“Of course not. She's perfectly potty trained,” Amber said reassuringly. Theo watched broodingly as Amber leaned over to pet the dog that he was now fostering. He almost couldn’t believe how she had made it happen. Actually, he could believe it, especially as she smiled at the dirty looking dog lying on her back accepting belly rubs on the expensive oriental rug in his office. He was almost ashamed of how easy it had been for her to convince him.
Theo had always prided himself on his ability to maintain professional boundaries, to make decisions based on logic rather than emotion, yet here he was, talked into fostering a dog he didn’t want, and adding yet more chaos to his formerly orderly life.
He was uncomfortably aware that she not only hadconsiderable persuasive skills, but her passion, her energy, her irreverent mouth all had a hold on him. And it wasn’t just him.
Charlotte, Todd, and even Diane sat around the room taking turns admiring the smelly animal. He wasn’t a monster; his office was not a horrible place by any means, but Amber’s presence over the last two weeks had changed things here. There was a relaxed camaraderie that she brought to any situation with her warmth.
“Will you keep her here during the day, Theo?” Charlotte asked. She was sitting on the floor next to Amber, her feet crossed at the ankles wearing a simple, classic red dress that gave her features a glow he wasn’t used to seeing. Hell, had he ever seen Charlotte wearing anything that bold?
Now that he thought about it, Charlotte had undergone more subtle changes since the night of the Finger Lakes Dinner. It wasn’t anything drastic that he could pinpoint, but as Charlotte sat on the floor laughing with Amber, it seemed as if more than just her clothing had changed, and he had a feeling Amber had a hand in that too. What was happening to his office?
“I’ll take care of her. You won’t even notice she’s here.” Amber answered, dangling a squeaky toy in front of the dog. Puddin’ batted it away and nosed Ford’s hand to keep petting. “I already ran out and grabbed her food. I'm going to leave at five o'clock, and I'll meet you at your house and show you everything you need to know.”
“Tell me again where you found her.” Ford asked.
Amber looked down, and Theo knew it was not good news. "Did you do anything illegal?" Theo asked with dread.
"No," she said, and when she looked up, he recognized the smile. That smile always came before trouble with her. He groaned.
“Did you steal this dog?” Theo asked.
“I didn’t steal her. Irescuedher,” Amber said indignantly. “She was on the sidewalk in front of the bank, and she doesn’t have any tags.”
