“Yes,” Josie said, cringing in anticipation of whatever verbal lashing she was about to receive in response to her lecture.
“I’m sorry,” Eve said. “I guess I just thought of it as your job to take them, but that was wrong, and I apologize.”
Josie blinked in surprise. “Oh.”
“Are you absolutely certain I can’t take them to the animal shelter?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” Josie told her. “I know for a fact we don’t have a shelter in the Manhattan area that’s equipped for bottle babies at the moment. Well, if you brought them in, they’d call me. I take as many as I can.”
“But you can’t save them all,” Eve said quietly. “Got it.”
“How are they today?”
“Well, they’re still alive.”
Josie smiled. “And how’s the little white one?”
“Still the weakling of the group. I don’t know how to tell if she’s okay or not.”
“They should see the vet today,” Josie reminded her, earning herself another weary sigh from Eve. “Tell you what. I have a few hours before the bar opens. What if I come get them and take them to the vet for you?”
“I would appreciate that.”
“Okay. Text me the address, and I’ll be there in a little while.” She ended the call and dialed her vet to make an appointment, then grabbed her laptop, because she didn’t intend to arrive at Eve’s office empty-handed.
Thirty minutes later, she printed out a piece of paper she hoped might change her future. Eve had been willing to listen to a commonsense argument about animal rescue. Josie could only hope she was willing to open her mind one more time.
She grabbed her bag and headed out, mapping the address Eve had sent her to see which subway line she should take to get there. What did Eve do in her office anyway? Josie had never been sure how much of reality shows likeDo Overwas real and how much was staged for TV, but she certainly wouldn’t have pictured its star working in an office when she wasn’t filming.
Josie rode the A train into Manhattan and walked two blocks to a sleek gray building that certainly looked like it would house the offices for a television network. She gave her name at the front desk and was issued a visitor’s tag and told to take the elevator to the fourth floor.
“Fancy,” she muttered under her breath as the sleekly polished elevator door slid shut behind her. This building was a world away from Swanson’s, which had admittedly seen better days. The doors slid open on the fourth floor, revealing a blindingly white reception area. White marble floors gleamed beneath white leather furniture. A glossy reception desk stood along the far wall, with theLife & Leisurelogo hanging behind it. Determined not to feel out of place in her ripped jeans and aqua-tipped hair, Josie walked to the desk and gave her name.
“Third door on the right,” the young receptionist told her without batting an eye. “She’s expecting you.”
“Thank you.” Josie set off down the hall, locating Eve’s office easily. And…no wonder she hadn’t been thrilled about bringing the kittens with her to work. Josie paused in the doorway, taking in Eve’s workspace, which was as sleek—and white—as the rest of the building. Eve sat at her desk in a black sheath dress, hair pulled back from her face, fingers clattering over the keyboard of her laptop.
Josie had never gone for the businesswoman type before, butdamn, that dress was really working for her. Eve looked up, and Josie felt a ping in the pit of her stomach as their gazes locked. “Hi.”
“Thank you for coming,” Eve said diplomatically, apparently having taken their earlier conversation to heart. “And I meant what I said last night. I’ll pay for it. You can have them call me with the bill.”
“Well, since it’s a donation to the rescue, I won’t turn you down, and I really appreciate it.” Donations were practically nonexistent these days, apart from the small income that her YouTube channel still generated.
Eve nodded toward the box on the floor behind her. “They’re so quiet, I keep thinking they’re dead.”
“At their age, they mostly sleep between feedings.” Josie walked around the desk to crouch by the box. She reached in and stroked the gray kitten on top of the pile. “Are you sure you don’t want to name them?”
“Positive.” Eve swiveled her chair to face Josie.
Consequently, as she looked up, she was faced with a most distracting view of Eve’s legs, bare from the knee to her black heels. An infinity symbol was tattooed on her left ankle. “I usually let viewers on my channel name them for me, in exchange for a donation to the rescue.”
“Then do that,” Eve said, crossing one tanned leg over the other.
To keep herself from staring, Josie dropped her gaze to the box of kittens. Their little bellies were rounded from a recent feeding. And,oh my God, was that…? Josie lifted a piece of paper taped to the side of the box, on which Eve had documented their schedule and weight after each of their feedings.
She cares.
Josie couldn’t let it go to her head, because she still had an ulterior motive in coming here today, and it was probably going to involve pissing Eve off again. “You’re doing a great job with them.”
