“Okay.Um, dog?”
“Try Richard.”
“Richard?”The dog didn’t seem impressed.“Food?”
That did get his attention, and he licked his lips again.
“Umbert?”Jason tried.
The dog ignored him.
“Food, but you’ll have to get up.”
Raven moved, and that did it.The dog jumped to the ground, stood there, and looked up at him expectantly.
“Okay, I can do this.”
Jason stood too.So did Raven.They made their way to the elevator.Once they were in the entrance area in front of the elevator, Raven, instead of feeling afraid, started to feel guilty.Should I have said something about leaving?He’ll guess though, right?And he wouldn’t come looking for me.He glanced at Jason.Can’t believe anyone went looking for me.
The elevator opened for them.
“This is really nice.It’s a movement sensor or something, right?So fancy.”
“Motion sensor.”Raven followed the dog into the elevator.The canine didn’t seem bothered by what had to be a strange environment for him.Raven couldn’t imagine he had lived in a penthouse before his stay at the shelter.
“That.Right,” Jason said.The elevator closed and started moving.“Motion sensor.Maybe it’s some super smart supercomputer that’s listening to everything we say.”
“I doubt that.”
Jason gingerly turned his head.“You’re wearing nice clothes, you know that?So bright, like hip beige.”
Raven couldn’t help himself; he huffed out a laugh.“They’re not mine.”
“That’s my point.They suit you though.Wouldn’t have pegged you for a beige guy.”
The elevator stopped, and the doors opened again.The hallway was nice and bright, airy, and Jason and Raven stuck their heads out while the dog went ahead and stepped off.
“Hey, wait!Dog!Wait.”
“Shh.Mind my head.”Jason put his hand on Raven’s shoulder and followed him while shielding his eyes from the brightness.
“Sorry.Hey!”
They followed the dog past an open-concept office to a set of large double doors.
“Maybe he’s a search and rescue dog or something,” Jason said.“They’re smart, you know.They can find all kinds of stuff.”
“Or it’s the kitchen through there.I did tell him food.”
Someone behind them cleared their throat, and Raven turned.I get where Jason’s coming from.It is pretty bright out here.
“You two looking for Heath?”a young brown-haired woman asked.She wore nice clothing, a blouse and pressed pants that could have looked formal, but she had a warm smile and didn’t seem to mind the two of them just barging in here.
Jason nodded, and that small movement made him flinch.
Raven decided to do the talking.“Yes.We’re… He’s expecting us.”
She smiled.“I figured.He looked a lot like your friend this morning.You can probably just go in.Cute dog, by the way.”
