The puppy she had foisted on me hadn’t made matters any better. At least I had already been in the habit of waking up early. The puppy had been dangerously close to having an accident in my condo. I also didn’t have any puppy food and had spent too much time researching what of the people food I had in my fridge I could feed him as opposed to catching up on the business news and sorting through my emails.
“Wes scored you a date!” Finn announced, waltzing into my office, my cousin trailing him.
I massaged my temples. “I’m still trying to recover from speed dating.”
“Speed dating was never going to get you anywhere,” Wes replied. “I have handpicked a very attractive woman for you.”
Finn flashed a thumbs-up.
“I don’t have the time,” I said. “Being roped into this wedding has been causing me to neglect my business.”
“You are here every night and earlier in the morning, and you work through lunch. We just had a record-breaking quarter. Again. You’re a top-notch CEO. Now you need to enjoy the spoils of your hard work!” Finn said.
Wes flipped to a picture on his phone. On the screen was an Instagram model making the typical duck face with the obviously Photoshopped waist and bustline.
I looked away. “I don’t think she’s my type.”
“You’re just supposed to go have fun, maybe get a little action,” Wes said. “No one is saying marry this girl.”
“You need to get back out there,” Finn added.
“I’m busy,” I repeated.
“I know,” Wes said earnestly. “That’s why I took it upon myself to arrange a date with her. She’s going to the Holbrook Foundation fundraiser with you on Friday.”
“I can’t just take some strange woman to my parents’ fundraiser!”
“No, but you do have to take a woman, and this one will look nice on your arm,” Wes countered. “I have a car arranged and a time set for you to pick her up.”
“All you have to do is wear a suit and not say anything stupid,” Finn added.
I grasped at straws. I hated attending those Holbrook Foundation fundraisers anyway. It would be unbearable if I also had to entertain some vapid Instagram influencer as well.
“I have to—I have to take care of my new dog. He has separation anxiety.”
“You have a dog?” Finn said in shock.
“Yes. In fact, he should be here shortly.”
“Why?” Finn asked in suspicion.
“I think it’s a great idea!” Wes countered. “A dog is a wonderful addition to your life.”
Shit. I had been planning on foisting him back onto Brea. Now Ihadto keep him.
“He needs some socialization…”
There was a commotion in the outer office. Then my brother Carter flung the glass door open and stomped in with the small puppy under one arm and his own quivering Chihuahua mix under his other.
“You need to start paying me to dogsit,” he declared.
“I just asked you to let the courier in to pick up the dog,” I retorted. “I never said bring the dog up here.”
“But he’s my nephew!” Carter cried, pressing his nose to the puppy’s muzzle. The dog licked him on the face.
Finn, Wes, and a gaggle of my employees crowded in the doorway to coo over the dog while he mugged for pictures. The puppy had drastically disrupted my morning routine. I hadn’t planned on waiting around to see how else he was going to make my life miserable, but now it seemed I was stuck with him.
15
