Chapter Nine
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back, and Three Impossible Words
Elliot
After a week of tirelessly working on the adoption drive, the day is finally here. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to get Adrian to talk to me anymore legitimately. The man is closed off like Fort Knox. So, unless I’m willing to bring it all out in the open, it’s not looking good.
I lean back in the office chair, trying to find ways to get him to spend more time with me. “What if there’s a legal emergency at the event? You really should be here,” I say into my phone.
Unlike some people, I only got official number privileges. Not like Sam had any success. Adrian kept postponing their meeting plans, citing work, and refused to reply to texts because he ‘isn’t a texter’. What does that even mean? Can’t you type out words?
There's silence on the other end. Then his voice comes back on. “Sorry, I have a meeting in five minutes. Look, if there’s an issue, you can call me, and we’ll figure it out.”
“Wait, don’t you have a dog?” I remember seeing a picture of a golden retriever on his phone’s screensaver.
“Yes, Minka. Why?” His voice sounds suspicious.
“That’s such a cute name.” What? It was. “You should bring her over to the park. She’d love it. We have a talent show that I’m sure she’d be great in.” A guy like Adrian doesn’t get a dog without teaching them the coolest tricks.
There’s silence again. “She does like to balance treats on her nose.” His voice is contemplative.
“Of course, she does. The talent show is the first thing scheduled for the day.” At least, now it is. “I’ll see you at the park at eight.” I disconnect before he can rethink.
Pulling up Sam’s text chain, I send him an update. Not to brag or anything. Just to show the little guy how things are done around here.
Me: Adrian coming to the event. See, that’s what happens when you let the pros do their job.
He responds right away.
Sam: Don’t be tacky, El. We’re a team. Now, I need to go shopping to dazzle our little nepo psycho.
I roll my eyes. As long as he has the tracker, he can have his pick of the devil's offspring for all I care. Besides…
Me: It’s not embarrassing to give up while you’re ahead. The guy is clearly not interested.
Sam: **angry face**
Sam: You’re clearly blind if you didn’t see his tongue rolling out on your filthy floor.
I think the man is exaggerating by a few light-years. But hey, he was right about Nicholas, so maybe he’s onto something. Or he has an over-elevated sense of ego. Either way, the idea of being surrounded by hundreds of people for an entire day doesn’t sound so annoying anymore.
Now I have a purpose that’ll keep me occupied while I answer pet owners’ stupid questions. Prying the door off that sealed vault open before Sam puts himself into more danger.
***
The talent show was a hit. Enough to get people streaming into the park early on a Saturday morning. It helps that the weather has decided to cooperate for once, warm without the sun trying to suck the life out of humans.
It also helped that there’s a pen full of adorable puppies waiting at the entrance, luring unsuspecting joggers and casual walkers into the event.
By nine a.m., the footfall is far more than we’d expected.
Bright pop-up tents dot the grass, and people have gathered around the makeshift stage where dog owners proudly present their dogs’ talents.
I sit in the corner in a tent that’s temporarily my exam room.
There’s a line of people and a range of animals waiting for their turn for the check-up.
The place is loud with applause, barking, excited chatter, and a horde of animal noises.
Somewhere across the field, one particularly obnoxious bird has taken upon itself to keep the excitement up.
None of it bothers me. We worked hard on this. Every detail, every movement was intricately curated by me. And now that it’s happening, I can finally bask in the glory of hosting a successful event.
Also, Adrian showed up sharp at eight with his golden retriever in tow, with a bow on her neck.
It was adorable, and now I can hound him with questions all day, as long as I can find ways to keep him here.
Sam is out there somewhere with him now, waiting for Minka’s turn to show her balancing trick.
The next few hours go by in a blur of fur babies, some non-fur babies, and many nasty pet owners.
“You’re awfully chirpy today?” Ashley comments once the crowd has started to thin out.
I put the stethoscope back in the container. “It’s a nice day, and the event is successful. What do I have to complain about?”
She tilts her head. “You always manage to find something, so this is, you know, surprising.”
I hum. “The day is still young. You’re going to be close by. Give me a couple of hours.”
“Couple of more hours of un-grumpy Elliot. A truly rare sight,” she says.
I roll my eyes. “Weren’t you going out to get coffee?” I snap.
“There it is,” she says before ducking out to get the said coffee.
Adrian walks in with his dog, Sam following them in. My mood instantly gets better.
Sam flops down on one of the chairs. “Minka was brilliant. You should have seen her go,” he says to me.
Hearing her name, she pads over to Sam, demanding pats, which Sam complies with. I look up to find Adrian watching them with a small smile on his face.
Is Sam’s plan actually working? Wait, that’s not a good thing. “When did you get her, Adrian?” I ask to get his attention to me and to the reason I paid his exorbitant fees.
“Uh, my mom adopted her two years ago, but she couldn’t take care of her anymore, so I brought her here.” He checks the time on his watch. “I’ll have to get going—” he starts.
I get the puppy’s attention to lure her towards me, interrupting him. “Your mom lives in the city?” Taking out my stethoscope, I start Minka’s check-up. That should keep him distracted enough to answer a few questions.
“Nah, she’s back in Boston.” He comes around to hover over me. The hairs on the back of my neck rise at the attention.
“You lived there your entire life, right? Must be nice to grow up in a city.” I keep my tone light and friendly.
“Sure.” His voice is devoid of any friendliness.
I gaze up at him. “The weather must have been a challenge for you?” Nicholas is constantly complaining about the weather here.
“It’s the worst.” He pats Minka, who’s starting to get cranky in the small space.
“Why did you move in, though?” Sam asks, his voice casually curious.
Adrian shrugs. “Just fascinated by the city. No reason. Why did you?” he asks Sam.
“I haven’t. I’m visiting. I don’t settle for every little thing that fascinates me.”
“Maybe you’ve not found a fascinating enough thing yet,” Adrian smirks.
Sam props his elbows on his thighs and leans in. “Maybe. If any place could do it, it’d be the one where Ariana Grande lives.”
Adrian laughs. Where does all this nice-guy-ness go when I’m talking to him?
No. Just no. “Yep. The city is great. How long have you lived here?”
Adrian blinks at me like he forgot I was even here. Now that’s just a blow to my ego.
I walk Minka over to the examination table to continue her checkup.
“Two years. Anyway, I’m going to take off once you’re done here. Can’t bow out the whole day or my clients would realize they don’t really need me.”
What? No. He was just starting to open up. To Sam. Still. “What if Minka wins?” I blurt out.
“Give the prize to the runner-up. You’ve paid me enough to get a year's worth of check-ups for her.”
“When is Nick coming?” Sam asks abruptly.
I frown at him. “After lunch. Why?”
He shrugs. “Just thought Mickey would have enjoyed playing around with Minka. His boyfriend has the cutest Rottweiler.” He tells Adrian.
“A cute Rottweiler? Would have loved to see that. Maybe some other time?”
Fuck. What do I do? I don’t even know enough about the law to make up a legal emergency. Where is a dead body when you want one? “Are you sure? We have a fashion show starting soon, and Minka’s bow is adorable.”
Adrian snorts. “The entertainment industry might not be the best place for her developing mind.”
Sam bursts into a laugh while Adrian stares at him, probably because it’s obnoxiously loud. Not at all what his attempt at a joke deserved.
Despite my best efforts, Adrian leaves a few minutes later with an excited Minka, happy to escape the tiny tent.
“Could you have looked more desperate?” Sam whispers a few minutes later.
I stare at him. “Do you want me to remind you of the joke you laughed at for fifteen minutes?”
Sam waves me off. “I’ve got him right where I want him. Anyway, you know what we have to do, right?”
I hate that I get his meaning instantly. “Ugh, I don’t like going to people’s houses when I’m invited.”
Sam shrugs. “At least you won’t have to talk to the hosts this time?”
***
Nicholas shows up at the tent around one p.m. with Oliver, Matt, and Mickey.
“We’re never home. How are we going to take care of an entire living being?" Oliver is saying as Mickey beelines to me, scaring the owner of a brave little cat. The cat doesn’t even bother moving.
“Mickey, no.” Nicholas grabs him, giving the lady an overly apologetic look.
She smiles but still looks a bit spooked.
“We’ll raise him like we’re raising Mickey,” Matt argues.
“Hey, you’re not raising Mickey. I’m raising him.” Nicholas turns the party around, and they wait outside while I finish the checkup without any more commotion.
I can hear them fighting over Mickey’s guardianship and the fate of a future dog they’re definitely getting, no matter how much Oliver argues.
Once the lady has her sweet little Burmese in her cage, she takes my card before leaving.
Oliver storms in before the tent flap shuts. “Elliot, please tell Matt how big a responsibility dogs are so he stops behaving like an impulsive idiot.”
Matt and Nicholas follow, with Mickey running inside and, this time, happily greeting me. He struts around my feet, now that the habit of pawing up to my chest has finally been trained out of him.
I kneel to give him all the scratches while he pants adorably.