Chapter 17 #2
He needs a secretary. I hate there’s probably not enough money for that, but at least I can fix one of the more pressing issues.
“Hi. I know. I’m having a very boring conversation,” I croon to the black lab trying to knock over the basket beside me. “How dare I. Let me give you all my attention now.”
Fritz and the volunteer leave, while I dump the basket of toys and gently roll a few balls for the puppies to chase. They bark and run, and I get up on my hands and knees to play with them.
“Oh my gosh, you’re so strong!” I gasp dramatically, falling onto my back.
The puppies victoriously climb up my body, though Daisy the border collie keeps sliding down.
“You can do it, Daisy. Come on!” I say, pushing her gently up.
Magic Nugget licks my chin and then curls up on my neck to fall asleep, limiting my ability to play. I still manage, I just have to make sure she doesn’t fall off.
I hear someone come in, and see they have a camera out of the corner of my eye. I ignore them to continue playing, laughing as Trudy tries to fight with herself with a rope. I pick up the other end so she has some tension on the other side, and she gets even more excited as she fake growls.
“Get it, Trudy,” I encourage her, chuckling.
Glancing at the camera person, I frown as I realize it’s not the right one.
“Can I help you?” I drawl.
“Not at all,” the man says with a wide smile. He has blue hair, ripped knees at his jeans, and a sweatshirt. I have this odd feeling he’s a rag photographer. “I got what I needed.”
“Get out, or you’ll have issues,” I warn.
“You’re covered in puppies,” he smirks. “What are you going to do?”
“Sky is going to have fun beating the shit out of you,” I say with a shrug, pulling out my phone and texting him. “It’ll totally be worth the fine from the league, too.”
The man goes paler than I thought was possible, cursing under his breath as he yanks the door open and runs out.
“Don’t try that shit with anyone else!” I call after him. “Fucking paps.”
“Rhodes?” Edna’s head pops in with the actual photographer and I blow out a breath.
“How did a pap find me today?” I ask. “And how did they get in?”
“I don’t know but I’ll find out those answers and lock this place down,” Edna says, her eyes sharpening.
I’m new to the team, but I very much doubt she’d be responsible for this. Her job is to manage the chaos, not make more of it.
“Thanks, Edna. So you’re my real photographer. I didn’t bother to look until it was too late when the other person came in, and that was my fault,” I explain. “He had blue hair if you’re checking to make sure the guy is gone, Edna.”
“I’m on it,” she replies, walking out the door again.
She wore sneakers instead of her usual heels, so she’s super fast today.
“Pretend I’m not here,” the photographer says. Ah, fuck. What’s his name?
Tony. I think that’s it. I knew I’d be seeing puppies today, and kind of ignored everything else.
“Sounds good,” I reply.
Trudy yips at me, and I pick up a ball and bounce it at her. The puppies are still all young, and I don’t think any of them are older than four months old.
“I’m so sorry,” I snort, stealing the ball back. Trudy is properly scandalized, and I continue to bounce the ball to her.
Magic Nugget yawns as she wakes up from her nap, and slides down my body to join in on our game. Daisy follows, allowing me to sit up so I can properly play.
I know my grin is wide and happy as I roll balls toward them, and I’m having a really good time. I don’t even notice when Tony leaves, and I pout as Fritz comes back into the room.
“Ugh, I want them all. They’re so cute,” I groan.
“They really are. It looks like they’re all tired too,” Fritz says.
The puppies are curling up for a nap, and I shrug as I get up and scoop Magic Nugget into my arms to help her since she doesn’t have help.
“We had a blast,” I say. “Ugh, I need to pick up.”
“Honestly, I’ll have someone come in later. You’re totally fine,” Fritz says. “I’ll probably have other people come in to play with other dogs. I think it was only cleaned up for you.”
“I’m honored,” I chuckle, watching as Fritz picks up Trudy and Daisy. “Did you find that quote?”
“It’s in my pocket. I should warn you it’s not cheap,” he warns.
“So, I can have someone else come out to get me an estimate, or we’ll use your quote if you think it’s fair,” I say, unbothered as I follow him out. “I didn’t expect it to be cheap when I offered.”
“Alright,” Fritz agrees. “I’m not sure if my quote is fair or not, so I’m willing to call around.”
“How bad are the pipes?” I interject.
“Bad,” he groans.
“Then I want the quote you have so it can be fixed before it’s a mess,” I decide. “How is everyone else doing?”
“Skylar is still playing with six kittens. Koen walked a few of the dogs with another volunteer, and is now bathing one of our bigger dogs. He’s difficult to control, but he seems to like Koen,” Fritz says, surprised.
“So, I really want to adopt Magic Nugget,” I say, chuckling at her name. “I’ll organize someone to help take care of her while I’m gone, but I’m in love.”
“The team actually has vetted pet sitters,” Edna says, walking back up to us.
It’s like she’s magic. “That guy isn’t here anymore.
At least, he’s not anywhere I've looked. I think he left out a back door. The front desk said he told them he was with us, and that’s how he got in here in the first place. ”
Fritz winces so hard, I bet his asshole also puckered, and Edna holds her hand up.
“It’s unfortunately part of how things work for hockey players,” she explains. “He couldn’t have gotten anything too incriminating based on where we are.”
“I was playing with puppies,” I say innocently. “That's why I wasn’t too worried about his camera. I kind of want to see if Koen is still washing the dog. I’m wondering if his dog whispering skills extend to water too.”
Another volunteer comes up to take the puppy from me and I feel a pang of sadness.
“Don’t worry, I’m going to make sure everyone knows she’s yours,” Fritz reassures me. “I’ll get her vaccines up to date, and all the paperwork in order. You can come back to pick her up tomorrow if you’d like.”
“I would,” I say happily. Fritz fishes a paper out of his pocket, and I take it and put it in my wallet without glancing down.
I’ll allow myself to have sticker shock later. I don’t want Fritz to have second thoughts about this. I want to help, so I will.
“I’ll take you to Koen,” Edna says, leading the way through the hallways until she walks out to a room with different size tubs.
I grin as I see that Koen is indeed trying to keep the dog he’s working with from jumping out of the tub.
“Uh-uh,” I say, walking toward Koen. “That’s a bad idea, dude. You’ll get hurt. Stay.”
The dog’s tongue drops out as he pants, staying still as Koen sighs.
“He was good until I started to rinse him off,” he confesses.
Pinching his chin, I tip his head back to kiss him. I grin as I see his eyes unfocus once I let him up for air.
“He got impatient,” I say. “It happens to me often.”
Koen chuckles as he goes back to making sure all the shampoo is washed off before nodding in satisfaction.
“Clearly, I let my success in getting Lyle into the tub go to my head,” he says drolly. “There are towels to your left. Can you grab a few, please? I want to start drying him off before I open the doors.”
The tub is a walk-in, and there is a hand held shower for whoever is cleaning the animal they’re working with. It’s a really smart set up.
I help Koen dry the dog, amused by the sprinkling of water on his clothes. He should dry off by the time we leave.
“So,” he says with a smile. “Who are you taking home?”
At my clueless and very mischievous wide eyes, he snorts.
“Please, you’re not being slick,” he says.
Koen puts the leash on the now dry dog, while I throw the used towels in the hamper nearby. Fritz has a great shelter here. I’m impressed with what I’ve seen. I really want to help him get whatever resources he needs.
“Oh yes. I want to know who’s invading our home,” Sky growls, leaning against a wall.
I swear, he needs a fucking bell!
“Okay, so one, it’s not an invasion if you’re adopting,” I say, pleading my case. “Second, I think we should adopt a puppy before we think about a baby.”
“I thought the baby was rhetorical,” Koen says, looking as if he just swallowed something down the wrong pipe.
I can feel his freak out, and send happy vibes down the bond.
“No question is truly rhetorical for us,” Skylar explains. “So who is the new member of the family?”
“Magic Nugget,” I say proudly. “Okay, we’re going to change her name. She’s such a pretty golden retriever. She fell asleep on me.”
“Oh, she played dirty,” Sky says sympathetically.
“I know!” I exclaim.
“Well then,” Koen says. “I love dogs, as you can see, so I’m excited about this.”
“Two brats working against me,” Skylar groans, stalking toward us.
Careful not to upset the dog between us, he kisses Koen before moving to me. I get a bite on my lower lip with my kiss, making me groan.
“You can explain to Edna why we all have swollen lips and I’m bleeding,” I sass.
“We’re hockey players, we’re always bleeding for one reason or another,” Skylar says, unworried. “Edna wants to get our photo, so we should walk this dog back to where he needs to be.”
Koen adjusts his grip on the dog’s leash and we begin walking.
“You know you’re in trouble, right?” Skylar asks.
“Yes, Daddy,” I murmur under my breath. “It’s worth it though.”
“I had a feeling you’d say that,” he groans.
“There you are,” Edna says.
A volunteer takes the dog Koen was bathing, and Edna begins to lead us through the facility.
“I was talking to Fritz, and he agreed to allow us to take a group photo with a few of the animals. You’ll be focused on the animals, which will keep you from feeling as if you need to perform,” she says. “After this, we’re done.”
Skylar and I are used to things like this, though Koen doesn’t seem enthused. There’s a smile on his face by the time we’re all in place though, and his body is relaxed again.
There are older dogs around us for the photo which is smart. During the tour, Fritz explained they’re less likely to be adopted. It makes me feel bad that I’m adopting a puppy, and I give them all extra love and attention as Tony takes photos.
One of them turns onto his belly for me, and I grin as I give him belly scratches.
“You’re such a good boy,” I croon, ignoring when Koen coughs and Sky snorts under his breath.
I can be a good boy too when I’m not searching for negative reinforcement. I can’t wait to see what Daddy has in store for me.
Whatever it is, it’ll be worth it.
“I’ll write the piece, put together the photos, and give them to a sports reporter I like,” Edna explains to Fritz as we finish up.
Volunteers let us get more head scratches with the dogs before leading them back into the back area to feed them dinner. I didn’t even realize how much time had gone by.
“Wow. You can do that? Control the narrative, I mean?” Fritz asks, surprised.
“There’s very little I can’t do,” Edna tells him.
“I don’t want anyone to skew our goals for the piece.
I researched a lot of different places before making my calls, Fritz.
Having influence means making the right decisions on how to use it.
I can send the piece to you before it’s published if you’d like? I know you’ve been burned before.”
“I’d appreciate that,” Fritz says, deflating with relief.
“Take care of my puppy,” I say with a grin as we say our goodbyes.
“Of course,” Fritz says, nodding. “We’re very excited for your adoption.”
Sky, Koen, and I drove together, so we wave goodbye to Edna and head to the Jeep.
“I hope you’re ready for your punishment,” Daddy says as he gets behind the wheel.
“My ass is ready,” I reply.
“Who says I’m going to do anything to your ass?” he asks, smirking.
Well, play stupid games, win stupid prizes. It’ll still be worth it.