Chapter 8 Second Chances and Soft Hands #2
“So, this year I closed the centre from November to the beginning of January.”
“That’s risky business,” Evelyn commented, earning a nose flare from Alyssa. Oops, she’d said something wrong already.
“It would be if the sanctuary was a business. It’s not.”
“My apologies. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“It’s fine. You weren’t to know. Anyway, once I decided to close, I contacted your father.”
“Can I ask why you closed it?”
“I was sick of dogs being adopted for Christmas and returned in the New Year once their shine had worn off.”
“That happens a lot?”
“More than you realise. Two-thirds of the dogs adopted last year were returned.”
Two-thirds—that was an outrageous amount. “That’s awful,” Evelyn murmured.
“Yes, it is. Even though we spend an absurd amount of time drilling home the reality that owning a dog is hard work, and requires time and patience…” Evelyn watched Alyssa huff out a frustrated breath. The woman was too worked up to even finish her sentence.
“So why the partnership?” Evelyn wanted to move the conversation along. Not because she was bored, but because she didn’t like to see Alyssa upset.
“The dogs still need stimulation and socialisation. My partner came up with the idea of approaching Richard. Honestly, I didn’t go to him with any kind of plan. That sort of just happened. Your dad got so excited.” Alyssa chuckled.
Evelyn rolled her eyes playfully. That was her dad all right. Put a dog in front of him, and he was a kid at Christmas. Maybe not the best phrase to use. Definitely not something to say in front of Alyssa. “So, what did he offer?”
“Basically, we paired each dog up with a volunteer. Your dad made sure that everyone involved knew their responsibilities. They signed forms. Anyone with an allergy where a dog would be present was moved to a different floor, or offered to work from home if possible.”
“Okay, that doesn’t sound too bad, I suppose.”
“We collect the dogs at the end of the day and return them to the sanctuary.”
“The volunteers can’t take them home?”
“Not yet. We decided to give everyone a month. When December rolls around, any volunteer who wishes to take the dog can do so for a night during the week or the weekend.”
“But not all week?”
“Nope. I don’t want the dogs thinking they have found their forever home. It’s not fair to them. That’s why I will be the one to decide if a dog can be taken for a night. Some of the pack are more sensitive than others.”
“Sounds reasonable. And everything is going well so far?” Now that Evelyn had calmed down and spoken to Alyssa like a rational human being, she was delighted with the partnership. Her dad knew what he was doing. She trusted his judgement, even if she wished he had told her first.
“Everything has gone brilliantly. Except for the minor hiccup with Bug.” Alyssa chuckled.
Ah, yes Bug. The little runaway.
Evelyn laughed. “It was a surprise, I must admit. At first I thought I was hallucinating.”
“Oh, no. Bug is definitely real.”
“Who is his volunteer?”
“It was a fella called Cyril—”
“But Cyril is in the hospital—”
“With a broken hip, yes. Well, there isn’t anyone else who matches Bug, so he will stay with me during the day. Or Lil, when I need to go to meetings.”
“Lil?”
“Yes, my partner.” Evelyn’s heart dropped to her stomach. Of course, Alyssa had a partner.
“I feel a bit bad for the little guy now.”
“Don’t feel too bad. Lil and I will spoil him.”
The conversation hit a lull. Evelyn watched Alyssa gaze around her office.
“It’s not the most exciting of offices, I’m afraid.” Evelyn suddenly felt conscious of the stark coldness her workspace offered. Alyssa seemed like a warm and colourful kind of person. Not corporate bland.
“Hey, whatever floats your boat. My office is a sixth of the size of this, covered in dog hair and piles of paperwork.”
“Sounds heavenly,” Evelyn laughed.
“So…”
“So?” Evelyn arched her eyebrow and then blushed because she was using her signature sexy eyebrow move on this woman, the one with a partner and not in the least bit interested in her.
“Are we okay…the partnership, I mean?” Did Alyssa have a little tinge of red on her creamy cheeks? If so, was that because of Evelyn’s fabulous eyebrow game?
“Yes, of course. I think it will be great for morale around the building, and the dogs get some human time. Win-win.”
“Oh, thank God,” Alyssa laughed. “I really didn’t have a backup plan.”
“Let me know if you need anything. I’m only an elevator ride away.”
“Will do. Thanks, Evelyn. I appreciate what your dad offered us and I appreciate you upholding it.”
Evelyn gave Alyssa a shy smile.
With the partnership debacle cleared up, there wasn’t anything else to discuss.
Evelyn wanted more than anything to keep the conversation going, learn everything she could about Alyssa, but that would have seemed weird, right?
Unprofessional. Yes, definitely. Anyway, there was still a good chunk of the day left.
Bidding Alyssa goodbye, Evelyn sat a while processing. Not about the alliance between Four Paws and Crawford’s. No, she needed to process Alyssa. Sweet, beautiful, sexy Alyssa Fox. Partnered Alyssa Fox.
She’s a no-go, Ev, keep it in your undies, girl.
The sun had long set over London. Evelyn checked the time on her laptop, surprised to find it was only half five.
The rest of the afternoon had been crammed as usual.
Plenty of people needing her time. The last of those people was Roger, the IT guy.
Evelyn hated talking to Roger because Roger only spoke to Evelyn’s cleavage.
He also left the bloody door open after leaving.
An open door meant people thought they could pop their heads in and chat.
Evelyn was not about that at all. Not anymore, anyway.
Standing, getting ready to close said door, Evelyn chuckled when she met the little brown eyes of Bug, who sat squarely in the middle of her office again.
“Well, what are you doing here, young man?”
This time there was no stand-off, no staring competition. Evelyn manoeuvred herself round the desk and sank to her knees in front of him. Bug lifted his left paw, placing it delicately on Evelyn’s lap.
“Good God, you’re a charmer,” she giggled.
Unable to resist any longer, Evelyn took his face in her hands and kissed his head before ruffling his cheeks.
This seemed to be the magic action because Bug immediately moved closer, ramming his head into her belly, demanding more, which only caused her to laugh again.
“Alyssa is going to be worried sick about you again, Bug. You can’t keep running off.” Evelyn should take him back downstairs, but the thought of Alyssa paying her another visit was too enticing. Maybe they could chat a bit more.
The sound of footsteps hurrying down the hall gave Evelyn a spike of excitement. The rapid knock on her door made her smile.
“Come in,” she called.
The door pushed open, but it wasn’t the illustrious Alyssa Fox. No, this woman was a little shorter, with spiky brown hair and dark makeup. Her black dungarees had rips in the knees, and her top looked as if it was twenty years old.
“Oh, thank Christ,” the woman bellowed. Her hands dropped to her knees as she bent over, trying desperately to catch her breath.
“Can I help you?” Evelyn asked, getting to her feet.
“Sorry. Lil Barnes. With Four Paws.”
Ah, Alyssa’s partner. Evelyn couldn’t stop the zing of jealousy that shot through her body. Silly really, considering she’d only met Alyssa twice and the first encounter wasn’t exactly something to write home about.
“Of course. I take it you’re looking for this one?” Evelyn smiled, pointing at Bug, who hadn’t moved.
“Yup, gave me and Alyssa another heart attack. Thanks for that, mate.” She chuckled. “Sorry, he keeps breaking in.”
“The door was open so…” Evelyn shrugged good-naturedly.
“Well, I’ll be getting him back downstairs. The van is waiting for him.”
“Oh, you’re all done for the day?” Evelyn felt a pang of disappointment, knowing that Alyssa would be leaving.
“Yeah, it’s half five. Most of your staff are packing up to head home.”
“Of course. Well, see you tomorrow then, I guess.”