Chapter 8
chapter eight
Caleb
I show her around the facility and bring her to her temporary kennel which is next to Rex.
For all his anger issues, Rex enjoys being around other dogs.
It’s humans who annoy him sometimes. There won’t be any trouble at all finding a retirement forever home for Rain, and the way Max immediately falls for her tells me he’ll probably be begging to take her back to his room and keep her himself.
The excitement of the afternoon almost overshadows the stress of the gala. By the time I’ve finished working with Rain’s former handler and showing them both around the facility before saying goodbye, Charlotte has left work for the day. She didn’t even say goodbye.
Which is fine, of course.
She’s not obligated to tell me her comings and goings.
I just hate that I didn’t get another chance to see her before the day was over.
I want to email her, text her…hell, I want to show up at her house, wherever that may be, and beg her to assure me that everything will be okay.
I can still feel the way her hand felt on my shoulder, and I indulge in the thoughts of more.
Both hands on my shoulders. Her arms wrapped around me.
Her head pressed to my chest. I bet her hair feels so soft. I bet she smells lovely.
In the meantime, I have William Bryan to deal with.
He calls me just after nine o’clock which feels late to make a business call.
Is that some kind of power move? Maybe I shouldn’t even answer it.
Dread takes over those fluffy inappropriate thoughts I’ve had of Charlotte all evening, and I know I should just get this over with.
I’m in the garage working out, blasting music way too loud. I shut it off, rack my weights, and answer the call. I’m out of breath and the massive lump in my throat doesn’t help.
“Hello, this is Caleb,” I say. I’m no mastermind grade A jackass like he is, but I know how to pretend that I don’t know who’s calling just to make him feel not as VIP as he thinks he is.
“Caleb, I haven’t received a revised invite yet,” William says. “Shouldn’t you send them out soon since the date is changing?”
“I apologize for the confusion,” I say with a voice that feels more confident than I am. “The date isn’t changing.”
“Really?” He chuckles. “Is that so? You’re going to lose twenty five thousand dollars to avoid a simple rescheduling?”
“No, sir, there’s no loss. The event has already been planned and it’s not feasible to change the date.”
“Who on earth would give you that much money on such a short notice?” His laughter has turned serious with a touch of anger. “You’re a brand new nonprofit. No one else will trust that you’ll actually do any good with that money.”
Anger flares in me. “My name and my work has more than enough credibility to it. We have plenty of donors and I’m sorry you were unable to fulfill your original commitment.” I swallow, feeling bold. “Maybe you’ll be able to find other organizations who need your money.”
“Who’s your new donor?”
I picture him gritting his teeth, angry that someone might swoop in and smash his greedy power move. It feels good. And yet—we don’t have a new donor yet.
“Your invitation is still open and we welcome you to come to the gala and see for yourself.”
“Don’t ask me for money again,” he says. The call ends.
I smirk, staring at my phone screen. Then panic settles back in.
What if we don’t get another large donor?
My phone rings at seven in the morning. I roll over in bed, yawning as I reach for it, and hoping like hell it’s not another confrontational call from the WLB CEO. Luckily, it’s just Leo.
“Your girl is here,” he says with a smirky tone in his voice.
“She’s not my girl.”
“Who do you think I’m talking about?”
“Charlotte?”
He laughs. “See? Clearly she’s your girl.”
I roll my eyes. “The barn is unlocked. She knows she can go work in there. I’ll be down in a bit.”
“I would hurry because she brought coffee and donuts. I mean, if you want some you should hurry. Otherwise we’ll eat them all no problem.”
I sit up. “You better save me a donut.”
Charlotte is stunning in her cute little wide-leg jeans and cute little blue button up top.
Everything about her is cute. She’s like a ray of sunshine in an otherwise too-masculine business space.
She sips from a paper coffee cup, resting her elbows on the front counter and laughing with my brothers.
Ethan, Leo, and Max are all here and awake this early, which is insane.
Owen’s still at college, probably sleeping in late, like a regular Alden.
None of us are much for rising early unless we have to.
“Mornin,’” Ethan says, holding a donut.
Two boxes of Snowflake Donuts—the absolute best donut place around—sit on the counter along with one of those travel cartons of coffee.
“Damn, woman, you didn’t have to do all of this,” I say, shoving a donut in my mouth. “I appreciate it, though.”
She smiles. Her extremely kissable lips sparkle under the fluorescents. Maybe it’s from donut glaze, or maybe she’s just really that beautiful. Wish I could kiss her and find out.
I clear my throat.
“We’re celebrating,” she says, turning those sparkly lips and eyes in my direction. “Sorry I showed up so early, I couldn’t wait any longer.”
My eyes widen. “The donor?”
She nods, biting her lip.
“You got another twenty five thousand dollar donor?”
Her grin gets wider. She shakes her head. “Try fifty.”
The room fills with my brothers’ whoops and cheers. My jaw drops. Maybe it’s just too early in the morning but I’m having trouble comprehending what she just said. “Fifty. Thousand. Dollars?” I say slowly, realizing the impact this will have on our nonprofit.
“Yes, sir,” she says, scrunching her shoulders in this cute little “I’m so awesome” way that does things to my heart. This woman…and the money…I don’t know how to handle it all. Most women disappear from my memory the second our conversation is over.
“You’re incredible,” I say. With a donut in my hand, I rush forward, wrapping her in a one-armed hug. She giggles and I lift her off her feet, swinging her around. When I set her down, she brushes hair out of her face, revealing flushed cheeks.
“You’re very welcome,” she says, doing a little courtesy. “Though I didn’t do it for you. I did it for the dogs.”
My brothers watch this whole scene with rapt fascination. I’m going to get so much shit for this later, but I don’t care. Charlotte’s right. We’re doing this for the dogs.
They matter more than my feelings, my heart, my crush on this woman.
The dogs are the most important thing.