“You said he had to pee,” he says. “He did a lot more than that.”
I snort. “Ah, well, that’s not usually until later in the day, but perhaps he wanted to give you a gift.”
His narrowed gaze promises retribution. “Give me a plastic bag from the drawer,” he says through gritted teeth. “First one to the left of the sink.”
I hop down and get him a bag. Would it really kill his vibe to tack on the occasional please?
I would offer to go clean it up for him, but he knows the location and it’s good for people to do menial labor every once in a while. So, I hand him the bag and go back to work.
By the time he’s back, I have a list of information I need. Toni’s school, her teacher’s name, and the principal. Her father’s full name and his social media as well. I watch in amusement as Miguel scrubs and scrubs his hands at the kitchen sink, nearly overflowing the damn thing with bubbles.
Prince trots up to me, clearly proud of having completed his business. I pat his head. “Good boy,” I croon, picking him up and snuggling him on my lap. I whisper in his ear, “You give the big, bad man a run for his money?”
I swear Prince gives me a wink.
Chapter 12
Miguel
She’s literally whispering in the dog’s ear as I finish cleaning up the kitchen, and either I’m in dire need of some loving or there’s something in the air, because I swear she looks sexier and more adorable today than she did yesterday. Maybe it’s the sleep, or the simple way she gathers her curly hair at the nape of her neck. She’s probably dying to get home and get a shower and a change of clothes, but I wish I could keep her here forever.
God, what am I thinking?
I glance at my phone and realize I’ve missed ten calls and texts from Raul, and about as many from Winnie.
“Toni, you need to go upstairs and brush your teeth, pick out some clothes and get changed.”
She opens her mouth to protest, but I don’t have time for backtalk. “Do it,” I say as I answer the phone.
“I don’t want to,” she begins, when Samantha gives her a look, then walks over to talk to her while I dial the phone. Raul picks up on the first ring.
“Thank fuck,” he mutters. “Dude, get your ass in here.”
“Wait, what? Why?”
“I told you already,” he says, blowing out a breath on the other end of the line. “And you would know if you actually picked up your phone every once in a while.”
“Tell me again,” I growl. Prince hops up into a chair and lies down, as Toni and Samantha go upstairs. How does Samantha seem to have the magic touch with her? What’s up with that?
“You’ve got an on-the-spot interview with local news. Everyone wants your story, and this particular one is hard to come by. Remember the last time they were going to interview you, and the President landed in Martha’s Vineyard unexpectedly? They cancelled everything.”
“I remember.”
“So you gotta take this, man. They rebooked and are ready to go. And bring the kid. Maybe you could go over to the smoothie shop and get the chick, too.”
The chick? Samantha is now the chick? I grip my phone so tightly it hurts.
He goes on, oblivious to the fact he’s on my shit list. “She seems like she’s good with her, could maybe get her to behave better than you could, and she has to fucking behave on air.”
“Great. Great.”
“It’ll be fine, man, you just have to power through like you do with everything else. Just steamroll.”
For some reason, those words sting. I’m not usually the type that lets anything fucking sting.
Just steamroll?
Like you do with everything else?
What does that even mean?
Should. Have. Fired. His. Ass.
I hear the girls laughing upstairs, and it warms my heart a little. Sometimes I wonder if I have a little shriveled-up heart like the Grinch.
His heart was two sizes too small.
And then Samantha comes into my life, and for the first time in fucking decades, I feel… alive. Human. It’s painful in some ways, but in others…
I take the stairs two at a time and stick my head in Toni’s room. They’re making the bed, smoothing down the comforter, when I appear.
“Hey, I just got a call. Seems we have an interview.”
“We?”
I gesture to me and then Toni.
Samantha groans. “Okay, I’m gonna bug out and hit a shower, then. I’ll have to get home and get a fresh change of clothes.”
“I’ll have my driver take you after we get dropped off.”
She nods. “And then later, we’ll have to meet up for more intake before I do some interviews and evaluations.”
“Can’t today, I’ve got execs flying in from Tokyo to discuss a possible merger and collaboration.’