It wasn’t exactly a thrill a minute stuff, that was for sure.
But Channing was good at this kind of thing, so knew it was a good use of his time. After all, volunteering wasn’t about his enjoyment it was ultimately about helping the dogs as much as he possibly could.
The office atBark Buddieswas a far cry from the chic, elegant office that Channing had at Green Sky Future. And the fact that the aircon was barely functioning wasn’t exactly conducive to efficient working conditions.
But it wasn’t the end of the world.
Channing was beginning to find the work hard going for another reason. Every time he began to get into a flow, his mind cast itself back to the incident at the bar the previous evening. Judd seemed like a mean, untrustworthy man. It was a surprise to Channing that Max would ever associate with someone like that.
Why would Max even know Judd?
Max’s a good guy. Judd seems horrible.
There’s something I don’t know about here…
Channing was beginning to feel fed up with having to battle with thoughts of Max, Judd, and what had gone down. Suddenly, the circumstances surrounding Max’s arrival back in his life were beginning to swirl around in Channing’s overworked brain.
It was time to message the group chat and see if that might help…
Guys… help me out? I’m having a bad morning. I’m drowning in paperwork at Bark Buddies and had a difficult night last night. I’ll say more later, but for now can you just send a funny meme? Tell me a joke? Anything? Love you guys, Channing Xoxo
Channing didn’t have to wait long for a response. Both Tommy and Rick sent some classically giggle-worthy memes and it seemed to do the trick just fine. Channing was temporarily able to put the Max-Judd situation out of his mind and get on with his work.
I’m here for the dogs.
My dramas can stay where they belong… at home.
I just wish Max was here to help cheer me up…
After spending a few hours making inch by inch progress through the admin work, Channing decided it was time to check out.
Then after a quick play with some of the dogs, including of course the ever-loveable Tracker, Channing made his way home.
* * *
The journey home fromBark Buddiesdid little to de-stress Channing.
If anything, it made Channing more wound up. It felt like alongside the Judd situation, Max was also having to deal with too many other things too.
There was Kyle Peters at work.
Then on top of Kyle there was the pressure of knowing that the VP position was coming up at Green Sky Future.
Then on top of that still, the financial situation at Bark Buddies was being complicated by a land purchase deal that while good on the face of it, was actually far more complex to process than had been initially hoped for.
All in all, Channing was feeling the weight of the world suddenly coming down on his shoulders. And unfortunately, by the time he arrived home he wasn’t in the best of moods…
‘Enjoy your morning fun?’ Channing said, half-meaning it as a joke but coming across as a little spikey.
‘Ummm, it’s good to see you too?’ Max replied, looking up from the iPad as he lay stretched out on the couch. ‘Everything okay?’
‘Yeah, why shouldn’t it be?’ Channing snapped back, not even going over to Max for their now customary welcome home kiss. ‘So… you’ve literally finished the coffee?’
Channing could feel his blood beginning to boil.
Looking around the apartment, it was clear that Max hadn’t exactly been spending the time cleaning up after himself. Not only was the coffee finished, but there were a couple of splashes of oat milk on the worktop too.
‘What the hell?’ Channing snapped again, making a show of cleaning up the spilled milk. ‘I know I have a cleaner in the week, but you could at least make the effort at the weekend to keep this place looking clean?’
