Page 576 of Manhattan Bossholes

“So, he’s not a pump-and-dump kind of guy?” I asked, peeking into the bag to see if I missed anything.

Cameron froze holding a box of pasta in the air. “Did you seriously just say that to me?”

I slapped my hand over my mouth, because until that moment, I’d half-forgotten Cameron wasn’t just a dude in my apartment, he was my boss.

“Sorry, I’m just looking out for Nina,” I said, my shoulders up by my ears.

We unpacked in silence for a few minutes.

“But…is he?” I asked in a quiet voice.

I held my breath until Cameron finally cracked a smile, then dissolved into laughter.

“I haven’t heard that phrase since college; what the hell, Felicity?”

“It’s an important question!” I insisted. “I’m looking out for my girl.”

“Okay, let me put it this way for you; I love my dog more than anything, and I let Tyler take care of him. Do you think I’d trust this beast with just anyone?”

He dropped to one knee to pet Boris, and the dog danced in place.

“Okay, you trust him with your dog, point taken. I don’t need to warn Nina about Tyler.” I watched Boris stare adoringly at Cameron as he got back to unpacking. “Where did you buy him? He’s a gorgeous dog.”

“I don’t buy dogs,” Cameron replied in the derisive voice I was more familiar with. “He’s a rescue.”

I ignored his tone. “No way! Why would he need to be rescued? He’s basically a perfect giant schnauzer.”

“Yeah, he is. He’s exactly what the breed standard describes. But a dog is more than just a set of physical characteristics, and unfortunately not everyone realizes that.” Cameron frowned. “He was originally purchased as a puppy out on Long Island by a family who didn’t know anything about what a working dog needs. He grew out of the adorable puppy phase and demanded more attention, but the family didn’t have any interest in providing it. He turned destructive, and their solution was to move him from the house to the garage.”

“No! That’s awful.”

Camron nodded. “Yeah, it is, but gets worse. He started chewing holes in the walls and barking all day and night. The family thought it might be a better idea to leave him in the yard, but he’s smart as hell, so he figured out how to scale the fence. He took off and got hit by a car. A good Samaritan brought him to the vet, and when they called the family to tell them what happened, they said he was too much trouble and never came to pick him up.”

It was my turn to drop to my knees to pet the sweet dog. “Boris! You poor baby!”

He wiggled and licked my face like he was trying to reassure me he was fine now.

Adopted by a billionaire? I’d say he was better than fine.

I looked up at Cameron. “How did he make his way to you?”

I could feel him watching me pet Boris, which made me self-conscious. Was I doing it wrong? When I glanced up at him, he was smiling at us with so much warmth in his expression that it made my heart stutter. I quickly refocused on the dog.

“My assistant Daniel was visiting his parents out on Long Island and ended up taking their cat to the same vet where Boris wound up. He heard the whole story and immediately thought of me. I’m a sucker for a hard luck story, so of course I adopted him.”

It was hard for me to imagine Cameron being a sucker for anything but fat sales reports. Could it be possible that he was actually a softie, deep down?

“I set up a little fund for the clinic for other animals in the same situation,” Cameron continued. “Turns out people dump their pets at the veterinarian all the time—if the cost of treatment is too much, or the animal is old, or just unwanted. It’s heartbreaking, but now there’s a cushion to make sure those animals get treatment and wind up in a safe place.”

I chuckled at the thought of his “little fund.” I’m sure Cameron had provided enough financial support to create an extra wing for unwanted animals.

I gave in to Boris’s demands for more pets and sat down on my kitchen floor. The dog plopped onto my lap and rolled onto his side, so I had full access to his belly.

“He really likes you,” Cameron mused.

“Please. I saw how he was in the lobby. He likes everyone.”

“No, this is different. He’s sort of obsessed with you.”