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“Is thattheBetty, Lamar Hendrix’s dog?“ The trainer who had summoned Lee for her run asked, stopping mid-stride when I addressed the dog.
“Yes,” I answered, unsure if this was good or bad.
“Hello, beautiful. Good to see you again.” The trainer kneeled and petted Betty, who ate up the attention. “I’m Susan.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Derek.” I twisted around in the chair to shake hands with her.
“Is Lamar here?”
“No. Just me and Betty.”
“I’m sure you know, but Betty is kind of famous.”
“Lamar said something about her and that condo in Miami Beach.” The only famous dogs I knew were Lassie and Toto.
“This dog has been all over the world saving people. She’s incredible. Earthquakes. Mudslides. Building collapses. You name it.”
“You brought a hero dog?” Lee and a dripping-wet Onyx had returned. “That is too perfect.”
“Why?” Susan asked, looking between us.
The trainer didn’t know she was in the line of fire.
“He’s a retired Navy SEAL. They’re a…” Lee paused, searching for the right turn of phrase, and I expected the worst. “Noble pair.” She jutted her chin at me, and our eyes met.
It was a relief when she didn’t look away, but the mischievous smile on her lips gave me pause. I remembered that smile from her youth. She was up to something, and I wouldn’t like it.
“I’m only borrowing Betty. My company is considering adding a dog like her to our, er, staff.” I was standing up, backing away from Susan and Lee. The women advanced, circling their prey. Lee with sadistic glee glowing in her eyes and Susan with something like hero worship—I wasn’t sure if Susan’s interest was aimed at Betty or myself.
“Would you mind doing a demo?” Susan gushed the question like she’d asked Taylor Swift to join the house band for a song at a local bar.
“A demo?” I echoed. Well, shit. The cute tricks Lamar had shown me weren’t going to impress these hard-asses. Only the real deal would do. Betty, the famous dog with the life-saving nose. I reached for my phone to call Lamar, and I nodded, my panic growing. I had to save face in front of Lee.
“Not a problem.” Sweat trickled down my back.
Lee snorted in disbelief.
“Awesome. I’ll get on it. We’ll put together something fun and challenging for you two.” Susan rushed off toward the other Mission Critical staff.
“I’m going to make a quick call.” I held up my phone to show Lee.
“Sure. Are you calling Lamar Hendrix for help? Tell him Onyx did great today.” Lee’s lips twisted in a knowing smile.
I froze, phone clutched like a lifeline in my hand.
“You know Lamar?” It was all falling into place. I’d been set up.
“Did you tell Susan I brought Betty?” I longed to confront Lee, shake her, and make her admit it. But I ruthlessly crushed the desire to rise to her bait. I was in absolute control. I wouldnotoverreact.
Her only answer was a smirk. Every cell of my body yearned to kiss the snarky expression right off her face. I clenched my jaw with the effort to restrain myself. Pain radiated through my skull, grounding me.
“Like I said, you’re a shit liar. The first rule of living a lie is never try to sell a story you can’t handle.” Her laugh was deep and rich like red wine. It wrapped around my chest and ripped at the threads of my control. I reined in my desire to fight back, to meet her taunts with my own. To kiss her until she melted beneath me. It was fucking impossible. It felt like fighting the tide. So much for absolute control.
Then it hit me.
I’d been going about this the wrong way—fighting for control. Lee was like water. Fighting the ocean was exhausting. It was how you drowned. The way to succeed was to relax and go with the flow.
Float.
