AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s like you don’t know me or your best friend.” I joke. “I don’t think traveling with Luna to a country where cat, bat, and rat is on the menu would have been fun. She’s crazy, Audrey. We need to talk about this arrangement. You can tell her to go. I will find someone to fill your spot until you get back.” Luna only did this for her.
“You can’t fire her, Spencer. She will be crushed.” Audrey sounds far away as if she switched to the loudspeaker. “She is not that bad.”
“Really?” I ask my sister, laughing. “Have you tasted her coffee? There was birdseed in my dinner.” I know she is laughing at me, and it is funny. “I know you love Luna, but she is not what I was looking for in an assistant.”
“What were you looking for?” my sister asks me. “A mini skirt, heels, sexy. Were you needing a nerd with cute glasses? Someone that can do the job?”
“Luna has a mini skirt. She wore it to the office, thanks for that,” I say. “I just need to not eat bird food, and know that my schedule isn’t going to be changed at the drop of a hat.” I am not good with change.
“Spencer, you won’t find another me.” Audrey sighs. “At least I can tell Luna how to do things, and you can trust her. I cannot see you inviting a stranger to your house.” She’s not wrong. “Give it a chance.” My sister pleads with me, but I just don’t think I can.
“Audrey, please tell her she can go. I will still pay her. Or whatever you two agreed on,” I ask again.
“No, Spencer, for once, I am saying no. Luna offered to help. No one else will tolerate your bullshit and moods. So, say thank you, and be grateful that she is a good enough friend to do this for me.” Audrey sounds slightly annoyed. “She didn’t offer for you. She did it so I could have this time off without stressing about you stressing!”
I decide not to push her tonight. We can quietly make Luna disappear later on, when Audrey is less emotional. “Okay, fine.” I give up. “I’ll be home tomorrow afternoon. Maybe I can come visit you and Charlotte?” I would like to spend some time with her and the baby. I keep getting told they grow in a flash and not to miss it.
“That would be nice. You know you can visit me anytime,” she says, her voice softer now. “You don’t have to make an appointment. I am not you.” I smile. She knows me too well. “Your niece is asleep. I am going to try to close my eyes. Night Spencer.”
“Night, Audrey.” I hang up the phone and close my eyes. I have one more meeting, and then I can get myself back home. The sixteen-hour flight is no joke. Thank fuck I have my own plane. I wouldn’t survive that trip flying coach.
* * *
It’s late afternoon when my driver finally pulls up at the house and takes my bag out of the car. I am glad to be home and could use a shower and a good night’s sleep in my own bed. The front door is open, and I look around the yard to see if Luna is outside. When I don’t see her, I shut the door behind me. “Hello.” I greet cautiously, hoping my sister told her to leave like I asked.
“Hi,” she calls out from some hidden corner of the house. “Welcome home.” Luna is odd, but I ignore her funny little welcome and open the fridge, in need of a cold beer and a snack before I decompress from the traveling.
“What the fucking hell is all this?” I say as loud as I can. The contents of my refrigerator have been replaced with unidentifiable green shit. “Where is the beer?” I turn around and ask as Luna enters the kitchen.
“I moved it to the bar, where you have a fridge just for beer,” she says with a smile, like she is proud of herself.
“And the food?”
“There’s food in there.” She frowns.
“Real food, Luna.” I growl. “I am not a rabbit or a bird. I am a man. I eat steak, and cheese, not nuts and seeds!” I am hungry and about three seconds from being homicidal. I’m huffing and puffing, trying to find anything edible in my kitchen.
“Good lord, I will order you something,” she says, closing the pantry I left open. “Calm down. I don’t eat meat and having it in the kitchen goes against what I believe in. If you really need steak, I’ll order you food.” I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose, trying not to yell.
“Thank you, Luna,” I say, my jaw clenched. I really wish Audrey had sent her away. This whole thing is going to drive me insane. I go to the bar needing the beer more than I did when I arrived. I stop dead in my tracks as I enter the living room. “Luna, why is there fucking dog on my sofa?” The enormous beast opens one eye and looks at me, then perks up and sits up, tail wagging.
“Yes, that’s Athena, my dog.”
“It’s the size of a horse, and Audrey didn’t say you had a dog!” I stand there unmoving. I am afraid of dogs, but I am not saying that to her.
“I didn’t have a dog. I got her two days ago. This house is so big and empty and lonely…it needed a dog.” I’m going to kill her. This is the moment I snap, go crazy, and become a headline for murdering my sister’s mad friend. “Isn’t she gorgeous? Hello Athena, who’s a good girl then?” Luna talks to the dog, and she gets excited, diving off the sofa towards me. I lunge behind Luna, not wanting the thing to bite me or lick me—I can’t do this. I should have stayed in Hong Kong.
“Luna, I don’t like dogs, or cats or animals,” I say as she lets the dog slobber all over her. “Please put her outside,” I ask nicely. “She can’t stay here!” My voice goes up to octaves when the dog bypasses her and comes straight for me. “Luna!”
“Aww, she loves you,” Luna says, oblivious to my absolute terror. It’s not even a poodle. It’s a horse dog. “I’ll get you a beer,” she says, leaving me alone with the animal. Athena keeps getting closer, cornering me up against the fireplace. Her entire body wags with the tail, and she is getting too excited—I am hyperventilating and praying for a swift death.
“No.” I try to stop the dog when she jumps, but she puts her paws on my shoulders and licks me right in the face. “Luna!” Fuck, I scream now, trying to push the dog off of me. “Luna, your dog!” She comes back in, holding a beer, laughing at me.
“Athena, don’t jump,” Luna says to the dog who does not listen, at all. “Come on,” she calls her and finally she jumps down and knocks everything off the coffee table with her wagging tail. “Silly girl, go lie down.” She rubs her head, hands me the cold beverage and the dog gets back on my recliner. “How was your trip?” she asks me as if nothing is wrong with the picture.
“Fine, I should have stayed there.” I huff and sit down on the sofa I don’t like because her dog is in my spot. “Luna, I don’t want a dog in my house, fuck, I didn’t even want you here.” I glare at the animal while I talk to her.
“Spencer, you live alone in this empty house. It’s not healthy. A dog will do you good. You isolate yourself and shut the whole world out. Why? It’s making you more miserable.”
