Page 19 of The CEO

“I’m still here.” I didn’t bother hiding my irritation at her incompetence.

“I didn’t know, Kingston. I’m really sorry I bothered you and probably took you away from an important meeting. I’m failing at something that should be so simple.” She sniffed, and I’d never been happier to be across the pond. I knew I’d forgive her in an instant if I saw her with tears in her eyes.

I knew taking care of my trio of dogs wasn’t easy, and if I were a nice guy, I wouldn’t take out my frustrations on her, but I couldn’t help it. “Just try not to fuck up again,” I growled and disconnected the call.

Gritting my teeth, I pushed from the conference table and headed out of the room. I was done for the day. I didn’t care what else Ms. Sinclair had planned; I was leaving with or without her blessing. Not that I cared what she thought of me. They’d be lucky if I bought them out.

Hitting the down button on the elevator, I tapped my foot as I waited. I was going to head back to my hotel room, open the minibar and start drinking. I didn’t plan to stop until after dinner and every bottle was empty.

“Mr. Avery, where are you going?” I heard the clack of Ms. Sinclair’s heels before I saw her. As the doors opened, her eyes widened and her feet picked up speed.

“I’ve got all the information I need to make an informed decision. I’ll have Whitmore let you know what we decide.” I hit the button for the ground floor and pulled out my phone. I’d need for my new secretary, whatever her name was, to change my flight.

“But we weren’t done.”

“We’re done.” I needed to head home first thing in the morning.

The “O” shape of her mouth turned into a thin line as the doors slowly closed. I wasn’t sure if she was disappointed my trip was coming to an end early because of the likelihood she wouldn’t get a chance to sleep with me or if it was because she knew the chance of Avery Capital Holdings taking over was slim to none.

Either way, I didn’t care. I was finished with London.

CHAPTER TWELVE

pria

I was attempting the unthinkable.I was walking all three dogs at one time and taking them to the dog park. It was a beautiful fall day, and I wanted to spend it outside enjoying the sunshine. I could have left Sarah back at the apartment, but I didn’t think that would be fair. Luckily, no squirrel had crossed our path.

I’d spent a good part of the morning researching dog parks in the area. They all seemed to be good, so I went with the one closest to Kingston’s apartment. It was still far enough away to cause me anxiety with all the dogs. Sarah was constantly pulling ahead and tugging me along while Orvy and Jimmy stayed by my side. It was like that in the apartment too. The only time I saw Sarah was when I was feeding them. She didn’t come out when it was time to brush their teeth and I was thankful for that. I had a feeling she would have bitten me if I tried to push the issue. Surprisingly, it wasn’t all that hard, but I had a feeling it was because they were used to it. It helped that I watched a few videos on how to do it. I couldn’t imagine what would have happened if I hadn’t. Even the sweet Jimmy might have bittenme if I had pried his mouth open and started brushing his teeth the way I’d imagined doing it.

After thirty minutes of me biting my bottom lip to the point it bled because of nerves, we made it to the dog park. They each sat patiently as I unclipped their leashes before they ran off one by one. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get them back on them now that they were out in the wild, but I’d tackle that problem once I was ready to leave.

I found a bench and pulled out a book I’d been wanting to read but never had time until now. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d read a book, which was sad. I loved to read, but Haider had always complained about me needing the light on at night so I could read when he wanted to go to sleep. He really was a douche. Why had I let him change so much about me? Why had I settled for substandard sex? Especially with a man who had tried to stifle me almost from the get-go.

I made a promise to myself in that moment that I’d never let another man hold me back. Nor would I continue to have sex with any man who sucked in bed. Whenever I finally had sex again, since I didn’t see it in my near future.

At the beginning of every chapter, I would peak up and find each dog. Sarah and Orvy weren’t hard to find since they were so large, but Jimmy was another matter. After finishing the fifth chapter, I quickly found Sarah laying down on the grass, her head held high and a few dogs sniffing around her. She looked regal and like a true diva. Orvy was running with another dog, his tongue sticking out. If he could, he’d be smiling. Coming to the park had been a great decision.

I scanned the park in search of Jimmy but didn’t see him. I had to do a double take when I swore I saw a goat standing amongst the dogs. I couldn’t remember ever seeing or mistaking a dog for a goat or vice versa so I put my book away and headedin the direction of what couldn’t possibly be a dog because it was an honest to goodness goat.

In all my research about the dog parks, I didn’t see anything about being able to bring other animals. The goat wasn’t bothering anyone or the dogs, but it was still strange. As I walked up to said goat, Jimmy came out of nowhere and started to hump one of its legs. After he’d been attached to my leg all morning as I looked up information, I couldn’t imagine he’d have the energy or the need to hump anything else for some time, but I was wrong. Jimmy obviously wasn’t picky about who he tried to get it on with. His theme song should be “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye.

The goat fainted as Jimmy tried to procreate and make littledoatbabies. My feet moved faster than they’d ever moved before as I sprinted toward the now dead goat. I was going to feel this later, but I didn’t care. I dropped down to my knees and cradled the head of the goat in my hands.

“Please wake up. Please. Oh my God, I’m the worst dog sitter on the planet. Can one day go by without something horrible happening? Come on, goat. Please don’t be dead,” I cried. Jimmy came to stand on the side of my leg and looked down at the goat he tried to make babies with and instead gave it a heart attack. “Jimmy, why do you have to hump everything? I thought we had something special. If I would have known you were going to sex up the park, I would have left you at home.”

A soft feminine laugh came from beside me. “She’s not dead. Trust me.”

“Are you the goat whisperer or something? Did you see her drop from Jimmy humping her?”

“I did see, that’s why I was on my way over here. Then I saw you making a beeline for them and stayed out of the way. You were on a mission and I didn’t want to get in the way. I thoughtyou might plow right over me.” She laughed, giving me levity to the situation. I hoped she knew what she was talking about.

“I probably wouldn’t have been able to stop, so good call. Do you really think she’s okay?” I asked, hopeful. I couldn’t live with myself if I was responsible for this goat’s death.

“She’s perfectly fine. Look at her chest. It’s going up and down.” It was indeed rising and falling. Now I felt stupid. “She faints when she’s scared and she scares easily. I doubt she was expecting to feel a little dog going to town on her leg.” I looked to see a woman with long black hair and wide green eyes smile down at me.

“Neither was I the first time I met him.”

“Did you faint?”

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