Page 20 of The CEO

“No, the goat has that on me. Is this goat yours?”

“She is.” She knelt next to me and ran a hand down the side of the goat. “I’m Adele, by the way, and this is Trixie.”

“I’m Pria and this little guy is Jimmy Chew.”

“Cute name.” She smiled and scratched behind Jimmy’s ears. If she wasn’t careful, he’d be humping her leg next.

“I agree, but I didn’t name him. It’s my boss’s dog. There are two more running around here somewhere.”

“Wow, you’re brave bringing three dogs. You must be a natural with animals.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m the furthest thing from a natural. I can’t seem to do anything right when it comes to these dogs.”

“Well, you’re obviously caring and that’s all that matters.” She pointed to Trixie and her eyes fluttered open. One second she was out and the next she hopped up and walked away before running into a tree.

“Are you sure she’s okay?”

“Oh yeah, aside from fainting at the drop of a hat, she’s also blind.”

“Wow, there must never be a dull moment with her around.” Picking up Jimmy, I slowly stood.

“Trixie and my husband definitely make for an interesting and fun life.”

“I didn’t know dog parks allowed other animals,” I blurted out. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business. I’m just surprised.”

“Don’t be.” She giggled. “I used to be a lawyer, so I threatened to sue if they didn’t allow us in. Their rules don’t state no other animals to be allowed in the park. Plus, we donate a lot of money to the park and the rescue shelter in the area.”

“Money makes the world go round,” I mumbled.

“Sadly, it does. Trixie is my baby and I don’t see why just because she’s a goat she should be excluded. My husband thinks I’m crazy, but he puts up with it and often has to do the dirty work. We’re here in town to try and give all animals equal rights.”

I arched my brow at that. I wasn’t sure how they were going to do that. I understood a goat, but I wouldn’t want some animal that could eat my pet at the same park. “All animals?”

“Well, notallobviously. We can’t have alligators here, but why not sweet farm animals? Why can’t someone who has a pet pig bring them to an animal park?”

She did make a point. I’d like to see a cute little piggy wandering around. “Farm animals make sense. Maybe you could start your own park that welcomes all animals or farm animals.”

Adele’s eyes lit up. “You get it! Yes, that’s what we’re trying to do here and the one by our house in California. We recently raised enough money for the one in California and after news spread the shelter that’s here about a block away contacted us about doing a fundraiser to raise awareness and try to get the rules changed here.”

“Good luck.” I wasn’t sure how well that would work, and I was pretty sure goats were forbidden in New York. Maybe they’dgotten special permission. Come to think of it, there were quite a few animals that were forbidden from being pets in the city.

“So, you’re watching your boss’s dogs? Is that normal?” The twinkle in her green eyes told me she thought something more was going on between Kingston and me.

Placing Jimmy back on the ground to probably hump another dog or ten, I told her about how I’d come to work for Kingston Avery, finding my boyfriend cheating on me, why I didn’t want to stay at my dad’s house, and finally the offer to take care of Kingston’s dogs while he was out of town. I didn’t usually open up to people that easily, but there was something about Adele that made her easy to talk to.

“Sounds like a nice guy. Are you sure watching his dogs is all that’s going on between you two?”

I wanted to laugh in her face, but that would have been rude. Plus, she seemed really nice. “Nothing’s going on. He may be gorgeous, but he’s my boss, and that means nothing can happen between us.”

Her smile grew. “Just because he’s your boss doesn’t mean nothing can happen. Especially if he’s gorgeous.”

“It’s against company policy. I should know; I’m the director of HR.”

Adele wiggled her eyebrows but said no more on the subject. “Obviously your boss loves animals since he has three dogs. Do you think if I gave you some information he might donate or be a sponsor for Paws and Claws?”

I didn’t know the company or Kingston well enough to answer that. “You can send me the information and I’ll make sure he gets it. I can’t promise anything though. I’ve only been with the company for a short time.”

“That would be great. Would you like to attend the fundraiser? Maybe go with your boss?”

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