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A strange flicker touches Archer's eyes for an instant, so quick that I doubt my father noticed. "You have a father," Archer says as if he just found out I have an extra limb. Then, he recovers and shakes my father's hand. "Archer. Nice to meet you."
Archer? I call him that in my mind, along with other names, but he's never told me to drop Mr. Cromwell. Moonshine, apparently not happy with the lack of attention, stands on her hind legs and proceeds to hump Archer.
"Moonshine," I say, pretending to be surprised, but she continues, unfazed. "We should get going," I say to Archer.
Archer removes Moonshine from him in one fluid movement, and Moonshine rears back, tail still wagging but with reverence in her stance. She recognizes an alpha male when she sees one.
"She's an obedience class dropout," my dad says, chuckling.
"She's cute," Archer says with a small smile, and irrational jealousy spreads through me, hot like a wood fire. I've worked for the man for one year and haven't received one compliment. Moonshine tries to hump him in the first three seconds of meeting him and gets a cute.
It seems like she knows it, too, judging by the affectionate look she gives him.
Fuck my life.
"She warms up fast," my dad says. He has zero sense of the tension building inside me and doesn't seem to realize my boss isn't a people person. "Do you have any pets?"
I bet he has them for breakfast.
"No," Archer says. "No time for them, sadly."
"You should find time. They say that time spent with a dog is not time wasted."
"Okay, Dad." I give him a desperate look for him to shut up. We have to leave before he starts quoting every single cheesy line he's seen printed on a cushion. "We shouldn't be late."
"Of course. Nice meeting you again," Dad says to Archer.
"The pleasure was mine." Archer nods and ruffles Moonshine's head before he turns.
Phew. My heart rate is high, and to think my night's only getting started…
5
Archer
Hazel walks next to me on the sidewalk.
I certainly wasn't expecting to meet her father. Does he live with her? Is he having home renovations and spending some time in her condo? I pride myself on having a good memory, though I guess I never made it a priority to ask her these things. Or ask her anything beyond the strictly professional.
That was why I came to pick her up instead of using the driver. I wanted to see where she lived and if I'd find anything that would hint at more about her. Why she's writing that journal. Nothing about her behavior screams an attraction to me—unless this is all a joke.
"The dog has an interesting name," I say, breaking the silence as we stride on the concrete.
"My dad… he’s been living with me since my mom passed. Anyway, he had to stop drinking when he had some health issues. He missed his Moonshine, so when I adopted her, we named her Moonshine."
"Cute," I repeat, using the word that's not part of my usual vocabulary. But I mean the dog and not Hazel, of course.
Definitely not her. Because if I had to describe Hazel, cute wouldn't do it. Her dress hugs her curves with the desperation of a 2 a.m. online hookup. I never noticed how good her tits look, especially like this, squished together in a V-cut dress. And the rest of her isn't far behind…
And her behind.
I internally groan.
Hips. Not just the shapely ass you can swat, the type that makes a sound when your palm hits its bare flesh. But lovely curvy hips that the suits she wears at work sadly hide. Or maybe, thankfully.
I wouldn't get much work done if she dressed this way at work.
She leans into me clumsily, her hand touching my clothed forearm for a moment. "Oops. Sorry. I'm still getting used to these heels," she says nervously, and even after she moves away, my skin burns like heat sifted through the fabric.
