Boss On A Leash: A Single Dad Billionaire Romance, Kara Hart [free ebook reader for iphone .TXT] 📗

was nice. And then I ruined it by storming out. I don’t even know if he still wants me after school with his daughter. Does he still want me at all?

Amanda leads her broad-shouldered Rottweiler ahead of us, while Rowdy tries to sneak a sniff of her butt. “Oh, come on,” she teases. “I know this is your first week, but you can open up to me. I’m one of the good guys.”

I suck in my lower lip and laugh, allowing the embarrassment to roll out of me. “You know the guy?” I ask.

Tilting her head back, her eyes bug out. “You could say that again.”

“Wife?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “A lot of women were wondering about his situation, so they did some digging. No wife.”

Jeeze. The women around here are real marriage sleuths. Normally, I’d be against that sort of thing, but I find myself storing that bit of info with pleasure.

A flurry of emotions run through me, but I lock my lips and keep them to myself. For a few moments, I just walk, going over all the possibilities in my head. He could be a scientist working on the next vaccine to cure all diseases. Or maybe he’s a doctor. Of course, my mind quickly moves the opposite way. Is it possible he’s some weird, wealthy, powerful, and mad control freak who wants to take over the world with force?

Amanda can’t wait to blurt out the answer. “Dude. You know how the area skyrocketed in value last year?”

Actually, I didn’t know that. I’m not usually using my free time to study the housing market. “Yeah, of course. So crazy,” I say.

“It was because of that guy,” she says.

Rowdy plants his nose in the grass, smelling something he likes. He starts to pull on the leash, but he responds when I flick my wrist and tighten the lead. I follow his movements as he veers off path ever-so-slightly.

“What do you mean?”

She laughs, smug. “He’s worth like a billion dollars.”

Rowdy’s pulling me, but the world has come to a grinding halt. Only able to blink, I try to process what she just told me. “A billion?”

She nods her head slowly, eyes two round bulbs with rolling dollar signs in the center.

I knew he was rich, but I never thought he was that rich. Bezos, Zuckerberg, and… Marc? My bank account is at a whopping thirty-seven-fifty. It almost seems impossible I could even brush against someone with that much wealth.

Amanda is loving this, but I don’t date men for their money. I date them because a clear connection sets off a spark inside the mechanics of my beating heart. Just because Marc has wealth, doesn’t make him a saint. For all I know, he could be some evil genius.

I bite my lip. “Do I even want to ask you what he does for a living?”

“He owns some magazines,” she says, shrugging.

“Like... Playboy?” I ask.

She rolls her eyes. “You wish.”

I really don’t. “I’m just curious. We had a decent conversation the other day.”

She raises a brow, causing me to blush. “You think he’s interested?”

“He offered me a job,” I say.

“Not a bad start.”

“And then he asked me out to his company holiday party.”

Her smile turns into a wavy set of lips. “A little tacky.”

“Thing is, on paper, it makes sense to go out with him. He’s rich, funny, and he’s sweet with his daughter,” I say.

Amanda nods along. “Perfect, perfect.”

“He’s handsome, makes me laugh, and has offered me gifts,” I say.

Amanda blinks. “What’s the problem, again?”

Once the filter has popped, I can’t stop talking. “He’s just so nice to me,” I say. “And I want to be nice to him, but we got in one stupid fight about a cute dog that led to us making an impossible bet.”

“A bet?”

“It’s a long story,” I say.

As we walk, the silence is deafening. We come to the same realization at the same time.

“Sounds like you’re the problem,” she says.

It’s hard to hear, but she’s right. There’s something I need to settle with myself. A deep fear that the person I fall for will leave me forever. “I got burned by someone a few months ago,” I admit.

She flattens her mouth. “I hear ya,” she says. “But I still think you should go for it. There just aren’t that many good men out there.”

“Maybe that’s why I’m taking my time.”

We round the corner to find the path continues around a shimmering lake. Rowdy’s nose is picking up on something, so we stop to let him sniff it out.

A breeze rushes by us, and Amanda does a little twirl. “Who needs men when you have a view like this, right?”

There’s something to say about getting outside first thing in the morning. It restores your spirit. But all that new energy can leave faster than it started.

We get to the hill, headed toward the lake near the bottom. I hear a familiar bark echo across the park, causing me to turn my head. Out of nowhere, the cutest puppy with soft bronzed patches runs right past me, catching me and Amanda off-guard. I’d recognize those floppy ears anywhere.

“Ragamuffin,” I whisper.

“Rag of what?”

The tiny puppy turns and instantly locks eyes with Rowdy. Eyes narrowed, the two dogs stare each other down. Rowdy drops his paws and digs into the grass.

She barks.

He barks louder.

It’s a standoff, and I’m scared of who might draw first.

Oh, no.

Marc comes into clear view, teeth whiter than his stupid dog’s ivory fangs. He must’ve got a new haircut, or maybe it’s his five-o-clock shadow that gives him a serious hot-dad vibe. He’s paying attention to his daughter Sammy, kissing the top of her head before she runs toward a group of ducks near the water.

Before Marc can turn to see the chaos build, Rowdy drives forward with all his might, pulling the leash so tight and with so much force, my heels start to dig within the grass. Soon, he’s dragging me forward. It’s slow at first, but then Marc makes a