Loves Billionaires and Dogs: A Feel Good Romance Read online

  Near the end of the mating, the male steps around so that the dogs are connected by his Johnson, facing away from each other. Kind of like a smoke after sex, I guess. You get a cuddle, but it's impersonal. And then there's no separating them until the dog's member goes back down to size. It can be dangerous to even try.

  A tie is exactly what you want with the desirable stud you have an appointment with. It's exactly what you don't want with a bad-boy Aussie your bitch picked up on the street.

  The Aussie looked me in the eye. He had startling blue-violet eyes. Ghostly eyes. They reminded me of someone else.

  "Don't flirt with me with those baby blues. Keep your ghost eyes to yourself." I shook my finger at him.

  Damn, that dog has expressive eyes. No wonder Bella finds him irresistible.

  I frowned at him. "And wipe that cocky, satisfied look off your face, mister."

  Obviously a purebred of quality, he wasn't a stray. He had distinctive markings and an expensive-looking bright red leather collar with studs. When I tried to get close enough to get a look at his dog tag, he bared his teeth at me.

  I couldn't really blame him. No one likes to be interrupted in the middle of sex. It was like he was saying, A little privacy, please. I took a step back.

  I felt a stir in my heart-shaped box. A little rattle of the lid that felt like it was about to blow. Or crack wide open.

  "Wait until I get hold of your irresponsible owner. You won't be so smug then, Mr. Dog Lothario. I've seen your type before. You think you're a Casanova now, but just you wait. You won't be so smug when you've been neutered."

  Just like that, he pulled out of Bella. I lunged for him, but he was too fast for me. Dog tags jingling, he bounded away out of reach and out of sight without a look back.

  Bella waddled over to me, shaking her little peach of a behind like the hussy she was, all sexual satisfaction and maturity suddenly.

  I scooped her up and stroked her beneath her chin. I held her up to my face to give her a good scolding. "You're in so much trouble. And I mean trouble. I hope you know that. We both are."

  She barked happily and licked my face. I sagged with relief that she hadn't been dognapped, at least, and tried not to laugh. It was impossible to stay mad at a face like hers. I caught a whiff of a very pleasant, and expensive, perfumed scent. It smelled like the dog your dog could smell like. If you had money.

  "You have your lover's cologne all over you. How are we going to explain that to the stud you have a date with tomorrow?"

  More importantly, how was I going to explain it to Mitch? He was going to be furious. I'd already broken his heart. But if I denied him the puppy I'd promised him…

  Who here was the cold-hearted bitch?

  Chapter Two

  Dex Rushford (Billionaire, dog lover, entrepreneur, guy in need of a decoy girlfriend.)

  Puppy Love, Inc. Headquarters, Seattle

  My day was chaotic. Nothing unusual about that. One meeting right after the other. I got in at six this morning. I would have been in at five thirty, but the traffic was unusually bad. Half an hour wasted sitting in it. Last night I left the office at ten. Worked at home until midnight. Since our IPO, I've been on fulltime PR duty, in addition to my regular Herculean workload. Such is the life of the founder and CEO of a unicorn startup.

  I'm a billionaire! Great. I had no time to sleep, let alone spend my money. Or even count it. Since I was a kid watching Saturday morning cartoons, I've dreamed of counting my riches. Or swimming in a sea of gold coins. Sometimes I'm tempted to buy a million dollars of one-ounce gold bars and stack them around me to get some kind of grasp on what I've accomplished. Imagine me, surrounded by over six hundred gold bars and coins, looking like a cartoon rich guy. And that's just a tiny portion of my wealth. It was surreal.

  This gig started out as a gag in college. A prank. A way to get girls. Which has now backfired on me. I have no time for dating. No time for women. I have an office full of a variety of gorgeous, intelligent, talented women in all shapes and flavors. Every one of them is off-limits. I'm in no mood to be slapped with a workplace harassment suit. Since the office is the only place I come into contact with anyone, there goes my social life.

  Yeah, this is the life of luxury. No women. And who needs sleep? Sleep is for retirees and the dead. Sounds like the life of a monk.

  Over six hundred fulltime employees here at Puppy Love HQ count on me for their livelihoods. Now that they've had a taste of the wealth the price of the IPO has generated through their stock options, they're looking to me to either make them, or keep them, multimillionaires. Depending on how much pre-IPO stock they have. If the stock crashes, all those dreams are dashed. And I lose my third comma. I'll be damned if I let that happen.

  Don't forget the tens of thousands of dog walkers, groomers, and pet-sitters worldwide who use our services to get customers and earn their livings.

  We're like the Airbnb of the pet-sitting and pet services sector. And expanding every day, both geographically and in the number and types of services we offer. We have offices worldwide and more in the planning stages. But competition is stiff in this business. We have more than our share of rivals. We're trying to distinguish ourselves by offering boutique services. We have pet grooming, pet portraits, and pet transportation and errand-running services in beta trials.

  I had an interview with a Seattle online magazine in half an hour. I'd sent Charlie, my Australian shepherd, to a new groomer we were vetting in West Seattle as part of our beta. The groomer was high-end, the Ted Gibson of the doggie grooming world. A celebrity dog groomer. A magician with shears. A dog whisperer. This groomer gives your dog a custom cut made to enhance the dog's particular best features and turn them from a mangy mutt into a show-stopping pedigreed champ. That's the hype, anyway.

  Charlie was already a handsome dog with an impeccable pedigree. I wanted Charlie looking his best for our interview, and later his photo session for his pet portrait. As long as the groomer didn't butcher him, we'd be golden. If he came back with a bow around his neck, sparks would fly. My dog doesn't do bows.

  Around Puppy Love, Charlie is known as Top Dog. And he knows it. Ever seen a dog strut his stuff? That's Charlie, a real stud in the dog world. I wish I had half his luck and skill with the ladies. He's small for a standard Aussie, just eighteen inches tall. You might say he has the equivalent of short-guy syndrome for dogs. He's been accused more than once of being a mini. Which, in the Aussie community, is a major slight. Minis aren't considered real pedigreed Aussies by a vocal sector of breeders.

  But Charlie's the real deal. I have the paperwork to prove it. He was the runt of the litter, which is part of the reason I have such great affinity for him. That and his loveable personality. Charlie is a true stud. He knows how to flirt with both dams and dames. He was invaluable in getting angel investment when I decided to put this harebrained scheme of mine into action.

  I got a text from the dog walker I'd sent to take Charlie to the groomer's. Groomer ran late. On our way. Traffic is heavy.

  I swore beneath my breath. It had been a risk sending Charlie all the way to West Seattle.

  My VP of finance, and good friend since college, Ellie Martin, poked her head in my office. "Charlie not back yet?"

  "He's on his way."

  Ellie stepped inside and ran her gaze over me. She pointed to a suit coat hanging on a stand in the corner. "You're not dressed yet. Someone should have sent you to the groomer."

  I laughed. "Tell that to Stryker and Milia." My personal trainer and personal stylist, respectively. "Stryker's been kicking my ass in the gym for weeks. Milia sent one of her hair stylists over to give me a trim this morning and sent that suit coat over for my interview."

  Ellie tapped her forefinger against her lips. "Your hair looks great. But Milia made a key mistake by not sending a dresser. She's far too trusting that you'll follow instructions."

  I laughed. Milia is a former spy. She's anything but trusting. I was just good at snowing people.

  "Put the jacket on. If you're going to sell the success of the company, you have to look the part." Ellie handed me the jacket.

  I slipped into it. Ellie tugged on the jacket, straightened my collar, and took a step back to inspect me. "That'll do. Just don't forget to turn on your charm. We're all counting on you."

  "Anyone ever tell you that you suck at pep talks?" I said.

  "What are you talking about?" She looked amused. "I'm brilliant at motivating people. I know you thrive under pressure, for example."

  "Touché." There was no arguing with Ellie. "We can't afford for anything to go wrong." I drummed my fingers along my leg. It was a nervous tell I constantly fought. "We're in a great business climate. And a crap climate for IPOs. Absolutely anything can spook Wall Street."

  "You're not second-guessing our decision to do it, are you?"

  "I never second-guess myself." I shrugged. "If IPOs were easy, everyone would be doing them. No risk, no reward." I paused. "It's incredibly challenging to keep stock prices up after you go public like we have. The last three unicorns that went public had a big initial spike in the stock price before plummeting into penny territory."

  "Only one of them is in bankruptcy. That's two successes," Ellie said. "The odds are in our favor."

  "Odds mean nothing here. We're all on our own. I found out this morning that the second unicorn was bought out by a huge conglomerate. They inked the deal last night."

  "So we cover all our bases, then, and don't let it happen."

  I looked at Ellie, surprised. "Using baseball metaphors? I thought you'd sworn those off years ago?" Baseball had been a touchy subject since college.

  She squared her shoulders. "I'm marrying Christopher now. I'm over Logan."

  That w
as what she said. Maybe she even believed it. Personally, I didn't.

  "Besides, who are you to talk?" She pointed at me. "When was the last time you went out on a date? I'm expecting you to have a plus-one for my wedding."

  I raised an eyebrow. "You've set a date?"

  "Not exactly." She hesitated. "Finding a venue that fits our requirements is holding us up."

  "When I get a save-the-date card, I'll start looking for a plus-one."

  "You'd better start looking for a date now. If you show up without a plus-one for Adam's wedding this weekend, Charles will set you up with Paige. She's had a crush on you for years, and you know he dotes on his daughter."

  That was true. Paige was sweet, but not my type. Charles seemed blind to that small detail. He was my mentor and first investor. I owed him everything. But Paige was the apple of his eye. Whatever his baby girl wanted, his baby girl got. If that meant me, so be it.

  "What fun! I'd love to see you squirm your way out of that. You named your dog for Charles. Will you be naming your first child after him, too?" Ellie raised an eyebrow and smiled so sweetly that it was pure evil.

  I cursed beneath my breath. She's right. I need a date. Even better—I need a girlfriend. Someone to take the heat off me and get Charles off my back. A decoy girlfriend. Who has time for a real one?

  Shelby

  I locked Bella in before rushing to catch the bus. I hated to do it, but I disabled the feature on her collar that triggered her automatic doggie door to open. The backyard had proven itself unworthy of my trust. Maybe the wind had done it and blown the gate open. Maybe the latch needed replacing. Either way, I was in trouble and running late to my meeting with Courtney. I should only be gone a few hours anyway.

  I'd had no time to change. As I boarded the bus, I still smelled of doggie cologne.

  I'd never been to the Puppy Love offices before. Courtney raved about it. Everyone there was smart, motivated, and friendly. And the people weren't too bad, either. Yes, dogs were allowed to bring their owners to Puppy Love. Provided they were well behaved, sat at their desks, and worked hard to make the company a success.

  I was eager to see this utopia where there were as many dogs in the office as people. Courtney had promised to get me badged in and give me a tour.

  Courtney was a relative latecomer to Puppy Love. She didn't have as much pre-IPO stock as others who'd been there at the beginning. But when the company had its public offering two weeks ago, she'd become a multimillionaire. With her new riches, she'd decided to spring for a fancier wedding and a more luxurious honeymoon.

  The fancier wedding was where I came in. She wanted the top-of-the-line hand-lettering treatment—save-the-dates, invitations, place cards, wedding signs, a hand-lettered copy of the vows they'd written, even a custom-designed wedding planner and journal.

  I was grateful she hadn't abandoned me. Her willingness to brave my bad-luck wedding vibes meant a lot. Now that she was a mover and a shaker, I hoped her show of faith would renew others' confidence in me.

  It isn't how many weddings a girl calls off that matters. It's the great way she captures the joy of others that counts.

  I just had to ride out this storm. People would soon forget. That little video wouldn't be viral forever.

  Puppy Love occupied four floors of a high-rise downtown. I got off the bus a block away. It was windy, as always. The walk took just minutes. I straightened my top, tucked a stray strand of hair into place, took a deep breath, and breezed into the building lobby a mere five minutes late. Given the traffic, that was a miracle. I caught the elevator up to Puppy Love's main floor and the reception area.

  Courtney was seated on a plush leather sofa opposite the reception desk. She smiled when she saw me and rose to her feet. "You made it! I was worried you wouldn't be able to get here in time to get a tour. That construction is slowing everything down to a crawl." She gave me a big hug. "Yum. You smell good. Is that a new perfume?"

  No, actually it was the scent of a horny Aussie whose owner had more money than sense and was currently on my string him up by the balls list.

  I shrugged. "Just the usual."

  "I hope you brought me lots of gorgeous ideas. Money is no object now!" She winked. Courtney had always had a sense of humor.

  "I'm glad to hear that. I'm bursting with ideas."

  "Excellent." She took my arm. "Let's get you badged in. I'll give you the tour before we settle down to discuss my wedding in great detail. I'm taking you to our fabulous cafeteria. Where you will have your choice of an excellent selection of people or dog food."

  "Fantastic. What do you recommend? The dog food's good, is it?"

  "Highest quality. Freshly made at a doggy food bakery. All natural ingredients. You really could eat it. I've tasted a few of the dog biscuits. They're surprisingly tasty. But the people food is even better."

  "People food it is, then."

  "I can't wait to see your ideas. I love what you did for Becca's wedding. And I can't wait for you to see the offices. You'll go crazy for them. Bella would love it here. She could sit right at your feet while you work."

  "Is that a hint for me to get a corporate job?" Bella wasn't my favorite subject right now.

  "When you first came home with Bella, I was hinting you should. Remember? You were afraid to leave her alone for even a minute, and your business hadn't taken off like it has now. Back then it was early enough to get in on our growth here. But now? Not on your life. You're killing it right now on our own."

  I had been. Not to the tune of millions in stock options, though, even in the best of times. Maybe I should have listened to her. The PR fallout from my broken engagement was giving me all kinds of headaches.

  We picked up my temporary badge from the friendly receptionist. I pinned it on and followed Courtney into the offices where mere unbadged mortals were not allowed to tread. This was the rare air of a unicorn startup.

  "Mostly the dogs sit at their owner's feet in the people cubicles." Courtney pointed as she spoke. "But we have an outside terrace dog run that goes around the entire floor. On a nice day, it's perfect for walks. And the dog play area—I have to show you that first. Cooper loves it. I wish I had one at home.

  "He'll be happy to see you. I wish you could have brought Bella with you. Coop loves playing with her. Too bad visiting dogs are against policy. We'll have to make a play date for them outside work."

  I cleared my throat. "Didn't I tell you? She's in heat right now. She went into it a week ago." Or possibly pregnant. "That play could get a little X-rated right now. It's not good for puppies' eyes, you know."

  "Sorry." Courtney winced. "I keep forgetting you haven't had her spayed yet."

  "Yeah. Mitch really wanted puppies."

  At the mention of my ex-fiancé, Courtney looked away. This was the same uncomfortable reaction I'd been getting from family, friends, and clients for the last two weeks. Since the moment I'd called off my wedding.

  Double bubble, toil and trouble, stand too close and your wedding's rubble.

  I was good at mangling Shakespeare.

  Courtney pointed. "This way. Are you still going to have her bred?"

  "I don't know." I didn't know what I was going to do now. I followed Courtney past a conference room into the office area proper.

  The dog play area was straight ahead in the corner, followed by a row of cubicles down the next side of the building. The office was a light, airy space. Every cubicle was situated by a window. Every desk had a side view of the city and natural window light. Unlike most office cubicles that have a doorway but no door, little half-wall doors kept the dogs in.

  I'd barely taken two steps in when a German shepherd popped up from a cubicle down the aisle and let out a deep baritone bark. He was instantly joined by a cacophony of other howls, barks, and yowls. Not to mention a lot of heavy panting. And drooling. And doggy noses and snouts, paws and claws scratching at doors and peeking above cubicle walls.

  Owners popped up and grabbed dog collars, trying to rein their dogs in. Other Puppy Love employees prairie-dogged it, trying to see what all the commotion was about.

  Uh-oh.

  At the play area, at least half a dozen dogs—males, I assumed—sniffed the air like bloodhounds, caught Bella's scent on me, and charged the gate. They were barking and trying to get to me like I was the bitch in heat.