Page 20 of Ruff and Tumble

“I want this to be your entire focus,” Jasmine said with a warm smile. “We’ve doubled the budget and pulled a few guys from the animal cops show—they’re yours to order about as you see fit. From what Penny tells me, you’ll need access to all the old footage to pull together the promo materials, so here’s the key to the archives. And I’ll see what I can do about getting you producer credits. I can’t promise there will be much of a raise, but—”

“Are you sure you don’t want to wait a few days first?” Hailey asked. As thrilled as she was at the prospect of all this professional glory, she couldn’t remember actually agreeing to anything. Cole had just smiled and promised to be in touch before whisking his niece off, like a fairy godmother who couldn’t get out the door fast enough. “Maybe he was only being polite. Maybe all he wanted was to check up on Bess, and I misunderstood—”

A knock sounded. Hailey had no idea who else could possibly be stopping by—or who else could fit inside her small office—but the bouquet of flowers that appeared in the doorway offered a few clues.

“Oh dear,” she murmured, her heart leaping to her throat. That wasn’t just any bouquet. It was a ridiculously oversized bunch of lavender. And it wasn’t just any delivery boy. It was—

“Is one of you Hailey Lincoln?” The flowers were pushed aside to reveal yet another football famous face. Like the last one that had appeared unannounced in her office, his was just as handsome in profile and as easily recognizable to anyone who lived and breathed in the city of Seattle. “I was told to deliver these in person to Hailey—and only to Hailey. Upon pain of death.”

“Ohmygod.” Penny’s voice practically bounced from the corners of the room. “This can’t be happening. Not again. My heart can’t take it.”

Hailey’s heart was holding up, but her body temperature wasn’t doing so well. She dropped her head to her hands to hide the sudden rush of heat to her cheeks. “Garrett Smith,” she moaned. “I can’t believe he sent me Garrett Smith.”

Luckily for them all, Jasmine took one look at the six-foot-four frame, rich chestnut skin, and shoulder-length locs of the second most famous Lumberjack and rose to the occasion. She slid off the desk and took the flowers, nothing but polite interest on her face. “Wasn’t that thoughtful? We were just discussing the changes to our program. I’m sorry Mr. Bennett couldn’t come himself.”

“Mr. Bennett sends his regrets and apologies,” Garrett said, equally precise. Through her fingers, Hailey thought she could detect a smile playing about the corners of his mouth. “But he had a hot date with a cold tub. Coach’s orders.”

That got Hailey to look up.

“Iknewpulling those elevator doors open couldn’t be good for him. I warned him not to do it.”

Garrett’s smile deepened. He didn’t have Cole’s signature dimple, but that didn’t make it any less effective. There was something about these football players—these huge, brawny men—giving in to something as simple as amusement that made her heart stutter. “He said you’d say that.”

Her cheeks burned hotter. “I need to know for my fantasy league, that’s all. If he’s going to be nursing an injury, it would be nice to know so I can unload him before the weekend.”

“He said you’d probably say that too.” Garrett reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. Hailey couldn’t think of any way of refusing it without appearing rude, so she gave in.

“What’s this?”

“The address to his sister’s house. You’re invited to go over there to watch the game on Sunday. They’re expecting you.”

Hailey dropped the paper and watched as it fluttered to the floor. She might have left it there, but Penny was quick to snatch it up and smooth out the wrinkles. For all the wonder and delight on her face, she might have been reading a proposal of marriage.

“What a wonderful idea,” Jasmine said, once again stepping into the breach. “Put that in Hailey’s calendar for her, would you, Penny? And, Hailey, if you need one of the company cars, clear it with Charles, and he’ll have one sent over to collect you.”

Penny showed no signs of dismay at being reduced to Hailey’s assistant—or jealousy at her access to one of the town cars. They’d spent many a bitch session lamenting the injustice of a system that gave the wealthiest company employees free transportation while the rest of them had to fork over toll fees and bus fare on a meager pittance.

“Sure thing, boss.” Penny paused long enough to mouth anotherohmygodat Hailey before whisking herself out the door. She didn’t bother to hide it, either, which meant Garrett got a clear view.

“Oh, and if you’re worried about leaving the puppies at home, you can put a pet sitter on an expense account,” Jasmine added. “I’ll head down to accounting now and open one for you.”

Hailey was momentarily bereft of words. Since she couldn’t find it in her to breathe, either, she was also momentarily bereft of oxygen. The world started to get a little wavy around the edges before she finally remembered how to function as a living organism, but by then, it was too late. Garrett had already nudged her into a chair by the door and gently pushed her head between her legs.

“Breathe in,” he urged. “Breathe out. There you go.”

“I’m fine,” she said through the wall of hair that surrounded her downturned face.

Either Garrett didn’t hear her or he didn’t heed her, because he held her in place. “A few more—in and out, in and out.”

To be fair, Hailey did feel a lot better once she took a few deep breaths and paused a moment to collect herself. It would have been better if the air hadn’t been scentedquiteso strongly with lavender, but that couldn’t be helped.

It seemed that Cole had been serious about the offer to help her with the Puppy Cup—and about the offer to work by her side. She’d lain in bed last night replaying the entire conversation in mortifying detail, but it hadn’t made any more sense at two o’clock in the morning than it had at noon.

Yet here she was. Breathing on Garrett Smith’s command. About to change the lives of thousands of dogs across the country.

That was the thing she needed to focus on, to remember despite her personal fears that the rug was going to be pulled out from under her at any moment. She hadn’t been kidding yesterday when she told Cole that the Puppy Cup had been started as an adoption ploy. After Christmas, when families unloaded the puppies they’d bought as gifts and subsequently regretted, when the cold and wet weather made it difficult for strays to stay warm, the shelters were flooded with unwanted animals—most of them destined for a life behind bars. All it took was a few minutes of screen time, and the bulk of America jumped to open their doors and their homes. For the fifty puppies they showed during halftime, it was a chance at a new life, areallife.

For the thousands of abandoned animals across the country, the story was a similar one. People adopted more pets after the Puppy Cup aired. They donated more money to their local shelters. The unwanted stragglers, the twelve-year-olds who’d been cycled through so many homes they no longer held out hope of anything more, found someone to love.