He watched as she turned on the heel of her rubber boots and headed back down the hall.
That view made him think that having her around the clinic might not be so bad.
Or really bad. Actually terrible.
Because she was untouchable.
He didn’t actually think the Landrys would have a problem with him and Charlie having a fling. The family was passionate, slightly crazy, but all about pleasure and having fun. If they thought he and Charlotte were having a consensual let’s-have-a-great-time affair while she was in town, none of them would have any issue with it.
He was the one who had an issue with it.
Charlie was more than just a gorgeous woman he wanted to do extremely dirty things to—even when she was wearing rubber boots. She was someone who made him laugh, could imagine himself talking to for long periods of time, and who, dammit, had him eager to work with some hedgehogs.
She was someone he could get attached to.
She was trouble.
He turned away from the hallway even though she’d already disappeared into the storage room.
Speaking of creative… His eyes landed on the papers that she had been showing Maddie and Sawyer and Tori. This was her big marketing plan for Boys of the Bayou.
Curious in spite of himself, Griffin stepped forward and flipped through a few pages.
It only took him five pages to realize that he really should shut this idea down.
Not because it was bad.
On the contrary, it was pretty great.
And if she pulled it off, he would have even more animals to care about, and he’d be even more attached to this business, and this town, and this family.
He didn’t want the petting zoo to be great. He didn’t want to be crazy about the otters. He was already attached to the animals that were here, and if they added more, it would make it even harder in the end.
It would be even more for him to be protective of and for him to worry about. And for him to potentially get fired over.
Charlotte Landry was such a bad idea for him.
But she was now his assistant. And he had a surgery to do.
Dammit.
Of course, Charlotte Landry was seemingly good at everything she did.
Herding goats, blowjobs, turning his professional life upside down, and assisting in surgery.
She took a selfie with Brownie—who licked her cheek as she snuggled her face in next to his—to text to Michael and Andre with the caption, “Best dog kisses ever.”
Then she took every direction Griffin gave her to get the surgical area and the puppy prepped. She was calm and sweet with the dog, petting him and talking to him softly as Griffin administered the anesthesia. As they performed the procedure, she wasn’t a bit squeamish. Her hands were steady and confident. She followed his instructions to a T.
She also somehow looked sexy in the scrubs he gave her to wear. She smelled amazing. He didn’t mind at all having to stand close to her and press against her as she positioned the dog for him.
But she would not. Stop. Talking.
She listened to his instructions and did what he needed her to do, but in between his directions, she talked. And talked. And talked.
“I had no idea otters could get to be sixty pounds,” she said, turning Brownie ten degrees to the right. “There are even some up around Alaska that can get to be 100 pounds. And they have the densest fur in the entire animal kingdom. They have like a million hairs per square inch.”
Her tone made it clear that she thought this was absolutely an amazing fact.
“I know,” Griffin replied, feeling that she was waiting for a response. He didn’t have much else to add to that, however.
“And I had no idea they almost never come on land. They spend most of their time in the water.”
Griffin shook his head as he began stitching Brownie back up.
“The funniest thing I saw was some baby otters bobbing up and down in the water like little corks.” Charlie laughed. “They were wrapped in kelp to keep them safe while the mom was off hunting. They were adorable.”
“Charlie?” Griffin asked as he bent close and placed the stitches. “You spent time researching otters?”
“Of course.”
“Why?”
“Because I always research my projects before I start them.”
“And the otters are your new project?” Griffin asked.
“Well, they are part of my new project.”
Griffin finished the stitches, and Charlie handed him gauze and a bandage.
“But you must find otters interesting,” she said.
“Why do you say that?” He wrapped the gauze around the dog’s leg, securing it with the bandage.
“You work with them every day.”
“The otters belong to the business that has contracted me for my veterinary services. I work with the otters because they’re here.”
“But you do like them, right?” Charlie asked. “And you know a lot about them.”
Griffin braced his hands on the edge of the table next to the still-asleep dog. He did like the otters. But that didn’t matter.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re getting ready to ask me for something. What is it?”
She looked surprised. “How can you tell I’m getting ready to ask you for something?”
“You’ve been asking me for things since you got here.”
There was a flicker in her eyes, and he couldn’t tell if it was amusement or heat or a combination of the two. “Are we talking about since I got back this time? Or the last time I was here? Because yes, there were some things I wanted from you last time for sure.”
This woman was dangerous. He needed to remember that she was quick and bright and was never going to let him get away with anything.
“The things you asked me for last time were a lot more fun than the ones you want now.”
“What if I told you I want some of those things this time too?”
He shook his head. “Not possible.”
“You’re not really my boss, you know,” she said. “I’m really working for Boys of the Bayou and helping you out on the side. No one’s going to hold it against you if something happens between us.”
“I’m going to hold it against me.”
“Why?”
“Because I like things simple, Charlotte. And you are anything but.”
She didn’t seem offended by that. In fact, he almost suspected she took that as a compliment.
“So, the last time I was here, it happened because I was leaving, and there was no chance for it to get complicated?”
“Yes.”
“Would it make a difference if I told you that I was leaving again this time too? I’ll be here a little longer this time, but I’m not staying.”
He studied her across the table. It should make a difference. It should make him happy to think she wasn’t staying. Not only because he wouldn’t have to spend years of his life resisting her, but because the havoc she was wreaking on his professional life would end, hopefully, at some point. But for some reason, the idea of her leaving made him even more convinced that nothing should happen between them.
Charlotte Landry was definitely the type of woman to break a guy’s heart. She was blowing in like a hurricane, and everyone knew that even after a minor storm, there was cleanup to do.