When he finally arrived at Pooch Palace, Ivy took the bulldog off his hands right away, and everyone gathered to check him out. But then Bernie, who’d loved the stroll through town because of her many admirers along the way, started to fuss. “Hey, it’s okay, sweetheart.” He lifted her out of the stroller and walked with her a little. It appeared that he wasn’t the only sweaty one after all.
“Look how handsome he is,” Hadley said as she knelt in front of the dog. With the dog’s wrinkly face, hanging jowls, and lolling tongue, that definitely wouldn’t be his first descriptor. She was way too softhearted, that’s what she was. That was no way to run a business.
Suddenly she was next to him, slipping off the fussy baby’s sun hat, which had somehow flopped over Bernie’s eyes. “Can I help?” she asked with a smile.
She was a drink of cool water in jean shorts and white tennis shoes. And she’d just said the magic word. “Her sling’s down there,” he said over Bernie’s cries, pointing to a compartment underneath the stroller. “But last time I tried to use it, it took me a half hour to put it on.”
Hadley pulled the sling out and somehow rotated, smoothed, and placed it over his head before helping him ease the baby in. He caught a whiff of her shampoo, which he could only identify as…delicious.
“Thanks.” He moved his shoulders to adjust the sling, his gaze snagging on hers again. Something he seemed powerless to prevent. “I…um…appreciate it.” Now he felt guilty for coming down here to find out what she was up to.
“No problem.” She shifted her gaze to Bernie, who had calmed down in the sling. “There.” She rubbed her back. “All better now?”
The baby flashed them a big gummy smile. Being in Hadley’s presence made him feel better too. And worse. After last night, he wished for things to be different. He wasn’t a money-grabbing party person like she thought.
Well, he did love a good party—sometimes. But the Camminator had been too much.
Those few minutes when he and Hadley had talked, where they’d actually discussed something other than the building, had been unexpected—in a nice way. But Cam understood that their differences put them at an unresolvable impasse. If only he could stop his brain from dwelling on her.
Hadley walked into the back and Ivy came up to talk with him. “Hey, Cam,” Ivy said. “You here for the meeting?”
He glanced at his watch. “I have a few minutes.” He had no idea what she was talking about, but if it helped him find out Hadley’s plans, he was game.
Ivy looked out the window. “It is a beautiful day out there.”
Mayellen, who had walked over to a table behind the counter where they usually held their meetings, shook her head. “It might be beautiful now, but a gullywasher’s coming.”
“A gully-what?” Ivy asked.
“It means a big storm with a lot of rain. Predicted for tonight.”
“Are we ready for the meeting?” He hadn’t heard Hadley use that businesslike tone before as she set down a giant box of donuts from Mimi’s Bakery.
Everyone had corralled around the donut box. Ivy was petting the bulldog, whom she’d named Bubba, and saying how he could use a tune-up at the vet. Even Jagger and Bowie were present and accounted for.
Perfect. He’d arrived just in time to get some intel. Plus there were donuts. Win-win.
Cam was just about to take a seat himself when Hadley gave him the stink eye.
“I don’t mind your staying but you can’t be part of our meeting.” That CEO tone was back. He halted with a jelly donut almost to his mouth.
Ivy stifled a chuckle by taking a sip of coffee.
“I mean it, Cam,” Hadley said. “You can have all the donuts you want but you’ll have to go somewhere else.” She shoved the donut box toward him.
“Okay, so the dog walking is actually getting more popular,” he heard Hadley say once he’d moved as far across the main room as he could and still eavesdrop. Fortunately Bernie was nodding off, so he did a slow turn near the windows, walking and rocking her gently as he listened in. He could even see a little if he craned his head around a few of the dog crates. “It’s bringing in a little bit of revenue. How are you all feeling about it?”
“I’ve lost two pounds,” Mayellen said.
“And I’m getting some weekend dogsitting jobs,” Ivy said, “because people are really pleased with the dog walking.”
“I’ve liked it too,” Hadley said. “But as you know, Gran wants me to come up with another business plan. I’ve decided I’m going to put out some feelers about starting a nonprofit.”
“You mean like a rescue?” Ivy asked.
“I think I need another donut,” Mayellen said. “Honey, that sounds like a ton of work. Aren’t you leaving soon?”
“Taking in strays…that’s a big expense,” Ivy said. “They need a lot of medical care and food and stuff.”
“And Hadley can’t say no to anybody.” Mayellen patted Hadley’s hand.
Cam stifled a chortle. Because she’d never had any trouble saying no to him.
“I’m just putting out feelers and also giving Gran time to recover,” Hadley continued, scribbling something on a legal pad as she talked. “I plan to talk to the local vet group and to a bunch of shelter owners to learn what it takes to become a nonprofit. I have a whole list of things I need to research.”
“We can help,” Mayellen said.
“Great,” she said. “So no matter what happens, we could work on building up our social media platforms,” Hadley said. “It’s never too early for that.”
“That sounds fun,” Mayellen said. “I love Pinterest. So colorful. And the recipes!”
Unable to stay silent, Cam popped his head around the counter. “Pinterest works well for restaurants, Mayellen. In fact, I’m looking for someone to help me with that for my place. But for a pet rescue, I think you’d have to use Facebook.”
“I create different accounts for my clients all the time,” Hadley said. “I color-coordinate Instagram accounts based on theme. And run ads. And specials and incentives.”
“Nice.” Yet another reason Hadley should be his friend, not his enemy. Because the woman could clearly kick butt.
“I’m not sure how I feel about this,” Ivy said. “We never had to use the Internet before to advertise our business.”
“Well, for starters, do we even have a social media presence?” Hadley asked.
“We sure do,” Mayellen answered cheerily. “Our Facebook page has got twenty-five likes.”
“That many?” Ivy asked with astonishment.
“Do we have an Instagram account?” Hadley asked.
“No,” Ivy said, “but I take photos of nearly all the dogs I groom. The owners love it. Maybe we could use those for something?”
“That’s a great idea,” Hadley said, writing that down.
“Don’t forget Groupon,” Cam added, popping in again. “Just trying to be helpful.”
“Haven’t you left yet?” she called.
“As soon as I finish my donut.”