He leads her over to the grouping of chairs in the lobby of the building and helps her sit. Now I notice that Javier, the doorman who was sitting at the big sleek counter in the lobby, has joined us, a concerned look on his face.
The woman is shaking and sobbing. “I can’t b-believe that happened.” She bends over. “Oh my God. I can’t do this.”
What?
“It was close,” Cookie agrees, looking over at me. “Lucky my buddy here is good and strong.”
I’m shaking a bit too, the adrenaline still coursing in my veins, so I can’t blame the woman for being upset. Except, Jesus, she should have carried the dog into the elevator in case this happened.
I pull in a long, slow breath, which makes the pup try to lick me even more. You’d think he’d run to his owner, but he doesn’t seem to want to leave my lap. I push up off the marble floor with the dog in my arms.
I meet Javier’s eyes. “We’re all okay.”
“Good, good.”
I carry the dog over to the woman. “Here’s your dog.”
“He’s n-not my dog,” she says, leaning away as if she’s afraid of him.
I pause. “Oh.” I set him down on the floor, holding his collar.
Shaking her head and wringing her hands, she sobs, “I can’t do this. Oh my God, I nearly killed him! I can’t do this.”
I bite my lip and meet Cookie’s eyes.
She’s practically having a breakdown. The poor dog doesn’t know what to do. He keeps looking at me with that funny old-man expression.
I’m not sure what to do. I don’t want to leave them when she’s melting down. “Can we help you get up to your apartment?”
She stares at me blankly. Then she shakes her head. “I don’t live here.”
What the fuck? What is she doing here, then? “Whose dog is he? Does his owner live here?”
“Yes.” She’s bouncing around as if she wants to bolt. “I have to go. I’ll give you his number.” She digs frantically in her purse.
I frown. What? I don’t want the owner’s number. What are we supposed to do with that?
“I got this,” Cookie says. “What’s his number?”
She rattles it off and Cookie enters it into his phone
“What’s his name?” Cookie asks.
“Percy.”
As Cookie’s entering that into his phone, she takes off running and bolts out of the building.
Cookie and I stare after her.
What just happened?
I look down at the dog. “I don’t even know your name, little dude.”
“He likes you,” Cookie says. “I guess he knows you saved his life.”
I turn to Javier, who is still watching us. “Hey, Javier, do you know who that was?”
He shakes his head. “Never seen her before.”
“Do you know someone named Percy who lives here?”
“No.” He frowns.
“We’ve got his number,” Cookie says. “Let’s call him.”
We sit on the chairs, one of two furniture groupings in the lobby on either side of the security desk. Cookie calls the number. After a moment, he says, “Voice mail.” He listens, then ends the call. “I think she gave us the wrong number. That was someone named Dennis.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Why is this happening?” I look down at the dog and sigh. “Well, let’s go up to my place and figure out what to do.”
I grab the leash lying on the lobby floor, but I carry the dog into the elevator and we ride it up to the seventh floor. Cookie comes with us.
“What are you going to do?”
I sigh. “Nothing, tonight. It’s after midnight. Guess I’m stuck with him.” I cock an eyebrow. “You want him?”
He shakes his head. “I mean, I could take him, but look. He’s not leaving you.”
The dog is attached to my ankles. When I sit on my couch, he jumps onto my lap before my ass even hits the cushion. “Fine. I’ll keep him. Tomorrow I’ll…I don’t know what. How am I supposed to find his owner?”
Cookie rubs his mouth. “Shit. I have no idea. Let’s sleep on it.”
“Yeah.”
Cookie leaves to go to his own place.
Dog and I look at each other. “Well,” I say. “That was an exciting evening.”
He tilts his head, regarding me with dark eyes.
One corner of my mouth lifts. “Look at you. All jowly and sad.”
His head tips the other way.
“Okay. I’ll get you some water.” He follows me into my kitchen, while I fill a bowl and set it on the floor. He slurps some water, then sits on my feet.
“Well. It’s bedtime.” I’m at a loss here. “Let’s go.”
He stays close as I walk down the hall to my bedroom. The bed is high and he’s not that big, but somehow he manages to leap up onto it.
“Make yourself at home.”
I wash up and strip out of my suit. I hang it in the closet and toss my shirt into the laundry bag for the cleaners.
Dog presses himself against my legs when I’m settled under the covers. This is weird.
I have a hard time falling asleep. Must be the adrenaline rush from the rescue. Doesn’t seem to affect Dog, though. Eventually I too fall asleep.
Chapter 2
Lilly
“His wife thinks he’s having an affair with me.”
My best friend Carlin stares at me. “What the fuck?”
“I know.” I cut off another piece of pancake. “He’s actually having an affair with Parvati.”
“Oh my God! But you got fired.”
“Yep.” I swallow. “Again.”
It took me months to finally find a job, after the clusterfuck at my last place of employment. Working the front desk at the No Tell Motel was a far cry from the career in hospitality management I imagined when working my ass off for my degree in Hospitality Industry Studies at NYU, but at least it was a job.
I shove more pancake liberally drenched with butter and syrup into my mouth.
Carlin sits at the small table in the apartment we share. “Oh, Lilly. I’m so sorry.”