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She started typing the first sentence in a brand-new document, and soon she’d written three whole chapters of a Cinderella remake.

Only in this version, Cinderella let the prince do some pretty naughty things in the royal storage room.

Chapter Twenty-Two

THE NEXT DAY, Blake found himself facing off against his greatest challenge; training Charge was beginning to seem like an impossible task. The dog was strong, determined, and had nearly no discipline to speak of.

But staring down at Charge as the dog seemed to smile wickedly back at him, Blake refused to give up.

“Best says you are trainable, but I think he’s full of shit.”

The dog’s tail whipped around like a windmill, spinning with excitement.

He held onto Charge’s leash but was so winded he could hardly breathe. He’d been running the dog for nearly an hour, and the son of a bitch just kept going. He was like the energizer bunny.

“How’s it going out here?”

Charge leaped forward when he heard Best’s voice, and the motion nearly jerked Blake’s arm out of the socket. Charge strained against the leash as Blake tried to bring him back to heel.

“You’ve given me a robot for a dog! This thing doesn’t tire, he is as strong as an ox, and I’m pretty sure he’s got the mind of an evil genius.”

“So, you’re saying it’s working out. Perfect.”

Blake grunted, digging in his heels. “Damn it, Charge, heel!”

The dog stopped pulling and came back to Blake’s side as pretty as you please, sitting. He stared up at Blake adoringly.

Blake blinked down at the dog.

“What the hell?”

Best shrugged. “Guess he likes the way you yell.”

Blake knelt by the dog’s side and lifted both his ears. “Did you check his hearing?”

“Of course I checked his hearing.” Best sounded offended, but Blake didn’t care. There was something going on with this dog.

“Maybe he’s not deaf, but hard of hearing. Do we have any of those training whistles still?”

“I might have one or two in my office,” Best said.

“I’m going to schedule him another veterinary appointment and, depending on what they say, try the whistle on Monday.”

“Does that mean you’re taking off?”

“Yeah, I’ve got a date tonight.” Blake didn’t really want to get into it with Best, especially after the razzing they’d all given him.

“Where’re you taking her?” Best asked casually.

“I’m not sure yet. Dinner, I guess.”

“But where, man? This is a first date, if we’re not counting last night. You want to wow her.”

“It’s actually our second date, not counting last night.” Although since she didn’t exactly know that was a date, Best might have a point.

“Where did you take Dani on your first date?” Blake asked.

“The Cheesecake Factory and a movie.”