Page 13 of Men or Paws

I stared at the phone, then held up my palm toward my brother. “He didn’t even say goodbye. Who does that?”

“He’s Rocco Romano. He can do whatever he wants. Besides, you hung up on him twice, so he owes you one more to be even.”

“It’s rude, if you ask me.”

“It’s difficult to get a taste of your own medicine, isn’t it? I’m surprised he answered the phone when you called.” Josh smiled. “Anyway, who cares? You got the job!”

“Yeah, I guess I did” I nodded, shocked and happy, until I remembered something.

Josh studied me. “What’s wrong?”

I shrugged. “I feel bad because I’m abandoning you right after you got here.”

He laughed. “I’m a big boy. I’ll be fine.”

“But you’re going to be here all alone.”

Josh cocked his head to the side. “You forgot that Holly is coming tomorrow?”

I blinked. “Whoops, I guess I did.”

“I’m going to tell Holly.”

I smacked him on the arm. “Don’t you dare.”

Holly is Josh’s girlfriend. She became one of my close friends after they started seeing each other. We don’t see each other often since she lives in Malibu with Josh, but I adore her and hope that one day they will get married.

“That makes me feel even worse because I’m abandoning her, too,” I said.

Josh put his arm around me. “Seriously, sis, it’s not a big deal. Just see if you can get away to meet us for dinner.” He snapped his fingers. “Or come see one of my shows!”

I nodded. “Okay, I have no idea how busy I’m going to be, but I will do my best.” I thought about my conversation with Rocco. “Hey, what’s an NDA?”

“It’s a non-disclosure agreement. It’s basically a contract saying you will keep your trap shut. He doesn’t want his private life splashed all over social media, or someone writing a tell-all book that dishes out all the juicy details about Hollywood’s bad boy.”

That made sense, even though I would never do something like that.

“By the way,” Josh said. “You need to give your thirty-day notice here, and then go lease that other place you found before someone snatches it away from you.”

I swallowed hard, thinking that was a little premature. “Shouldn’t I wait until I actually get paid before doing that?”

Josh shook his head. “The job with Rocco is a sure thing and you don’t want to pay an extra month of rent here, if you don’t have to.”

I nodded, thinking about it. I guessed Josh was right, but everything was happening so fast. Still, giving my thirty-day notice was a good call and the right thing to do.

Besides, all I had to do was watch Rocco’s dog for three weeks.

What could go wrong?

ChapterThree

Beth

The next morning, I drove to Rancho Santa Fe, an affluent town in northern San Diego County, about twenty minutes from my apartment in Oceanside.

I had no idea what to expect when I would be face-to-face with Rocco, considering our previous conversations on the phone and my past experience with him. I did know that I wasn’t going to go weak in the knees and lose my faculties like most women did just because he was voted “Sexiest Man Alive.”

No man would ever have that kind of effect on me.