Rosslyn wrinkled her nose and said, “I think Miss Snuggles is missing her owners because she follows me everywhere when I’m there. Twice today she showered with me.”
“I’ve never had a pet, but I thought cats hate water.”
She laughed. “Would you like to come up and tell her that? I tried, but she insisted on joining me anyway. I even shut the door, but she climbed up on the sink and leaped over the top of the glass door. I wasn’t sure who was more scared, me thinking this was some horror movie turning to reality or her with me screaming as though I was being murdered.”
Charles could picture the sight all too clearly. Chuckling, he teased, “You’re not selling me on getting a pet either.”
“Well, you’re more the dog type anyway. I can see you walking a Pomeranian Spitz.” She pulled out her cell phone then turned it to him.
“What the hell is that? A snowball?”
“No. She’s adorable. A white ball of fur. You could take her to work with you because they are great with people. And they also love kids. They only weigh three to seven pounds, so you could take her everywhere with you.”
He cocked a brow. “You are joking, right?”
“What don’t you like about her?” Rosslyn asked.
“First, if I have a dog, it needs to be bigger than a sock. Second, I want it to sound like a dog.”
“She barks.”
He shook his head. “Correction, she yips. You know . . . a bark.” Charles couldn’t believe it but he let a bark rumble from deep within him. “Like that.”
“And what would she sound like?” Rosslyn asked.
Oh no you don’t.“Sorry, sweetheart. My voice doesn’t go that high. But good try.”
Rosslyn smiled. “For the record, you definitely sounded part bloodhound and part bullmastiff.”
He couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing. “Good to know just in case I come across either and need to converse with them.”
“I wouldn’t advise that,” Rosslyn said seriously.
“Why is that?” Charles asked.
“What if you say the wrong thing, offend them, and get bitten? No. It could be a disaster unless you practice first. Maybe you should try again,” she teased.
“I can see you’re in a playful mood. I guess getting out of work early agrees with you.”
She let out a heavy sigh and melted against the seat. “I thought I’d die if I had to stay there one more minute.”
Not that he wanted to talk shop, but he did care how her day went. “Rough?”
“Staying awake, yes. I never knew how boring working in an office could be.”
That didn’t sound right either. Maxwell probably had more business than he could handle. So why not utilize Rosslyn? Even if she wasn’t familiar with the process, she was very smart and surely would pick up quickly. Probably quicker than I suspect. Lawson Steel could use someone like her. That wasn’t going to happen because he wanted, no needed, her more. He needed a reason to look forward to the workday ending. And for him, five o’clock couldn’t roll around fast enough.
Even though he was the boss and could come and go as he pleased, he managed through example, not by being the exception to the rules. It made it a lot easier when he needed to address policy issues. No one was above them.
But Maxwell didn’t work like that. Although Charles knew there was no way Maxwell was really on vacation, he also wasn’t known for leaving the company unsupervised that long. He liked to have his thumb on everyone. Maxwell intimidated employees through fear. But Rosslyn, as sweet as she was, didn’t seem to be afraid of him.
“I’m glad you’re well rested. Maybe tonight we can stay out past nine,” he teased. They had called it an early night last night, mostly so things didn’t become awkward again. If he hadn’t taken her home after their ice cream, she might not have made it home at all.
Rosslyn said, “If we don’t ever pull away from the curb, we won’t have to worry about what time to get me home.”
Charles hadn’t noticed they were still parked. She had a way of distracting him just enough that the rest of the world faded into the background.
“I did promise you pizza,” Charles said as he pulled into traffic.