Prologue
Easton
I take the final sip of my coffee as my little twelve week old pup sits in the booth beside me. I chose this cafe named after the owner’s dog, Bolt Coffee, because it’s dog friendly and even has a menu specifically for our furry friends.
Yep, I’m a certified Dog Dad now.
It’s another beautiful day in Malibu, and I am waiting for a dog walker and trainer I contacted a few days ago to show up for an interview.
I love my little no named dog, but the puppy has been a menace in the short week I’ve had him.
I moved here about a month ago, and found a small house on the edge of Malibu, but it was too damn quiet not knowing anyone here, so I promptly found No Name Dog from a breeder up the coast.
This will be the third city I've moved to in my short career, and I'm hoping I can settle down here for the long term.
I have yet to play as a starting Quarterback, and the Longhorns are putting all of their faith in me. And I'm going to prove to them I am worth a longer contract.
With all the travel, gruelling training and workout schedule, I won’t always be around for No Name Dog, so I need someone I can trust to come into my home. Someone who can run that energy out of him, train him to stop eating my shit, and take his dumps in the yard.
I found Evie O’Keefe from a web search, and she looks qualified based on her website and the references she already provided, but I need to meet her in person before I let her into my world. I may not have a lot of notoriety in the league yet, but I don’t want people taking advantage of me, because regardless of where I stand, I’m still a professional athlete.
The door to the coffee shop opens and my eyes are drawn to the beautiful woman who enters. Wearing light pink hair up in a high ponytail, she stands tall with a round face, and large blue eyes that compliment her nose and full lips perfectly. She has a warm aura, with an amiable disposition.
Not only that, she has a rocking body, and legs for days. She looks strong, like she has some way of keeping fit. Her black leggings hug her curves, and her push up bra perfectly supports those full tits. I think I may feel my dick twitch in my pants just a little.
She has a soft smile that accentuates her cute dimples as she looks around the room like she’s looking for someone, but doesn’t see me sitting in the back booth watching her practically jaw dropped, ogling her from a far like some fucking creep.
In my defense, this may be one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen in my life.
She pulls out her phone, and as soon as she puts it to her ear, my phone buzzes on the table.
No fucking way.
I hesitantly pick it up. “Hello?”
“Hi? Easton?” The pink haired beauty says in unison with the voice over the phone. I don’t respond, in shock, it’s her. It’s fucking Evie O’Keefe, the woman I have been staring at like some perv.
“Hello?” She asks into the phone again and I snap into action by putting my arm up to indicate where I am.
“Here,” I mumble.
She looks around the room and she sees me and her face lights up. “Oh I see you!” She exclaims.
She walks over to the table and the closer she gets, the more beautiful she is.
I stand up and I put out my hand, which she happily reaches for. She checks me out, similarly to the way I looked at her, and I see a blush creep up her chest and neck into her cheeks, failing to hide her attraction to me as she introduces herself.
Uh yeah. The feeling is mutual, sweetheart.
“Hi Easton, I’m Evie.” She says politely. Hearing her angelic voice, a feeling of affection blooms in my gut. Her soft manicured hand grips mine with a firm handshake, and I feel her palm grow sweaty.
“Nice to meet you, can I get you a coffee?” I pull out the confidence I’m known for, though I feel like a stuttering mess.
“Yeah sure, I’ll take an iced coffee. Still getting used to this heat.” She waves herself off with a cute giggle. Just then little No Name Dog wakes up and jumps down from the bench seat and runs to her feet.
“Why, hello there!” she says joyfully as she squats down to pet him. “Oh my god he’s so cute!” She squeals and her gorgeous ocean blue eyes look up into mine. “What’s his name?”
“No Name.”
She bursts out laughing, and its fucking exquisite. “No Name?”
“I adopted him last week, haven’t found a name I can settle on. I tried the usuals, Sparky, Duke, Max. Just haven’t found the right fit yet.” She gives me an endearing smirk.
“Hard when they are this young and pooping all over the floor and chewing your shit too, right?” She jokes and now I’m the one to laugh.
“Yeah, probably.”
She admires him again, “He looks like he would have a person’s name. Like Henry, or Duncan, maybe Norman.” I look down at him, the Border Collie who while even a puppy, has such a studious look about him.
He definitely needs a handkerchief.
“I think you’re right. I’ll get those coffees.” I smile at her and she slides into the booth with the dog. I approach the cash and place my order, opting to add in some slices of banana bread to go with our coffees. Then I look over at her chilling with my dog, laughing as he kisses all over her neck and face.
I get our drinks and slide back into the booth across from her and she looks at me with a beaming smile.
“Banana bread too? Such a gentleman, thank you.” She says sweetly and takes her drink, sucking through the straw as she holds No Name Dog back from climbing onto the table.
“You’re welcome.”
“He is freaking adorable by the way! We haven’t even started the interview and I really want you to choose me to take care of him.” She giggles and nuzzles her face into his.
“Well, tell me about your business.” I lead, and she continues to hold him.
“I moved here about four months ago, so I'm starting off a whole new client base. I lived and worked just outside of Nashville before, had a pretty successful business. I had about ten dogs I regularly walked, and every six weeks I’d take on training a new class of dogs. Some had behavioral issues, others it was training the owners more than the dogs. It was quite successful until I sold it to move here.”
“How many clients do you have here?”
“Well I got settled in first, got my website designed. So far just one, but she’s a little old lady, I don’t have the heart to charge her my full rate.”
I grin at her generosity. “That is very nice of you, but you have to make a living too.”
She nods repeatedly. “Tell me about it, my dad never lets up about it. But in order to generate business you can’t be the most expensive, have to build those relationships first.” She takes a bite of the banana bread.
“Damn that’s good.” She says as she puts it down.
“So how long have you been in the business of dogs?’
“My whole life, but running a business? About eight years. I always loved dogs so I walked or did dog sitting for neighbor’s when they were out of town. Eventually I went to University for business and on weekends took dog trainer courses, started working at a pet store, learned all about their diet, exercise, everything dog, I know it. I still have my old website up if you would like to see?”
I nod and she slides her phone over to me. I scroll through the page and endless testimonials thanking Evie for helping their furry friends get some structure in their lives. How kind, thoughtful and hard working she is, how their dogs absolutely adore her. Exactly as all her references said.
“Impressive.” I compliment. “What does a typical day for you look like?”
“So, how I work is based on my client list. I pick up the dogs closest to me first and they are the last to be dropped off. Right now since there are two of you, pretty easy but that schedule is subject to change as I will have to make adjustments as my client base grows. I can’t take ten dogs at one time, they’d be walking me!” She giggles at her little joke, and I can’t help but smile at how innocent and wholesome this woman appears. She’s definitely got that small town vibe about her.
“I take them out to the beach, let them run and play with other dogs, and train them on leash to and from. Inclement weather we don’t go out, but if you still need me to go to your place to let them out to pee, I can do that. I can also pet sit when you are out of town. What do you do again?”
I feel a wave of relief hearing she doesn’t know who I am. “I play football,” I say hesitantly. “For the LA Longhorns, the NFL.”
She blinks several times. “Wow. sorry. I had no idea, I haven’t been too focused on the sports news this year with the move and all.”
“I got traded here last month, like, had to uproot my life in two days sorta deal. So I literally just moved here, and frankly it was quite lonely not knowing anyone, hence this little guy. And he keeps eating everything I own and shitting on my floor, so clearly I don’t know what the fuck I am doing, and that’s why I’m seeking your services.”
She grins. “Well would you look at that, both newbies to the area. I promise to tell you when I come across a good restaurant. You promise me to do the same?”
I chuckle. “You got it.”
She clears her throat and reaches into her purse and pulls out some papers. “So, um. I do a contract stating the fees we discussed over email, duration of my services for the one year, how to go about ending the contract. Also if you have special requests you can fill that in at the bottom. And I just need at least forty-eight hours notice for overnights. There is also confidentiality agreement included there, to protect me, but more so to protect you. I need to build trust with my clients. I’m going into your house, into your life. I promise to respect your privacy, and I request you do the same with mine. I’m not on call 24/7, I have a life outside work too so I expect that to be respected. I also have liability insurance in the event anything happens.” She states very matter of factly like she does have the experience running a business as she claims.
She slides over the paperwork and I read the heading, ‘The Rivers Contract’.
Deep down I know I shouldn’t go into business with this girl, she’s gorgeous and that could mean trouble. But, I read over the contract anyway, taking note that she only needs two weeks notice to end the contract so she can find new clients. Good to know just incase things get sticky.
After taking it all in, I sign it, even though I know my dad will lose his mind when he learns that I’ve hired a woman this beautiful, who literally stunned me stupid when I first saw her.
“Looks like a good deal to me. So, show me what you’ve got with this little guy. There’s a park across the street. He’s been an asshole all week, so I think today you should give me some lessons on the basics.”
She smiles at me. “You won’t regret this, Mr. Rivers.”
