Chapter 9: The Dog

*Kennedy*

Titus had fallen asleep during the movie the night before and Hannah and I didn't have the heart to wake him. Covering him with the blanket, it was odd to see such a large man curl into a small ball to fit on our tiny couch. When I left for work in the morning, he was still there, with his gigantic hands tucked under his cheek.

The normally busy streets in Marigny were quiet this early in the morning. I wasn't supposed to be at work for another two hours, but I got bored of lying in bed staring into the abyss of my ceiling. I had nothing better to do so I got ready and decided to go in early.

There were only a handful of cars parked on the street, rifling through my bag to get to the key fob, I hit the lock button twice until a short horn sounded. A few cars down on the block, I spotted the car in question. It was an all-black 4-Runner, new to this year, the sporty but sleek outside was monochromatic. Wheels, bumper, body, and roof rack were all painted a shiny black, with tinted windows so dark I was pretty sure it was illegal to drive. It reminded me of one of those security detail SUVs I saw in movies. The inside was just as pristine as the outside, with an all-black interior.

In the New Orleans heat it would get hot, but I wasn't going to complain. I had never had a car this nice, actually I had never been in a car this nice. There was one of those touch screens in the center dash. One where I could plug my phone into it and the screen would read out my messages, unfortunately the phone that I had was too old. It was a flip phone with the antiquated combo number and letter buttons. I started it up with the push button, something that would take getting used to and gently rolled it up the street, terrified that I would crash it.

Even driving at a snail's pace, I made it to the Massi house with lots of time to spare. Lucas was waiting for me outside the house as I put the car into park. The lift on the 4-runner was a little too high for my short legs and I tumbled out when my footing slipped out from under me on the ground. Not quite the entrance I was hoping for as the sexiest man I had ever laid eyes on watched me with a smirk hobble out of the SUV.

"Were you waiting for me?" I asked as I scanned him over. He had a small scratch under his eye. It somehow accentuated his stunning features. There were dark circles present, and his movements weren't as smooth as the day before. I contemplated what he and Titus had gotten into last night.

"I was. I wanted to talk to you before we got to work," he said.

"How'd you know I'd be early, or were you planning on standing outside until I showed up?" I wondered.

"Titus called me, said you had left already, also said that you thought I fired you."

"You can't fault me for that," I lifted my shoulders, "you did tell me to get out, and when Tony didn't say anything, I just assumed I crossed the line. It won't happen again."

"I apologize, I try not to let my temper get the best of me, but if it does, I don't want people to be around it to see it. It's a terrible trait, I am well aware of it, but it would be a mistake to let you go. I know you are worth keeping around, you are too special."

"You don't know anything about me, how do you know I am special?"

"Gut feeling," He leaned into me and tucked a loose piece of hair behind my ear, "and I plan on getting to know you very well." His thumb lightly ran over my ear, giving me chills.

My pulse picked up thinking about what it would feel like to have his hands run down my body. "Thanks for the car." I responded, not knowing what else to say.

The smile on his face was worth me putting my pride aside and accepting a gift that I knew wasn't a company car. It did make me feel better knowing that Titus was going to get something out of Lucas's generosity. "I am glad you like it. I wasn't sure if you would prefer an SUV or something smaller, but I figured the sturdier the better."

"I guess you do know me a little," I laughed out loud. I headed inside, he followed with a stiff back, flinching every few steps. "Are you okay?"

He waved me off, "I am fine, it was a long night, but I am sure you know since Titus stayed the night."

"He slept on the couch," I didn't know why I felt like I needed to say that, but I wanted to make it clear that Titus and I were just friends. "All he said was, fight," I tried mimicking Titus's deep gravelly voice, "just that one word and he didn't elaborate."

"Yes, a fight." He stopped, not explaining anymore, "I will only be here in the morning, my dad and I have a meeting in the afternoon and won't be back until you leave. If you wouldn't mind working on that software for the signature encryption first and send it out to everyone. I have set up passwords on our security system, and made dad remove those passwords." Shaking his head in disapproval.

"Yes, Boss." I playfully provoked.

He leaned up against the door frame of his office, "Why do I have a feeling that your newly found friendship with Titus is going to be the end of me?"

"Watch your back." I smirked on my way to the office.

Sitting at my desk, in my chair was an oversized German Shepherd. His paws were placed by my keyboard, and he was staring at my monitors that were off, as if he was diligently working. He let out a low woof as to say hello.

"Ummm. What?" I said to myself. I did a double take to make sure I was actually seeing this. I wasn't hallucinating. "Lucas!" I called out.

Lucas came rushing into my office, I pointed to the dog sitting at my desk. "Why is there a dog in my chair?"

"That's Samson," he said nonchalantly, like this was a normal everyday occurrence, "he thinks he is human and a big softy, don't let his size fool you."

"But," I stuttered, "but he is in my chair?"

"Do you not like dogs?" He asked with a concerning look.

"I love dogs. I would have fifty if I could afford it. I didn't know you had a dog, he wasn't here yesterday."

"We have two dogs, Samson, and Linguine." He pointed to a small fluff of fur on my couch. I hadn't even noticed him, his brown coat matched the leather. His floppy ears perked up at the sound of his name. He stretched out his long, little body and hopped his short stumpy legs off the couch. Trotting over to Lucas, he picked him up and cradled him under his arm. "Now, be careful with this one, he only likes me, but tolerates everyone else. They were at the groomers yesterday, Grace had dropped them off after you left." He took Linguine with him and left me with my new co-worker.

I nodded. Dragging a chair that was on the other side of my desk, I placed it next to Samson, made myself a cup of coffee and filled a mug of water for the dog. I whistled for him to change seats with me, and he obeyed. His head came up to my shoulders, and his tan coat was fuzzy from the groomers. He sat straight up on the chair, took a drink of water from the mug and watched me work.

***

"What are you still doing here?" Lucas appeared next to me.

I jumped out of my seat not seeing him, too engrossed in my work, "How long have you been standing there?"

"A few minutes, I didn't want to disturb you." I explained, "still working on that signature encryption?"

"No, I finished that after lunch, I was trying to crack that anomaly on that one account." I ran my fingers over my eyes, the computer screen burning them after a long day.

"Even though I like your commitment, we don't expect you to work all day and night."

"Wait. What time is it?" Now noticing that there was no light coming in from the window.

"It's past eight," he answered.

"Oh no!" I rushed around, packing up my things, "I was supposed to be home to cook Hannah dinner."

"Relax Kennedy," He grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to face him, "I am sure she will be fine until you get home. I'll pack both you and Hannah some dinner."

"You don't understand, Hannah is sick, and she shouldn't be left alone all day or at least not with me checking in on her." My anxiety increased the longer Lucas made me stay.

"I know about Hannah. Titus told me that she wasn't well."

Emotion hit me hard that Titus had noticed how sick Hannah was and that someone other than me saw her struggles. Tears out of nowhere embarrassingly leaked out, falling down my cheeks.

"Hey," Lucas spoke softly. Easing me into his chest, I instinctively wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed tightly.

"Sorry, I don't know why I am crying. Sometimes the reality of Hannah's illness hits me at random times. How embarrassing crying on my boss after the second day."

"I don't know, I kind of like you wrapped around me." I felt his hot breath on the top of my head, the strength at which he held me deepened. It had been before my dad died that I felt the comfort of home. Even though Hannah and I have made a life for ourselves with what little we had, that warmth and familiarity of being at home never happened, until now. My hands flexed over his taunt back muscle, and he stiffened. The thought of letting go was insurmountable. I wanted to hold onto that feeling for a little longer, but I did let go anyway.

There was a quiet moment between us, "Come on," Lucas finally said, "let's get you and Hannah some dinner."