the dog’s eyes as she gently pushed it back and onto all four feet. She knelt on one knee, bringing herself to eye level with Simon Collier’s nemesis.
“Hello, Tink.”
Tink’s grin got even wider. The dog put his overgrown paws on her bent knee and then eased up to lick her cheek excitedly.
Simon made a sound of pure disgust.
“We’re going to be friends,” Audrey whispered to the dog, hoping it was true. Her job depended on it, after all, and the poor baby probably didn’t have any friends at all, except for Peyton Collier.
She stood up. Tink reared up and did a little dance of pure excitement but didn’t jump on Audrey, which she took as a sign of intelligence and eagerness to please.
“That’s nice,” Audrey complimented. “You can dance.”
“You’re not going to change your mind, are you?” Simon asked, as the dog walker turned and left.
“No, but why in the world did you get a border collie?”
“Because my daughter thought it was cute, and the woman who sold it to us claimed it was a smart dog, although I haven’t seen any sign of that. Why?” He looked worried. “Border collies are bad?”
“Not if you want an animal that was bred to herd sheep all day without getting tired,” Audrey informed him.
He froze for a moment. “You’re telling me I need to buy it a herd of sheep to keep it happy?”
Audrey burst out laughing. “No, just that this animal has a great deal of energy, which is why it seems destructive to you. It’s bored, probably extremely bored. It needs something to do.”
Simon frowned. “What does it do besides herd sheep?”
“Exercise. I’ll run with Tink every morning. Maybe in the evening, too, if I have to. The dog will be too tired to cause trouble.”
“That’s all it needs? To be too tired to cause trouble?”
“That should go a long way toward solving your problems with Tink. The good news is the person you bought the dog from is right—dogs of this breed are known for being very intelligent.”
“This one is not,” Simon insisted.
Audrey laughed again, petting the dog, who’d jumped back up and planted its paws on her, wanting to be close and unable to contain its excitement.
“See,” Simon said.
Audrey gave a little push against the dog’s furry chest and said, “Tink, off.”
The dog went down and stood there looking up at her, tail wagging, whole body practically trembling with excitement, but it stayed on all fours.
“Good dog,” Audrey said, wishing she had some kind of treat to offer.
“He most certainly is not,” Simon said.
“So it’s a he?” Audrey sighed and turned from the overeager dog to the all-powerful man. “Well, he is smart enough to know you don’t like him—”
“Then he’s a genius,” Simon quipped.
Audrey fought a grin once again. “And by now Tink probably knows just how to get to you.”
Simon looked incredulous. “You’re trying to tell me I’ve been playing mind games with a dog?”
Audrey just looked at him.
“And you think the little devil is winning, don’t you?” Simon Collier looked as if she might have just called him a whiny, little girl or something equally offensive.
“I’m saying the dog feels the animosity between the two of you, and it’s not helping the situation. Try to be the bigger man here. How about that?” Audrey said, hoping she wouldn’t completely alienate him before she even started the job.
“And how,” he asked, looking not at all pleased, “would the bigger man behave here?”
“He’d realize this is a battle he doesn’t care to fight—”
“You want me to walk away from a fight?” he asked, incredulous again.
“I’m saying that Marion told me you detest wasting time, above all else. Surely you see it’s a complete waste of your time to play mind games with this animal. It’s completely beneath you. Go take over a country or something. Isn’t that more your kind of challenge?”
He looked taken aback and stared at her as if he might be truly seeing her for the first time and found someone worthy of his notice.
Oh, Lord.
Was he furious?
She couldn’t tell.
Finally, as snotty as you please, he said, “I don’t happen to own any countries.”
Then he burst out laughing, and Audrey could breathe again.
“I think we’re going to enjoy working together, Audrey. I’ll see you Friday evening when I get back into town.”
He strode into the garage, got into that sleek, beautiful, black Lexus that looked like a very pretty, fancy toy, whipped it out of the garage and down the driveway and was off.
The dog started crying pitifully and dancing on his hind legs again, obviously feeling he deserved Audrey’s complete attention.
Damn, Audrey thought.
What had she gotten herself into?
Simon couldn’t get the sight of her out of his head, even though she’d covered herself up from head to toe. Which was a damned shame, he thought, to cover up a body like that.
He picked up his phone as he drove down the road and called Marion.
“You didn’t tell me she was gorgeous,” he told Marion.
She laughed. “Since when have you needed me or anyone else to tell you a woman is gorgeous?”
Simon put the phone aside and swore softly.
Marion laughed some more.
“I really don’t need this right now. I still haven’t gotten myself untangled from the last woman I allowed into my life.”
“Believe me, you are the last kind of man Audrey Graham wants, which means you’re perfectly safe with her.”
“And why wouldn’t she want me?” he bristled. “I’m a helluva catch.”
Any rich man was. Rich, single and under forty made it doubly so. It wasn’t his ego talking, simply the facts. There would always be a supply of women who wanted a man with money, and Simon had loads of it.
“I make it a point not to spread tales about other people’s business, Simon. You know that. But I’m sure Audrey would be much more comfortable with you knowing that she just got rid of a man like you and doesn’t want another one.”
“What do you mean, by ‘like me’? Sweet tempered and sexy?”
“Oh, yes. Those are exactly the words that come to mind when I think about you,” Marion said. “Although, I have to say, you seem to be in a much better mood than usual. Are you feeling all right?”
“It’s temporary, I’m sure.”
It was the idea of someone taming the monster-dog, making Peyton happy, making Ms. Bee happy and ensuring she didn’t quit that was easing all of Simon’s headaches.
Or maybe it was just meeting a gorgeous, dark-haired woman with a little attitude who clearly wasn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with him that was causing his good mood.
There weren’t a lot of women who’d dare.
Or who could make him laugh as he had