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“Ellie, sit,” Kara commanded, though that might be too strong a word. Requested, or suggested might be more appropriate. Her tone was soft and babying. Bending over, Kara placed her hand on the four-month-old puppy’s lower back and gently nudged her down. “Good girl.” Kara straightened up, and the dog immediately rose to all fours again. Kara groaned. “No, Ellie, stay!”
“Sit,” a quiet, firm voice sounded in the room, and both Ellie and Kara immediately sank to the floor. Carter giggled from his seat on the couch.
Cat had wandered over a few minutes earlier to tell them it was time to go. They had their final puppy training class that afternoon. When she caught site of Kara's attempts in the living room, she decided they had a little time to spare. She leaned against the entrance to the room and secretly observed the practice session. Finally she decided to just put the poor girl out of her misery, uttering the command as she stepped fully into the room.
Cat rolled her eyes, trying not to adore Kara sitting on the floor like a second puppy. “Not you.”
“Right.” Kara blushed, adjusting her glasses as she stood up again. This time Ellie stayed sitting, hardly sparing Kara a glance as she waited for Cat’s next command. Kara glared at the dog for her betrayal.
“You need to be firm with her. She needs to know you’re in charge.”
“You’re so much better at it than me,” Kara said. Cat bit her tongue to hold back any suggestive remarks.
“You suffer from the same problem as my son,” was her response instead.
“Hey!” he cried out in protest. Cat sent him a pointed look.
“You’re too soft with her, both of you, and so she thinks she can walk all over you.”
Carter was great at taking care of the puppy. He brushed her growing fur daily, her teeth weekly, and walked her every day after school. He never had to be reminded to feed her, or take her out for bathroom breaks. But the second she acted up he was at a loss for what to do.
Cat did her best, but she felt like she was falling behind with work (she wasn’t) and that was unacceptable. She’d been leaving the office early to pick up Carter from school for the past several weeks, until she could find a new nanny.
“As it turns out, the girl is allergic to dogs,” Cat explained to Kara on the Tuesday after Carter got the puppy. “So I will be picking him up from school and working the afternoons from my home office until I can find a suitable replacement. I will need you to go with him to training classes on Saturdays, starting next weekend. And yes, I will pay you overtime.” She sighed on the last part as if this was a great personal sacrifice for her.
Kara opened her mouth several times, closing it with each new bit of information she processed. Finally she asked, “Why, um, why didn’t she say anything about her allergies before?” Cat ignored her, taking a purposeful bite of her sushi. It only took a second for Kara to figure out the answer. “You didn’t tell her you were getting a dog, did you.” Technically it was a question, but the inflection made it a statement. Cat took a large sip of water from her glass, swirling it around in her mouth. Kara shook her head, wondering if she would ever cease to be surprised by her boss’s eccentric personality.
She hoped not.
“I’ll make sure everything runs smoothly while you’re gone,” she assured. “And I can go with Carter to the classes.
In the end Cat had ended up going with them both anyway.
After only the first session Carter told her the instructor had spent more time with him and Kara than anyone else in the class. He would offer them advice, and then repeat it to the group.
“You can’t be afraid to scold her if she exhibits bad behavior.” “Be clear and concise when you’re teaching her a new trick.” “Only reward her when she does exactly what you want.”
Cat knew she should probably let her son learn this on his own, but she wasn’t exactly keen on all of her possessions being destroyed by his pet monster in the process. She decided someone around her house—not that Kara was always around her house, that would be ridiculous and possibly inappropriate—should know how to handle the beast when she got out of control. Cat definitely wasn’t going with just to see all of the puppies playing together. What a waste of her time that would be.
Kara never asked to go home or stop coming, and Cat never ordered it, so the four of them went together, unknowingly looking like a regular modern family.
Their sixth and final class was held outside, where they were working on teaching the dogs to heel. Kara stood off to the side, not wanting to crowd Ellie and confuse her. The instructor came over and stood next to her after checking on each of the families. As they both observed the Grants, he said, “You and you’re stepson have improved a lot over the last few weeks.”
Kara choked on the air she’d been breathing. Coughing and spluttering, her eyes wide, she turned to the man and shook her head. “No, he’s not—We’re just—I’m, I’m her assistant.” She pointed to Cat, who was looking over at them, eyes squinted in suspicion. Kara blanched, dropping her hand instantly and looking back at the dog trainer.
His eyebrows were raised in surprise. “I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed.”
“No, no, it’s fine, you’re fine.” Kara really wished she had some water for her suddenly dry throat.
The instructor, looking awkward, moved to circulate between the families for a second time. Cat, after making sure Carter was comfortable with the exercise, made her way over to Kara. “Is everything alright?” she inquired, her tone fishing.
“Y-yeah. Of course. Everything’s great.” Kara fidgeted, shifting in place and avoiding Cat’s eyes, her cheeks blazing.
“Hmm, so what were you two talking about that was so uncomfortable?”
Kara mentally cursed Cat’s inability to ignore her own curiosity. Then she mentally apologized because she actually really admired that quality in her boss—when it wasn't being used against Kara, anyway.
“Oh, that. Just a little misunderstanding. It’s … it’s all cleared up now.”
Cat’s brow furrowed as Kara's tone grew strangely disappointed towards the end, but recognized that she wouldn’t be getting anything else from her assistant. With a shrug of her shoulders she turned around and headed back over to her son.
Kara continued watching them for a while, smiling warmly at how happy Cat and Carter were together. Dammit, Kara wanted that, so much. And damn that dog trainer for bringing it to her attention. Heaving a sigh at her own hopelessness, she went over to join the Grants, determined to finally train that puppy.