only cares if you plan to feed her bugs. Now, if you withhold her dinner, she might have a problem with you.”
“Please feed your latest demon on time every day.”
I bit my lip so I wouldn’t giggle at the man’s plea. “If my opinion matters, she’s a very pretty spider. I had no idea spiders came in that color.”
“She’s huge for her species. They’re usually smaller, which means this old girl has had someone taking very good care of her over the years. Lance isn’t going to be happy about having to share his reading room with her, but it was the only place we could squeeze in a large enough habitat for her. Your dog is very pretty. What’s his name?”
“Edgar Allan Paw, and his kitten is named Lenore. They came as a matched set, and they were found together. Lenore doesn’t seem to like people all that much, but she has tolerated me as long as I keep her with her old man.”
“That is so cute. What breed?”
“I think he’s a Great Pyrenees, and she’s a ragdoll. She’s around three months old, and he’s nine, so he’s a tired old man. Honestly, tired old man is my speed for a dog right now, as I’ve never had one before. He’s like a dog on training wheels for me, I guess. I’ve never had a cat before, either.”
Jacob laughed, came over, and crouched near my pets, holding his hand out so they could decide if they wanted to make his acquaintance. “You took me as the kind who couldn’t say no to an animal in need. When we’re doing the floors, I’ll make sure to get the best heating system I can for him, as he’ll appreciate it. I have a litter box set up in my office in case she needs one.”
“That’s great. Thanks, Jacob.”
“Come with me, and I’ll get you three settled in my office so you can get your work done. I’ll have someone bring up the boxes in a few minutes, but I’m sure you can discuss other matters while they’re ferried upstairs.” Jacob led us to the elevator and pressed the button to the clubhouse floor. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“Water or tea, please.”
“Black, green, white, rooibos, herbal, or would you like me to pick for you?”
“Chai if you have it, and I’ll take mine with no sugar or milk,” I replied.
“I see you like to discipline your taste buds. For you two?”
“Water, please,” Alice replied.
“And you, Lance?”
“Coffee, black. With extra darkness added if possible, as that’s what it’s going to take to get me through dealing with these taxes.”
Alice rolled her eyes. “It’s not going to be that bad, Lance. It’s just a little complicated is all. That’s why Garret sent Hope our way. He said she was qualified to handle this mess.”
Messes I could handle, but I really hoped their taxes wouldn’t be a mess. “I’ll do my best to make sure everything is sorted, and if you need to file any adjustments with the IRS, I’ll walk you through everything and prepare the forms so all you have to do is sign and send.”
“That’s the best news I’ve heard all day,” Lance announced.
“Hey, I got Ruby this morning. That’s the best news of the day,” Alice protested.
“How happy Ruby makes you is the second-best news of my day, but having someone fix our tax disaster is better news. That means I don’t have to try to make sense of the tax code.”
Alice pouted, which made Lance smile.
Damn. If I had a man look at me the way Lance looked at Alice, I’d have it made. “Well, I can take care of making sense of the tax code, and if I don’t know something, I work with a lot of people who do, so I’ll make sure they’re filed accurately. Don’t you worry about that at all. My job is to make this as painless as possible.”
Alice grinned. “I like the sound of that. Still, I’m sorry. I had no idea the lawsuit and getting married in the same year would make such a mess of our taxes.”
“That seems to be as good a place to start as any. What happened with the lawsuit to make it a tax nightmare?”
“I was awarded a cash settlement in an assault case.” Alice gestured to her scarred face with a shrug. “I opted against paying out the ridiculous amount for anything more than the basic reconstructive surgery and spent the rest on cars