would appear in my fridge and ask, “Do you really want to eat that?” It would be much more helpful. Or remind me to take a shower.
My phone rang, and I picked it up to look at the screen. It said RESTRICTED. Before I started my business, I wouldn’t have answered it, but now I couldn’t afford to miss out on any potential clients.
The total upside was all the time I got to spend chatting with telemarketers about my insurance needs and potential credit card applications.
“Hello?” I asked, my mouth full of popcorn.
“Hi, is this Juliet?”
“Yep.”
“This is Noah. Noah Douglas? We met the other night.”
I sat straight up and shot all the popcorn out of my mouth, dropping the bowl to the floor. Then I fumbled with the remote, trying to hit the pause button. The last thing I needed was him hearing his own voice coming from my TV.
“Yes, hi. Noah. I remember. What can I do for you?” I cringed. I sounded so stupid.
“I know this is last-minute, but . . .” He trailed off, and my whole chest constricted. What if Shelby wasn’t misguided by her pretty-girl vision filter and had called this correctly and he wanted to go out with me? “I find myself in need of some emergency dog-grooming services. Could you help me out?”
My shoulders caved in. Oh. “Emergency dog-grooming services? You know that’s not really a thing, right?”
“In this case it is. My dog, Magnus, is obsessed with mud, and he managed to find some. Problem is that we have an interview and photo shoot we’re doing together tomorrow, and we both need to look our best. Can you come over?”
It felt like a heavy weight was pressing down on my chest as my heart thumped loudly. This was a job, and someone like Noah Douglas was well connected in Los Angeles. This could lead to more clients and more money.
So why wasn’t I saying yes?
As if he sensed my hesitation, he said, “I don’t want to be that guy, but you do still owe me one, and I’m calling it in.”
That was true. It didn’t make that panicky feeling go away. “Okay. I’ll do it. Where am I going?”
“I’m in the Hollywood Hills.”
“Text me the address and hopefully I’ll be there in about forty-five minutes.” I shared an apartment with Shelby in Pasadena, and given that it was a Sunday evening, I didn’t anticipate a ton of traffic.
“Sounds good. See you then.”
He hung up, and I just stood there in my living room, phone in my hand, trying to process what had just happened. Why would he call me? There were a million other mobile dog groomers. This made no sense.
Shelby breezed into the apartment. She’d spent the day with Allan and was in a great mood. “Juliet! Guess what? Remember that first-year associate at Allan’s office who was cheating on his pregnant wife with his secretary like a total cliché? Turns out the secretary is pregnant, too, and she showed up at his house and made a huge scene. His wife is divorcing his slimy butt.” She had dropped her purse and keys on the kitchen counter but stopped when she saw my face. “What’s up with you?”
“Um, Noah Douglas wants me to come over and wash his dog.” I put my cell phone down on the coffee table and dropped the remote on the couch. My pulse was jackhammering all over the place, making my blood feel too thick for my veins. I had to suck in a couple of deep breaths.
“What?” she shrieked.
“Not one word,” I said. I didn’t want her trying to turn this into something it wasn’t as I headed into my bedroom to get changed. I needed to calm down, not keep getting more amped up.
“That is not possible, because I have so many words!” she said as she followed me. “What are you going to wear?”
“Uh, my clothes?” What kind of question was that?
“You’re not going to get dressed up?”
“To wash his dog? No.” I went through a pile of clothing on my floor looking for a pair of jeans to throw on.
“I can’t believe you’re about to go over to Felix Morrison’s house and that you’re going to fall in love with him now. That man is so attractive. I’d let him Felix my Morrison any day of the week.”
“You’re engaged,” I reminded her as I pulled one of my business’s polo shirts out of my closet.