Wild - Jaci Burton Page 0,3

badly.”

She stood and, despite wanting to end the conversation on a professional note, couldn’t manage to shake the smile from her lips. “Actually, I think you both did a pretty good job of making my day. Quite possibly my entire year. Thanks.”

“Oh, Abby. One more thing,” Mike said.

She paused. “Yeah?”

He pulled a file from his desk and handed it to her. “I want you to do the Jackson spay tomorrow.”

She grinned and took the file. “You got it.”

“You’re going to make a helluva vet, Abby.”

“Thanks to both of you. I’ve really enjoyed my time here, and I’ve learned so much. You’re really too good to me.”

Before she embarrassed herself any further, she hurried out of their office. After finishing up her paperwork, she hightailed it out of there and called Blair and Callie from her cell phone, scheduling a lunch for the next day.

If ever there was a need for her best buddies, it was now.

Holy hell, what a day.

“great move, dickhead,” mike said, watching abby’s sweet ass sway back and forth as she walked to her car. He reluctantly turned from the window of his office and leveled a glare at Seth.

Seth leaned against the corner of Mike’s desk and folded his arms. “Yeah, you were Mr. Suave yourself.”

“Fuck off.”

Mike grinned back at him. “Okay, so neither of us handled it well. Not the easiest subject anyway.”

“If you’d just back off we wouldn’t have this problem.”

“Or you could back off.” But neither of them would. Which was the problem they’d faced ever since they realized they both lusted after Abby. Not the first time they’d had this dilemma. Friends for over thirty years, they had grown up together, fought together, shared toys and battled over them, shared girls in high school and occasionally came to blows over them, too, but usually gave up on the girl before they let their friendship suffer.

This time it was different.

Abby was different.

Mike loved women. He mostly loved fucking women. He wanted to fuck Abby. Beyond that, who knew? But Abby didn’t give him the time of day other than respect as a boss, and that intrigued the hell out of him. Usually women fell all over him.

Okay, so her nonchalance bruised his ego a little. He had to laugh at himself over that. Maybe he was used to the adoration. Seth always referred to him as the pretty one, because he was tall, with black hair, tanned skin, and blue eyes, and he worked out enough that his body was in prime shape. So he had good looks and a great body and an easygoing personality, and maybe he used those charms once in awhile. All right, he used them a lot.

Seth called him a “pussy magnet.” It made him laugh, but damn if it wasn’t true. Then again, after awhile he wasn’t sure if it was his looks, his money, or his sizable cock that attracted the women. Maybe a combination of all three.

Funny, though, none of those seemed to interest Abby at all. And she’d been around the clinic long enough to hear all the rumors. Yet she hadn’t batted one eyelash at him in the entire time he’d known her.

Maybe that’s why he was interested in her. He’d never had to chase a woman before.

“So what do you think?” Seth asked.

Mike shrugged. “It’s up to her.”

“We probably scared the shit out of her. Especially you. You’re a little . . . much, sometimes, Mike.”

“What? My dick?”

Seth snorted. “She hasn’t been graced with the Nottingham Monster yet unless you’ve been waving it at her behind closed doors.”

He rolled his eyes at Seth and tossed a file at him. “Right. You know better than that. I save the pussy pursuits for outside the clinic.” A fact they’d both agreed to when they set up the partnership. Business was business. Fun was for after hours only. And it had worked well for them the past ten years. No personal pursuits at the clinic. No dating employees and absolutely no fucking at the clinic. No entanglements with clients, ever. A firm rule that neither of them had ever broken, much to the chagrin of many of their female clientele.

Of course they’d occasionally lost a client that way, but it had helped maintain their business and their friendship. When a client wanted more from them than just business, they had to say no.

But now they wanted Abby. Both of them.

And Mike was a pretty good judge of women. Abby might have been shocked, but she