Lauren poured herself another cup of coffee before she looked over the list Hakim had left for her. He hadn’t been kidding; there was no cleaning to be done. She was supposed to take Zeus to the dog park, and then run a few errands for Hakim. That much, she could certainly handle.

He had left instructions for her to take one of his cars, telling her where to find the keys and the code to get in and out of the garage. He’d also left a funny drawing that showed how to hook up the seat harness for Zeus. The note said to help herself to anything in the kitchen, and left suggestions for local restaurants in case she wanted to eat out.

She was a little surprised that breakfast had been so much fun. Telling stories about theater had been easy, and he had been a good listener. Lauren loved talking about her passion, but it wasn’t something she often talked about outside of her theater group.

But Hakim had listened, had even understood, she thought. That was unusual. It had been nice talking with him, too. It was easy in a way she didn’t encounter very often.

She decided that taking Zeus to the dog park was her first priority. Then she could bring the dog back to the house and do some work, grab lunch, and then go run errands.

Zeus was more than happy to follow her into the garage and hop into the car when she opened the door. He didn’t fuss at the harness, just wagged his tail enthusiastically. The dog park was only a short drive away, and Lauren clipped a leash on Zeus before she let him out of the back seat.

There were a few other dogs with their humans at the park, and as soon as Zeus ran off to play with them as soon as he was off the leash. Lauren perched on the top of a picnic table watching him run the perimeter. She nodded hello to the people near her table.

One of the women pointed to Zeus, who was playing chase with a large golden retriever, and said, “He’s gorgeous. Do you show him anywhere?”

Lauren shook her head, not quite sure how to answer. She wanted to avoid getting anywhere near the story of why she was there with Zeus.

“I’m just watching him for someone. He is a beautiful dog, though, you’re right,” Lauren said after a pause.

The woman nodded knowingly. “Ah, you like the dog better than the human.”

Lauren laughed. “That might actually be true. The dog certainly has caused less trouble.”

“In that case, keep the dog, ditch the guy.” She stood up as her dog, the retriever Zeus had been playing with, trotted up to them. The dog ignored her owner, instead nosing around Lauren’s foot.

“Come on, Zoe. Time to head home.” Zoe’s owner clipped a leash to the collar around the dog’s neck.

Lauren gave Zoe a friendly pat and then waved at the woman as she walked away. She’d often wished she could get a dog herself, but her apartment wasn’t dog-friendly, and neither was her schedule. She lived vicariously through her friends that had dogs, and hoped that one day soon she’d be able to have one of her own.

As she watched Zeus run and play, she thought about how affectionate Hakim was with his dog. In her experience, someone who cared that much about an animal couldn’t be all bad. And he had been so charming that morning.

But he could also be so arrogant. His attitude, especially at first, had indicated that he was used to getting what he wanted and would do whatever it took to make that happen. His whole plan to use her to get back at her mother was beyond immature, and Lauren wasn’t sure what had happened between the two business rivals to bring matters to that point.

Over breakfast, however, she’d seen a different person. A man who was funny and kind, and thoughtful. Lauren wasn’t sure what had changed, but maybe Hakim wasn’t so bad after all.

Zeus came running over, carrying a piece of rope someone had left in the park.

“What do you have there?” Lauren asked the dog, then played tug of war with him until Zeus let go of the rope and settled flat on the ground, his nose resting on crossed paws.

“Done already? Okay, then, let’s go see what’s next on our to-do list.”

Back at the house, Lauren made sure Zeus had water, then she curled up in a sunny spot in the library to catch up on her emails and check in with her VP.

Kayla answered on the first ring. “How goes the second day of servitude, genie girl?”

“Very funny, Kay. I am not granting him any wishes.”

“Except that whole wish of his to bring down your mother.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not doing anything to help him with that goal either. How are things at the office?”

“Fine. If you’ve got time, there are a couple of calls you could make. I’ve got a director and a location scout who would rather talk with you.”

“Yeah, I can do that. Text me the details and I’ll call them in the next hour.”

“Thanks. I’m going to send you a few things to sign electronically, too. We’ve got the final agreement from the new client, so we need your signature to wrap up the paperwork.”

“Got it. I’ll give them a call, too, to welcome them to the family.”

“That would be perfect.”

Lauren heard a worried note in Kayla’s voice. “Anything else going on?”

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone and Lauren could practically see Kayla dragging her hand through her long black hair in frustration.

“It’s probably nothing. I don’t want to worry you this week.”

“Kayla, tell me. How long have we known each other? I know you don’t worry without cause, so talk.”

“There were some wonky numbers in the accounting reports from last month.”

Lauren thought about what kind of problem that statement could indicate. “What kind of wonky numbers?”

“I don’t know yet. There were some payments that didn’t look right, and a couple of invoices that I’m sure were taken care of a few months ago. I’m taking a closer look through everything right now.”

“Do you want to get someone external to run a quick audit?” Lauren asked.

She trusted her accounting team, but there had been a few new hires as the company grew. It was possible that someone on the team wasn’t following the standard operating procedures, and that’s what was throwing off the books.

Having them look into the problem internally was one option, but if there was a problem, having the team investigate it could cause them to point fingers at each other. It wouldn’t be good for morale. But an external audit could keep the peace, and if it showed a problem within the operation, it would give her a chance to fix it without causing a fuss.

Kayla was apparently thinking along the same lines. She said, “Yes. I’ll get Greg on the phone and have him go over the books.”

Lauren nodded even though Kayla couldn’t see her. Greg was a friend of theirs from college who had started his own accounting firm. He’d advised Lauren when she was starting out, and the company still kept him on retainer for regular external audits.

“Good. Let me know what you find. I’ll be out running errands for a bit this afternoon, but text me if anything comes up.”

“Are you still wearing that awful maid’s uniform?” Kayla asked and Lauren could hear the teasing grin.

“Yes. Not so awful today, since I made a few alterations to it.”

Kayla laughed. “What if he rented it?”

“Oh, well, too bad,” Lauren said in a sing-song voice. “I guess he should have thought of that before he made me wear it.”

“Maybe he’ll let you have it as a gift when this week is up.”

“Funny, Kay. Talk to you later.”

Kayla, still laughing, said goodbye and Lauren disconnected the call. She didn’t like not being there if something was going wrong, but she knew Kayla had everything under control. Wonky books could be anything: a simple mistake, a sign of a poor process that she would need to update, or something more sinister. Whatever it was, she would keep a closer eye on the office for the next few days.

A thought flitted through her head that she could ask Hakim how he handled problems like this one. She could always ask her mother, but Lauren tried to keep her company independent from Patricia, something her mother encouraged. She was always happy to offer advice, whether Lauren asked or not, but Patricia had also told her several times how proud she was of the fact that Lauren could manage her business on her own.

It would be nice to have another CEO’s perspective. But she didn’t want to open her business up to him. She might be willing to give him a chance, but that didn’t mean she was comfortable with him having that kind of insight into her company.

Her phone dinged with a text from Kayla containing the background on the calls Lauren needed to make. Lauren put the question of talking shop with Hakim out of her mind, and focused on running her business for the next hour.

After lunch and running Hakim’s errands, she took Zeus for another walk. It wasn’t on her list of chores, but Zeus was happy to oblige; he tugged Lauren down the street and around the block while she let her mind wander.

If there was a problem at work, maybe Hakim would let her work out some sort of delayed fulfillment plan. She could come back and finish out her week later on. Though if the rest of the week were like that day, Lauren could handle the work remotely. She’d gotten more done than she’d expected.

And after that morning, she was looking forward to getting to know Hakim better. If she gave him a chance, maybe she could broker some sort of peace between him and Patricia. At least she could form her own opinion of him, instead of simply believing everything her mother had said.

Before Lauren knew it, the sun was setting and the afternoon was over, and Zeus had led them back to Hakim’s. His car was sitting in the garage, and so Lauren hurried inside.

The first thing she noticed was that Hakim looked upset.

“Hey, sorry we’re late getting back,” she said. “We were having fun exploring the neighborhood and I didn’t realize the time.”

Hakim shook his head. “No need to apologize. It’s fine. Thank you for taking him out.”

Lauren cocked her head. “To be fair, it was more like he took me for a walk, but you’re still welcome.”

He gave her a distracted smile in response. Lauren could tell something was off as he knelt to say hello to Zeus. She put the keys back in place and hung the leash up on its peg on the wall.

“How was work? Start any more blood feuds today?” Lauren’s tone of voice made it clear she was teasing, and she smiled to take any sting out of her words.

“Work was fine. It was a busy day, as usual.”

There was a bitter tone in his voice that surprised her. Lauren crossed the room and laid a hand on his arm.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” She knew he was supposed to be some kind of mortal enemy, but he looked preoccupied and even a little upset. Lauren supposed she was sympathetic, knowing what a bad day at work was like when you didn’t have anyone to come home and vent to.

Hakim stared at her, almost like he wasn’t really seeing her, then his gaze focused and he shook his head. He gave a short laugh. “I’m an uncle,” he said.

Lauren’s face lit up in a brilliant smile. “Congratulations! That’s wonderful.” She paused. “It is wonderful, right? Everything’s okay with mom and baby?”

His face relaxed into a more genuine smile. “Yes. My sister is tired, but good, and my niece is healthy and without a doubt the most beautiful baby ever to be born.”

Lauren laughed. “Is she your sister’s first child?”

Hakim nodded. “She is. And my parents are over the moon with their first grandchild.”

“Of course they are!” Lauren exclaimed. “So why are you upset?”

Hakim gave her a considering look. “Because I’m not there.”

In a flash, Lauren understood. She was an only child, but she had a large extended family. Her cousins were like brothers and sisters, and if she lived halfway around the world from them, she would be upset, too, missing all the important things.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “It must be hard being so far away.”

Hakim took off his jacket and dropped it over the back of a chair. He loosened his tie, and dropped it on top of the jacket with a sigh.

“It is. I was hoping to be back home, but my niece was apparently impatient to make her appearance. She was a week early. I hate that I missed it.”

“I can understand that. Can I ask how often you make it home?”

His expression was weary as he said, “Not often enough. Or at least, not often enough for my parents.”

“Ah, so you’re the disappointing child,” Lauren tried to make him smile, poking at his arm gently. “Welcome to the club.”

He snorted. “You are not the disappointing child.”

“Because my mother only has one child, so there’s no standard of comparison. Trust me, if I had siblings, I would be the disappointing one.”

“I doubt that.”

“You don’t know my mother,” Lauren said, rolling her eyes.

Hakim finally grinned at her. “Oh, but I do, remember? I’m getting to know you, too, and I’m certain there’s no way you could be a disappointment.”

Lauren ducked her head, wanting to shift the focus of the conversation off of her. “Your parents don’t support your business?”

Hakim shrugged with his eyebrows. “No, they do. It’s what they wanted me to do—go into business, be successful. They’ve always pushed me to be more mature, more focused, more business-oriented. And I’ve done that, or I’ve tried to do that. But to let my company grow, I had to expand it. Specifically, I had to expand the company here.”

“Which means you don’t have time to travel back home because you’re working so much,” Lauren said thoughtfully, intimately familiar with the problem of balancing a personal life with running a company.

When she looked up, she caught Hakim watching her. The expression on his face made her breath catch. It was as open as she’d ever seen him, and he looked like he was seeing her in a new light, too.

If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was thinking about kissing her.