Part 2The Predator

Him: It’s not obedient?

Me: No, it’s very obedient!

Buddy was always so quiet. He was the most well-behaved dog I’d ever met.

Him: Then you’re not ready? I get it. A girl might act on impulse and then have second thoughts. It’s okay to change your mind.

Him: But if you ever find yourself looking for a master again, I hope you’ll come to me directly instead of posting publicly.

This wasn’t an impulse. Finding a home for Buddy was something I had thought about for a long, long time.

I defended myself.

Me: No, that’s not it. I’m serious about finding a master.

Him: Are you worried I’m a bad person?

He sent a few photos of himself along with a link.

Him: Here’s some basic info on me. I hope this puts your mind at ease. If anything were to happen, you have everything you need to expose me.

I clicked the link. It took me to a Wikipedia page.

Adrian Vance, noted entrepreneur and philanthropist in our city, just turned thirty this year…

Handsome, rich, and charitable.

My guilt deepened. I couldn’t deceive him anymore.

Fine. I gritted my teeth and typed it all out.

Me: The thing is, the puppy has… issues. I’m worried you won’t be able to handle it. A man like you could have any puppy you want—a prettier one, one with a better temperament…

Adrian: It doesn’t matter. I would never be ashamed of my puppy.

Adrian: And more importantly, you’re the only puppy I want.

My heart skipped a beat.

Me: The puppy… has some bad habits.

The words were hard to type, so I just let them all spill out at once.

Me: The puppy is very sensitive. It can have… accidents and drool when it gets scared. It has severe separation anxiety and is very wary of strangers, so the master would need to be with it every day. Also, the puppy is always hungry. It’s like you can never feed it enough…

I was fighting for Buddy now.

Me: Basically, there are a lot of problems. But the puppy really, truly needs a home and a master who will take good care of it. Can you accept all of that?

A brief silence followed. I prayed he wouldn’t just disappear. Buddy wasn’t pretty or personable, just an ordinary, traumatized mutt. Who would choose to spend so much time and energy healing a broken dog when they could have a perfect one?

Just as my mind started to spiral, my phone buzzed. It was an incoming voice call from him. I put in my earbuds and answered.

“I will love the puppy with all my heart,” Adrian said, his smooth, rich voice with a cool edge filling my ear. “And I promise, I will always make sure the puppy is well-fed.”

His voice was like a feather tickling the inside of my ear, and I felt a blush creep up my neck.

“You… you really won’t be ashamed of the puppy?”

“Never,” Adrian promised.

At the same time, another transfer came through. $100,000. The memo line read: Security Deposit.

“Are there any other problems with the puppy?”