The Billionaire and His PA novel Chapter 37

After she left Tech Town, Cassie took the train to the nearest locksmith, which was unfortunately located all the way across the city. She placed the dog carrier on her lap all throughout the train ride and got a lot of curious and disgusted glances from the people beside her. She didn’t blame them. If people weren’t so keen on minding their business, they would have had a lot of questions for her. How did she let the dog get so dirty? Why was she using such a huge padlock on such a small carrier? Was it just their imagination, or did the dog’s collar look a little too tight? Did she know that the dog carrier was stinking up the train?

When she got to her destination, she was quick to hop off the train and begin her search for the locksmith. Locke’s Locks located across a busy intersection and wedged between a thrift store and a diner. It looked out of place between the other two buildings as both the thrift store and diner channeled a dainty aesthetic vibe that Cassie found oddly peaceful. The locksmith however looked like a bland and sturdy place. Once Cassie had read about the business online, she wondered if the owner’s name was actually Locke or they had named their business that because it sounded clever and rolled off the tongue easily.

When she walked through the door, she immediately came face to face with a burly woman with a blonder undercut and kind blue eyes. She looked like something straight out of an action movie in her tank top, ripped jeans and combat boots. “Good day. Welcome to Locke’s Locks.” She greeted. “I’m Enid Locke. How may I help you?” She asked.

“I’m Cassie.” She said as she heaved the dog carrier onto a nearby table. “Do you think you can do something about this lock? I would open it but the key’s missing.”

Enid walked over to the table and examined the lock. When she turned to face Cassie, all the kindness was gone from her eyes. “How long has this poor thing been here?”

Cassie shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“You’re a monster.” Enid spat. Her loud voice boomed across the room. The dog whimpered at the sound, so she brought her voice down to a harsh whisper. “How could you live with yourself after treating this adorable thing like this?”

Cassie raised her hands defensively. “I don’t own the dog.” She admitted. “I rescued it from my boss’ mum. She sent me to get something in her car and found it like this. I asked for the key and she admitted to not knowing where it was. Then she got drunk and then basically asked me to take it to any restaurant that cooked dogs. That sounded like a stupid and cruel idea so I decided to not follow her orders.” She said sincerely.

Enid’s eyes softened and she ran her hand through her hair. “Oh. Sorry for raising my voice at you.” She apologized. “I just get really upset when people mistreat animals. What kind of boss do you have?”

“It wasn’t my boss that did this.” She replied, waving her hand over the carrier. “It was his mum.”

Enid nodded sternly. “She’s evil.” She walked behind the counter and came back with a huge pair of bolt cutters and easily cut through the padlock, barely straining a muscle in the process. The padlock clattered to the table noisily. She swung the door open but the dog still remained curled up at the bottom so she had to reach inside and pull it out. “What an adorable little girl.” She cooed, as she began to stroke the dog, ignoring the filth and smell coming from it.

“What do I owe you for the lock?” Cassie asked, as she searched her satchel for her wallet.

“You don’t owe me anything. All I did was cut the padlock. Anyone with a bolt cutter could have done that for you.” Enid stated, smiling at Cassie. She cradled close to her body like it was a baby. “What are you going to do with her? I would have offered to adopt her myself and take her off your hands but I have so many dogs at home already.”