But it wasn’t the end of the world.
Stella was beginning to find the work hard going for another reason. Every time she began to get into a flow, her mind cast itself back to the incident at the bar the previous evening. Cole seemed like a mean, untrustworthy man. It was asurprise to Stella that Logan would ever associate with someone like that.
Why would Logan even know Cole?
Logan’s a good guy. Cole seems horrible.
There’s something I don’t know about here…
Stella was beginning to feel fed up with having to battle with thoughts of Logan, Cole, and what had gone down. Suddenly, the circumstances surrounding Logan’s arrival back in her life were beginning to swirl around in Stella’s overworked brain.
It was time to message the group chat and see if that might help…
Girls… help me out? I’m having a bad morning. I’m drowning in paperwork at The Dog Den and had a difficult night last night. I’ll say more later, but for now can you just send a funny meme? Tell me a joke? Anything? Love you guys, Stella Xoxo
Stella didn’t have to wait long for a response. Both Lilah and Nicki sent some classically giggle-worthy memes and it seemed to do the trick just fine. Stella was temporarily able to put the Logan-Cole situation out of her mind and get on with her work.
I’m here for the dogs.
My dramas can stay where they belong… at home.
I just wish Logan was here to help cheer me up…
After spending a few hours making inch by inch progress through the admin work, Stella decided it was time to check out.
Then after a quick play with some of the dogs, including of course the ever-loveable Sweetie, Stella made her way home.
The journey home fromThe Dog Dendid little to de-stress Stella.
If anything, it made Stella more wound up. It felt like alongside the Logan and Cole situation, she was also having to deal with too many other things too.
There was Lauren Treen at work.
Then on top of Lauren there was the pressure of knowing that the VP position was coming up at EcoPlay.
Then on top of that still, the financial situation atThe Dog Denwas being complicated by a land purchase deal that while good on the face of it, was actually far more complex to process than had been initially hoped for.
All in all, Stella was feeling the weight of the world suddenly coming down on her shoulders. And unfortunately, by the time she arrived home she wasn’t in the best of moods…
‘Enjoy your morning fun?’ Stella said, half-meaning it as a joke but coming across as a little spikey.
‘Ummm, it’s good to see you too?’ Logan replied, looking up from the iPad as he lay stretched out on the couch. ‘Everything okay?’
‘Yeah, why shouldn’t it be?’ Stella snapped back, not even going over to Logan for their now customary welcome home kiss. ‘So… you’ve literally finished the coffee?’
Stella could feel her blood beginning to boil.
Looking around the apartment, it was clear that Logan hadn’t exactly been spending the time cleaning up after himself. Not only was the coffee finished, but there were a couple of splashes of oat milk on the worktop too.
‘What the heck?’ Stella snapped again, making a show of cleaning up the spilled milk. ‘I know I have a cleaner in the week, but you could at least make the effort at the weekend to keep this place looking clean?’
Stella shot a look of anger over toward a shocked Logan.
‘Whatever,’ Stella said, her mood blackening by the second. ‘I guess I’ll just come home from a few hours ploughing through paperwork and clean up myself… it’s not like Daddies, orsupposedDaddies, ever clean, is it?’
This was enough to prompt a clearly perplexed Logan into action.
‘Hey,relax,’ Logan said, springing up from the couch and walking toward Stella. ‘What’s got into you, girl? Yeah, I’ve had a chill morning. So what? I’m sorry you’ve obviously had a less good time, I really am. But please don’t act out and take it out on me. Okay?’
