When Emily's father told her that he would make sure that she worked hard during the first few months of working for him, he wasn't kidding.

Pollux Press was no longer an up-and-coming publisher and had taken over some top clients such as P. Nightshade and Jules. Pollux Press taking over such huge names created a shake-up in the industry, and despite doubts of their success, the company made massive strides. It probably helped that her other father, lovingly known as C.L. Moran to readers and Daddy to her, was one of the company's top-selling authors.

Fresh out of college, Emily was fortunate that her father was willing to bring her on as an intern. She wasn't sure what exactly she wanted to do in publishing, and what better place to discover her calling while working with her father? Even better, he allowed her best friends Kora and Tristan to join her in the laid-back workplace. Working with her best friends was a dream that she didn't think possible and having both of her fathers close by was even better. Emily knew she was fortunate and perhaps a little bit spoiled, but she wouldn't trade her life for the world.

Pollux Press was a casual place to work, Leo not caring for suits in the least, but the trade-off was you worked and worked hard. Leo decided to put Emily and her friends in the marketing department to start with, intending to allow Emily to try out different specialties. Kora and Tristan were beyond interested in the marketing aspect of publishing, but Emily needed a little more time.

Even though Emily needed more time to figure out what she wanted to do, she enjoyed her time at Pollux Press. She was learning more towards working in editing but working in the marketing department was rewarding. Emily had publisher's daughter privileges and was placed in the team working on their top-tier writers' campaigns. She enjoyed building campaigns around Phineas Nightshade's Phoenix Rising series, Jules's young adult fiction focusing on genderfluid characters, and her father's werewolf novels. Each author offered different challenges, and Emily enjoyed each step of the process.

Of course, it helped that Bentley Moore, the senior marketing director, was very easy on the eyes.

Bentley was a very welcome distraction in her busy days. Leo thought it would be best to have the office set up with open floor plans and absolutely no barriers. He thought it would raise company morale to have each department working in open-air spaces and with no single person singled out.

There were offices, of course, but Leo wanted a seamless workflow. He felt that it was more beneficial to have senior staff members working alongside junior staff and the interns. When she realized that Bentley sat diagonally from her at her assigned workspace, she had to agree.

Bentley was a few years older than her and absolutely handsome. He had dark brown hair with tanned skin and light brown, almost amber eyes that Emily melted over. His eyes sparkled brilliantly whenever the sun would shine in through the windows, casting his features in sharp shadows and highlighting his features. Sometimes Emily wanted to brush her fingers against the sharp line of his jaw and touch the stubble on his cheek. And God, when he smiled...Emily could stare at his smile all day.

He was tall, though everyone was tall compared to her short 5 foot nothing stature. Bentley stood at least a good foot taller than her, and Emily loved it. When they would all gather for quick meetings, standing in their customary circle near the café on their floor, Emily's mind would wander. She couldn't help but wonder what it would be like just to be in his arms, pressed up against his body. Bentley always looked as though he would give excellent hugs and even better snuggles, and she was nearly positive he had to be an excellent kisser. No man that looked like him could possibly be a bad kisser.

Emily was careful to make sure that she didn't stare at him too often from across the table and kept her focus mostly on her computer screen. Still, she couldn't help herself from finding excuses to work on her tablet instead just to have the pleasure of glancing up at him. The first few times he caught her looking at him, Emily knew she was in trouble. It was even worse when he finally started talking to her.

She vowed to thank her father at some point for having such a brilliant workplace environment even though she didn't stand a chance.

The problem was Bentley knew that he was handsome. He wasn't arrogant and didn't flaunt it, not exactly, but he certainly didn't entirely stop the flirtations of the other women in the office. The women that Bentley had to be into were tall like him, skinny, with flawless skin and not short little mousy brown-haired Emily. Bentley knew that all it took was him flashing his brilliant, lopsided smile, and he could get anyone – male or female – to do what he needed. It was brilliant and terribly cruel.

Emily knew that she could convince Bentley to be interested in her just because of her name if she really wanted to. However, Connor and Leo raised her with relative anonymity.

She was a child born out of a surrogacy arrangement in Connor's early days of writing and well before Pollux Press was built. With the rapid rise of the publishing house and Connor's celebrity status, both of her fathers feared for her safety. When she was much younger, the family had been victims of stalking by a man who only went by the name Vanargand, swearing he was one of Connor's werewolf characters. Luckily Emily didn't remember much of it, but she could still recall how often they moved homes to stay safe. Even though Vanargand was put in jail, Connor and Leo always worried. When they moved to their current home, they installed the best security they could.

With Connor's royalties, they were able to place her in the best private schools that focused on the children's safety. Emily joked over the years that she was in the witness protection program as every precaution was taken to keep them safe. There were tall fences, security guards at every entrance, and special reinforced glass everywhere. It felt excessive growing up, but Emily eventually understood. Her fathers would do anything to keep her safe. Even though her fathers were careful and diligent, she had a wonderful childhood. She never wanted anything, and Connor made sure to keep her humble to remember where they came from. Their privileged life didn't always exist, and anytime she started to get too ahead of herself, Connor would not-so-subtly remind her to take a step back.

College had been a terrifying time for Emily. It was the first time that she was truly allowed out into the world on her own, and she went to school half-way across the country. Since her fathers kept her name out of publications, Emily was mostly safe. Her school records listed her as Emily Moran, and that was how she introduced herself. Whenever someone pointed out that she looked a lot like Connor, who had been the donor for the surrogacy arrangement, Emily just laughed. It was difficult, but Emily didn't want people to latch onto her because of who she was.

She was frequently homesick, but she quickly learned she wasn't the only one a few weeks into her first semester. One day, during her Contemporary English class, she found herself listening to two of her classmates sitting in front of her in the massive lecture hall. They also felt alone, and Emily couldn't help but comment she felt the same way. After a few minutes of talking, the three found themselves latching onto each other. They liked the same things – pop culture, books, and all things geeky, and suddenly their little trio was born.

All three of them were avid book nerds unsure of what they wanted to do. Kora was studying chemistry, Tristan was studying history, and Emily was undecided. It wasn't until Emily suggested publishing that things finally clicked. It seemed like a logical progression with their interests. In the second semester of their freshman year, they all changed their majors; it was the best years of Emily's life.

By that point, Connor had several very successful books published, and Leo was a few years into running Pollux Press. Their little family was growing and expanding, and Emily's fathers were delighted in Emily's decision to go into publishing. Leo couldn't have been more excited by the idea of passing the publishing house down to her when he retired.

When Emily returned home to work with Leo at the publishing house, he decided that she would be given a pseudonym for her protection. It was one thing for Kora and Tristan to know her true identity, but it would be another if her coworkers knew. So, until the time was right, Emily Regan-Moran was known as Emily Donovan.

After a long day of working on Jules's newest campaign – one that seemed particularly difficult for some reason, Emily was more than delighted to head home. She logged out of her computer and gathered her things with a long, drawn-out sigh. It had been a very long day.

"Leaving already, Donovan?"

Emily's eyes shot up to find Bentley's, and she felt the back of her neck heat up.

"What do you mean 'already,' Bentley?" Emily asked with an almost nervous giggle. "It's six. I stayed late because you asked me to."

"I just wanted to make sure we got a head start before tomorrow," Bentley said with a grin. "You know Jules is going to want to see what everyone's started to set up for their campaign."

"Yes, yes, I know," Emily laughed. "At least we've just got to get through tomorrow, and then it's the weekend."

"I've been looking forward to it," Bentley said. He searched Emily's face for a moment, and he gave her a small wave. "Enjoy the rest of your night, Emily. I'll see you in the morning. Make sure that you come well-rested. We've got a lot more work to do if we're getting these ads out on time."

"Good night, Bentley," Emily said, flashing him a quick smile and leaving. Her ride was waiting for her just outside the building, and she was beyond ready to get home and rest. She didn't feel like waiting for Leo to be done with his day – she didn't think she would make it.

It hit Emily just how tired she was when she walked up the long, brick-paved driveway towards the house. She was practically dragging her feet the moment she walked in the front door.

Emily tossed her bag on the ground, pulled off her jacket, and let it fall where she stood. Leo could get it later, provided their massive black dog, Snuffles, didn't get to her things first.

"Have a good day at work?" Connor asked, glancing up from the laptop sitting in his lap to study Emily for a moment as she walked into the room.

"Papa was crazy today," Emily said, plunking down at the opposite end of the couch. She toed off her shoes and dropped her feet into the free space on Connor's lap. An annoyed huff left her lips as Connor tickled her feet, and she shot him a glare until he decided to stop. Connor sighed and set his laptop aside with a knowing smile, pulling Emily's feet closer to rub them.

"Was he?"

"It's Papa," Emily said pointedly, sinking a little into the couch cushions as she got herself comfortable. "He's always crazy."

"I know," Connor replied with the hint of a smile in his voice. "I married him after all."

"Maybe you're the crazy one, then," Emily smiled, closing her eyes as she let herself relax into the simplicity of their routine. After spending all day with Leo, she enjoyed the hour or two that she had alone with Connor. She loved both of her fathers equally – at least that's what she told them, but she certainly loved Connor more.

Emily told Connor all about her day and the campaign that Jules was looking forward to, and how over-excited Leo seemed to get over it.

"This is the biggest launch we've seen outside of my husband's!" Leo had shouted to the room, clapping his hands with a wide-beaming grin. "Come on! Let's give Jules what they deserve!" With that in mind, Bentley made sure to keep them all on their toes and working on everything as diligently as possible. Jules wanted to see progress being made and wanted to see it quickly. They were all excited about the newest book release.

"Hello, family!" Leo shouted as he stepped into the living room an hour after Emily arrived home. "I missed you both!"

"You saw me a few hours ago," Emily groaned as Leo bent down to plant a very wet and noisy kiss on her cheek.

"That was too much time apart," Leo said as he made his way over to his husband and kissed him sweetly.

"How come Daddy gets a nice normal kiss, and you insist on slobbering all over my face like a dog?" Emily asked grumpily. As if on cue, Snuffles bounded into the living room and leaped onto the couch and onto Emily, licking her face. Emily wondered if Snuffles' sudden arrival meant he had been chewing on the strap of her bag. Again. "Snuffles, stop!"

"Snuffles missed you," Connor said, leaning slightly into Leo as he sat down on the edge of the couch cushion.

"Maybe we should bring him into work tomorrow," Leo said thoughtfully. He looked between Connor, Emily, and Snuffles. "We haven't had Dog Day in a while. What do you think? We could even make it a family day."

"Well," Connor said slowly, looking at his set aside laptop, "I suppose it wouldn't be too bad of an idea for me to write someplace different. It's been a while since I've stepped foot in the building."

"My best-selling author doesn't have to ever step foot into the building if he doesn't want to," Leo said, kissing Connor's cheek. "He's my favorite star, after all."

Connor's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Leo, and he shook his head. "I think Papa is starving since he forgets who's named after a star," Connor said, smiling over at Emily and winking. "What do you say we all have dinner?"

"Pizza?" Emily asked hopefully.

"Anything for our little ray of sunshine," Leo said, pulling out his phone. "Sweetheart, I know you're technically off the clock, but I'm going to send you a few contacts. Set up a group text and let everyone know that we're having Dog Day tomorrow, okay, Sweetheart?"

Emily accepted the contacts from Leo and quickly tossed everyone into a group text to let them know exactly that. She closed her eyes again, resting her phone on her belly as she listened to Leo trying to order their dinner. Connor very carefully shifted her feet off his feet to get the kitchen set for their food.

Very slowly, Emily's phone started to buzz as each person in the group chat began to respond. She cracked her very tired eyes open to watch as each notification popped up on her screen, and she snickered quietly to herself. Everyone was beyond delighted by the idea of having Dog Day in the office again and hoped it would be a frequent occurrence once more. Dog Day had stopped during a very particular difficult book launch as everyone was too focused. With another successful launch on the way, it was the perfect time to bring it back.

But then Emily noticed an odd text.

I know it's Dog Day, but is it cool if I bring my cat?

Emily snorted, picking up her phone and pulling up the group chat. She watched as someone else mentioned they wanted to bring their cat, and Emily giggled at their message.

I think my cat Sprinkles would like a cat friend to play with, they wrote.

Who brings a cat to Dog Day? Emily wrote, not bothering to look at the names closely. But sure, bring Sprinkles along if she's not afraid of dogs. She has a sweet name – I hope she's a sweet cat. And I hope that means she's sweet like her owner.

The sweetest. You'll see. Besides, she loves dogs – it'll be perfect.

Emily loved cats, but she had no idea how the other dogs would be. Snuffles would be fine; he loved playing with the neighbor's outdoor cats, but the other office dogs? Emily wasn't so sure. She watched for a few minutes longer as other texts came in saying it would be fine and turned her phone on silent. It would be some time before the group chat died out, and everyone seemed excited, which meant it would go on longer than usual. In the meantime, she decided a quick nap before dinner would be perfect.

Winding down, snuggled up with her fathers on the couch after dinner, and watching a movie was exactly the sort of night Emily needed. Leo picked a silly comedy for them to watch just to relieve some of the tension for the day, and Emily was practically asleep by the end.

"Go sleep, love," Connor said, shaking Emily gently as the credits started to roll. "Papa and I are getting old, and I'm not sure we can carry you up the stairs."

"Hey," Leo said, reaching around Emily to smack Connor's arm. "Speak for yourself, Moonshine. I'm in the same shape we were in like when we were teenagers."

"Of course," Connor said lovingly. "My apologies."

"Well, I don't need to worry about you two breaking a hip," Emily said, standing up slowly and stretching. "So, I'll drag myself upstairs to my room. Good night."

Emily practically threw herself into her bed after running through her nighttime routine. As tired as she was, she still wasn't entirely ready for bed, and she decided to check through her social media to end her night. But first, she decided to read through the group chat. Emily wished she didn't.

Sprinkles the cat came up several times in conversation, and Emily frowned. Everyone was excited to meet Sprinkles, but Sprinkle's owner had long since stopped responding to the chat messages. Emily continued to scroll further and further to figure out who Sprinkles belonged to as chat participants disappeared. It felt like forever, but Emily finally found a picture of said Sprinkles, and she smiled at the white and black speckled cat before her stomach dropped.

"Oh, shit," Emily said, sitting up straight in her bed. She took a look at the empty grey chat icon and took in the letters B.R.M. in a panic. Cringing, Emily tapped the bubble to see just who the contact was, and her eyes grew wide.

Sprinkles belonged to Bentley Moore. Of all the people in the world she had to reply to, it had to be Bentley. She quickly scrolled further up in the chat, reading what she wrote once, twice, and then three times. Emily silently cursed herself for not checking to see who she was responding to, and she couldn't believe herself. She wrote that she hoped Sprinkle's owner was sweet. While she thought Bentley was absolutely delicious, she never wanted to admit that in any capacity to him.

Emily set her phone on the charger and hid in the comfort and safety of her blankets, fully aware she wouldn't be able to sleep.

Dog Day was going to be very interesting.