The Second Chance Hero by Jeannie Moon

she’d hit the adoption jackpot. Not only did Casey find a home, Owen planned on making sure the rescue had all the funding they needed.
    He picked the little dog up and smiled at his sister, who, it appeared, was wiping a tear from her eye. Casey licked his chin and snuggled into him.
    This little mutt was sure going to make things interesting.

Chapter 6
    He did what the rescue volunteer said and bought the dog a crate, but Casey lasted all of ten minutes in it when it was time to go to bed. Owen had to admit, she was a really good dog. She found a spot at the end of his king-size bed and stayed there all night. He’d brought her to his parent’s condo for dinner and his mother and father really took to her, although his Mom couldn’t resist getting in a dig about needing a human grandchild.
    As he got ready for work that morning, Casey walked around his room, moving between the bed, the floor, and then outside on the deck. The ride to the office took about forty minutes, and again, the dog just went with the flow. He wished he could get some of his employees to be so adaptable.
    Pulling into the Reliance campus, Owen marveled at the expansive building. When he left for his last tour, they were just starting the interior work on the converted shipyard. The shell was there, but there was no landscaping, no personality. Both he and Nate questioned Jason’s idea to move the company base from New York City to the coastal Long Island village, but he had to admit the place was impressive.
    Owen saw the reserved parking sign—in a camo pattern—that said
Reserved for the CIO.
He smiled and finally admitted to himself how much he missed the work and the people who made this place more than a business. Being in the corps was in his blood, and when he’d left, to help his friends with the start-up, he didn’t know how he’d adjust. But once they got into things, when the program started selling, when the business really started to grow, Owen loved it. Parking, he took Casey’s leash and walked down the path that went between the harbor and the building, past the basketball court and the day-care playground, and entered Reliance.
    Looking around the reception area, the place was still quiet, but he saw a familiar face at the desk. Carol Lusardi was an old friend of his parents who had been Reliance’s receptionist since they opened a real office five years ago. She’d taken the job when her husband passed away and she didn’t want to be stuck home alone.
    “It’s about damn time you showed up here, you rotten kid.”
    Coming from behind the desk, she captured Owen in a fierce hug. “Thank God you’re home safe. Tell me you’re done with it.”
    “Almost.” He looked down and Casey was sitting. Waiting her turn.
    “Who is this?” Carol bent down and scratched behind Casey’s ears. “New mascot?”
    “Yeah. I figured I needed to do something to make the place homey. It’s my first time at the new office.”
    She grinned. “That’s right! Do you know where your office is?”
    Owen looked around the spacious lobby, surveying the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out to the water. There were corridors coming from each side, and he didn’t know which one to choose. “That would be no. Do all the rooms have views like this one?”
    “Not all, but most. Wait until you see yours.”
    “You’ve got me a little nervous.”
    Again Carol laughed, lightening his discomfort. And there was plenty of that to go around. This company was one-third his, he helped build it from nothing, but he didn’t know anything that was going on, and hated feeling so out of the loop. He didn’t even know where his office was. A big problem in his book.
    “Come on.” She motioned him to follow her and then looked at the dog. “You too, puppy.”
    ***
    By midday it was like he’d never left. His office was part of a suite that included Jason’s and Nate’s offices, the conference room, a kitchen, and a central area