Holly Hollingsworth sighed. She had tried to get Christina to go through an obstacle course, but the girl was obviously only going through the motions. Her attitude had changed since seeing Sean. Thinking about it, Mrs. Hollingsworth came up with several theories.
"Christina, let's take a break." The dog walked listlessly towards her. "So, I'm going take a shot in the dark here. Are you the same Christina that Sean used to date?" She gave a whine. Mrs. Hollingsworth gave her a reassuring smile. "Well, your questionable taste in men aside, I think you have nothing to worry about. You think he will be concerned when he sees your photo? Imagine his reaction when we beat him."
Christina's head cocked to the side in question.
"Sean used to compete." Mrs. Hollingsworth revealed. "He could never win, and started saying it's because girls are better dogs. So, he became a trainer, and enters a different girl every year. He's a jerk, and makes an even worse trainer than dog." Mrs. Hollingsworth took a breath. "I'll admit, he will probably make some crude comments when he realizes who you are, but deep down he will be jealous. He wants to win, and when you beat him at the game he can't even compete in, it will drive him up the wall. What do you say, is showing him up the best revenge?"
The dog yipped happily and returned to her training. Her performance improved ten fold. Mrs. Hollingsworth watched wistfully at her new protégé. She considered herself a kind woman, but she wasn't one who gave empty compliments.
She had been serious when she told her and Jenkins that Christina was a winner. Mrs. Hollingsworth was a pro at evaluating the material she had to work with. Christina was a beautiful lab, and her employee photo proved she was a gorgeous lady. She had talent, character, and grace. If Jared intended on being human for these things, maybe she should speak with Jenkins on reserving Christina for next year.
It was there that her thoughts were interrupted by a high pitch yip. Mrs. Hollingsworth turned to see a small pomeranian resting on a pillow held by a butler. "Hello Loretta. " She greeted her old rival. "Still using your butler as a trainer?"
The dog barked.
"I suppose when you are experienced as us you don't need a coach to help." While she still had too much pride to regress herself to compete, she would be lying to say she didn't miss it. Mrs. Hollingsworth turned to Christina. "I'm training a new girl this year." She couldn't help but smiling. "Mind giving my girl a healthy dose of competition?"
Loretta's tail wagged and gave another bark.
"Don't get me wrong, I still plan on beating you. However, to make a diamond truly shine, you need some pressure." After a moment she added, "oh, and Sean is reaching levels of asshole I thought was out of his reach. Under no circumstances can he break into the top three. Agreed?"
Loretta barked again and her butler took her away.
Mrs. Hollingsworth smiled as she remembered her own glory days.