Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune

Wallace hadn’t even heard him approach. He glared at the cable that
connected them.
Hugo smiled. “What’s this?”
“How are you so quiet?” Wallace asked.
“Practice,” Hugo said with a chuckle as he patted the slope of his
stomach. “Or maybe you weren’t paying attention. Come on. Get up.”
“Why?” He hugged his legs tighter.
“Because I want to show you the kitchen.”
“It’s a kitchen,” Wallace said. “Once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them
all.”
“Humor me.”
“I highly doubt I want to do that at all.”
Hugo nodded. “Suit yourself. Apollo.”
Wallace yelped as the dog ran through the closest wall. He circled around
Hugo, sniffing his feet and legs. Once he’d finished his inspection, he sat
down next to Hugo, his one ear flopping over.
“Good boy,” Hugo said. He nodded toward Wallace. “Lick.”
Wallace said, “What? Wait, no! No lick! No—”
Apollo licked quite furiously. His tongue slobbered on Wallace’s face and
then his arms when he tried to shield himself from what most certainly
amounted to assault by canine. He attempted to shove the dog off him, but
Apollo was heavy. His breath was terrible, and for a brief moment, Wallace
wondered about his own breath, because he hadn’t brushed his teeth in days.
But then that train of thought derailed quite spectacularly when he opened his
mouth to shout, only to have dog tongue brush against his own.
“Ack! No! Why! Why.”
“Apollo,” Hugo said mildly.
Apollo immediately stepped back, sitting once again beside Hugo, looking
down at Wallace as if he were the asshole in this situation.
“Kitchen?” Hugo asked.
“I will destroy everything you love,” Wallace threatened.
“Does that ever work on anyone?” Hugo sounded honestly curious.
“Yes. All the time.” Granted, he hadn’t used those exact words before, but
people had learned to fear him. Those in his employ, those not in his employ.
Colleagues. Judges. A few children, but the less said about that the better.