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“I have Ensley,” she says.
Drew is behind his desk, Sasha on his shoulder.
“Does she always cling to you like that?” I ask.
“It’s apparently her thing,” Drew says. “Thank you, Maria. Set Ensley up for the full managerial position. She’s perfectly capable.”
Maria nods. “She definitely impressed everyone. Vera couldn’t stop talking about her.”
Really?
Maria leaves and closes the door behind her. I drop into the chair in the corner. “This has been quite a day,” I say.
He continues to rapidly sign several pages. “Mondays are hard, and being shorthanded makes it worse.”
“Everyone was super nice. I could tell that Vera was uncomfortable on the phones, so I’m glad I could help.”
“You seem to have fit in almost immediately.”
“I think so. I didn’t speak much to Todd.”
His jaw tenses at that. What is that about? Does he think I’m interested in him?
I set that aside. I have more important things to convey. He needs to know I’m only here to help temporarily.
His phone buzzes. Maria comes on the intercom. “Hey, I was talking to Mrs.Jennings, the owner of the cat we spayed last week. Callie. The calico. She got her cone off and she’s had some complications. Can you pick up line two?”
Drew leans in. “I will. Thanks.” He looks up at me. “Tomorrow is our dental day, so we have long periods of working on dogs under anesthesia and less traffic. It will be an ideal day to learn the ropes. I have every confidence that you will be in full control of your duties in no time.” He pushes a folder toward me. “All the forms are in here. If that salary is inadequate, we can negotiate. I took a moment to look at commensurate numbers for bank tellers and think you’ll be pleased. The usual government forms are in there as well. Thank you.”
I haven’t explained the situation, but he gives me a dismissive nod and picks up the line. “Mrs.Jennings. What’s this about Callie?”
I pick up the folder and head out the door. What have I gotten myself into?
Chapter 18
DREW
I arrive at the clinic early Tuesday morning feeling well rested and calm.
There were no chatty text messages or phone calls to navigate. The only email last night was the one with her paperwork filled out. Ensley is now safely ensconced in a specific slot in my life. Employee.
Sasha clings to my shoulder as I walk into the clinic and flip on the lights.
I check on our two overnighters, emergency cases from the day before. Betty already reported that they were fine at her midnight welfare check, and I woke up twice in the night to watch them on the webcam.
Both seem groggy, so I open their cages and give them some pets and a bit of medicated food.
It’s dental cleaning day, so the load will be light in the morning, other than checking in the patients we will put under anesthesia to work on their teeth. Cases will pick up in the afternoon when we see regular well checks and vaccinations.
It’s a good morning for Ensley to officially start. She’ll have plenty of time to make sure everything goes well with each patient, and we can take her through the entire process and make sure proper steps are followed.
All is well.
Maria comes in not long after me. “Looks like everyone’s recovering. How many dentals do we have today?”
“Four,” I tell her.
“We will have some calling to do with the diagnostics that ran late yesterday,” she says.
