Page 152 of A Dead End Wedding

I never took my eyes off the alligator. It advanced on me slowly, coming around the back of Max's desk. I waited until it was fully behind the desk, and then I shot around the corner and back around the front of the desk and down the hall to my office. I slammed the door and slid to the ground in front of it, flinching when a few hundred pounds of angry reptile slammed into the door.

Add whiplash to the list of Official December Vaughn Injuries.

Then I started laughing and laughing and laughing.

It was that or cry.

By the time I'd caught my breath, the sound of sirens was louder than the sound of my heartbeat. I heard men's voices shouting in the front room. The cavalry had arrived – or at least Florida Animal Control officers.

I put my head down on the carpet and peered out through the space between the door and the carpet, half expecting to see an alligator eye peering back at me. Instead, I saw a large bulky shape moving down the hall. Knees weak, I stood up and opened my door a crack. The animal control people already had some kind of lasso things around the alligator's neck and seemed to have it under control.

Not that I was going to get close to it and test that hypothesis.

Mr. Ellison shouted down the hallway. "Girlie! I mean, Ms. Vaughn! Are you all right?"

That he'd thought to call me Ms. Vaughn in front of the animal control people, at a time like that, won me over for all time. Mr. Ellison had a job with me for as long as I could meet payroll.

At this rate, that would be at least another week and a half.

"I'm here, Mr. Ellison. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he shouted. Then, to my utter surprise, he started sobbing. Harsh, choking sobs. I didn't know what to do, so I pretended I didn't notice, figuring I'd give him some privacy.

One of the animal handlers, a short guy who looked like a fireplug with arms, yelled down the hall to me. "Miss Vaughn? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. What about . . . that? Can you get it out of here?" I said, not stepping a foot closer, although the handlers had the beast almost completely out of the hallway by then.

The man pulled his ball cap off and shoved his hand through curly brown hair. "Yeah, we can get it out. What I'd like to know is how the hell it got in here."

Within another ten minutes, the handlers had dragged the thrashing alligator out of the front door, leaving behind chunks of torn-up carpet and a smelly substance that I hated to think about. I ran to Mr. Ellison. "Are you all right? Do you feel okay? Did it bite you? Are you having a heart attack or something?"

He pushed me away, emotion under control by then. Blinking rapidly, as if to keep more tears at bay, he drew himself up to his full height and looked up at me. "I gotta say that was the stupidest and the bravest thing anybody's ever done for me, December. Don't think I'll ever forget it," he said hoarsely.

My lip quivered, and I bit it before I started crying myself. "You would have done the same for me. In fact, jumping downto grab the phone was the bravest thingI'veever seen, so I'd say we're even."

To my utter shock, my words seemed to drive him back over the edge. His shoulders quivered, and he pulled in a shuddering breath. "No. No, we're not. Because I got Daisy killed."

He scrubbed at his eyes. "That damn alligator done ate her."

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"What?" I stared at Mr. Ellison in horror. "The alligator got our puppy?"

He nodded, his whole body shaking. At that exact moment, I realized just how frail he really was.

"Here. You need to sit down. This has been a terrible morning, and you might be in shock," I said, and led him over to the chair in reception, trying to ignore the huge gouge taken out of the side of my brand-new couch.

The alligator-bite-sized gouge.

Would my insurance cover alligator damage?

Do I even have insurance? I need Max.

Forget Max. I want my puppy.

I sank down on the floor next to the couch and buried my face in my hands. I could only be brave for so long, and the idea of my beautiful Daisy being a snack for that monster was the very last straw. I broke down and cried like a baby.

I don't even know how long I cried, but finally somebody touched my arm and started licking my face.

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