Page 10 of Heart Me Up
I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. Craig’s eyes tracked the motion.Hmmm. “Silvia’s going to be furious. She already had to ban Corrie’s mom from her house because of drugs. I’m pretty sure she thinks Corrie doesn’t even talk to her mother, much less whatever this… prank was.”
“I’m so sorry. I don’t envy you having to tell her.”
“Yeah.” I took a deep breath. “Anyway, I really appreciate your help.” I was trying to think of a way to prolong the conversation when my phone started playing the 80s song,Maniac. “Shit. It’s my partner. Hang on.” I pulled the phone out of my pocket and, without greeting Amy, I said, “I’m off duty, you know.”
“Sorry, cupcake. Ochoa and Callahan are working a burglary, and a call came in about a dead body next to a dumpster. Possible overdose.” Well, shit. No chance to spend more time with the delicious pet resort owner. I sighed. “Okay, text me the address.”
I hung up and told Craig, “I’m sorry, I have to go. Let me give you my card.” I fished my wallet out of my back pocket and removed one. “Please.” I made serious eye contact. “Call or text me if you think of anything I need to know. That’s my cell number.”
“Okay. It was nice meeting you. Please tell your neighbor we’re so sorry we upset her with the condolence card.” I couldn’t tell if he’d gotten my unspoken message or not.
“Trust me, it won’t be you she’ll be upset with once I talk to her.”
Craig walked out of the office to show me back to the lobby. I followed, taking what I hoped wouldn’t be my last opportunity to admire his firm and bitable ass on the way to the front door.
Chapter4
Craig
Byron,a recently hired boarding technician, came into the office when I waved him forward and sat in the same chair Detective Walkoviac had sat in not even twenty-four hours earlier. And, wow, Melanie hadn’t been kidding about his being hot. I mean, his features weren’t completely symmetrical, but he had an attractive intensity about him and he oozed sex appeal. Black hair, dark brown eyes and taller than me.
All the buttons pushed? Check.
But I didn’t know whether he liked guys or not, so I wouldn’t be able to ask him out.
Convenient excuse to avoid the emotional risk Lisa had talked about? Check.
I sighed and made myself focus on the conversation at hand. Anytime a new employee asked to speak to one of us, it was usually a bad sign.
“Of course, Byron. You can talk to me or Greg any time. But before we get to what you wanted to see me about, tell me how your first week is going.”
Byron shifted in his chair. “It’s uh, fine. Kat’s really nice, and Callie’s been training me. She’s nice too.”
“Great. I’m glad to hear you like the team. What did you want to discuss?”
“I have a question.” Here we go.
“Okay, shoot.”
“So, like, I’m all on board to play with the dogs and stuff, and even the cats.” I refrained from rolling my eyes. I would never understand why people got weird about cats. He went on, “But, like, why do we have to take the dogs out to piss and shit?”
I hesitated, deciding to ignore his language, but…what? “I’m not sure what you mean. We have to take them out to relieve themselves.”
“Well, why don’t the owners come up here and take them out? That would be easier, right?”
I blinked a couple of times to see if it would help my brain wrap around his logic. It didn’t. “Um, well, the animals in our care are staying here because their owners are out of town overnight or at work during the day and can’t care for their pets themselves. That’s what they pay us for, so that’s what we pay you for.”
He wasn’t buying it. “I don’t know.”
Greg was going to die laughing when I told him about this. And I couldn’t forget to post a job ad before I left for the day.
“Okay, Byron. Obviously you have some thinking to do about whether or not you want to work here. Why don’t you consider it until the end of your shift and let me or Kat know what you decide?”
“Okay.”
I escorted him to the boarding area and made certain he went back to work. I was giving it even odds as to whether he’d finish his shift. I texted Kat to keep tabs on him and to warn her she’d need to start interviewing again.
Callie, Greg’s niece, was waiting for me when I got back to the office. “Did I see Byron come in here?” Callie worked at the resort as a supervisor during the day and went to art school in the evenings.
