Page 708 of Filthy Elites

Dr. Katherine waited until they were out of the room. “Come with me.”

She grabbed a set of keys from the shelf by the door and walked back outside. She didn’t wait to see if Adrian followed her or not. She expected it.

Adrian trailed after her as she rounded the corner of the building and started up a set of concrete steps leading to a second story door with a small landing. “Where are we going?”

She ignored him while she placed a key in the lock and opened the door. Once again, she didn’t wait for him.

Adrian followed her into a small apartment that looked like something he had seen on an old 1960s TV show. “It’s dusty, the hot water takes forever to warm up, and the kitchen floor is scuffed, but it doesn’t leak and the appliances work.”

Adrian scanned the living room and what he could see of the kitchen. “What are we doing here?”

“Look around.” Dr. Katherine opened the faded curtains on the kitchen window to let in some light. “The whole place needs to be updated. I don’t think anything’s been done since the 70s except maybe updating the fridge. When Dr. Lewis sold the practice to me, he retired to South Carolina to be with his grandkids. He left most of his furniture here.”

Adrian leaned against the counter. “What’s going on?”

Dr. Katherine brushed off a chair at the small kitchen table and sat down. “There’s been some crime in the neighborhood and I’m a little worried. The house up the street was robbed, and someone let the air from Kelsey’s tires. We keep some medications for the animals on the premises and that could be attractive for criminals. I need someone to keep an eye on things here.”

“Okay…”

Dr. Katherine rolled her eyes. “Adrian, I would like you to stay in this apartment to make sure nothing happens to the animals or the practice. Maggie mentioned you might be in between apartments.”

Adrian looked down at the faded and marked linoleum.

“It would really help me out if you did this.”

Adrian looked Katherine in the eyes. “Thanks for the offer, but I can’t.” He couldn’t afford the rent even if it was cheap. “Between school and community service, I don’t have much time left to work so...”

“I’m not going to charge you.” She held up her hand when he began to protest. “You got a raw deal. You shouldn’t have gotten community service. As far as I’m concerned, you working here and keeping an eye on things at night is more than payment for this place.”

“But…”

“Listen. I couldn’t rent this out. It needs to be updated and I haven’t had time or the money to do it. And I know you are looking at me like you don’t believe me, but I do want someone here at night.”

“I’m not a charity case.”

“I never thought you were. Crappy things happen in life, and you can either suck it up and accept help from someone in the position to offer it or you can continue to sleep in your car. It’s up to you.”

“It would probably only be for a few weeks.”

“Stay as long as you want. There’s a bed with a mattress, but it doesn’t have sheets. Grab a few flat sheets from the closet downstairs. We keep some for when I have to spend the night in the hospital after a surgery.”

Adrian didn’t know what to say. “Thanks.”

“Let’s get to work. There’s lots to do.” Dr. Katherine turned and walked out of the apartment.

SEVENTEEN

Assuming is the Worst

Kelsey was watchingthe door even though she was telling herself not to. Xander, Cade, and Riley had been cleaning the cages and kennels for the past fifteen minutes while there was no sign of Adrian. They said he had gone outside with Dr. Hogan. She told herself that it was simple curiosity that made her glance at the door every few seconds, but it was more than that. She wanted to see Adrian.

She hated how they had left things and was worried about them working together. Dr. Katherine seemed to like him a lot. Actually, everyone seemed to like him.

The vet came into the main office from outside with Adrian close behind her.

“Hi, Kelsey. I have some great news. You know how I’ve been worried about the animals here alone at night? Well, Adrian has agreed to stay in the apartment upstairs to keep an eye on things. I’m so relieved that he will be here to make sure everything is okay. Isn’t that great?”

Kelsey’s eyes grew large. “Here? As in the apartment upstairs?”

---