Page 63 of Second Act
“What you did was perfectly correct,” Jessica said. “I’ll talk to the animal welfare folks and explain the situation.”
The boy’s face brightened. “I guess they might listen to a veterinarian.”
“Of course they will.” She couldn’t bear for Diego to blame himself for some petty bureaucrat’s hissy fit. “It’s just a misunderstanding.”
When he stood, his shoulders were square again. “Thanks, Doc. Tell me what they say.”
After he left, she blew out a breath. She’d had some dealings with Animal Control and Welfare and knew a couple of people there, but she had no idea which department would handle the health inspector’s complaint. Time to call Emily at the Carver Center.
“I hear you had an unfortunate encounter with the health inspector,” she said when Emily answered.
The other woman sighed. “He’s new, so he feels the need to throw his weight around. We just had bad timing with Pari still being quarantined in the storage closet.”
“Does he really want to shut down the K-9 Angelz?”
“Who knows? He was probably just trying to intimidate me.”
“I’ll weigh in with my expert opinion if it will help.” Jessica didn’t want to barge in if it would only make things worse. Emily was a pro at handling bureaucratic red tape. “Tell me what division the complaint was filed with. I might even know someone there.”
“They won’t tell me much of anything other than that they’re sending someone for a special inspection of the dogs on Friday sometime between noon and two. Your presence would probably impress theinspector, but I can’t ask you to waste two hours of your valuable time just waiting around.”
“The K-9 Angelz program is too terrific to lose because the health inspector had a bad day,” Jessica said. “I’ll find a way to be there.”
She flipped through the contacts on her cell until she found the number of someone she could talk to at Animal Control. After she explained the situation, he said, “Doesn’t sound so good, Doc. If Health is involved, we’re gonna go over everything with a fine-tooth comb, just looking for violations. It’s kind of an interagency courtesy thing.”
“Is there anything I can do to make it go better?”
He huffed out a laugh. “Don’t offer them a bribe, if that’s what you mean.”
Jessica chuckled, too. “It might have crossed my mind.”
“Look, I know you and I know you’d never allow animals to live in unhealthy conditions. I’ll drop in a good word for you, but that won’t carry much weight. Mostly you’re going to have to cross your fingers and hope whoever they assign to the inspection isn’t one of the crazies or the nasties.”
“Any chance you could find out?”
“Wish I could help you, but it’s kept kind of secret, for obvious reasons.”
Jessica sighed. “You’ve been great.”
She stared at the wall with her patients’ photos on it, only she wasn’t seeing them. Scenes kept flitting across her mind’s eye: Hugh with Shareena and Cornell; Hugh with the usher at the play; Hugh with the boys at the center. Hugh could dazzle anyone with his star power and charm. An animal welfare inspector shouldn’t be immune.
Could she really ask him for such a favor after last night’s drama? She had no idea what his feelings toward her were now. Her gut twisted, because her feelings about Hugh had become...complicated.
But the Carver Center was more important than her personal issues. Hugh cared about it, too. She’d seen that when he’d spent time with the kids.
If he didn’t want to help her, he could always say his shooting schedule wouldn’t allow it.
Tiana stuck her head in through the doorway. “Hey, Doc, Boots and her mom are in Room 1.”
Guilt and relief made her jump up from her chair. She could put off the awkward phone call a little longer.
At six thirty, Jessica flopped down on her ergonomic chair with a sigh of relief. Carla had worked a miracle and cleared tomorrow afternoon’s appointments so she could be at the Carver Center for the inspection. Of course, Jessica would have to work an extra two hours on Saturday to accommodate the rescheduled patients. Now she needed to see if Hugh could deliver the same miracle.
She picked up the cell phone she’d left on her desk because her patients had been wall to wall today. When she saw there was both a text and a voice mail from Pete, she winced. There was also a voice mail from Hugh.
Pete’s text and voice mail were virtually identical. He wanted to talk as soon as possible, preferably in person, and his evening was open.
Hugh’s message was less problematic. “Jess, I heard about the photos of us. I hope they don’t cause you any embarrassment or trouble. If they do, call me immediately and my PR team will deal with it.”
