“Mm. Let’s see what the future brings.”
* * *
The future brought with it a rather wretched smell. Daisy the rottweiler had a…back-door issue. One so foul that Cooper was double gloving up and reaching into the dog’s…
Felicity’s eyes went wide. No, surely she wasn’t about to…
Cooper met her horrified gaze, grinned, and turned. “I suppose you’d like to know all about what I’m doing.” She directed the comment to the dog’s owner, a small man called Carl with worn sun-browned skin and dark eyes who looked older and more tired than any human being should. He reminded her of a sinewy old farmer broken from working too long in the fields.
“I’ve seen yer do it before,” the man said.
“Ah, but Ms. Simmons here is dying to learn all about my job.” Her fingers entered the danger zone.
Felicity and Carl both winced.
“Impacted anal glands are not generally life-threatening but can be very painful and difficult to treat if left too long,” Cooper said conversationally. “Anal glands are two little scent glands just inside the anus.”
Did she have to say anal quite so often? Devilment danced in Cooper’s expression. Felicity narrowed her eyes. Oh… She was doing that on purpose.
“The glands release a foul, smelly discharge when the animal defecates. However, sometimes this process doesn’t happen properly, and the discharge doesn’t release. If it is not treated and left to build up, the glands can swell, become painful, and even infected. So I’m here to determine whether they are full or not. Daisy here has had this problem in the past.”
The smell was grotesque. Felicity wished she was back in the van, but there was no way she was letting Cooper win this game.
“If full, you squeeze them. A foul content comes out, and the animal experiences immediate relief.” She looked down as the smell intensified…among other things. “Like that.”
Oh God. Felicity tried not to gag.
“If really full, I’ll often suggest the animal is looked at again in a month or so, and we repeat the process.” Cooper paused. “Are you okay, Ms. Simmons? You’re looking rather green.”
“She sure is,” Carl agreed. “Like she’s gonna puke.”
“I am not!” Felicity protested, but even so she backed away to get downwind of certain smells.
“It’s okay, love,” the man called out with a cackle. “I damn near puked up ma guts the first time Cooper did this to Daisy. It’s the smell, I reckon. Like rotten eggs, dontcha think?”
“Oh, for sure,” Cooper said, finishing up. She snapped off her gloves and put them in the waste bag she kept with her, then put on a new set. “Takes a strong stomach for newbies.” She glanced at Felicity and grinned. “How’s your stomach going?”
“You’re loving this way too much,” Felicity grumbled. “And for the record, that was the grossest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I’m going to leave you to it.” She glanced at the owner and tried to think of something positive to say. “You have a…fine animal,” she announced suddenly.
It came out stilted and weird, mocking almost, and both Carl and Cooper looked at her oddly. One with suspicion, the other with surprise.
“Glad you approve,” Carl said snidely, his bushy brows furrowing.
Felicity gave up, grabbed the van keys Cooper had tossed in a heap on her clipboard earlier, and left them to it.
Brittany gave an enthusiastic bark at her return, doing little circles of delight before flopping her head on Felicity’s shoulder again.
“You do know you saw me less than ten minutes ago, right?”
When Cooper rejoined them, this time there was a little amusement in her eyes. “Well, you tried.”
Cheeks burning up, Felicity stared out the window. “I meant what I said. Daisy is a fine animal.”
“You sure you’re in senior management at some international company? How is talking politely to strangers so hard for you?”
She wished she knew. Felicity could argue circles around the clones in gray suits who thought they were better than her until she proved them wrong. But that part of her life was bloodless and emotionless. In fact, there was no investment of feelings at all, unless you counted vindication when she won. All of that, everything, was about business. It was safe.
But here, now, nothing was centered on doing deals, and everywhere she turned, she was being hit by powerful emotions. Sadness, pity, anger, regret, and loss. It was horrifying. And she was only halfway through the day.
At Felicity’s silence, Cooper continued. “You just don’t seem to do the small-talk side of things well. I thought schmoozing was a prerequisite for those kinds of jobs.”
Sighing, Felicity folded her arms. “It’s insincere. I see no need to indulge in it.” Well, to be accurate, Felicity could distract anyone bothering her with irrelevancies by shifting focus back to work.
“So you’re out of practice?”
“I don’t think I was ever in practice.” Funny how she’d never stopped to wonder if that was a bad thing.
“You really aren’t like anyone I know.” Cooper’s gaze was direct and curious. “But Brittany seems to like you, and she’s an excellent judge of character.”
Brittany’s head lifted off Felicity’s shoulder and turned to Cooper, ears twitching at the mention of her name.
“Damn, I left my notes behind.” Cooper climbed out of the van again. “Try not to look too horrified if my dog licks you or something.”
“I make no promises,” Felicity sassed back.
Clearly deciding she’d been talked about enough without being petted, Brittany suddenly squeezed into the front seat and curled up on Felicity’s lap.
“Excuse me.” Felicity eyed her. “I did not give you permission to do that.” She kept her hands well above the bundle of warmth in her lap and gave the dog a suspicious look. “What’s next? You expecting belly rubs? Never going to happen. Do you hear me? Never.”
