Wishing for Wonderful (Serendipity #3)(33)
“You don’t need veterinary experience for this job,” he said. “It’s basically sitting behind the counter, greeting customers and entering their information into the computer.”
“Oh, I have computer skills,” Lindsay said.
“Good,” he replied. “Then you’ve got the job.”
Lindsay looked at him with a wide-eyed expression. “That’s it? You’re not going to interview other people or check my references?”
He laughed and it was a warm laugh, the kind she might expect from her father. “Aunt Eleanor’s word is enough for me. If she says you’re good, you’re good.”
Lindsay was near speechless. “Great,” she stammered for want of something better.
“If you want you can start today.” He motioned to the empty reception desk. “As you can see I’m without a receptionist.”
This was more than she’d hoped for. Lindsay tucked her handbag in the cubby beneath the reception desk and followed Matthew through the hallway for a tour of the building. There were three examination rooms with steel tables in the center, jars of dog treats on the counters and various posters on disease prevention. There was also an operating room, which Lindsay hoped to never again enter, and in the far back of the building there was a long room with stacks of cages along one wall. Some of the cages were large, some were small, but only three had an animal in them: two dogs, one cat.
As soon as they walked into the room both dogs jumped up and began barking. The cat seemed oblivious to it all. Lindsay looked at the dogs. Neither one was the dog she’d been looking for.
“Are these the only dogs you have?” she asked.
Matthew nodded. “Right now. In addition to veterinary services, we board animals for our regular customers. Sophie,” he pointed to the Yorkie, “is going home Friday. Butch will be with us until the end of next week. Another two dogs are coming in on Thursday, plus three dogs and a cat on Friday.”
He explained that part of Lindsay’s job was to take each of the dogs for a walk twice a day. He reached into the closet and pulled out a freshly ironed lab coat, a match to what he was wearing.
“You might want to wear this instead of your suit jacket,” he said. “There’s a lot of animal hair around here.”
Lindsay donned the lab coat and hung her jacket in the closet.
They returned to the reception room. Matthew booted up the computer then stepped aside and relinquished the chair. “You’ll catch on faster if I let you do it,” he said. Once Lindsay was seated, he began a step-by-step tutorial of how to access each pet’s file and what information she had to enter for visits or new appointments.
It wasn’t terribly different from the computer program Lindsay used at the bookstore, but catching a whiff of musky aftershave when Matthew leaned in to guide her to some new reference point was definitely different. Howard hadn’t taught Lindsay the Big Book Barn system, she’d taught him. And no matter how close Howard came, he’d never had anything more than the scent of dust and forgotten words.
After they’d gone over most everything, Matthew looked at his watch.
“Perfect timing,” he said. “Max Cohen is coming in for a checkup at eleven; go ahead and pull his file.”
One step at a time, Lindsay went through the process then after she’d entered the date and the reason for visit she turned to ask if what she’d done was right. She didn’t realize Matthew had squatted down in back of her so he could watch the screen as she worked; when she turned they were nose to nose. Close up she could see tiny green specs in his eyes, something she hadn’t noticed right off.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, “I didn’t realize—”
“No, no,” he answered. “I shouldn’t have been looking over your shoulder that way.”
At that very moment, the bell over the door tinkled and a woman with a large German shepherd walked through the door.
“Hi there, Max,” Matthew said. He came from behind the counter and bent to scruff the dog’s head.
Cupid
Pauses & Posters
Subtlety. I’m a master at it. Of course I’ve had centuries of dealing with women like Lindsay, so I’ve learned how to handle them.
Attractive women come with a built-in problem. They can’t tell lust from love. A man with lust is not necessarily a man in love. This is something a woman like Lindsay finds difficult to understand. Instead of waiting for her perfect match, she picks up the gauntlet and forges ahead, making mistake after mistake. The result, unfortunately, is always the same.
According to plan Lindsay’s where she needs to be, but it’s too soon for anything else. That’s why Eloise Cohen got into a heated argument with her mother-in-law and stomped out of the house five minutes early. If I hadn’t stepped in Lindsay’s over-the-shoulder glance would have led to something more, something she isn’t ready for just yet. Soon maybe, but not right now.
Until she quits thinking about Phillip and all her other mistakes, she’s better off with a harmless flirtation.
~
At the end of that first day, Matthew suggested Lindsay might want to wear jeans or something that wouldn’t pick up stray hairs like her wool suit. She nodded and then walked out of the Kindness Animal Clinic with a broad smile. Obviously he’d taken notice of what she wore.