This Monday, Margo is not her usual talkative self. Too many arrangements to make with coverage and she really doesn’t like to be gone from work for the length of this trip. She never has been gone for more than 10 days at a time. Perhaps, she thinks, it is time to relinquish a little control. The other vets are very good and Allison certainly can handle the management aspects of the offices. Margo doesn’t necessarily hire people very well; she envies Jeff’s skills in this, but over the years, she’s become much better at firing people. Vets who don’t love being around animals should find another life. Perhaps they do love them at first, and then life gives them other priorities, she reasons. She would only keep the vets as long as their mother bear’s instinct persisted. After that, they could go work with horses and cows, not that those animals wouldn’t know the difference. She just wouldn’t be responsible. As a child, her grandfather owned a dairy farm and there were certain vets in town whom he wouldn’t allow in the barn. He said they were rough with the cows and the cows responded by producing less milk with less fat. “A happy cow is a good producing cow”, he was fond of saying – and he kept his cows very happy.
As Margo sits in front on the computer juggling the vets’ schedules for the next month, Allison enters and says, “Let me worry about the calendar. You just missed Dr. Hudini’s call and need to call him back. He is going to send over a few of his “animals””, she says using the air quote hand gestures, “because they have some kind of infection. It doesn’t sound like these are pets. What is he doing with these “animals”??”
Margo relays to her what she spied in his office over the weekend, adding that she assumes it is some kind of a research facility as part of his genetics lab. She also tells Allison that he mentioned he would call, but at the time thought it was a redirection. Although, she was pretty sure he’d be doing some less than professional follow-up with Allison. “Al, specifically where did you find Darwin?”
“Just around the corner, down towards the Interstate.”
“Interesting – that is pretty close to Dr. Hudini’ s office. Maybe Darwin isn’t as smart or lucky as we thought. “
“Darwin isn’t like a lab animal or stray, not at all,” says Allison. After a bit of a pause, she confirms the thought, “NO, nor feral.”
“You’re right about Darwin not acting much like a feral cat, but the fine doctor did bid on Darwin, so I better ask him what kind of coincidence this is”.
“He’s dashingly handsome and seems quite nice, so I will be more than happy to thoroughly check out the situation,” says Allison smiling as she thinks about the tall, lean, handsome, witty, intelligent and hopefully eligible gentleman she met at the auction.
“So big of you to give one up for the team. You were clearly in attack mode at the auction.” Margo says, wondering if perhaps his interest in Allison had something to do with quick inquiry.
“He started the flirting! I was just being welcoming!”
“Yeah, welcoming with open legs!”
“At that time, I was investigating the lack of a wedding ring on those artistic, slim fingers. Oh, do Indian men wear wedding rings?”
“Yes, I believe they’ve practiced this tradition for over a thousand years,” replied Margo recalling information filed away in the “romantic” binder of her 15-year-old brain, stored during a cultural exchange program in high school. She knew it would come in handy someday.
“I’ll be vigilant in this investigation. Seems like every interesting guy I meet turns out to be a creep, so better to find out sooner rather than at heart break ridge. If subtlety and subterfuge fail to give me a quick answer, there is always the blunt method.”
“So, you are going to just ask him?”
“No, you will! I will check out his house to see what goes on there. He may have something hidden under his bed, so I will need to be a very slutty spy.”
“Why don’t you just sneak into his place while I’m with him in India?”
“Don’t you go ruining all my fun, girlfriend!”
“Oh, the things I do to keep good employees…”
“Speaking of that, I don’t mean to be a despot of negativism, but you need to double check the governing documents before you and Jeff hop on the plane, just in case,” says Allison, referencing the documents that outline how the business will run in the event of Margo’s death.
“Good point, Allison,” responds Margo. She put those documents together ten years ago and hadn’t updated them for five years. Lots had changed since then, and she needed to make sure the document indicated the company would be left in Allison’s capable hands. Allison didn’t know this.
“While you are gone, I promise to get your permission before making any “personnel changes”. Well, I’ll give you 2 hours to answer your cellphone, seeing that there is a time difference and you may be in surgery. “
“I’m fine with that, as long as you promise to fire Dr. Urchin,” Margo says referring to Dr. Urgon whom Margo had hired three months ago and was still firmly on the fencepost about whether or not to keep him.
“He’s a good vet,” says Allison.
“Yes, but he’s an asshole. And I have a strict no asshole rule.”
“Let’s give him a chance; we can use his competent hands while you are gone and I promise I will keep an eye on him. Not the same eye I am giving Dr. Hudini, but not a Greek evil eye, either. I think he may adapt to the culture here with some positive reinforcement.”
“Is he single?”
“I think so; it doesn’t sound like he has much of a life.”
“I’m not sure how anyone can be unhappy in San Diego, but perhaps he just needs a love interest to pep him up,” says Margo, thinking humans aren’t that different from cows when it comes to productivity.
“If positive reinforcement gets us nowhere, I’ll suggest drugs or therapy.”
“No personal attention?”
“Sure, nothing like a few blow jobs to perk these guys up.”
“You’d do that for our pets? Really?”
“Nope! Not at all. Elegant Indian doctor, I’m in. But, like you said, Dr. Urchin’s an asshole. We’ll need to find someone who doesn’t know him.”