Hailey returned, holding two slushes. Good. That should do it.

“Oh my God!” She laughed. “You did it!”

“What kind of shit are you two pulling?” I asked.

“Language, Hollis,” Elodie said.

I pulled out my phone to look at my face.

The red and black paint was shocking. And she’d drawn a little horn on each side of my forehead. They’d made me into the devil.

“So this is how you see me?” I asked.

“Remember, it’s all in good fun, Hollsy.” Elodie winked.

I wondered if she’d think it was all in good fun if I smacked her on the ass and left a handprint. Damn, I enjoyed that thought. Maybe I was the devil.

“Where’s my slush?” I teased.

“I didn’t think you wanted one.”

“Did you ask me?”

“You want me to get you one?”

“I’m just kidding, Hailey.”

“Here.”

Before I knew it, Elodie had shoved her spoon in my mouth. Now she was feeding me slush. I had to say, she had a very motherly instinct.

I felt a lot like a horny teenager having the hots for “Stacy’s Mom” right about now.Chapter 12* * *ElodieI set Huey’s travel cage down on the floor. “Hi. I called earlier. I have an appointment at eleven.”

The woman behind the reception desk typed into her computer. “You must be Mrs. LaCroix.”

“Definitely not. But I am Mr. LaCroix’s lackey, apparently. My name is Elodie Atlier, and I have Huey with me.”

“Uhh…okay. The doctor will be with you in a few minutes.” She stood and set a clipboard with papers on top of the counter. “In the meantime, you can fill these forms out, and let me know if Huey has insurance.”

I looked at her like she was nuts. “Insurance? Like, health insurance?”

“Well, yes. Pet insurance.”

“That’s an actual thing?”

The woman pursed her lips. “You can leave that section blank when you get to it if you don’t have any.”

I hefted the cage over to the waiting area and took a seat. The first few questions were easy enough—name, address, telephone number. But the rest of page one and all of page two and three were questions about Huey’s health history.

Great. Hollis was already annoyed that I’d had his secretary call him out of a meeting when I noticed Huey didn’t look well this morning. Now I’d have to bug him again. Not to mention, I hadn’t told him I was taking his bird to the vet with the credit card he gave me to use for food. I decided to text, instead of call.Elodie: What’s Huey’s birthday?A few minutes later he texted back.Hollis: How the hell would I know? He was rescued in Australia.God. What a jerk. And just when I’d started to think maybe I’d misjudged him.Elodie: What about his medical history? What shots has he had in the last three years?A minute later my phone rang.

“What are you doing?”

I rolled my eyes. Maybe you can’t teach old dogs new tricks. “Hello, Hollis. How are you?”

“Elodie, not now. I’m in the middle of an important business meeting.”

“If it’s so important, why are you checking your messages?”

I heard what sounded like something covering the phone and then a muffled, “Can you gentlemen excuse me for a minute, please?” A few seconds later, a door opened and shut, and Hollis came back on the line. “Where are you?”

“So you say excuse me and please to the people in your meeting and not even a simple hello to me?”

“Elodie…”

“Fine. I’m at the vet with Huey.”

He mumbled something I didn’t catch. “Why?”

“I told you when I called, he looks funny.”

“No one asked you to bring him to the vet.”

I sat up straight. “When someone’s in my care, I will make the medical decisions I deem appropriate. It’s part of my job.”

“This isn’t Hailey we’re talking about. This is a damn bird.”

“A damn bird who isn’t feeling well. Are you going to answer the questions or not? I have to fill out the papers before I see the doctor.”

“Where’s the office?”

“Dr. Gottlieb’s, a few blocks from your apartment.”

The receptionist called out. “Elodie Atlier and Huey?”

“I have to go. Thanks for all the helpful information.” I hung up before Mr. Grumpy could say anything more.

The receptionist directed me to an examination room, and a few minutes later an older gentleman in a white coat came in. “Wow. What a beauty.”

I liked him immediately, since he didn’t even seem to notice me and was actually referring to the bird.

“Thank you. This is Huey. I’m sorry I don’t know that much about him, other than he’s an Australian black palm cockatoo that was injured at some point and rescued. He belongs to my employer, who isn’t able to be here.”

“That’s okay. We’ll figure out what Huey’s problem is.” The doctor turned around, took a quarter-sized biscuit out of a jar, and opened the cage door. He offered it to Huey, who looked completely disinterested.