“Oh yes, thanks for asking.” He smiled. “The man took quite a bad fall and, since I was partly responsible, I felt I needed to be sure he wasn’t hurt or anything.”
She cocked her head. “Responsible? Was it a car accident?”
“No, a dog accident.” He chuckled. “He was walking his dog and my dog ran in front of him, causing him to trip over his leash and wind up in a heap on the ground. It would have been terrible if he’d been hurt.” He grinned again, remembering Jericho’s long legs in a pretzel. “As it was, it ended up kind of funny.”
“You like dogs?” She had a pleasant face that became pretty when she smiled, which she was doing at that moment.
“Very much. In fact, I show dogs. Or rather, I have a handler and trainer who shows them for me. That’s where I was. Dropping off one of my dogs for my trainer to take to a show.”
“How fascinating. I love watching dog shows on television, but I’ve never thought of showing them.”
“What kind of dogs do you have?”
She laughed softly. “Oh I’d never show mine. Mine are total mutts. I rescued them and my friends say I picked them for their homeliness. But love’s transforming, right?” She flashed even white teeth.
What a funny and delightful thing to say. He returned the grin, then glanced to be sure his father wasn’t trying to get his attention. He looked up just in time to see Mr. Ricci surveying him and Elizabeth with a tiny self-satisfied smile. Brees let out a long exhale very quietly, but said, “What do you do for work, Elizabeth?”
“I’m a neurosurgeon or rather a neurosurgery resident at Keck.”
“USC. Wow.” No wonder she wasn’t too shy and retiring. He gave her a crooked smile. “Decided to become a deity, huh?”
He loved that she didn’t misunderstand. “Ah yes, we neurosurgeons sit upon the right hand of Zeus.” She laughed. “It’s a wonderful program.” She seemed to draw in breath. “Long though. I’ve been on staff for two years and have at least five more to go.”
Just then, the waiter came to take their orders and Brees asked for his usual salmon salad with feta, dressed with olive oil and vinegar.
Elizabeth said, “That sounds good. I’ll try it.”
His father and Mr. Ricci ordered risotto, which surprisingly was quite good at the club.
When the waiter walked away, Elizabeth said somewhat eagerly, “So you’re interested in nutrition?”
Brees nodded. “Just as a way of staying healthy personally. I’m not fanatical. I might follow up my salad with a serving of cheese fries from time to time, but generally I’m pretty good.”
Her eyes sparkled. “That’s excellent.”
“I gather you are interested.”
“Oh yes. I get to see close-up the effects of bad nutrition on the brain and nervous system and I think people need to prevent these conditions rather than waiting for someone like me to carve up their gray matter.”
“So you’re not all about pills and the knife?” He laughed.
“Not at all.” Her answer was more serious than his question, but she glanced at her father and the light in her eyes dimmed. Hmm. Story there.
Chapter Five
An hour later, they’d finished lunch, during which Elizabeth said little, but Brees was able to ask Mr. Ricci a bit about Artful Intelligence. He had to admit, his father had good reason to be so obsessed with acquiring the company. It sounded like they were a notable amount ahead of the curve in terms of artificial intelligence applications in consumer markets.
After they’d said their goodbyes to the Riccis who’d departed in a town car with a driver, Brees’s father said, “Will you be returning to the office?”
“For sure.”
“Good. I’d like to speak to you.”
Oh hell. That was kind of like when someone in a relationship said, We need to talk. Almost never good news. But he nodded and replied, “Of course.”
“It will likely be later in the day.”
Brees nodded, turned, and strode to his car, which Charlie brought first because he guarded it with his life. Brees handed him a generous tip, slid in, and headed for the office. Later in the day. Nothing like postponing the agony.
“And this is the shampoo that we need to prep her for a show, and this special kind of shampoo for the brown fur. Then there’s the conditioner and the spray.” Jericho pulled bottle after bottle from the bag and put it on the counter at the veterinary clinic where Em and Finn had just come back from lunch.
Em laughed and held up his hands. “Oh my God, I’ve created a monster. What is all this stuff?”
Finn peered over the edge of the bag. “What else have you got in there?”
Jericho grinned sheepishly. “Uh clippers and tiny scissors for the hair on her feet, and—”
“Feet?” Finn cocked his head.
“I know, right?” Jericho could barely keep his enthusiasm within the under-control range. “You should see all the shit they do to take care of dogs for shows.” He dug in the bag. “There’s even powder for her white hair.” He pulled on the end of the leash. “And this is a special lead just for shows. See how it’s all one thing?”
Em laughed. “We thought it would be fun to show her, but I had no idea. I mean, we’ll pay you for all this stuff, but are you sure you’re up to this much total immersion?”
Batshit danced around their feet. She hated it when conversations went on without her. Jericho reached down and scooped her up. He said, “I thought this whole thing would be just for fun, too, but man, you should have seen her. I mean, the second I tried to stack her—that’s what they call putting the dog’s feet in a show stance—she instantly self-stacked and looked like the cover of an ad for Westminster Dog Show.” He chortled. “And then I started walking with her and she got into exactly the right position and trotted along like the Queen of Sheba. I might just be having fun, but she’s in it for keeps. She’s a contender!” He couldn’t help it. He danced around a little like Batshit, and though she looked at him like he might have lost his large human mind, she let him dance without protest.
Finn shook his head and grinned at the same time. “It sounds like you had fun. So how much more training are you guys going to do before we go to the show?”
Jericho stopped dancing and handed Batshit to Finn since she was squirming. “Quite a bit. Not for Batshit, for me. First I have to get all the forms filled out and get her properly entered, so we’ve got to get her papers. Normally, it would be too late, but they’re making a special exception for Bat.”
“Yeah.” Finn nodded and petted her silky back. “I started on that when the lady called me about the show, so I should have everything we need.” He chuckled at a lick from Batshit, then said, “So you liked the trainer lady?”
“She’s great. Amazing. She even handles some champion Papillons for this rich guy who owns them.” Trying to keep his face straight while he said that only succeeded partly, because Finn looked up.
“Did you meet this rich guy?”