Annalise moistened her lips, lips he’d taken great delight in kissing only the night before. If she hadn’t chosen such an underhanded distraction, his brain cells would have stayed where they belonged instead of draining out of his ears and puddling on the floor.
“Maybe we should discuss this first, before you make any rash decisions.” She didn’t phrase it like a suggestion. In fact, it sounded suspiciously like a demand. “I don’t see why we can’t keep her until you track down the owners.”
“Is that your new nanny?” Mrs. Westcott asked. “She sounds like a sensible woman.”
With the female-to-male ratio running three-to-one against him—he eyed the dog—no, make that four-to-one—the odds were definitely not in his favor. “I never make rash decisions,” he announced in a no-nonsense tone of voice. “And considering I’m the one in charge around here, I believe that makes me best qualified to decide whether or not it’s appropriate to call Animal Control.”
Mrs. Westcott snorted.
“It would only be for a day,” Annalise stated, sounding far too authoritative for an employee. “Two, at most.”
“There’s a simple way to resolve this,” Jack said.
He thanked the housekeeper for her assistance and snapped the phone closed with a decisive click before approaching the dog and examining the rabies tag. Sure enough, it listed the address and phone number of the clinic where the shot had been administered. He placed the call and within minutes was handed off to the veterinarian.
“I know the dog you mean. Dane/mastiff mix,” the vet said, confirming Jack’s guess. “That’s Madam. She is—or perhaps more accurately based on what you’re telling me—was the mascot for a college fraternity. They weren’t supposed to have her and were told not to bring her back. Apparently, they played several rounds of beer pong in order to determine who’d be the one taking her home. The boy who lost is the one who brought her in. I gather his parents insisted before she moved in.”
“I don’t suppose you have a name or phone number?”
“I do, for all the good it’ll do you. How does the last name ‘Zur,’ first name ‘Lou,’ strike you?”
“Lou Zur?” Jack groaned. “Loser?”
“Hmm. Clever lads, these college boys. It gives me such hope for the future of our country. You can check the home number he gave, but it’s probably a local bar or strip joint. My guess is that when the boy showed up at home with Madam his parents changed their mind about keeping her. Dumping the dog must have been his brilliant solution to the problem. I wish I could claim his behavior was the exception, but if you visited an animal shelter, you’d see it isn’t.”
“Is there anything else you can tell me?” Jack asked.
The sound of rustling papers drifted through the receiver. “I can tell you that Madam is approximately two and a half years old, in excellent health and all her shots are up-to-date.”
“Thank you. I appreciate your assistance.”
“If you plan on adopting her, I can fax you her medical records.”
“I’ll let you know.” He disconnected the call and swore beneath his breath. Now what? He turned and faced Annalise and Isabella, wincing at the undisguised hope gleaming in their eyes. They must have guessed from what little they’d heard that all had not gone well. Or rather, it had gone extremely well … for them.
“The dog’s name is Madam,” he stalled.
“What about the owner?” Annalise asked. “Did the vet have any contact information?”
He didn’t have a choice. He gave her the facts in short, terse sentences and then handed down his final edict. It was the only logical choice and he made his decision crystal-clear and without exceptions or loopholes, question or qualification. And he used his most intimidating tone of voice, the one that left his employees trembling. The tone that had his various vice presidents and board members scrambling to obey. The tone that no one had dared to openly defy in the decade he’d spent building his empire.
“We are going to turn this dog over to the shelter,” he pronounced. “End of discussion.”
Annalise didn’t so much as quiver, let alone tremble. And there wasn’t the slightest inkling of a scramble. Instead she shot a pointed look in Isabella’s direction before folding her arms across her chest in open defiance. “I think we should consider keeping Madam. She might help with certain adjustment issues.”
Didn’t she get it? He didn’t argue with employees. He spoke; they obeyed. “Help in what way?” he argued. “By eating us out of house and home? By scaring my neighbors? What if that animal drives off Sara and Brett? I can barely keep a nanny as it is. Now you want to deprive me of my housekeeper and handyman, too?”
“I’m sure they’ll both fall in love with Madam.” Beside her, Isabella nodded eagerly. “Plus, helping to take care of a dog will teach your niece responsibility.” Annalise lowered her voice, knocking the final nail into his coffin with a husky plea. “And maybe it’ll help with her grief.”
“You … I …” He ground his teeth together. “This isn’t a conversation to have in front of Isabella and you damn well know it,” he informed Annalise.
“Language.”
“Oh, you’re going to hear some language, just as soon as I get you alone.”
“I don’t think it’s wise to leave Madam unattended with Isabella,” Annalise objected, the wicked twinkle in her eye at direct odds with the demureness of her expression. “Not until we know that it’s safe.”
“Exactly.” He seized on the excuse. He pointed toward Madam. “That animal is too big. She could accidently injure Isabella.”
“So far she’s been very gentle. Not to mention protective. And if she was raised at a dorm, she’s accustomed to being around young people.”
“We don’t know if the mutt is housebroken. Look at the size of her. In case you’re unaware of it, there’s a distinct correlation between the size of an animal and the size of its steaming piles of sh—” He broke off at Annalise’s warning look. “Chunks of chocolate, not to mention the lakes of pi— Son of a bi—” It was all he could do not to rip his hair out by the roots. “Geysers of ginger ale. Who’s going to clean that up?”