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?”
Honey-gold eyes brimmed with laughter. “We’ll make sure Madam gets frequent walks until we’re certain she won’t accidently leave any chocolate treats or ginger-ale geysers around the house.”
“And that’s another thing,” he was quick to point out. “Who’s going to walk her? We’ll need a private trucking service to pick up all she dumps along the way.”
“That’s the purpose of pooper scoopers. We’ll manage.”
“Not only that, but she’s a lot of dog to control. We live in the city. If she gets away from you she might break a car or knock over a power pole or mistake a policeman for a chew toy. Or … or eat some tourists—not that that would be so bad.”
Isabella began to giggle, the sound the most delicious thing he’d ever heard in his entire life. “She won’t fit in the Jag,” he added weakly, struggling to steel himself against that sweet, sweet laugh. “She’ll knock over the furniture. The house is full of priceless antiques, you know. She’ll probably dig holes straight through to China in my backyard, holes Isabella could fall into. Isabella doesn’t speak Chinese.”
“She doesn’t speak at all,” Annalise reminded him. “Maybe Madam can help change that.”
He couldn’t allow the forlorn hope to sway him. “And the barking. Do you know how much it’ll cost to replace the windows the creature’s barking will break?”
“I have it on excellent authority that you can afford it.” She gazed up at him with eyes capable of melting even his heart of stone. “Please, Jack. Please, can we keep her?”
His niece deserted the dog and flung herself against him, wrapping her arms around his legs and squeezing for all she was worth. “Aw, hell,” he muttered.
“I take it we have a dog?” Annalise asked.
“That isn’t a dog.”
“Elephant … dog … chocolate-and-ginger-ale factory …” She shrugged. “Is she ours?”
He blew out a sigh. “I don’t see that I have a choice. Looks like we’ve just adopted a Madam.”
Six
Looking back, Jack realized that Madam’s arrival in their lives changed everything. Much to his relief, he discovered that she was definitely housebroken. But she was also a total klutz.
“I’m going to owe Taye a fortune in repairs,” he complained to Annalise as he swept up the latest Madam mayhem. “That tail of hers should be registered as a deadly weapon.”
“You can’t fool me, Mason,” Annalise replied. She held the dustpan for him, then emptied the remains of the lamp into the trash can. “Admit it. You adore Madam.”
He glanced toward the living room where Isabella and the dog were curled up on the couch together. “What I adore is the change in Isabella since Madam arrived.”
To his concern, tears welled up in Annalise’s eyes. “She’s blossomed, hasn’t she?”
“Oh, yeah.” He wished he’d been able to bring about such a notable change in his niece, but he’d take it however it happened. The important thing was Isabella’s recovery. “I’ve also sicced my PI on the boys who dumped her. When I track them down, I intend to explain the error of their ways in terms they won’t ever forget.”
“Good.” She glared with unexpected ruthlessness. “I don’t suppose you have the power to arrange for them to volunteer at their local animal shelter? Maybe that will underscore the lesson.”
“Trust me. I’ll find a way to make it happen.” He grimaced, turning his attention to more immediate matters. “Now all I have to do is figure out how to keep that four-legged disaster from laying waste to my home.”
She caught her lip between her teeth, a frown forming between her eyebrows. “What are you going to do?”