“Instead, you spend most of your day cleaning up poop,” Deja said with a shrug. “By the way, Dr. Williams is checking on Sparkle, too, just to make sure everything is okay with her.”
“Good. Tell Evie I’ll be there in a few. I just need to finish disinfecting this suite.”
Her former college roommate, Evie Williams, ran a veterinary practice with her longtime boyfriend, Cameron, who had also attended LSU School of Veterinary Medicine with them. She came in twice a week to examine the dogs and provide basic care where warranted. Having a board-certified veterinarian on staff, even part-time, was one of Barkingham Palace’s biggest selling points.
Ashanti pushed up from the floor, picked up the empty spray bottle, and made her way to the supply room. She was refilling it with pet-safe disinfectant from a gallon jug when Leslie poked her head into the open doorway.
“We’ve got a situation,” she said.
“What now?” Ashanti asked.
“Marcia Lewis is on the phone again about Buster. What should I tell her?”
Ashanti dropped her head back and sighed up at the ceiling. It was a Monday.
“Tell her that our policy has not changed. Buster cannot be boarded here unless he is current on all his vaccinations,” she said. “And remind her that she did not have an issue with getting her previous dogs vaccinated.”
“She also didn’t have a problem with her dogs being microchipped, but she had Buster’s removed,” Leslie said. “Some people should not be allowed on the Internet.”
Ashanti had to agree with her.
She returned to the suite Lulu shared with her sister and sprayed every surface with disinfectant. If history was anything to go on, now that she was over her initial jitters, the dog would do just fine for the rest of her five-night stay. Still, Ashanti was grateful Evie had agreed to come over on one of her unofficial workdays to give Lulu an exam.
Of course, Ashanti could have done the same exam, but her clients had been assured that any medical needs would be attended to by a board-certified veterinarian. She wasn’t a board-certified veterinarian, even though she had almost finished her degree.
Brandy’s “Almost Doesn’t Count” began to play in her head, because her brain was her biggest troll. Ashanti headed for the temperament assessment room, which also doubled as an exam room on the days Evie worked at Barkingham Palace. Just as she arrived, she got a text.
“Gah. Gah. Gah,” Ashanti said as she read over it.
“You know, you’re the only person I ever hear using the word ‘gah’ in real life,” Evie said from the other side of the exam table. “The rest of the world only uses it in texts or when posting live updates about theReal Housewives.”
“But it captures what I’m feeling so well,” Ashanti said, her fingers flying across the phone screen.
“What are you gahhing about?” Evie asked as she flashed a penlight in Sparkle’s ears.
Ashanti sent off the text and re-pocketed her phone. “I just had to turn down an order for Duchess Delights treats from this boutique on Magazine Street,” she said.
“Why’d you turn them down?”
“Because they wanted ten dozen by the weekend. I justdon’t have the time to fill an order that big. I can barely fill the ones I have. And, in case you forgot, I have a daycare to run.”
“Your staff can run this daycare without you,” Evie said, scratching Sparkle’s tummy as she checked her parathyroid glands.
“My staff is top-notch, but I’m not ready to give up the reins of this place in exchange for baking doggy cookies,” Ashanti said. “Despite the occasional problematic owner or Pomeranian with explosive diarrhea, I actually enjoy my work.” She pushed herself up on the exam table and pulled Lulu onto her lap while Evie continued examining her sister.
“The thing is, as much as I love the daycare, I can’t ignore how quickly Duchess Delights has grown,” Ashanti continued. “I just wish there was a way to continue the growth without having it take over my entire kitchen. More than three hours’ sleep at night would be nice too.”
“It sounds as if you need a second staff for Duchess Delights,” Evie said.
“I do,” she said. “Especially once I move into the new building and open a full-scale doggy bakery.”
“You know what you need? An investor—a real one. You should try to get on thatShark Tankshow.”
“Uh, yeah.” Ashanti rolled her eyes. “I can just imagine Mr. Wonderful’s response when I ask him to invest a million bucks in my doggy cookies. I get enough sarcasm from the twins, thank you very much.”
“What’s going on here?” Evie asked, narrowing her eyes. “You’re usually so annoyingly sweet and positive that I need a shot of insulin when I leave this place.”
Ashanti hunched her shoulders and nuzzled Lulu’s head. “I just have a lot I’m dealing with. Kendra’s in full moody teenager mode, and I’m exhausted trying to run two businesses.”
