“Oh. I noticed your website is outdated. I mentioned it to Marylou yesterday, but she said Marc handles all that stuff. Meaning he outsources it, I’m sure.” She shoveled a pile of gooey rolls onto a paper plate and handed it over with a plastic fork. “I thought I could refresh it. Give it a small facelift and change out Doctor Morrison’s photo and bio with yours. I think it’s time, right? He’s only been retired for months. Do you have a headshot I can use?”
Oh, boy. He wasdefinitelyin trouble.
“Conner?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah?”
“I have a photo and bio. I’ll email it to you.”
She plated another set of sticky rolls and took a deep breath. “Wish me luck.”
“You don’t need it.” He was definitely flirting. Not that he meant to. It just happened naturally around her now. He yearned to prolong the conversation, even if for a minute. “Did he tell you he signed up for the bachelor auction?”
Sadie stopped halfway to Marc’s office door. “You’re kidding.”
“I did too.” He regretted the application the second he hitsendyesterday. But he couldn’t back out now. Better that Sadie find out from him than at the festival when she discovered him on stage. With any luck, maybe she’d bid on him. Maybe Marc wouldn’t slug him if she won. One could hope.
“Oh.” Her expression morphed from happy to confused to unreadable all in two seconds. “It’s for a good cause. That animal shelter needs some renovations for sure.” With that, she turned her attention to Marc’s office door and dared a knock. Conner took it as his cue to be anywhere else.
Within minutes, his day was underway with his first patient, a husky lab mix in need of his first official checkup. Conner recognized the one-year-old pup from the shelter and was happy to see he’d found a home with two other dogs to help burn his excessive amounts of energy.
His day moved from one appointment to another in a blur. A cranky Siamese with a lot to say about the medicated eye drops Conner prescribed. A cocker spaniel with a strong dislike for the cone of shame that nearly lost Conner a finger. An overly dramatic corgi who wanted the entire town to think he was dying during a routine nail clipping.
When a break for a late lunch finally arrived, Conner realized he only had half an hour until he needed to leave for his shift at the local shelter. He should warm up the leftover fettuccini alfredo and eat it in his office. Instead, he slipped out up front to ensure Sadie received his headshot for the website. Never mind the emailedthankswith a smiley face she’d sent him hours ago.
“I think I can confidently leave for lunch and not have a panic attack while I’m gone,” Marylou said, flashing Sadie an actual smile as she pulled on her jacket. “Don’t tell Judy, but I might actually miss you next week.”
Conner waited until the coast was clear before he came out of his hiding spot. “How’s the website update coming?”
Sadie visibly jumped in her chair before she spun around at him. “Were you a ninja in another life?”
“I like to think so. A pirate in another. I always thought it would be fun to sail the seven seas searching for treasure.”
“You mean robbing and pilfering riches from other ships?”
“When you put it that way . . .” He could get used to this. So easily.Tooeasily. “Did Marc grant you full access to the website?”
“Definegrant.” She bit down on her bottom lip as she pulled up a webpage that featured his headshot and bio. As well as a brand-new background color and upbeat theme. Even the font seemed happier than the old version. “He gave me the login info.”
“This is really good, Sadie.”
“You think so? I wish there were photos of the animals. I could post them on social media. Or at least with customer reviews. Marylou said you guys don’t even send an email survey after visits. I mean, it’s not like youneedmore business. You have almost more than you can handle. But still.”
“You really have a knack for this, don’t you?”
“For website updates?”
“For identifying areas businesses could improve their image.”
“Or grow.” Her radiant smile alone was worth the truthful compliment.
“Have you thought about starting your own business?”
“I’m just focused on one business right now.”
“This one?” he asked, confused.
