“Not at all.” She tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I’ll think about it. Who should I ask, Noah King?”
“Yeah, he’ll be in the morning meeting. If you like, I’ll introduce you once they’ve finished.”
“That would be great, thank you.”
I check my watch. “We’ve got ten minutes. How about I show you around the complex while we wait?”
“Okay.” Her face lights up. “Come on Max,” she says, holding out her hand. He runs up to her and slides his tiny mitt into it.
I click my fingers at Ghost, who gets to his feet and trots over to us. “Come on then,” I say good-naturedly. “Let’s have a look around the Ark.”
Chapter Two
Isla
Cullen takes us across the reception area to the door on the other side that says Staff Only, touches a key card to the pad, and opens it when it buzzes. “Leon will give you your card this morning,” he says. “He’s the head of HR.”
“Okay, thank you.” I hold Max’s hand tightly. Even though I’m only at the Ark for a few weeks, I’m still nervous at the thought of meeting new people and working in a different clinic. But I so needed this change, and some time away. The official tagline of Noah’s Ark is ‘Rescue. Recover. Rehome,’ and that struck a chord within me. Max and I need more than a little healing, and even though the rehome is temporary, Sunrise Bay and the Ark feel like the perfect place to start.
I glance at Cullen as I pass him into the corridor. Gruff could be this guy’s middle name. Everything about him is rough and ready, from his untidy, wind-ruffled, short brown hair to his faded T-shirt, scruffy shorts, and scuffed walking boots. His manner is gruff too, his tone brusque, and I’m surprised he offered to show me around.
I might have misread the way his gaze scanned quickly down me like a laser when he first looked at me, and the electric zap that passed between us when our eyes met. But even if I wasn’t wrong, I’m hardly here for romance.
“So you work here, too?” I ask. “Is it a permanent job?”
“No, I’m leaving soon.” He turns right and starts walking. “That’s the break room. You can buy sandwiches, pies, cakes, and coffee in there, but you’re welcome to eat a packed lunch too. There’s also a garden with tables and chairs. And next door is the creche, which we call the Fox’s Den.” He continues on.
So… he’s planning to leave soon. I wonder whether he’s told Noah?
“This is the office block,” he says, holding open the door at the end of the corridor. We walk through it, and he lets it close behind us. “This contains the machinery of the Ark.”
“I can’t see any machines.” Max looks puzzled as he glances around at the desks and computers in the large central workroom. More doors on the far side appear to lead to individual offices.
Cullen grins at that—oh, he does smile! His front teeth are straight and white but have a small gap in the middle. “The sanctuary is a big company that takes a lot of work behind the scenes to keep running. That’s what I mean about the machinery. We have an IT department, a finances section, and a HR office, as well as general office staff.”
People are finding their way to their desks, carrying post and coffee cups, stopping to chat to each other as they pass. Potted plants and flowers in tubs bring color and a pleasant fragrance to the room, and there’s a Christmas tree in the corner, and lots of decorations scattered around. Everyone seems relaxed and happy. It looks as if it’s going to be a nice place to work, much better than the stressful atmosphere at the clinic in Auckland.
“This way,” Cullen says, walking across the room to a door on the other side. “This is the Forever Home, where I work.”
The door leads into another, smaller office with three desks and a front door leading onto the Quad. Only one of the desks is occupied, by a Maori woman in her forties. “This is Kaia,” Cullen says, “she’s the heart and soul of the Forever Home, and we’d all fall apart without her. Kaia, this is Isla Markham and her son Max. Isla’s a veterinary nurse, and she’s here for the next few weeks.”
Kaia smiles. “Oh, welcome!” She gets up to shake my hand, then Max’s. “Is Cullen showing you around?”
“He’s being very generous with his time.”
She winks at Max. “He’s like Ghost—he’s a bit growly, but his bark is worse than his bite.”
“I’m standing right here,” Cullen says indignantly, and Max giggles.
I try not to laugh as Cullen mock-glares at him, then ruffles his hair. “Want to see the dogs who need new homes?” Cullen asks him.
“Oh, yes!”
“Come on then.” Cullen opens the door on the other side of the room, and, with a brief smile at Kaia, I follow them through.
We’re at the end of the buildings now, and the door opens into a small barn. Cages line the four walls, around a third of which are filled with dogs and, at the end, some cats and even a few rabbits.
In the center there’s an open square section with tables and cupboards. Here, a man is holding a mixed-breed dog on a table, and a woman in a green tunic that bears the Noah’s Ark logo is checking a sore on the dog’s back. The two of them are leaning close to each other, their heads bent together. As I watch, she says something to him, and he bumps her shoulder with his, an intimate gesture that makes me smile.
