Page 76 of Vetted for Vengeance
I let myself stay.
Not because I have to.
Not because something will go wrong if I leave.
But because I can.
Chapter thirty-seven
Rhys
Ihave my surgery back. All the kennel dogs are out of my hospital block, office and home. They're still on site. Most in Noah’s barn, and the overflow still in my large animal hospital. But here, in the main practice, I can finally breathe.
Having Noah on board means I have an extra staff member free to work in the kennels, and they all say it's the best part of their rota, but giving Tree more consulting freedom leaves us a little short.
“The increased media coverage means consultations are booking up, and sending simple appointments to Tree is only easing some of the burden.” Danielle explains.
The meeting came about after complaints from the team, so now I'm sitting in the office with Danielle, my associate vet representing the voice of all my vets, Tree as head nurse, Martha, the office manager, and my lead receptionist, Carol.
“The phone is ringing off the hook,” Carol agrees.
“Noah has made surgery run smoother. We're organized enough for some extra demand, but we are turning people away because we just can't fit them in.”
“It will all quieten down after the pups are re-homed,” I promise. The same excuse I've been telling myself while watching my practice bursting at the seams. It's the same excuse I'll keep using until my plans unjumble themselves in my mind.
“Rhys, this isn't because of a few small pups yipping in the after-show,” Tree announces softly. “This is the result of a charismatic young man effortlessly winning over the nation. Rhys, we're running daily episodes after the news about the puppies. But do you know what they were filming last night?”
I shake my head. I try to stay out of the daily updates, or pup-dates as the producer calls them.
“Noah was sorting a drawer of different size syringes.”
“They filmed him doing that?”
“Yes. Pup-dates also includes tips on how to survive as a student nurse.”
I can imagine the scene. Noah innocently lining up syringes, while rambling about ‘one time he did something’.
Noah.
He runs my practice better than I can.
He talks to my fans better than I can.
I should want to kill him.
Instead, I want to stand behind him and take credit for everything he achieves.
But maybe, watching that has made me want to take a little of my own credit.
“I have a plan I'm thinking of, but it's not polished.” I've never bothered my staff with half-baked ideas before, always waiting until I have all the answers before making them public. But opening up to Noah about my dreams for the barn has made it feel a little easier.
“Plans?” Martha frowns. “You have a solution?”
“Not yet. As I said, it's just a rough idea.”
Everyone in the room leans a little closer.
“Porta-cabins at the bottom of the car park. A day surgery and a dental clinic. There's room for one more if anyone has any ideas.”
