Jesus. This chick had my full attention now. Her legs were painted with the tightest jeans I think I’d ever seen someone wear. They rode low on her hips with her tank tucked in. She was rocking the country look with cowgirl boots and a cowgirl looking belt. Actually, she looked like she’d stepped straight out of fucking Nashville.
“Monty got in a fight the other day and now he’s sick,” Lisa said, in her soft little voice that I could hardly hear. She had her back to me so I couldn’t see her eyes, but I bet they were glued to the floor. She had no confidence and that shit me. How could her mother not see that? Not care enough to fucking fix it?
“His face doesn’t look too good, does it? If you give him to me I can take him out the back to the vet and we can get him better for you,” she said, coaxingly. Yeah, I bet Lisa would hand the cat over now; that voice could charm an alcoholic’s last drink from him.
Lisa gave up Monty, and blondie said, “I’ll be right back.” And with that, she stood and left us as she headed out the back where I guessed the vet was.
I moved to a seat to sit and wait; Lisa followed and sat quietly next to me. She seemed anxious, but then again, she was often like this. Our eyes were drawn to the front door as a guy and his kid came through with their dog. Up until that point we’d been the only ones in the surgery and it was fairly quiet. This guy was talking loudly on his phone, his kid was nagging him about something, trying to get his attention, and his dog was a bundle of energy; suddenly it felt crowded in the tiny waiting room.
He waited at the counter and rung the bell. Blondie didn’t come out and the guy was impatient; he hit the bell again. “Harlow!” he bellowed. His kid tugged his shirt repeatedly, muttering shit I didn’t understand, and the dog was traipsing around the fucking room because they’d let his leash go. I felt my temper fray at the edges; this guy was a deadset dickhead, and I was biting my tongue for once in my life. For Lisa’s sake.
He hit the bell again and then turned to me. “Where the fuck is Harlow?”
I stood up and was about to tell this asshole just what I thought of him when blondie made her way back to the counter.
She smiled at him. Fuck knows why, because he didn’t deserve it. “Rod, sorry to keep you waiting,” she said. Her voice was polite but I noticed that it was forced compared to the way she spoke to Lisa before. It was obvious that she knew him and that she didn’t really care for him.
“Yeah, well I’m in a fucking hurry, Harlow, so can we move this along? And just for the fucking record, I’m pissed that I had to bring my dog back. You idiots should have taken care of all this last time I was in.” he said.
My anger exploded out of me; I couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Hey, asshole,” I snapped, “Why don’t you give her a break? She’s busy, and doesn’t need dickheads like you speaking to her that way.”
His head whipped around and furious eyes landed on me. “This is none of your business so I suggest you stay the fuck out of it.”
I stepped into his space, backed him up against the counter, and leant real close. “Now would be the right time for you and your family to leave. I don’t like any of the shit that’s just gone down, so unless you want trouble between the two of us, leave now,” I threatened. When I saw him hesitate, I grabbed a handful of his shirt and snarled, “Did you not understand what I just said, motherfucker?” We glared at each other for a couple of moments before I let him go, shoving him hard against the counter in the process. Keeping my eyes trained on his, I slowly stepped back. Planting my legs wide, I crossed my arms in front of my chest and scowled at him.
Harlow opened her mouth to say something but I caught the movement and flicked my gaze to her for a second, giving her a clear message to stay out of it. She shut her mouth and glared back at me, her eyes widening in a ‘what the fuck’ type gesture. That shocked the shit out of me, and my concentration was diverted from the asshole to her. I’d never been given that look by a chick before; usually it was J or Nash who challenged me like that. I raised my eyebrows at her, and fuck me if she didn’t raise hers right fucking back.
I was snapped out of my distraction when the dickhead decided to listen to me. “Fuck you,” he muttered at me, and then jabbed a finger in Harlow’s direction, “And your boss will be hearing from me.” He grabbed his kid by the arm and his dog by the leash, and made a hasty exit. Not fucking soon enough, as far as I was concerned.
After he left, I looked at Lisa to make sure she was alright. She was looking at me wide eyed but didn’t say a word. “You okay?” I asked her.
She nodded. “He wasn’t very nice but I feel sorry for his dog; he didn’t get to see the vet,” she said.
I crouched down in front of her. “No, he wasn’t a nice person. There are lots of other vets he can go to though so you don’t need to worry about his dog,” I said, and waited a moment before saying, “Okay?”