"So the point of all this is that we believe it would be mutually beneficial, and would would really appreciate it if you would join in on the fundraisers and awareness events for the South African rain forest, Mr. Davis. With a blossoming business like yours that promotes organic components and all-natural materials, it would achieve a lot for rainforest preservation if you spoke up about the horrible, heinous things being done to our forests."
Jackson had his ear to his cellphone as the activist woman droned on and on, repeating herself for the third time. He barely heard any of it. His heart had jumped up into his throat and he felt sick to his stomach as Marie, the SmartPaws receptionist, disclosed the information about Max's accident. How some younger woman had brought him in all swaddled up in a blanket and they'd taken him back for emergency surgery, and that he was going under anesthesia as they spoke. Jack swallowed sharply and looked over at the activist woman, still talking, and held up a hand to her. His hand was trembling.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to cut this short. Ted can reschedule this meeting for another time, I have to go."
"But-"
Jackson had already turned his back and was heading out of the meeting room and down the hall to his office. He swallowed and spoke up to Marie finally, his voice wavering a bit.
"How severe are the injuries? Broken bones?"
"The woman that brought him in said that his legs looked...erm...'messed up', but that's all the information I have thus far, Mr. Davis. We'll know more once he's in surgery."
Jack swore under his breath. "All right, thank you. I'll be there as quick as I can."
"Mr. Davis?" Marie spoke up once more, sounding a bit more timid.
"What is it?" he barked back, pulling on his blazer.
"The woman that brought him in is still here. She's in the waiting area and...refused to leave. I just thought you should be aware."
Jackson rolled his eyes. Now he had to contend with an injured dog and a hysterical woman in the emergency vet? Fucking perfect. He hung up the phone without another word to the receptionist, grabbed his keys out of his mahogany desk drawer, and bolted for the office door.
Regrettably, Ted was there to meet him. "What the hell was that, Jack?" He sounded less than happy.
Jackson pushed past him and rounded the corner towards the front door. "Not now, Ted, I have to go."
Ted followed him. "Jack, we've been trying to get a meeting with this woman for the last four months. She's not an easy person to get in contact with and her time is very valuable! What the hell is more important than an appraisal from a rainforest activist, talking about our product?"
Jack whipped around and looked Ted in the face, fuming. "The fact that my eleven year old dog, who I've had since he was six weeks old, just got hit by a car and is in emergency surgery. Handle it, Ted. Get the woman to reschedule. I don't care what you have to promise her, but make it happen."
That shut Ted right up. He stood there, stunned, and opened his mouth as if to offer apology or concern, but Jackson had already turned back around and was out the front door of the building. He unlocked his Mercedes and dove into it, starting it and peeling out of the parking lot faster than he should have.
A million thoughts and unrealistic worries ran through his head as he sped down the road towards SmartPaws vet clinic. It wasn't far, but it was far enough for him to go into a near anxiety attack. He must have left the door cracked his morning in his rush to get to the office on time. He's usually so careful about ensuring that Max is safe, that he's locked up in the house and can't get out except into the back yard. But who had found him in the street? If it was Mrs. Baker, he'd just about lose his shit. That woman was a crackpot and if he had to deal with her hysterics along with his own, it wouldn't be pretty.
The drive to SmartPaws took about fifteen minutes and Jack pulled into the parking lot and whipped into a spot, parking crookedly, and jumped out of his car towards the front door. He headed immediately to the front desk, where Marie lifted her eyes up from her paperwork to greet him.
"Can I hel-Oh! Mr. Davis. Excellent, you made it faster than I expected."
"How is he?" Jackson asked, running a hand through his hair.
"By all accounts it could have been a lot worse. He's got two dislocated hip joints and a clean break on his left tibia. The tarsal bones on the right leg have been shattered, and the calcaneus of the right leg has been broken off as well."
Jack blinked. "English, Marie."
Marie shot a look over to the waiting area, then back at Jack. "His legs are jacked up, Jackson. But they are repairable, and the doctors informed me that most of the breaks were clean and should be easy to repair. The tarsal bones are going to be the tricky ones."
Jackson looked over towards the waiting area once Marie finished speaking, to find Aymie Ann all but cowering in her seat with no less than seven crinkled up tissues on the seat next to her. She looked over at him with puffy eyes and rose to her feet.
"Mr. Davis, I'm sorry. I got him here as fast as I could. I wish I would have seen the car, I could have gotten the plate numbers and you could report the guy to the police."
Jack closed the distance between the two of them in three strides and pulled the girl into a tight, crushing hug. She shivered in his arms and he squeezed her tighter.
"Thank you, Aymie Ann. Thank you so much."
He felt her arms wrap hesitantly around his waist and he held her there for a long few moments. Christ, Aymie had found Max? Poor girl must have been terrified. He felt a pang of guilt in his chest for her worry, but also a swell of respect and affection for the girl for her quick thinking. If it hadn't been for her, Max might have died. He squeezed her again and then released, holding her by the shoulders at arm's length.
