3 Bodies and a Biscotti (12 page)

She held the door open for Connor, and they both stepped into the small waiting room.
 

The room was sparsely furnished. Plastic chairs lined one wall. Shelves with Healthy-Pet products lined another. A U-shaped receptionist desk stood in the middle. A woman with a German shepherd mix sat quietly in one of the chairs.

“What exactly does the clinic do?”
 
Connor asked.

“We provide low-cost pet services to the community: vaccinations, exams even operations and medications. Some of these people wouldn’t be able to afford to care for their pets if it weren’t for us.”
 
Risa felt a swell of pride as she thought about all the animals that had been given a second chance at life because of the clinic and her efforts.

Connor stroked his chin. “Is it profitable?”

Risa felt her stomach clench.
She was afraid he was going to ask that.
“Well, not directly. But our customers help spread brand loyalty and they do buy our pet foods and supplements.” She indicated the shelves.

“But surely the cost of veterinary care, medicine, and operations must be a drain on the company financials.”
 

Risa could almost see the wheels in Connor’s brain turning, trying to calculate how much the clinic cost them with no thought to the good it did.

“Well, it’s not that expensive, we do have people who volunteer their time and we get a discount on the supplies,” she offered.

“I guess we’ll let the accounting sheets tell us whether this is a drain on the company or not.”
 
The cold, calculating tone of Connor’s voice turned Risa’s heart to stone.

A drain on the company?

Risa felt her cheeks burn with anger. She’d be damned if she’d stand idly by and watch all her hard work be ruined by corporate greed from a company that only cared about the bottom line.
 

Connor glanced at his watch. “I have some personal matters to tend to this afternoon, but tomorrow I’d like to get my accounting expert in here to start looking at the financials. Let’s say we meet around ten o’clock?”

Risa bit back the angry words she had been forming and nodded.
Much better to play along.

“OK, then.”
 
Connor stuck out his hand. “It was nice to see you after all these years. My car is parked outside in the lot there so I’ll just be on my way.”
 

Risa quickly shook his hand and muttered a good-bye. She bit her bottom lip as she watched him retreat to the parking lot. It was clear that Connor Dunn was a strict numbers man and the only way to get him to disapprove of the acquisition was to prove to him the company was a bad risk financially. Her messy office and straggly appearance wasn’t going to do the trick on its own.

The problem was that the company was actually doing quite well financially. Risa felt her heart pound in her chest as she realized what she was going to have to do in order to make the finances appear unattractive.
 

Luckily she had someone in accounting who owed her a big favor. She just hoped cashing in on that favor wouldn’t backfire and expose the little secret they’d been keeping.

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