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Like a good girl, I try to say my prayers every morning. This morning was no exception.
"Goddess, it's me, Trinity Morrigan-Caine. Could you please let me get through today without pissing off too many people or wanting to kill anyone? And would you please grant me patience for the idiots I meet and guidance to keep my mouth shut when they say something really freakin' stupid? Thank you."
Afterward, I felt better. Today was just one of those days. I slept through the alarm. My familiar, a longhaired Birman feline named Bronwyn, had to wake me up and there is nothing like being swatted in the face with a clawed paw first thing in the morning. I showered and then realized I had no clean work scrubs. Crap. I put on already worn scrubs which didn't smell too bad. The only brightness of the morning was my cousin and roommate, Lily, had made a pot of coffee and saved me some before she left for work—and probably on time, of course.
Once again, I was late and I knew my boss was going to have kittens because of it. Okay, not literally, although the thought of that made me giggle aloud. No, I was the one who turned into a furry feline once a month. She was just a human pain in my ass.
I grabbed the travel mug and took a swig of the coffee I had heated up before leaving. I didn't even care I burned my lips on the brew. I let out a deep sigh. Ah coffee, the elixir of gods and humans. There was just nothing better than the jolt of caffeine to wake up to. I drove to work whistling.
Dr. Ginean Meyers, the Senior Veterinarian and an all-around bitch, glared at me as I walked in the door. She was standing behind our reception desk with Alice, our administrative assistant. Alice gave me a small welcoming smile, but Meyers's look could have frozen hell.
I took a step toward my two coworkers and stopped. The smell of our animal disinfectant was strong there, however it couldn't compete with Meyers's rancid perfume. I'd rather have smelled a wet dog. My nose twitched in revulsion and my smile slipped from my face as I took two instinctive steps back.
I sighed and greeted them both, waiting for the ax to fall.
"Good Morning, Dr. Caine," Alice said politely.
"Did we oversleep, again, this morning?" sneered Meyers.
And there it was. "Yes, well..."
"Your first client has been waiting for you in the exam room for the last twenty minutes. Perhaps the office should collect some funds and purchase a working alarm clock for you, hmm? Do you think it would help?" Meyers said with such saccharine sweetness, I wanted to smack the icicles off her face.
So much for playing nice. It was lucky for her I didn't want to get closer and endure more of her perfume. To slap a woman properly you had to be nearer than I was willing to get. Not to mention, my common sense told me not to physically assault a senior vet if I wanted to continue in my line of work.
"Yeah, well." I glared back but tried to keep the words civil. "I think I can manage on my own, thanks." Ah. Good. Then I heard myself say, "Nice perfume. My grandmother's birthday is coming up. What scent are you wearing?" Damn. Did that just come out of my mouth? All right, maybe not so civilized; I was still a work in progress.
