‘Tough guy, eh?’ Ellie shot him a speculative look.
‘Not really. I just don’t want you to get me sta
rted.’
‘That might not be such a bad idea, Drew. You’ve always been there for me, and now Lucas and I both want to be there for you.’
‘You are. And I appreciate it.’ He just didn’t want to talk about it. ‘White no sugar?’
Ellie rolled her eyes. ‘That’s right. Glad to see you haven’t forgotten.’
When Ellie left, he took a moment to soak in the feeling. He was here, sitting behind his desk, and already had a few things to do with his day. Looking at the accounts, making the coffee and chatting to Mrs Cartwright might not be quite at the cutting edge of veterinary practice, but it was a start.
* * *
Mrs Cartwright had been delighted to find that one of the vets was prepared to give her his undivided attention for a whole hour. At any moment now Ellie was going to appear and tell him he’d done enough for the day, and Drew had opened the accountant’s yearly report in front of him on his desk. If the enticement of having someone else focus their attention on the figures didn’t chase her away, then he’d use the bulky folder as a weapon to defend his position.
‘Hey. Ellie sent me...’ Lucas popped his head around the door, grinning.
‘Tell her no. I’m perfectly all right here.’
Lucas chuckled. ‘You’ll have to tell her that yourself, and she’s busy charming a snake at the moment.’
Lucas was carrying a bound booklet, which he set down on the desk. Drew peered at the cover page.
‘What’s this?’
‘Remember I told you about the dog prostheses we fitted while you were away? This is the write-up on the operation. The robotics engineer we were working with has some new ideas for an enhanced prosthetic and she’d like to work with us to develop them.’ As soon as Lucas sat down, Phoenix bounded towards him, and he bent down to scratch the puppy’s ears.
‘Thanks. I’d be interested in having a look.’ Drew was grateful for his friend’s thoughtfulness in asking for his opinion.
‘I was rather hoping you’d take charge of it all. I don’t have the time.’
‘You’re sure about this? I can take some of the weight elsewhere, you must want to see it through yourself.’ Drew’s hand moved towards the booklet and then he pulled it back. The project sounded fascinating, and he was pretty sure that Lucas wanted to steer it himself.
Lucas grinned at him. ‘I’d rather not be working during my evenings and weekends at the moment. You’d be doing me a favour.’
‘In that case...thanks. I appreciate it.’ Drew picked up the booklet and opened it. The introductory page bore the names of everyone who’d worked with Lucas in fitting the prosthetics, including one that he didn’t recognise.
‘This Caro Barnes... She’s the robotics engineer?’
Lucas nodded. ‘Yes, I consulted with her on some of my Uber-Vet projects. She’s incredibly talented, and one of the few people I wanted to keep in contact with from my time as a TV vet. We struck up a correspondence, and when everything went south on the robotics programme she was involved with in California, she picked up on an off-the-cuff suggestion I’d made, and decided to investigate animal prosthetics. She came back home to the UK, and was in Oxford for a while, fending off various offers for research fellowships.’
‘She must be good.’ Research fellowships from Oxford University were usually hotly contested.
‘Caro’s at the top of her field. She can be a little odd at times...’
Drew could handle odd. In fact, the more challenge involved, the better. ‘You said she abandoned the robotics programme. What happened there?’
‘I’m not sure. Some kind of spat over patents—apparently she lost the rights to something she’d developed. She clearly didn’t want to talk about it, and when Caro’s not in the mood to talk about something there isn’t much point in asking. But she’s not one to abandon anything lightly, if that’s what you’re thinking. She’s committed to this project and she’ll see it through.’
‘You’re frowning...’ Drew picked up on a note of uncertainty in Lucas’s manner.
‘When I say she’ll see it through, she’ll do it in her own way. I find it easier not to ask about her process.’
‘Fair enough.’ Drew nodded. ‘So what does she need from us?’
‘I’m not entirely sure. She says she only wants to discuss it on a need-to-know basis, and apparently I don’t need to know just yet. I get the impression that this patent business has made her a little paranoid.’ Lucas grinned. ‘She’s living at Smugglers’ Top.’