a snout. Definitely a snout. It belonged to a large, drool-encrusted Rottweiler.
I drew in a deep breath through my nostrils because I’d heard somewhere that breathing like that would give you spiritual strength—and I threw back my shoulders and I said, crisply, quite crisply, thank you very much, “Whose dog is this?”
“Oh. This is Rocky’s dog, Mason,” Mungo said, giving the creature a long, apparently exhilarating, scratch behind the ears. Mason’s tongue lolled. Wetly.
I stepped back as a drool-cicle dangled, then dropped into a slimy little puddle.
Coop grinned. “I named him after a buddy of mine because Mason Steele can really fart.”
“No,” I practically bleated. Sheesh. Really? “There are no pets allowed in the staff quarters.” It was like rule number 1. Or seven at least.
“Relax, Vic.” Coop said as he set his hands on my shoulders. “Grant gave me an exemption. On account of the fact that this was all last minute, and I couldn’t get a sitter for Mason, and I’m the only licensed high-risk adventure company available on short notice. So, yeah. I guess without me, and Mason, there’s no Visit, is there?”
I glared at Coop. Damn Grant. He could have sent me a heads up.
“Fine. But keep the dog off the grounds.”
Cooper batted his stupid lashes at me. “The dog’s gotta poop.”
“Yeah,” Mungo said. “Dog’s gotta poop.”
“Don’t be obtuse, okay? The clients have a small dog. This thing—” I waved at the very vision of a terrifying beast. It licked my hand. I pulled it back and wiped it on my jeans. Yuck. “This thing is huge. It would eat that Chihuahua for lunch.”
Cooper made a thinking face, tapping his chin with his finger and everything. “Hmm. Mason’s never eaten a Chihuahua before…”
“You know what I mean. Please. Keep your animal contained.” I glared at Mason, who gave a big doggy yawn, indicating he wasn’t even listening. “And by no means allow it to be in the guest area of the grounds.”
“Deal.” Coop thrust out a hand which I, perforce, had to take. And then he didn’t let go when he should have.
He made me wriggle away.
Some men are so aggravating!
I reclaimed my hand, my clipboard, and my cloak of authority, which I was sure they could all sense vibrating from my being. “So,” I said gustily. “Shall we go over the schedule for this Visit?”
“What an excellent idea,” Coop said, but I could smell the sarcasm in his tone. Hmm. Maybe Grant hadn’t told him I was the boss after all. Or maybe he needed reminding. The way he smirked at my annoyance made me suspect the latter.
I smirked right back at him then quickly resumed that cloak of authority thing and plowed forward. “Our clients are going to arrive at 10 am sharp tomorrow morning, so we need to all be out there in our uniforms.” I checked my clipboard. “Looks like they want a relaxing day. Something light for lunch. We’re bringing in masseuses and masseurs around three. They are going out to have dinner with friends around six.” I took a breath and glanced around the room to make sure I had their attention. Jed was investigating his fingernail and Olivia was staring at Cooper with an awestruck expression, but other than that, they seemed to be listening. Cooper had his chin on his fist and was staring at me and flapping his lashes. Nice. I turned back to the schedule.
“The next day, the 22nd, is the snow day.” I handed things over to Coop who described his plans for the day. I was happy to hear all the guests were leaving the house—either to frolic with Coop and his team by jumping out of helicopters onto mountain tops, or to take a helicopter ride to Langley to shop with Ken Nora. Days without the guests were a godsend. “The 23rd is a slow, lazy day around the house. Christmas Eve is the big day. It’s more skiing and shopping during the afternoon. I think Ken has a day trip to Lynden planned.” Ken nodded. “They want a traditional British Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve and there will be a Fairy Ball for Farley and her friends that night. That’s a big one. We’ll need all hands on deck for that. On Christmas morning, they would like to have an elaborate brunch while they open presents. They leave the next day. Remember, Tania, the little sister is vegan, but there are no other food restrictions to worry about.” I flipped through the