“What’s for dinner?” I asked, chuckling at the two animals.
“Chili,” Stewart said. “There will be plenty of leftovers. Sorry you can’t stay and eat with us tonight.”
“Me, too,” I said. “I’m sure it will be much better than the finger food they’ll serve at the reception. I’ll probably help myself to a bowl or two later on when I get home.”
Diesel meowed loudly, and Haskell cracked a grin. He reached out to rub the cat’s head. “Better set aside a dish for Mr. Big here, too.”
“No, he can’t have any,” Stewart and I said in unison.
“Why not?” Haskell asked.
“Onions,” Stewart said. “They’re toxic to cats and dogs both, so Dante can’t have any, either.”
“I forgot that.” Haskell downed the rest of his beer. “I guess I’m not used to having these four-legged critters around much. My dad was allergic to cats, and my mama was afraid of dogs, so we didn’t have any around when I was growing up.”
“That’s a shame,” I said. “They’re a lot of company.”
“I’m getting used to it.” Haskell grinned. “Luckily for me, I’m not allergic or afraid.”
“You certainly are getting used to it.” Stewart turned and waved the ladle in his partner’s direction. “I’m not getting rid of my dog for anyone.”
Haskell looked at me, one eyebrow raised. “Guess I know where I stand now.”
I grinned. “Never try to come between a man and his dog. Or his cat.”
Haskell laughed, and Stewart rolled his eyes at him.
My cell phone rang, and I pulled it out of my pocket. I recognized the number. Forrest Wyatt’s office. I had a sick feeling I knew why he was calling.
“Hello.” I identified myself, then waited for Forrest to speak.
Instead of Forrest, however, it was his administrative assistant, Margaret Foxwell. “Hello, Charlie. Sorry to bother you this evening, but Dr. Wyatt needs to see you in his office first thing tomorrow morning. Something serious has come up, he says. Can you be here at eight thirty?”
SEVEN
“Yes, I can be there. Eight thirty,” I repeated to let Margaret Foxwell know I had the correct time.
“Thank you. See you then.”
She ended the call before I had the chance to ask her why Forrest wanted to see me. I figured it had to be about the incident with Gavin Fong, but I could hope that it was something else entirely. Foolish, of course.
“What’s wrong? From the look on your face, it’s bad news.” Stewart frowned at me.
I stuck the phone back in my pocket. “Forrest Wyatt wants to see me in his office first thing in the morning.”
“Uh-oh, what have you done?” Stewart waggled the ladle in my direction, and Dante barked.
“Something really stupid.” I gave him and Haskell the bare outlines of my fight with Gavin Fong and a brief history of what led up to it. When I finished, they exchanged a glance, and then both started laughing.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, nettled by their response.
“I’d give anything to have seen you deck that guy.” Stewart shook his head, still grinning. “I’m surprised at you, Charlie Harris. I never suspected you of being a brawler. What are your children going to say when they hear about it?”
“And you soon to be a grandpa.” Haskell smirked at me.
“Ha-ha.” I felt like a complete idiot now. “I’m glad I could entertain you both.” I immediately regretted my snide comment. “Sorry, guys, I don’t know what’s come over me.”
“You’re not the first guy who’s taken a swing at a jerk,” Haskell said. “He might press charges, but you’ve got a good lawyer. Sean will take care of it.”
“I know it’s embarrassing, Charlie, and we didn’t help by laughing.” Stewart appeared contrite. “But Haskell’s right. I don’t imagine Forrest is going to fire you over this. Admonish you, maybe, but once you tell him the background to all this, I think he’ll be understanding. He’s not a jerk himself.”
“No, you’re right,” I said, feeling a bit relieved. “Still, I should have had better control of my temper. There’s just something about that guy that really gets under my skin.”
“Yeah, I know the type,” Haskell said. “Guys like that don’t have a clue how obnoxious they are. Nothing is ever their fault. Somebody’s always got it in for them because they’re smarter than everyone else.”
“That’s Gavin all right.” I shook my head. “I’ll be happy when this conference is over, and he’s gone back to Podunk, Alabama. Well, thanks, guys, for looking after Diesel. I need to get going.”
Diesel and Dante had curled up together near the stove to keep a close watch on Stewart. I gave them both a few head scratches before I left. Diesel meowed when I headed for the back door but otherwise didn’t appear overly upset at being left with his buddy Dante and the two human cat-sitters.
During the drive back to the Farrington House for the reception I counseled myself to steer clear of Gavin Fong this evening. Surely in a crowd of a couple hundred people I could manage that. Surely he would be as eager to stay away from me.
I found a spot for my car in the parking lot behind the hotel and made my way inside through a back entrance. As I approached the foyer to the ballroom I spotted Lisa Krause in conversation with a tall woman with light brown hair. I recognized her as Donna Evans, the catering manager at the hotel. As I neared them, Donna nodded and moved toward the closed ballroom doors. She opened one and slipped inside. Lisa turned in my direction. She came toward me with a tired smile.
“Hi, Charlie, you just getting here?”
I nodded. “I went home to freshen up and change after the opening ceremony. How are things going?”
“As far as the food and the service for the reception, everything is fine. You know how efficient and well organized Donna is.” Lisa sounded pleased, but she suddenly frowned.
“Yes, I do know,” I said. “But something seems to be bothering you. What is it?”
“I’ll give you one guess.” Lisa sighed.
“Gavin Fong.”
She nodded. “He’s a gigantic pain in the derriere, that’s for sure. He tracked me down about thirty minutes ago with a couple of complaints. The refrigerator in his room wasn’t working properly, and one of the lights was on the fritz and kept blinking on and off. I think he expected me to attend to them personally.”
“Instead of simply notifying someone at the front desk?”
“Yes. I told him that’s what he should have done because I am neither an electrician nor a refrigerator repair person. Then he had the nerve to tell me it was my job to deal with menials like repairmen, that he had far more important things to do. Then he just turned and walked off.” She made a growling sound. “If I’d had something to hit him over the head with, I swear I would have done it right then and there.”
“I’ve tried it, and it doesn’t work,” I said in a rueful tone.
“What do you mean?” Lisa asked.
I told her briefly about the incident earlier in the afternoon. She giggled when I finished. “Oh, Charlie, I’d give anything to have seen that. I may end up doing it myself before this conference is over.”
“I wouldn’t recommend it,” I said. “I’ve been called to a meeting first thing in the morning with Forrest Wyatt, and I have no doubt what it’s about.”
“He’s certainly not going to fire you over this,” Lisa said. “At least, I don’t think he would. I’ll be happy to tell Dr. Wyatt what an absolute jerk Gavin Fong is.”
“I don’t know that Forrest would consider that a mitigating factor,” I replied. “And, really, it isn’t. I am the one at fault, and I’ll simply have to deal with the consequences.” I shrugged. “Now, enough about that. How is everything else going, these annoyances aside?”