Total Enhancement by Amanda Carlson

Author:Amanda Carlson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amanda Carlson, Inc.
Published: 2020-11-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Mina entered Total Enhancement at eight twenty-one the next morning. Babs was busy straightening things in the waiting room. No customers and their human companions had arrived yet. Mina lifted a hand in greeting. “Hey there,” she called. “I’m here a little early to get a jump on things.” Mina hurried toward the door so she wouldn’t get caught in an unwanted convo.

Babs responded, “Did you see? The woman’s name is Wilhelmina. It wasn’t you after all!”

“I did see.” Mina had tuned in to the screencasts this morning, like everyone else. The program had ended with Melissa Socorro vowing to track down the mystery lady named Wilhelmina, whatever it took, a heartfelt promise to all her avid viewers. Good luck, Melissa. There were three thousand Wilhelminas in the immediate area alone, and without DNA they would be hunting for a very long time. Everything attached to Mina’s real identify had been expunged, other than a few boring, unflattering photos of a very young Wilhelmina Kandy Kane taken in her elementary years. Her job as a linguist was not exactly newsworthy. This was why she wasn’t a social networker. Thank goodness. “That Wilhelmina is one lucky gal,” Mina added as the interior door slicked open.

“Don’t I know it,” Babs called as she tugged a chair across the room.

Mina headed straight for the locker room.

The bot behind the counter greeted her in her succinctly modulated voice. “Welcome, your shift doesn’t start until nine o’clock. You are thirty-seven minutes early.”

“I know.” Mina hurried to her locker. “I want to greet the animals before I start my shift. I’ve developed quite an affection for them.” Mina had learned that the majority of owners dropped their pets off after work for convenience. That’s why the kennels were always full in the morning. Mina was going to use the tracker that had been waiting for her in the craft this morning to see if microdata had been planted on any of the animals. Then she’d do the same thing at closing. It was her priority. As Mina grabbed her uni out of her security box, she casually asked, “Do you know if Ruth is here yet?”

“Ruth Donnelly arrives promptly at eight thirty each and every day.”

“Good to know.” Mina gave a quiet thank-you to the LiveBot’s excellent capability of keeping track of absolutely everything and being unable to lie about it.

That meant Mina realistically had six or so minutes before Ruth arrived, plus the few extra minutes her manager would take to change into her outfit for the day. That should be enough time to do a quick scan of the animals.

A minute later, Mina zipped out into the main workroom. When she arrived at the kennels behind the glass wall, she found one of the bots, Heidi, standing there. Mina affected her normal stance. “Hi, Heidi. I arrived early hoping to greet the animals this morning. Is that allowed?”

Heidi smiled. “This is a unique request, but it’s not forbidden. From time to time, workers do come in and greet some of their favorite clients.

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