Busting Loose by Kat Murray

can help more animals in need.”
    Bill nodded. And while Stuart nodded as well, she could tell she was losing him.
    Big-guns time. Which, of course, meant breasts. She leaned in just a little, so the table supported her minimal chest like a shelf.
    â€œI had the most brilliant idea the other day, to hold an adoption fair. Just a few hours long. Get the little darlings all polished up, and have a wonderful time matching them with excited new families. And I was wondering what it would take to have our adoption fair in that nice building where you hold town meetings.”
    The men stared at her—drinking in her face and her boobs—with their jaws a little loose.
    â€œIt goes without saying we’d be doing all the cleanup and such. It would just be so difficult to have it at the clinic. And the town hall would make it a lot easier to handle that sort of crowd.” Please, God, let there be a crowd. “So what do I need to do to make this happen?”
    â€œWell, Ms. Muldoon . . .” Stuart cleared his throat and took a sip of water. Bea used her straw and took a quick sip of her own water, which seemed to only dry the man’s throat up once again, as he gulped another time for good measure. “That would require a permit.”
    â€œOh, a permit.” She put on her my IQ is only as high as my shoe size face. “And what do I need to do in order to get one of those things?”
    â€œApply to the city council, wait for the next meeting, state your reason for wanting the building, and then answer any questions. And then there’s the rental fee for the building itself.”
    Bea chewed her lip, but this time it wasn’t an act. Crap. All that? They didn’t have time to jump through hoops. “When’s the next meeting?”
    â€œWe just had one last week, so three weeks from now.”
    â€œOh.” She thought for a moment. “And there’s no way of getting around it? I was hoping to have the fair a week from this Saturday. The lull between sports seasons means most families won’t be preoccupied with athletics, and—”
    â€œIt’s just the way things go.” Stuart’s brows slashed together. “Fill out the application and wait your turn. That’s how we do things here.”
    â€œOf course.” She stood, then sat back down. One more shot, then she’d call it done. “Look, I’ll level with you. There’s an epidemic right now of strays. They’re everywhere, and the shelter can’t handle them all. Not by a long shot. Morgan is doing the best he can, but even he isn’t Superman. He’s got finite resources, both with money and space, and moving a lot of pets to good homes in a single day, while raising awareness of the shelter, would be huge. And from my estimates, a week from Saturday is the perfect day for this fair. Now I’m going to ask again. Is there no other way?”
    Stuart looked close to shaking his head, but he caught a sidelong glance from Bill and stalled. Bill settled back a bit and motioned for her to continue.
    â€œOh. Uh . . .” She searched for a good monologue. One to really bring the audience home. “It would improve community relations, especially when we profusely thank the city council for allowing us to host this wonderful event. And the possibility of getting more spayed or neutered pets out there in the community means we can take in more strays. Fewer strays on the streets improves everyone’s quality of living, both human and animal.”
    â€œGood points all around,” Bill murmured, nodding slowly. “How about this? We’ll take it to our fellow councilmen and work on getting them to agree. If they agree to the last-minute aspect, the place is yours. With the fee, of course,” he added.
    Bea granted them a gracious smile, completely sincere. “That would be wonderful. Thank you, Bill. Stuart, nice to meet you both.” She