"Have you seen Nick?"
Clawhauser gulped down his donut. "He's in Records. Do you want me to call him?"
Judy shook her head. "I'll find him. Downstairs, right?"
"No, actually they moved it." The cheetah pointed to the second hallway on the right. "Third door down."
"Thanks, Clawhauser." Judy set off, wondering what Nick was doing in Records. He'd been acting very strangely for the past couple of days, leaving so early in the morning he was gone before Judy even got up and coming back too late in the evening for them to have supper together. He lived right across the hall but the only time she'd seen him lately was at work, and even there he was unusually silent. Something was on his mind but whenever she tried to question him, he changed the subject. Judy was beginning to worry, but she was sure if it was anything serious Nick would share it with her. She pushed open the door to Records and froze.
Nick was leaning on the desk of another fox, smiling down at her and obviously in the middle of a very earnest conversation. The bunny had never seen such a beautiful animal as this fox, with glossy silver fur and dark dark eyes and white teeth that flashed as she smiled back at Nick. She was stylishly dressed in a raw silk blouse and she wore a jade bangle bracelet and Judy felt frumpy just looking at her. The bunny closed the door with a bang.
Nick looked over and beckoned to his partner, then turned back to the silver fox. Judy walked slowly to the desk, plastering her best smile on her face. "It's almost roll call, Nick."
"I know," he said easily. "I just stopped in to take care of something. Do you know Vanessa Blitzen?"
Judy offered a paw, exquisitely polite. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Vanessa. I'm…"
"Oh, I know who you are!" Vanessa's voice was low and husky and Judy gritted her teeth behind her bright false smile. "Nick has told me all about you. I'm so happy to finally meet you, Judy." She shook Judy's paw and the bunny couldn't help noticing how delicate the fox's paw was and how beautifully manicured her claws were.
"Yes, well, we do need to go make the world a better place." The bunny groaned mentally at her inane comment and headed for the door.
Nick peeled himself off Vanessa's desk. "See you after work?"
She nodded. "I'll be looking forward to it."
Judy held the door open, her heart heavy. "It's none of your business who Nick spends his time with," she told herself sternly but it was all she could do not to slam the door on his tail as he preceded her out.