She stops, staring at her freeze-frame staffers, then at me, then them again. “Everything okay? What’s going on?”
As if they are synchronized Olympic swimmers, they all point to me. “He’s Mr. Lunch Box?” Rosario asks.
“Mr. Smolder,” Matthew adds.
And the sigh that falls from Bryn’s lips says it all.
“He is,” she says heavily.
And today wasn’t supposed to go like that.
31BRUCE
Day 905 in Prison
Bruce had been warned.
His whole life, he’d heard the cautionary tales. Had been told to practice the three basic skills.
Barfing on their pillow.
Meowing in the middle of the night.
And the third . . . The third one always worked. Sitting on the keyboard when they typed.
But what had he done instead? He’d heeded the siren call of the human. Her voice had worked wonders on him. Her touch. Her entire attitude.
This morning she was in some kind of wondrous mood. She looked like she might don a frock and twirl across a field of flowers while singing.
And if she did, he might very well watch. Maybe he’d even hum along. Tra-la-la-fucking-la, with a couple of meows on top.
Yes, he would have to tender his resignation from the resistance. Alert the others. Let them know he could no longer be counted on to hold the fort.
Even as she scratched his chin while typing, he didn’t feel compelled to sit on the keys. All he wanted was to receive pleasure.
“Today is going to be a good day,” she said as she stroked his chin. “I sent Casey the detailed proposal. I gave Hadley a list of tips for her site. And I reviewed Paisley’s presentation for her upcoming conference. And you know what? I’m going to keep kicking butt when I meet with Isaac and tell him I’m dating the CEO.” She laughed, then her laughter ceased. “Sounds weird, doesn’t it?”
He purred, louder and louder.
Hmm. The thought was surreal to Bruce—that she could elicit such ferocious purrs, such a powerful reaction from him.
What was that all about?
Did he want to be this cat?
A cat who liked a human?
A cat who relished companionship?
“Huh.”
He turned in her direction as she made a noise.
“Do I want to be this person?” she asked again.
He tilted his head.
“That’s the question, isn’t it, Bruce? Do I want to be someone who dates the CEO?”
Her voice, it had grown on him. It soothed him. Made him feel . . . understood.
“Or do I want to . . . be the CEO?”
She stayed still, as if lost in thought.
She shut her computer, leaned closer, and dropped a kiss to Bruce’s head. “I’ll see you later, Bruce.”
When she left, he curled up in a ray of sunshine, content at last.
For so long, he’d tried to be one thing—a member of the cat resistance. But he knew what he was. He was one of the fallen.
Bruce had fallen for a human.
And he was as happy as a sunbathing cat.
32BRYN
As I leave my apartment, I call Teagan. “Can you meet me at the coffee shop before work? It’s a friend-mergency.”
