“Stay back.” I gently push her behind me and step forward.
“Why?” She scoots from my grip and farther into the room. “There has to be a light in here somewhere. Maybe over by the–” She trips, her shadow falling in the dark.
I reach out and catch her, snatching her to me before she can hit the ground.
“Wow.” She gasps. “You’re so wet. And hard.”
I reach out and find a light switch, flipping it on and revealing a mediocre apartment. A large gray cat sits on a coffee table, its yellow eyes watching us with that disinterested look perfected by cat-kind eons ago.
Maddie turns in my arms, wriggling against me, but when she sees the cat, she lets out a coo followed by a delighted squeal. “Hello, handsome Rodger!”
4
Maddie
Renato stands watching me as I lie on the floor and play with Rodger. “Caroline was right. You are a handsome one.” I flick the string toy back and forth, trying to lure him out from under the coffee table.
He hopped under there when Renato strolled farther into the room. I’m pretty sure he’s scared of Renato. Not that I blame the little guy. Renato is a giant. I probably should be afraid of him too, but for some reason, I’m not. He reminds me of a big ole teddy bear. Albeit a very serious one.
“I promise you that Renato is a sweetheart. He shared a cab with me,” I try to reassure Rodger, but he’s not buying it. “Hit me with some treats, Renato.” I glance over my shoulder at him. I can’t help but laugh when I see he’s got my giant purse hanging off his arm.
He reaches into the bag and does as I ask, pulling out some treats.
“Which ones do you want?”
“The ones in the Ziploc bag. I made those myself. Rodger’s daddy told me he has a few allergies, so I whipped him up something special.”
“You made cat treats?” Renato asks, walking over to hand me the bag.
“Yeah.” I pat the floor next to me.
“You want me to sit?”
“I have a lint roller. A few little swipes, and your suit will be fine. Though it’s still pretty damp.” He stands there for a long moment before he finally joins me, sitting on the floor. I take the bag from his hand and pull out a few treats before I grab Renato's hand and open it. I proceed to drop the treats into his palm. “You can feed him.”
I rest my chin on my hands as I watch Renato stretch his arm out with his palm up, offering Rodger the treats. Tentatively, the little guy comes out and takes them. His tail starts to flick back and forth. Renato studies the cat, watching him as intently as Rodger has been watching him.
“Now turn your hand over. Let him smell it.” Renato does as I instruct. Rodger gives it a few sniffs before he butts his head against Renato's hand, asking for pets. Renato gives him what he wants. The instant purring lets me know that Rodger is loving every second of having Renato’s hands on him. I can’t say I blame him. I push up from the floor to sit next to Renato. Rodger makes his way over to me and climbs into my lap, making himself comfortable.
“So, you just sit with him?”
“I’ll play for a bit and check his litter and make sure his bowls are filled. I normally stay for about an hour. It’s kind of like a dog walker in a sense. I just give them a bit of attention so they don’t get bored or lonely if their human is working or on vacation.”
“Interesting.” Renato watches Rodger and me intently.
“You wanted to talk business?” I ask. Not sure why this man would want to talk business with me. “Are you thinking about getting a cat?”
“It could be arranged.”
“Arranged?”
“I’m willing to negotiate if it means we can come to an agreement.”
“Are you a lawyer? Wait, is being a lawyer a family business thing?”
“I suppose it could be, but I’m not a lawyer. I work in importing and exporting.”
“Sounds fancy.”
“Pays the bills.” He smirks. He reaches over and gives Rodger a few more pets. His masculine smell tingles my nose. I suck in a breath, wanting more of it. It has other parts of me tingling now, too. I want to reach over and pet him.
Before I can think better of it, I actually do. He freezes when I run my fingers through his short hair. “Sorry.” I drop my hand, but he catches it, snagging me around the wrist. “Guess I like to pet things. It’s a habit.”
“You’re a different type of girl, little bird.” I flinch at his words. It isn’t the first time I’ve been told I’m weird. I’ve gotten used to it over the years.