Page 23 of Bastard-in-Chief
“I lost my dog, Max. I heard someone calling him and came to see.” I hold my hands up, not wanting to spook her.
“Your dog? I was calling my cat.” Her shoulders slump in defeat as she realizes that I don’t have her cat. “Wait, aren’t you the guy from the dog park?”
“That’s me. I haven’t seen your cat, but I’ll keep an eye out for him while I look for my dog. Let me know if you see him?” I step away to keep looking for my Max but she stops me, holding out one hand awkwardly.
“I’m Emma. Thanks for helping me look”
“Teddy.” I’m not sure why I don’t say Theo or Theodore, but the kid reminds me a little bit of Casey—all sass and confidence. I give her hand a firm shake. “I live a few streets over.”
“In the really nice houses?” Her face changes at my nod. Her eyebrow game is strong, one lifting almost up to her hairline while the other stays perfectly still. “I live here.” She jerks a thumb over her shoulder at the apartment building. “Um…do you remember what my cat looks like?”
“One ear, one eye? Mean little fuc—I mean, grumpy little guy?” I cough to cover up my almost curse.
“He’s a mean little fucker, you can say it.” Emma grins. “Don’t tell my mom I said that.”
I can’t help laughing at her expression. “I won’t tell.” I promise her. “I’m going to go back this way, I’ll let you know if I find your Max.”
“Wait!” Emma’s cry stops me before I’ve gone more than a few steps. “Let me give you my phone number. Um, Max is really my mom’s friend’s cat and has her number on his collar.”
“And you weren’t supposed to have him outside?” I raise an eyebrow at her but she doesn’t cower from my glare the same way my employees do. Probably because I’m wearing athletic shorts and a t-shirt instead of a suit. “Let me guess, you were making a TikTok?”
Emma huffs and pouts for a second, before shrugging. “I won’t tell my mom I keep running into this creepy old dude, if you don’t tell her I lost the cat.” Her face goes from thoughtful to smug by the end of her sentence.
“I’m not old!” I fight to keep a straight face as I say it, Emma’s grin matching my own.
“You’re not denying being creepy though.”
“Denying it only makes it true.” I shrug with a grin. “But I won’t say anything about losing the cat. It’s not like I know your mom anyways.” I lie.
She holds out a hand and I give her my phone. She types for a second before the phone in her pocket buzzes. “Got it. I just texted myself from your phone. Good luck finding your Max!” I take back my phone before she whirls away, already calling for her cat.
Twenty minutes of wandering the streets later and I’m ready to give up. Praying he found his way home, I turn back onto my street. I’m passing under a tree when a pissed-off “meow” filters down from the branches overhead. Of course. A glance up confirms that the one-eyed, one-eared, son-of-a-whatever-you-call-a-female-cat, is perched above me, fur raised and spitting mad.
“For fuck’s sake. Why are you always climbing trees if you can’t get down?”
Max hisses at me, crouching down against the branch.
“Come here you idiot cat.” Unlike at the dog park, I grab him from behind instead of where his sharp teeth and claws can get me again. Despite his squirming and wriggling, I manage to pull him off the branch and tuck him under my arm like a football.
Max the cat and I make it to my front door only slightly more ruffled than before, despite his attempts to escape my grasp. As soon as we’re inside, I set him on the floor and pull out my phone.
Me: Found your Max. I have him here at my house.
I send my address and pace the entrance hall while I wait for a response. Max still isn’t here and panic that he’s been hurt claws at my chest. I need Emma to come get her cat quickly so I can go back to looking for him. What am I going to do if I can’t find him? I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep tonight without his weight on my legs.
Emma: We’ll be there in 10 minutes. Driving over so we have the cat carrier.
“Your people are on their way. Do not disappear.” I point to my own eyes, then at Max the cat as he waddles down the hallway towards my kitchen. “And don’t pee on my floor.”
For the next ten minutes I trail along after the cat, determined not to let him out of my sight, ready to scoop him up and dump him in Emma’s hands before going back to look for Max the second I can. I have to find him before it gets dark.
A buzz from my phone, a chime from my laptop, and the ringing of the doorbell all happen at once, my security systems doing their job of alerting me to someone at my door. I sweep Max up in one arm, before he can disappear on me, and head to the door.
“Here you go—” The words are barely out of my mouth before my Max barrels into my legs, jumping up to lick at my face. “Max, get down!” I shove at him with my free hand, juggling Max the cat in my other arm. Struggling to keep my footing and not drop the cat, I’m about to go down like an overloaded server when a pair of hands plucks the cat from my grip.
Shoving my Max behind me and into the house, I glare at him. “Sit. Stay.” I don’t turn my back on him until I’m sure he’s going to do as I commanded before whirling back to face Emma.
I nearly swallow my tongue at the sight of Sophie Alexander standing on my doorstep, her curves highlighted by the leggings and loose tank top she’s wearing, her hair golden in the light of the setting sun.