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“Rough night,” I said curtly.
“Don’t tell me you forgot about your nine o’clock with Aaron Faulks?”
“That’s today?” A sinking feeling in my stomach.
“I’ll go get us some coffee,” she said, jumping up and heading for the elevator before I could stop her. With a big sigh, I went into my office, trying not to think about how ill-prepared I was for the meeting with my biggest investor.
I had woken up in the middle of the night, my neck in a painful spasm from the awkward position I had fallen asleep in on Zoë’s bed. As soon as I’d made my way to my own room though, I was wide awake and unable to fall asleep, thinking about Nikki and the kiss we’d shared before Zoë interrupted us. I wanted to talk to Nikki as soon as possible, but the first thing that had happened that morning, right after I’d managed to fall asleep for a few precious moments, was horrific screaming from Zoë’s bedroom.
“The kittens are gone!”
Nikki and I started searching the apartment frantically while Zoë cried hysterically, her little face turning bright red like a strawberry. We searched the bedrooms and the lounge, unable to find Roxy and Rocky. They could not have gotten out and yet, where were they? I was late for work; Zoë was going to be late for school but there was no question that anything would be able to happen before we found the kittens.
“Okay,” said Nikki in a resolute voice. “Let’s think like a kitten.”
It was hard to keep a straight face but by this point, I was ready to give anything a shot. We went back into Zoë’s room and stared at the bed like pet detectives, going back to the last place the kittens had been seen.
Nikki got on the bed, on all fours, still dressed in her pj’s. I knew that I shouldn’t stare at her cute bum in the shorts, but I couldn’t help myself. The kiss was still fresh in my mind. But Nikki was very focused on the job at hand.
“They were here, in their bed and must have woken up, right?” She continued, “They got out onto the bed and must have rolled off the mattress.” She jumped off the bed and surveyed the area. “Now, what would they have done?”
“Look under the bed!” yelled Zoë.
Nikki looked under the bed, but no sign of them.
She then moved around, still on hands and knees, looking under clothes strewn on the floor, checking behind the bookcase in Zoë’s room. Then she went out of the room and into the first room right across from Zoë’s bedroom, the bathroom. It looked fine at first glance but upon closer inspection, we noticed the fluffy bathroom mat was scrunched up, pushed into a corner. Nikki straightened it and found the kittens, curled up in the middle of the fluffy rug, fast asleep.
“Rocky! Roxy!” Zoë rushed to pick them up and cradle them in her arms. The kittens didn’t open their eyes, completely tuckered out from their big escape into the bathroom.
“Well done, detective!” I said and Nikki rolled her eyes and laughed.
“Now, we’d better hurry or we will all be late!”
Too late for me, of course.
I got dressed, made a slice of toast and as Nikki came rushing in to make Zoë’s lunchbox for school, I caught Nikki’s arm lightly.
“About last night…” I started.
“What about it?” she looked at me, her green eyes big and innocent.
“I… uh…”
“Nothing happened, right?” she smiled at me and turned to the fridge to make a sandwich and grab some fruit.
“But…”
“No but,” she said, looking quickly at me.
I didn’t like the sound of this at all. The kiss was the best thing that had happened to me in a long time. It wasn’t nothing. But Nikki had already left the kitchen, off to help Zoë get dressed. I saw the time and rushed to work. Traffic was a nightmare, with cars gridlocked for several blocks and by the time I’d gotten to work, I was tense and irritable.
The last thing I was in the mood for, was dealing with a difficult investor.
Aaron Faulks was just that.
Maisie came into my office with two coffees from Starbucks. Then she came up really close to me.
“Woah! What are you doing?!” I pushed my chair back.
