AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You can keep the cat in your room for tonight, and hopefully someone will message you.
“We're not taking it with us on the plane, though. That cat must either be reunited with its owners or go to the shelter before we leave.”
I nodded my head, not wanting to argue with him further.
I spent hours playing with the cat. He was so full of life and more than entertained by everything in the room. He batted at the long curtains and the light cord. His claws got attached to the floral bed quilt and hung suspended in the air while trying to escape the bed.
I slept, every now and then waking up to see if my little buddy was still awake, getting into trouble, or showing signs that he was hurt. When I opened my eyes for the fifth time, he was sitting in his box, surprisingly doing his business. James was still awake, looking at me, and when I read the clock, it said 2 a.m.
I shook my head and smiled. I felt a strange tingling feeling in my body as I watched the cat. I wasn’t sure how the cat would have known to do his business in the box, since there wasn’t any litter in the box. It didn't matter, though, he’d obviously been potty trained and hit the mark, which would be good for his adoption.
By morning, he was curled up on the pillow next to me, sound asleep. I sat up and watched him stretch and peek open one eye to see what I was doing. He was a handful to be sure.
There was no way I would leave him in the room alone. Instead, I took him into the bathroom and let him sit there while I showered. He was in for a major surprise when he jumped into the bathtub and got all wet.
“Oh my! Goodness, gracious. You shouldn’t have done that, now look at you.”
He jumped out of the bathtub then, and I found him grooming and drying his fur atop my clean clothes in the bathroom. A knock sounded at the door, so I answered it. I found a bathrobe behind the door while my new little kitty was sitting pretty in my arms. James was in my room.
“Hey, we all survived the night. I have to admit, I was a little worried about that, thought maybe he’d claw you to death during the night.” James gave me the once-over from head to toe and then patted the cat awkwardly on the head. “We have to get going if we're going to get this cat to the shelter. I’m sorry no one claimed him.”
I realized James was quickly becoming an obsession, and I never got obsessed about anything.
“It’s okay. Thanks for letting him stay.” I gave him the once-over as he’d done me, pleased by what I saw, and smiled.
“You know, it's becoming very hard to ignore you. So much for business only.” I winked at him, feeling a little flirty and bold.
I had to get it all out now. In a few days, it would be inappropriate for me to still be doing that. Right now, I was still practically a stranger to him — the unknown and mysterious woman who’d helped him, and none of his employees really knew me.
He must have been shocked by what I said. His chin fell open, but then he closed it and smiled. His eyes fixated on my lips, and for two seconds I could think of nothing but kissing him. He said nothing. He stepped back but kept his body facing toward me so he could continue to look me in the eyes as he headed for the door.
“You know that statement is going to get you into serious trouble. I’m going to expect something at a later time.”
He was just about ready to turn around when I shifted the cat to one side and stopped him. “James?”
“Yes?” He paused to let me speak as he looked at me.
Feeling daring, I pulled the top of the robe open just enough so that he could see part of my body, then quickly closed it.
James laughed. “Gorgeous, absolutely stunning. I like this playful side of you, Gwen. It suits you, and it drives me nuts. I’m going downstairs, but I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
He turned and walked away, and I spent a few seconds hearing his words run through my head over and over as he closed the door and I hurriedly got dressed.
I gave the kitty a can of cat food and some water from the tap. After that, I got dressed in a new outfit I had packed away in the closet since the first one now looked like a second cat with the amount of fur it had on it. After I was done, I made sure everything else was packed up and ready to be taken downstairs.
James returned with some breakfast because we couldn’t leave the cat alone, and I wasn’t about to put the staff of the hotel in charge of finding the owner, or a shelter. After eating, I took one last look around, finding it hard to believe I was leaving New York and the east coast just like that. It felt strange like my life was about to completely change.
“Come on, princess. We have a flight to catch, and that cat needs to get to the shelter.”
“I’ve been thinking I want to get my own place sooner rather than later. You paid me a lot of money for the work I did for you at the Chelsea Market. It's enough for me to rent an apartment. I know you said I should stay with you, but it seems wrong somehow. Besides, then I can keep this cat.”
I had decided I couldn’t let him go. If no one claimed him, I wanted to keep him.
Chapter Thirteen
James
“Idon’tthinkthat’sa good idea.”
