34. Chapter 34 #2
“The thing is,” I continue, now close enough to reach behind the cabinet if I stretched, “I used to think I was like those serious people with their faces and their judgments. But I’m starting to think I might be more like you.”
The growling stops momentarily.
“Scared of change and incredibly suspicious of kindness. Always expecting the worst.” I extend my hand, palm down, fingers relaxed in exactly the way Leo taught me. “But sometimes people surprise you.”
From behind the cabinet, Balthazar emerges just enough for me to see his orange face, ears flat against his head, whiskers twitching with tension.
“There you are,” I whisper. “The inspector needs to see you in your proper enclosure. You can go back to terrorizing volunteers tomorrow. My daughter will even bring you a stuffed cat. But I ask you pretend it’s your brother…you know how she is.”
I hear the door crack open behind me, followed by the inspector’s impatient voice. “Mr. Plaza, I really must be going.”
“Please close the door,” I say without turning around, my voice firm but quiet. Balthazar has retreated slightly at the interruption, but he’s still visible. “I need two more minutes.”
I hear a sigh before the door closes again.
“It’s just you and me now, little guy,” I murmur.
I’m a forty-two-year-old man in a suit, squatting on a concrete floor, trying to negotiate with a creature that licks its own butt.
Yet, here I am, extending my hand a little closer.
Balthazar hisses softly. Thanks to YouTube, I know it’s more of a warning than an attack.
I think of Elowen’s face when she described her vision for this place. Of Leo’s reading voice, and Mi-Mi’s love for the misunderstood cats. Of my own transformation from a man who valued spreadsheets over people to someone with his calves burning as he coaxes a traumatized cat.
“We can do this,” I tell Balthazar quietly.
Balthazar inches forward, his growl now only a rumble in his chest. I remain perfectly still, hand extended, waiting.
This time, Balthazar doesn’t retreat. Instead, he takes a decisive step toward my hand, then another, until his cold nose touches my fingertips.
Our eyes meet in a moment of recognition.
Obviously, the cat doesn’t understand my words, but he understands my tone and patience.
He understands he doesn’t need to feel threatened by me.
The inspector signs the final approval with a flourish that feels anticlimactic after the day’s drama.
“Congratulations,” he says, tearing off a copy of the certification.
“You’ve passed your inspection.” His eyes flick to Balthazar, whom I’m still holding against my chest. I thought of putting him in his cage, but decided against it.
He’s contained in my arms. The cat has settled into a reluctant tolerance of my attention, occasionally rumbling with what might be contentment or warning, but it’s hard to tell with him.
Not that I’m judging.
“Thank you,” Beatrix tells the inspector, taking the certificate before I can shift Balthazar to free a hand. Her voice carries its usual gruffness, but I catch the slight tremor of relief beneath it. “We appreciate your thoroughness.”
The inspector nods, tucking his clipboard under his arm. “The facility is impressive. Just keep that one”—he gestures toward Balthazar—“properly contained during operating hours.”
“We will,” I assure him, fingers automatically finding the spot behind Balthazar’s ears that soothes him. The cat’s rumble deepens but doesn’t escalate to a growl. Progress.
As the inspector heads to the door, Sarah gives a small cheer that triggers a ripple of relieved laughter. Leo rushes forward, his face transformed by a smile that makes my chest tighten with unfamiliar emotion.
“Dad! You did it! Balthazar actually let you pick him up!”
“We did it,” I correct him. “Your advice about approaching him helped.”
My phone vibrates in my pocket, its professional intrusion at odds with the fur tickling my chin and the small hand now tugging at my sleeve. I check the screen. Virginia is calling, exactly as expected. The boardroom world reclaiming its territory.
“I need to take this,” I tell Leo. “Can you let Beatrix know I’ll be right back?”
He nods, immediately accepting the responsibility.
I head toward the entrance, Balthazar still cradled against me.
The already dwindling late afternoon light streams through the glass doors, warm and golden against my face as I step outside.
I answer the phone one-handed, Balthazar adjusting his position but not struggling to escape.
“Virginia, what can I do for you?”
Note to self: incorporate a new work/life balance policy.
“Hello, Julian. Sorry to disturb you, but I’m a bit confused. My understanding is that you and Mr. Thompson haven’t come to any sort of agreement, correct?”
“That’s correct.”
“Okay, so you two haven’t called one another since you left the office? He emailed me the contract a few minutes ago, and implied that you two will most definitely be working together after all. Told me to schedule a three-hour block in your schedule next week for finalization.”
“Hmm,” I hum. “That’s incorrect.”
“Weird. So, to be clear, I should not be blocking a meeting in your schedule for Mr. Thompson?”
“Nope, definitely don’t. There must be a misunderstanding somewhere. Perhaps his email came delayed, and he assumed the deal would go through.”
“Not very smart of him to assume.”
“Agreed. Thank you, Virginia.”
“You’re welcome, sir.”
We’re about to hang up when I get a sense of gratitude for her work. Since I’ve taken the time to properly train her, she’s grown incredibly well in her position.
“And nice work today, Virginia. I appreciate you double-checking.”
As I end the call, I hear the crunch of tires on gravel. A familiar Honda pulls into the parking space nearest the door. It’s Elowen’s car. My pulse quickens as she emerges, her movements hurried and concerned.
“Hey!” she says, eyeing the cat in my arms. “Didn’t expect you here today. How’d your meeting go?”
“It would seem Robert and I have a fundamental disagreement regarding priorities,” I explain, keeping my voice casual.
Before she can press me, the rear door of her Honda flies open. Meredith scrambles out, her small face alight with a frantic, joyous purpose. In her arms, she’s holding Balthazar’s look-a-like stuffie, Bartholomew.
“I’ve got him!” Meredith shrieks, her tiny boots crunching over the stones as she sprints toward us. “Mommy, look! He came out for his brother!”
She skids to a halt beside my legs, thrusting the fake orange cat toward the very real orange cat in my arms. I swear Balthazar gazes up at me as if saying, “What am I supposed to do with that?”
“He was lonely, Daddy,” Meredith declares, her chin lifting with the absolute certainty of a seven-year-old. “He heard Bartholomew was coming, so he came out to greet his brother!”
Balthazar, the cat who once hissed at the mere shadow of a human, leans forward and touches his nose to the stuffed cat’s ear. “See? I saved the day. I brought the brother back.”
“You certainly did, Mi-Mi,” I say, my throat tightening as I look down at her. “You have a very good heart for recognizing what someone needs.” Thanks, Balthazar. Good boy gets extra treats tonight.
Meredith reaches up, her small hands surprisingly steady as she takes Balthazar. “I’ll put them back inside now.”
With a strength born of pure determination, she maneuvers both cats toward the sanctuary doors. Elowen watches them go. Only when the door clicks shut behind Meredith does she turn back to me, her gaze sharpening as she takes in my disheveled state.
“I don’t mean to interject,” Elowen says, her voice dropping an octave. “But Robert Thompson doesn’t just have ‘disagreements.’ He’s a shark. When I called his office a few weeks ago to ask if he would be a sponsor, he told me he only works with people who value the bottom line above all else.”
Hearing how easily he dismissed my wife only makes my resolve firmer. “Then I am no longer the type of person he wants to do business with. I walked out of the meeting.”
“You walked out?” Her eyes widen, searching mine. “Let me get this straight. You left a multi-million-dollar meeting for a surprise inspection and a skittish cat?”
I take a step closer, moving into her personal space, not to dominate it, but to be part of it.
“No, I left it for you, El. Beatrix texted that the inspector was threatening to leave and they still couldn’t get Balthazar.”
Elowen studies me for a long moment. “Robert’s pissed you left, isn’t he?”
“He called it a hobby,” I say, a small, genuine smile touching my lips. “And he told me not to bother calling his office again, which is fine by me. I don’t want to work with the asshole, anyway.”
She reaches out, her fingers hesitating before they graze the fabric of my sleeve.
“You threw away the Thompson deal,” she whispers.
I look at the door where our daughter just disappeared. “I’d rather be the man my children think saved the day.”
“Technically, Meredith thinks she saved the day.”
I chuckle. “True.”
Elowen’s lips part, her gaze dropping to my mouth for a fleeting second before she looks back up at me.
The air between us hums. I don’t wait for her to finish whatever thought she has right now.
I don’t calculate the risk, the probability of rejection, or the social appropriateness of the moment.
The space between us feels like a magnetic pull I can no longer resist. I reach out, my hand trembling slightly as I cup the side of her face, my thumb brushing against her cheekbone.
In response, she leans into my palm, her eyes fluttering closed as I lower my head.
The kiss is slow and quietly sweet. As my other hand finds the small of her back, pulling her flush against my chest, the multi-million-dollar deals and the corporate boardrooms feel like they belong to a different man’s life. Here, in the quiet of her sanctuary, I only want her.