Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
A week had passed since I’d finalized everything with our new space. Out of everyone on my team, the one taking it the hardest was Aria—my creative design lead. I’d expected that. Change had never come easily to her; it just wasn’t who she was.
She had the soul of a wanderer, but a heart tethered to what felt safe. So, I knew the biggest pushback—and the tears—would come from her, which made it no surprise when my phone started ringing again just as I stepped out of the shower, her name flashing across the screen.
“I swear to God, Aria, everything is going to be okay.”
“That’s not what I was calling about,” she said, but I could tell she was lying through her teeth.
I couldn’t help but smirk into the phone, “Thank God, because I was starting to wonder if your tears for leaving our tiny office were going to get in the way of you planning the designs for the Porter event next weekend?”
“I, er…” She paused.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Aria, while I love you like my little sister, I don’t like standing in my bathroom staring at my naked ass, which needs to get dressed for the event I’m attending tonight. Get to the point, and quickly. What’s bothering you?”
She sighed. “I’m just going to say it then,” she said.
God, she was so damn timid sometimes.
“Are you there?” she questioned my silence on the other end of the phone.
“I’m waiting for you to just say it…” I put her on speaker and set the phone on the counter as I started applying my moisturizer, giving her time to work up the nerve to complain about the move—again.
“So… you remember Garfield, right?”
I stared at my phone like it had lost its mind—not Aria. “The alley cat that lives off scraps behind the boutique?”
“Yeah, you know how he always comes around?”
“I’ve never really paid attention before,” I said, leaning my naked, air-drying ass against the marble vanity I was standing in front of.
“You’ve met him,” she said.
“Okay?”
“Well, he’s the reason I’m having a hard time leaving our office,” she admitted.
Most people would’ve rolled their eyes at the dramatics.
I probably should have. But I couldn’t. Aria—bless her heart, which was bigger than mine—had a special love for animals, especially strays.
Of course, it wasn’t the building she was attached to.
It was a damn stray cat—a cat as large as the cartoon Garfield and looking every bit like him.
Obviously why my team had adopted him and named him that.
“That’s understandable. I’ll make sure Roni from the boutique feeds him extra scraps, and you know we do a lot of business up here anyway, so you can—”
“It won’t be the same, though.”
“Aria, perhaps you should take him with you, then?”
“I can?”
“You can do whatever you want, babe. It’s your apartment. Now, I honestly need to get ready to leave.”
“That’s the thing. Cassy is allergic, and our landlord won’t allow animals.”
“I’m not taking the cat,” I said. “If you and your partner can’t convince your place to allow you to keep the poor guy—”
“Can I take him to the new place in Newport?”
“Aria,” I sighed, annoyance creeping in, “we aren’t leveling up, massively upscaling our office just to have some cat roaming the place. God, woman, you need to pull it together. No. And there’s no way in hell I’m asking for pets to be allowed.”
“There isn’t an alley or anything for him?” she asked meekly, making me wonder if this is how women with persistent, big-hearted children feel when they have to say no to their sweet, well-meaning, stupid ideas.
“There’s a damn shelter for stray animals in the area, I’m sure of that,” I answered. “Listen, I really need you to pull it together for me. If you’re a mess like this, I’m going to have Kim take the lead on the Porter event while you find a home for the cat.”
She sighed, “Maybe it’s best he stays where he is.”
I stared at myself in the mirror, my chocolate brown eyes looking through my own soul, wondering if I was the bitch here, or if Aria was just emotionally attached to everything from the old place.
“Listen, if I let you take the damn cat, what happens when you fall in love with a rat or a raccoon next? This isn’t a Disney movie, babe.
We don’t just scoop up strays off the street and parade them into brand-new office buildings we’re moving into,” I said, rolling my eyes at the fact that I was even having this conversation in the first place.
“You’re right,” she sighed. “I’ll just come visit him.”
“You know, this probably should’ve been a conversation for you and Jules to have. He would’ve had a bigger heart than I do about the situation,” I said. “But for now, I honestly need to hang up. I have this event tonight, then our big opening is tomorrow morning. I need you to be ready for that.”
“Understood,” she said. “It was worth a shot to ask, though.”
I glanced at the time on my phone. “Twenty minutes of wasted time, my sweet friend.” I smiled. “See you tomorrow, and if anything comes up, call Jules.”
“Love you, Cat.”
“You too, sweetie.”
I was in my closet three seconds later when I heard my phone ringing again. “God almighty, I’m never going to make it to this fucking thing,” I hissed, pulling on the strapless burgundy gown I had tailored for tonight’s welcoming gala hosted by the owners of the building.
I glanced down and smiled, Avery Mitchell. “Hey, honey,” I said, answering.
“Jim’s running behind,” she said. “Apparently, something held him and Spencer up at the office longer than expected.”
“That works for me,” I replied. “In fact, I might just call a driver if I’m ready earlier than planned.”
“You’re arriving with us,” Avery said with a laugh.
“Listen, all the elites will be at this thing, although I have no idea why. It’s just a welcoming event for the ones leasing out of this building, but everyone knows Newport Beach works differently.”
“Orange County wealth works differently, honey,” she chuckled. “Different wealth in South OC.”
I smiled. “That’s exactly why I don’t want to be late. There’s business to be made with all the mingling I’ll be doing tonight.”
“Damn, I admire how bold you are.”
I laughed. “I’ll text you when I’m ready, and if you’re on your way, you can pick me up; if not, I’ll just go ahead. Being late to my own party would definitely make me look bad in front of these people.”
“Well, there’s a reason Jim prefers you ride with us,” she said.
“Huh?” I questioned. “If he’s setting me up with a man—”
“More like keeping you safe from one,” she interrupted. “Seems the guy who owns your building might want more from you than just your lease check.”
I frowned. “I’m completely stumped,” I replied. “And trust me, I’m the one who decides whether anyone gets more than the money I owe them.”
“Cat, Jim doesn’t usually make requests like this. Can you please trust me on it?”
I sighed, and for the first time, I found myself genuinely concerned about the group I was leasing my unit from.
“Does Natalia know about Jim’s feelings?” I asked. “She’s the one who hoped I’d lease it before—”
“Before she knew exactly who was leasing the suites,” Avery interrupted, her tone more serious now. “Spence and Jim just want you with all of us when we arrive. Nothing crazy, so don’t worry. Just… to make sure this guy knows not to mess with you or your team.”
“Sounds a little mafia-like, if I’m being honest,” I teased.
“Same thing I told Jim,” she replied. “But I guess we’re not too far off in that assumption.”
“Well,” I said, smirking, “I don’t need grown billionaires playing bodyguard for me from the man who owns my building. If I don’t like the person I’m leasing from, trust me, my designer would be thrilled to move back into our old space so she could be with her adopted stray alley cat.”
Avery laughed. “I don’t think it’s that bad, but I know you make a living keeping all these elitists happy with their events. One bad rumor, one misstep, and your career could be toast. Jim and Spence get that. They just want to be there so everyone knows not to mess with you.”
“Got it,” I said. “Now that you and Aria have completely stalled me from being ready on time, I’m guessing I’ll be riding with you guys whether I planned on it or not.”
“Ha,” she laughed. “Good. We all plan on coming back to our place tonight after the event anyway. And yes, you’re getting drunk with the girls and me.”
I smiled into the phone, grateful that I’d developed a fun friendship with Nat and her girlfriends.
I was definitely lucky to be in that circle—good for my business, sure—but that wasn’t why we clicked.
Somehow, we’d just formed this effortless bond.
Between Avery cussing like a sailor at anything and everything, Nat turning every topic into something sexual, and Ashley Mitchell calmly radiating good vibes through it all, we’d fallen into a friendship I genuinely valued.
Now, apparently, I was about to learn just why I was so grateful for it. Jim Mitchell wanting to be a firm, protective presence for me—and my business—in this new group of elites? Yeah… shit was about to get really interesting with my new office space in Orange County.