“Maybe a business partner?” Brutus suggested.
“Or a relative of one of the residents,” said Harriet, “coming to discuss the wellbeing of her mom or dad.”
But instead of taking a seat in front of Brian’s desk, as is the custom on these occasions, instead the woman moved behind the man’s desk, took a seat upon it, and suddenly there was kissing going on and…
“Oh, my golly,” said Harriet, a little shocked.
“The man’s got stamina, you got to give him that,” said Brutus after they had watched, mouths agape, at the spectacle that was unfolding inside the office.
“Two women in the space of half an hour—the man is a serial philanderer!”
“He doesn’t look the part,” said Brutus.
“And what does a serial philanderer look like?” asked Harriet, genuinely curious.
“Big and strong and handsome. You know, like a dark, handsome stranger.”
“These are no strangers,” said Harriet, then closed her eyes. “Frankly I think I’ve seen all I need to see, teddy bear. Let’s go.”
“Yeah, there’s only so much one can take of this stuff.”
After all, they were cats, and as such not unaccustomed to the baser instincts of any biological species prone to the dance of reproduction, but there are limits to what one can process on an empty stomach, and that limit had definitely been reached.
So they hopped down from the windowsill, and proceeded to head into the office of Dee Phillips once more. The woman uttered a little shriek of surprise when two cats suddenly materialized next to her cacti, and she adjusted her glasses to take a closer look at them, before saying,“Oh, it’s Mrs. Corr’s cats, isn’t it? Did you get lost, sweeties? Did you lose track of your human? Let me take you back to your room.”
“Poor woman,” said Harriet as Dee escorted them along the corridor. “She’s being cheated upon by her cheating boyfriend and she doesn’t even know it.”
“The cheat is being cheated,” said Brutus. “Frankly I don’t feel too bad for her.”
Soon they were back where they belonged: safe in the presence of Gran, and before long they were pouring the details of their successful mission into that woman’s very receptive and very eager ear.
9
Dee left Mrs. Corr feeling happy that she had returned that sweet old lady’s cats to her. She hoped they wouldn’t go wandering off again, for she could tell that it would break Janelle’s heart if something ever happened to those precious cats. She wasn’t a big cat lover herself, though she could condone the creatures, of course, but having worked at Happy Home for all of fifteen years now, and having met quite a few cats in her time, as well as dogs and other pets, she knew how important they were to their residents. And how much comfort they drew from the presence of their beloved pets.
The moment she closed the door to the Corr sisters’ room, the smile was wiped from her face, though, and the problem of the missing cats from her mind. She had other problems to deal with right now, and one problem stood out most prominently: the problem of Brian’s divorce. Or, more accurately put: the lack thereof.
Their affair had lasted almost as long as her employment, and in all that time she’d often asked him when he would finally get a divorce. His excuse had always been that he couldn’t divorce Sara when the kids were small, for it would traumatize them, and she wouldn’t want him to inflict that kind of emotional damage on them, would she?
But now that they were bigger, he still wasn’t getting closer to getting a divorce, and she was starting to feel that he hoped to keep stringing her along for as long as he could. Or as long as she was foolish enough to stay with him.
And then of course there was that horrible Gladys Judder woman, who kept showing up unannounced, and demanding exclusive access to Brian. She didn’t know what the woman was up to, but she had a feeling it was nothing good. The daughter of Jane Judder, one of their residents, Gladys had become ubiquitous in these past couple of weeks, and Dee didn’t like it. Even though Brian said it was because Jane’s health was failing, and Gladys wassimply worried, somehow she didn’t buy it.
As far as she could tell, Jane was just fine, and Gladys was using her mother simply as an excuse to see as much of Brian as she could.
All in all it had caused her to worry to such an extent that she had developed a slight and persistent headache, not to mention a lot of stress!
[Êàðòèíêà: img_3]
Vesta was pleased to see her spies returning to base with so much actionable intel. It proved to her that she made the right decision in demanding that the cats accompany them to Happy Home.
“You did good,” she told Harriet and Brutus, giving them a pat on the head and a cat snack, which they happily gobbled up.
“Brian isn’t having one affair but two?” asked Scarlett, visibly astonished.