Don't Call Me Cat!

Chapter 8: What Sort of Warm?

Happy Tuesday! Here's the latest chapter of Don't Call Me Cat! which is now #106 out of 4.8k stories in Wattpad's 'Hollywood' rankings. Be warned: you'll develop a cramp in your fingers if you even try scrolling down the list to find it! Also, a bit like the stock market, it'll change by the hour. As I might have pointed out at the start, this is NOT In Too Deep, so thanks to all of you who're staying with it - and to any new readers. Have a great week and I'll make sure there's an update on Friday xoxox

I was furious with David Grayson.

Let's get that straight right away!

More than furious: BLOODY FURIOUS.

I'd been forced to watch as Cassie was led away by Jared and then been told to sit in the reception area like a spare part. My eyes locked on the blonde behind the desk, mentally shooting darts into her Gucci-clad butt. No excuses, I was really pissed.

The minutes ticked by so slowly. I checked my phone endlessly and went through my diary, killing time (excuse the pun) until Cassie was finished.

On the plus side, of course, was the fact she hadn't been thrown out yet. The clock on the wall continued ticking away the seconds and minutes since she'd disappeared. She'd been in there for almost an hour, so she must be doing something right. At least I hoped.

After another 15 minutes, I was on the verge of banging down the door when suddenly it opened and Cassie was there. No fanfare, she just appeared, seemingly in a dream-like state.

She looked part shell shocked and part well ... just shocked. The best I could do was to put my arms around her. I was terrified I'd pushed her too far, too soon and she'd panicked.

Silence engulfed us as we retraced our steps down the carpeted hallway and made our way outside.

"Do you want to talk?" I asked, raising my voice above the sound of traffic and horns blaring. "I shouldn't have put you in that situation, Cass. I'm really sorry." I tugged her shirt sleeve to slow her down.

"Don't be sorry Catherine." She spoke softly and touched my arm. "You didn't know they were going to swap the reader. Anyway, I did it,  so let's forget it," she said. 

Hopefully, she was taking on board my earlier advice and not just throwing empty words back at me.

She had a faraway look in her eyes that was hard to analyze. It wasn't fear. Was it exhaustion? Confusion maybe? I needed to know but perhaps now wasn't the time. However, there was one more question.

"Was Jared OK? Were you OK with him as your reader?" There were a million questions I wanted to ask but I could tell she was zoned out somewhere.

"He was fine."  Her eyes looked heavy. "Catherine ...  I need to go home now. I'm shattered. Is that OK?"

I hugged her there and then on the sidewalk in the middle of the early evening rush hour.

"Let's call an Uber. I'll get you dropped off first and then I have to be somewhere.

"I'm really proud of you Cass. Go home to your mom and forget about it. Promise me?"

She smiled. "I will. Don't worry." With that, she returned my hug and walked off with a wave. "I'll find my own way home Catherine. I need to clear my mind."

****

I unlocked the door to my apartment and breathed deeply, relishing the peace and calm of my own space at last.

It was the perfect antidote to my day so far. Breakfast with Shannon seemed a lifetime ago. My phone was vibrating and I noticed a missed call and message.