That day, I was a busy little kitten. There were piles of maths to catch up on and a video lesson with Francesca. And then the nurse lady arrived, I took her into the kitchen for our talk and then into my old bedroom for the examination. I knew Mr Bossy didn't like strangers wandering around our apartment... and I really didn't want Elroy sitting in on that particular conversation!
Before lunch, I popped down to the gym for some gentle exercise and stretching. I knew Master would want me to get going with that soon and it would probably be less painful if I started off at my own pace!
Then, after a sandwich, I tried to press on with my economics reading but my eyelids started drooping and I decided that I might as well make a proper job of it and went up to bed for a siesta.
I was woken by the ringing of my phone on my bedside table. "Good morning!" I said when I saw Master's number.
"Good morning?" a lady's voice answered. It took me a couple of moments to work out that it was his secretary, Margret. "One moment, please."
There were a couple of clicks and Mr Bossy was on the line. "Hello, Kitten," he said tersely. "Where were you, please?"
"I'm sorry!" I answered. "I was having my siesta!"
"It's alright for some," he chuckled but then he flipped straight back into being Mr Bossy. "No, I mean, where were you earlier? We tried to get hold of you a couple of times but you didn't answer your phone. I was just about to send Elroy up to track you down."
"I was down in the gym," I explained. "I thought I'd get things going gently before you start setting bears and sharks and things on me. You don't mind, do you?"
"Certainly not, Kitten, but..." he paused for a moment... "in the current situation, you are to keep your phone with you at all times."
"Yes, Master," I replied simply. It was that sort of instruction.
"I don't have to make threats, do I?"
"No, Master, I understand. I'm not in trouble this time because I didn't know but next time there will be whacks."
"Good Kitten!" Mr Bossy eased back and became Mr Lovely again. "I wanted to warn you that I won't be home until late tonight. Tell Elroy what you would like for dinner... and, when you've finished all your work, you may watch television."
"Please may I phone Terri?" I asked.
"You may. Elroy will put her number in your phone for you. As long as your work is finished, you may call her at any time," he told me, "but you are not to say anything sensitive on the phone."
"Thank you, Master."
I spent a couple of hours with my nose in my latest economics book - trying to catch up on that. When I phoned Terri, I mentioned it and we ended up having a long chat about the relationship between money supply and inflation - I'd managed to forget that she was studying for a business degree and she knew all about it. It was a funny thing to be chatting with her about that sort of stuff but it was fun just to hear her voice.
I didn't feel like eating anything fancy for tea so I asked Elroy to find me a bowl of soup and a salad. He must have realised that I would be a bit bored and lonely so he sat with me for a while as I ate.
He mentioned that he and Caroline had taken a couple of days off after their visit to La Conia and spent the time in Tuscany together.
Of course that was too much for Little Miss Nosey and I just had to ask him. "Feel free to tell me to mind my own business," I said, "but... is there anything going on between the two of you?"
He looked at me for a moment and pursed his lips. "It's tricky to say," he answered at last. "I really don't know... and, if you should ever happen to find out, I'd be grateful if you told me!"
We laughed together at that then he added, "You might have noticed that Caroline isn't any sort of ordinary woman!"
It was hard to argue with that.
After eating, I curled up in front of the telly but I just couldn't be bothered with anything. I tried watching my soap opera for a while but the whole thing just felt so trivial and pathetic and I just knew that I'd never get back into watching it again.
So I flipped channels until I landed on the news and watched that for a bit. I suppose I was vaguely wondering whether there'd be anything about money supply or inflation. But they seemed much more excited by a major drug-gang war that was happening in a couple of cities around Europe.
The weather forecast followed the news. There were a couple more storms coming through and it was going to be wet, windy and generally horrible for the rest of the week.
Just as well I wasn't allowed out, I suppose.
There was still no sign of Mr Bossy and, by that time, I was pretty much fed up so I went up and got ready for bed.
And it was as I was brushing my teeth that I managed to put two and two together... a major drug gang war had broken out... and Mr Bossy had a crisis at work.
I tried to settle down in my own bed but it felt cold and lonely and really rather frightening for a little kitten so I scurried along the corridor to Master's room.
And I left the light on in the corridor.
It was late when Master returned. He stepped into the bedroom and, when he turned the light on, he was a bit surprised to find me in his bed. "Oh, hello, Kitten!" he said. He looked completely done in but he managed a weak sort of smile for me.
"Hello, Master. You look terrible," I said as I hopped out of bed and hurried over to give him a hug.
He must have been really tired because he couldn't even manage a sarky answer.
"Have you eaten?" I asked him.
"I think I had a sandwich at lunch time," he replied.
"Get changed. I'll bring you something up."
He was about to say something about me bossing him about but he couldn't be bothered so he just collapsed onto the bed instead. I scurried off down to the kitchen.
There were a couple of posh tins of soup in one of the cupboards so I opened one of those, zapped it in the microwave and put it on a tray with some fruit and a bottle of fizzy water. I also added the bottle of the Tobermory Whisky that I knew he liked. Then I scurried... a bit more carefully... back up.
He was still flat out on the bed when I reappeared and hadn't even managed to take his shoes off. He smiled weakly when he saw the contents of the tray - particularly the whisky. "You are an angel beyond compare!" he told me.
I giggled then helped him to undress. At least, after our special snuggle that morning, I never needed to be embarrassed by his body again.
"You smell," I told him when I got to the armpit area. "Eat your soup and have a whisky then go and have a shower. And, if you tell me where you keep your massage oil, I'll see what I can manage.
"Yes, Little Miss Bossy," he said with a weak smile.
I'd never given anyone a massage before but I made him lie flat out on the bed as I perched on his bottom and rubbed his back and shoulders with the oil. He made some contented, sighy, grunty noises for a bit and then fell asleep... I guess that meant he was satisfied.
I turned off the light and lay down. There wasn't much room because he'd spread himself out across three quarters of the bed but I was a worried kitten so I was happy to snuggle in close.
The next morning, I woke before him and was happy to discover that he'd curled himself around me in the night.
Then I noticed that he had a considerable bulge in his pyjama trousers again.
And then I noticed that there was still the bottle of massage oil on the bedside table.
So I put one and one together and, when Master woke, a couple of minutes later, he was making more of his funny, little grunty noises.
"You're a naughty little kitten!" he managed to tell me as he reached down and rubbed my hair.
"Roll over on your back!" I ordered him as I pulled his pyjama trousers down. "Hands behind your head!"
"You're in so much trouble!" he murmured as he did as he was told.
"No more talking," I said as I climbed up to kneel across his knees. I could tell he was smiling even though it wasn't his face I was looking at!
I carried on with my special massage and before very long, he started to pump with his hips and his breathing became heavier so, of course, I eased off the pressure. He made a satisfying 'Aaargh' type waily noise and calmed down.
I was becoming distinctly squidgy down below and sort of wanted to rub my bottom bits all over him but I knew I would have no control whatsoever over him - or over me - if I did that so I just carried on with my massage thing instead.
I managed to build him up and then drop him back down about half a dozen times before I could tell that he had had enough, so, as he arrived at his next peak, I leaned down and gave him a tiny, butterflylike kiss on his very tippy-tip.
I really didn't think through the consequences of that!
I was absolutely covered. I mean... his stuff went everywhere... in my mouth... all over my face... even up into my hair. Like he said last time, he had thoroughly marked me as his property.
Then again, maybe I had sort of thought through the consequences and decided I liked them!
It's hard to tell with me, sometimes!
When he was done, I crawled up him, carefully rubbing myself over what had once been such a ginormous thing but had now withered away to a mere shadow of its former self. When I was lying along his body, he gave a deep sigh and grabbed my bottom with two hands and squidged it a bit as he kissed me on the lips.
"Thank you, Kitten!" he said, "That was an extremely pleasant and refreshing way to wake up." He made a contented little sighing noise and squidged my bottom a bit more but then he gave a proper, regretful sigh and rapped me on the bottom with his two hands. "But much as I would love to spend the rest of the morning in bed with you, I really need to get into work." With that, he did a sit-up thing, with me still wrapped around him, and carried me into the shower.
He was on the phone when he arrived in the dining room, and it was obvious that things were serious. I remembered the news item from the day before and was almost exploding with curiosity. Though he was still busy on his phone, he must have noticed and, when he had finished his call, he looked down to where I was kneeling. "Go on, Kitten," he said. "You may ask your question."
"I wanted to ask whether you have anything to do with the drug gang war that was on the news last night," I answered hurriedly before my good sense could make me stop. "But, of course, I'd understand if you didn't want to tell me anything."
Mr B looked at me for a long time then said. "The reason I don't want to give you any information of this kind is to provide you with plausible deniability," he explained. "If the whole thing ever does blow up, I want you to be able to truthfully tell the police that, although you had your suspicions about what I did, you never knew any details. You can't be prosecuted for not reporting suspicions but if you do know, it could make you an accessory after the fact. Do you understand?"
"Yes, thank you, Master."
"But this time, I can let you know that we are not directly involved with the events that were reported in the news last night but, of course, it's no coincidence that I had to work late last night... and that I'll probably be working late the next couple of nights too."
"Thank you, Master."
"Any more questions?"
I thought about this before asking, "Am I allowed to talk to Terri about it?"
"There are two questions there," he answered. "First, are you allowed to talk to Terri about this sort of stuff in general. I don't really mind but you probably shouldn't. I hope that the two of you don't have enough information to do anything more than speculate. Second, are you allowed to talk on the phone about it? Absolutely not. You have to assume that the police are listening in to every word you say. And, furthermore, you have to assume that my enemies have bribed someone in the police to listen in to the conversations on their behalf."
I must have looked confused because he simplified the message. "All you have to do is assume that Slimeball is listening in on every word you say on the phone. It might not be true but it's much the safest assumption. Do you understand?"
He held my eye and I forced myself to think about what he had just said, even though it was quite scary, because I knew he wouldn't accept anything less. "Yes, Master," I said at last.
"Good Kitten," he said and, with a loving kiss and a quiet reminder to keep my phone with me at all times, he stood up.
"Oh, Master," I said at the last moment. "If you phone me before you get back, I'll have some hot food waiting for you."
"You don't have to wait up for me!" he replied.
"I want to."
"You are an angel beyond compare!" he said as he stepped into the lift.
"No I'm not. I'm just your 'icle kitten!"
I could only see his back but I could tell he was smiling as the lift door closed behind him!
The next couple of days were pretty boring but I knew Master was stressed and busy so I did my very best to make everything perfect for him when he was home. I'd got used to the siesta thing so it was no problem to make sure there was food and attention for him when he arrived... and a Zi'Anna cappuccino at breakfast time.
And, though it was just a couple of minutes a day, I needed that time with him.
At least I didn't miss going out. As storm after storm whipped through, the weather remained wet, windy and generally horrible.
On Thursday, he was even later than usual and hadn't managed to make his call so I was a relieved little kitten when I heard the lift whirring. I scurried across and was just in time to drop to my knees to greet him.
But I let out a scream of shock when I saw the state he was in.
His jacket and tie were gone and his shirt was a mess of blood from a cut on his forehead that had dripped down over half his face. He was walking stiffly, as if his leg hurt, and there was another smaller cut on his right arm.
So I took him up and showered him and, when I was done, Elroy came up and bandaged up his head and arm. I watched carefully because I had the horrible feeling that this was not the last time that Master was going to need patching up.
Of course Mr Smug wouldn't tell me what had happened but he did say that 'matters had been satisfactorily resolved'.
The next morning, I was up in his study, enjoying one of my remote control maths lessons when my phone rang.
Of course I felt terribly executive!
"One moment, please," I said to my tutor when I saw that it was Master. "I have to take this."
I pushed the privacy button on her screen before answering the phone. "Hello, Master," I said.
"What are you up to?" he asked. "You took a long time to answer."
"I'm in my maths lesson," I explained.
"Oh, OK. I'll be quick then. I'm going to take you for another walk down by the coast this afternoon to see the waves. Then we can spend the night in the hotel. Bring something to wear for dinner. Any questions?"
"Erm... no... I don't think so."
"OK, Elroy will be up soon to pack."
With that, he rang off.
And I tried to get my mind back on my maths.