Page 26 of Not As Advertised

“What… I mean… Why are you giving me a cat?”

It was my turn to offer him a grin. “I told you that you didn’t need anything but your suit. Well, except for this cat. It’s a surprise. I promise to show you a picture of the character before we leave for our meeting tonight. I just want to see if people guess it.”

He held my stare for a moment before shrugging.

“I suppose I don’t have time for a crash course in anime in the next five minutes either. Fair enough.” He tucked the cat under his arm and gestured to the main entrance of the hotel. “Your chariot awaits.”

“Giovanni! What’s up, man?”

Clearly, Abbie knew what she was doing when she’d creatively figured out how to turn me into the supervillain boss of aPokémoncriminal organization. He had a cat-inspired Pokémon called Persian that lounged on his lap while he made his nefarious plans. From what I’d understood from a hastily performed Google search while she was in the washroom, Giovanni, the character she’d selected for me, was also Jessie’s boss.

That made me smile. Clever girl.

The young couple raised their hands for a high five, and I reluctantly did the same.

I didn’t need to look over at Abbie to know she struggled to keep from laughing. I gently pressed the side of my arm into her shoulder, silently acknowledging my resignation to the chaotic attention that was thrown my way every few minutes.

Sadly, for my pride, they weren’t the first or even fifth group of anime fans to call out my costume in this land of cartoonchaos. Two other groups had actually asked for selfies. Abbie had said I didn’t need to smile, so there was no pressure.

Supervillains weren’t known for their warm and fuzzy personalities. Another point for my sweet assistant.

At least she hadn’t said, “Just act naturally.” Then I’d have known she meant to send me a message. As it was, she seemed amused by all the attention I clearly didn’t want.

For her, I could accept being the butt of a joke.

She had attempted to explain it to me on the way over, but as far as I was concerned, Team Rocket sounded like they needed new leadership and some intensive performance reviews if they hadn’t managed to catch Pikachu in twenty-five years of trying. Talk about a lack of return on investment.

I smiled thinking that while Rennie did in fact likePokémon, she was still young enough just to like the different animal-type creatures rather than the whole universe Abbie seemed to want to live in.

Realizing I’d been pressing into her a little too long, I took a half step to the side. It was unnerving how natural it felt to have our bodies in contact.

Jesus Christ. Now was not the time to think about how tempting she looked in her costume. I’d been watching her carefully over the past month, and whether she wore casual clothes or business attire, she often kept herself as covered as possible.

While I felt pleased for her that she was comfortable enough to step out of her comfort zone to truly embrace the spirit of the con, she was wreaking havoc on my ability to keep my hands off her.

The combination of her sweetness and how goddamn sexy she looked was lethal. Her appeal was multiplied by the fact she seemed unaware of it. She was just acting naturally. I’d grown so disillusioned by the artifice of LA that Abbie’s genuine naturewas intoxicating. My caveman side wanted to whisk her away so that no one else got a peek at the pale, supple skin of her stomach. I’d had to stop myself multiple times from brushing my hand against her middle “accidentally.”

“I’m in heaven. Everything is so impressive.” Abbie couldn’t turn in enough directions to capture all the sights at once.

“Yep” was the only comment I could manage.

The huge auditorium was bursting with people in all sorts of character garb. I could see how a “fun” kind of person would enjoy this. Being fun was not listed on my resume of skills. God, when was the last time I’d had time for fun? Did I even know what I enjoyed doing anymore?

Abbie looked up at me from my side. “Really? You sound so convincing. Please try to contain your excitement.” The glint in her eyes went from cheeky to uncertain. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

A little kick in my chest warned me that her earnest concern meant she thought I didn’t want to be there. There was some truth to the idea I’d have preferred going to a dentist appointment to this elaborately costumed kaleidoscope of madness, but seeing her this unguarded and happy for the first time felt monumental to me. I wouldn’t have missed it.

Seeing her happy was fun for me, I realized.

“I’m fine, Abigail. Trust me. If I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t be. Simple as that.”

Tucking my toy cat further into my arm, I turned toward Abbie. Hoping to move to an area where fewer people would look at me, I was keen to get this show on the road.

“So, where are we going first?”

She was busy looking at the map of all the different areas of the arena and hadn’t heard me.

That hot-as-fuck Team Rocket uniform captured my attention again. When she’d stepped out of the elevator, it feltlike I had been struck by lightning. All my nerve endings lit on fire, and I’d stood there frozen and speechless. And each time I’d allowed myself to look at her today, my reaction hadn’t lessened in intensity.

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