Page 6 of Marked By the Wild Orc

Her beautiful eyes flash with defiance. “Sometimes there isn’t much of a difference between hurtful words and the pain of physical hurt.”

“Female, can you work here, or not?”

Kavin’s sister sits up straight. “Oh, I can definitely work here. Sorry. I will do a good job, I promise.”

This is when I remember my friend said his sister was in great need of an immediate job so I back down. It doesn’t seem fair for a human who is already affronted by my plain orc speak to have to work with orcs because she needs the money. If I hire her, I will pay her well so she can move on as soon as possible to another job that is a better match. And then I can hire an orc, hopefully, who I can speak to plainly.

Meanwhile, If I did choose to hire her, I’d have to put up with this human.

And then I witness something so stunning, I choke on a sip of my now-cold coffee.

My largest black cat hops into Krissy’s arms and she greets this vicious animal with a rub right under his chin. The other two animals sit at her feet, purring for attention, completely ignoring me.

“What is this?” I thunder.

She looks up at me with surprise, still petting the cat.

“You have met my cats?” I question. “And survived?”

“Oh, yes. I hope that was okay. The front door was open and I was trying to find you and these three cats were sort of leading me to your office. I heard your voice, and since I was told to come immediately for an interview, I followed the sound.”

Shadow jumps down onto the floor and then both Ink and Cole take his place on her lap at the same time. Krissy giggles and takes it all in good stride, balancing both cats and giving them equal attention.

All three of my cats like her? I try to call them over, but they ignore me, except for Shadow. “This has never happened before. My cats don't like anyone except for me,” I explain. “They are trained guard cats. They don’t even like the two other males who work here.”

“Guard cats? I’m never heard of that. Cats are sweethearts who love to be petted, played with and given snacks. They stopped and stared at me, so I reached out and let them each sniff my hand.”

“They didn't hiss at you?”

She looks confused. “No, why would they?”

“They didn't bite or scratch?”

She laughs. “Of course not. Each one had a slightly different reaction to me, but none of them acted scared or afraid.”

“You can tell the difference between them?”

“Yeah, they're all black, but they have different body shapes and their personalities are different. Do you bring your cats with you to work every day?”

“Yes, they enjoy traveling with me in my car and I don’t want to leave them alone. And normally I’m the only one who can tell them apart.” I cross my arms. “You aren’t allergic to cats?”

“No, but I understand what you’re talking about and I appreciate you checking. I always wanted cats but I’ve neverbeen able to have my own as a pet because my grandmother was allergic. What are their names?”

“The biggest one that was in your arms first was Shadow. The cat with the large ears and tail is Ink and the smallest cat is Cole.”

“Oh, I love their names.”

“That would be part of your job too,” I tell her. “Herding cats. I need someone to help keep them fed, happy and safe from the customers.”

“I can do that. In fact, that sounds like the best part of the job.”

And that's when I decide to hire her. “When can you start?”

“I can start right now.”

I stand and open the door. “Good.”

“Um, can I ask…when do you pay? Do you pay weekly, biweekly, monthly…”

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