Page 45 of The Pumpkin Spice Romance
I parked directly in front of Deja Brew, but it wasn’t until I was all the way out of the car that I realized that Romeo and the girl with the calico hair that I usually avoided because she smelled like a cat were standing out front, blocking the door.
“Um, hey,” I said, stopping what felt like a safe distance away. “I’m picking up Maddie.”
“No, you aren’t,” said the girl, folding her arms.
“Um, yes,” I said hesitantly. “We have a date.”
“Not anymore,” snapped Romeo. “We already booted out your lawyer, and if you think for one minute I’m going to let you romance Deja Brew out from under Maddie, you can just think again. Iwillgo to Confession over this.”
“What?”
“Is this how you became Head of Acquisitions?” demanded the girl. “Just cozy up to vulnerable people and take advantage of them?”
I winced. I hadn’t wanted Maddie to find out about my previous career until after the wolf thing.
“OK, I was Head of Acquisitions, but I am not anymore. I quit several years ago.”
“Then why is your picture on the website?” demanded Romeo.
The honest answer was because they had fired everyone in the web design department, claiming that an intern and AI could do everything, and no one would return my calls to get it taken down. But that didn’t sound particularly convincing. And arguing with the defensive linemen wasn’t going to get me very far.
“Where is Maddie?” I demanded.
“At home,” said the girl. “Because while Romeo might feel guilt over burying you, I will sleep just fine. Now beat it!” She leaned into my face and hissed with violently sharp fangs on full display.
I jerked back in surprise. She didn’t just smell like a cat—she was a cat.
She turned and marched back into the coffee shop.
“She’s right. I wouldn’t bury you,” said Romeo, smiling, and I blinked at his equally sharp incisors. “I would just leave you naked, confused, and anemic in a field of nettles. “Don’t come back! Hope you die miserable and alone!”
The coffee shop door slammed shut and locked with a very final clunk of the deadbolt.
Maddie’s best friends were a cat Shifter and a vampire. She was absolutely perfect for me, and she didn’t want to see me.
11
FELIX
Maddie didn’t want anything to do with Cometcents, but I knew I could explain myself if I just got the chance to talk to her. Her friends had said she was at home, so I went there. I’d driven her home once, so I knew the building. I just didn’t know the exact unit.
So I stared at the mailboxes in the lobby until I found one with Maddie’s cute handwriting featuring a heart over theI. She was on the third floor.
I tried the lobby door, but it was locked. With a sigh, I tried the call box. I didn’t think this was going to go well over an intercom.
“Hello?” Maddie sounded hesitant.
“Maddie, it’s Felix.”
“Go away, traitor.”
The intercom went dead. I sighed and pushed the button again.
“No,” she said. “No. You industrial espionaged me and then sent a lawyer to try to intimidate me.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did.”
