CEO's Cat Lady [Complete]

Chapter 14

Chris woke up late that Sunday. He had just spent the night going through the online classified ads, searching for job descriptions that he could send to Vance. Today, it was the same thing he would be doing. Since it was going to be Monday tomorrow, it would be good if his friend could go on interviews on that day so that he could find a job right away.

He stood up to cook breakfast when his phone rang, interrupting him. He looked at the screen and saw that it was Vance who was calling. He immediately answered it.

"Hello, Vance?" He rubbed his eyes which were still half-closed from sleeping. "Why are you calling so early?"

"Chris? I just called to say thank you so much!" There was definite joy in Vance's voice on the other line.

He frowned in confusion though. "What are you thanking me for?"

Vance laughed good-naturedly on the phone. "Bro, you don't need to be so modest about it! Weren't you the one who recommended me to the Ledesma Realty Corporation? I just got a phone call from them asking for interview at 9 AM tomorrow!"

Chris was silent for awhile as he processed the information he had just heard. After a few seconds, he burst out with a cheer. "Really? That's good to hear, dude." He turned sober though. "But I was not the one who recommended you there. I certainly don't have any contact from Ledesma Realty!"

It was Vance's turn to be stumped. "B-but the assistant who called me told me that someone from Onyx passed my resume to their HR office. I thought it was you…"

"No, dude, it wasn't me." Chris denied vehemently across the phone. "Who do you think it could be?"

"I absolutely have no idea at all. I don't think even the director knows someone from Ledesma Realty," Vance thought out loud.

"I agree. Maybe you could ask tomorrow the HR assistant you talked to so that you can find out who submitted your resume to their office?" He suggested to his friend who was obviously confused.

Vance exclaimed in agreement. "You're right! Okay, I'll do that. Wish me luck tomorrow, bro!"

"Yeah, yeah. Of course!" Chris then finally disconnected the line.

In his mind though, it was a big mystery. Who could have helped Vance that had connections to the Ledesma Realty? It's a well-known part of the conglomerate of the rich Ledesma clan and it would have been not that easy to be connected to it.

Oh, well. At least Vance's problem was already solved. He just had to hope that his friend would do well in the interview tomorrow. Chris then set out to the kitchen when he felt his stomach rumbling.

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It was early that Sunday morning but Amy was already feeling pissed. She just didn't like how she felt like Trevor Schwarz was playing her off, making her do things that he wanted just because he had something she needed. She made sure to make the hotel heir know of that when he arrived in the coffee shop at the time set for them.

"What's with the long face? Are you on your period?" Mr. Schwarz greeted Amy as soon as he got off his Porsche.

Amy was stopped as she remembered that she actually was waiting for her period yesterday, but it didn't come. Wiping the thought from her mind, she chose to reply sarcastically, not minding the other comment.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that you are baiting me about my own brother pisses me off, don't ya think so?"

The hotel heir remained impassive as if her words did not affect him at all. "Fair enough. There's no such thing as free lunch after all, so if you want answers, you must give me something in return."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Don't I know that." She sighed. "So yeah, let's go to the shelter now so that we can get this done and over with." She then proceeded to go to where she parked her bike, expecting Trevor Schwarz to head back to his own car.

"Where are you going?" The hotel heir called her out.

She looked back and answered in confusion. "To my bike, of course."

The hotel heir walked towards her, as she watched him with her eyes as he stood in front of her again. "I'll go with you," he briefly informed her.

"But what about your car?"

"My driver will take it back." Trevor turned to the direction of her bike and gazed back at her. "Do you have an extra helmet?"

Amy remembered that she kept her helmet for her other bike, the one for the Harley-Davidson, in the trunk. Sighing, she nodded. "Yeah, come on."

They then walked in silence to her bike, the light Kawasaki one, and handed Trevor Schwarz her spare helmet. And just like before, he sat at her back and embraced his arms around her waist when she finally started the engine.

The PAWS shelter was 30 minutes away from them, and for the first few minutes of their trip, there was silence. Amy broke it to ask the hotel heir about something that she was wondering about.

"So… why do you wish to adopt a cat? Aren't men more likely to prefer dogs? You know, doesn't it seem more manly for other people when men run around with a big golden retriever chasing them?" She shouted over so that he could hear her amidst the noise of the traffic.

She heard Trevor scoff behind her. "I'm comfortable enough with my masculinity that I don't need to flaunt it to everyone. Besides, cats are low-maintenance." He also replied loudly.

Amy chuckled in amusement from what she heard. "You do seem to give no f***s, alright. And yeah, I just remembered it, Norman Reedus has a cat. So yeah, I guess you have nothing to worry about."

"What does Norman Reedus have to do with cats and manliness?" There was skepticism in Trevor Schwarz's tone.

Amy decided to humor him. "Well, Norman Reedus is probably one of the manliest men out there, and his having a cat does not diminish it at all."

"I see," the hotel heir answered coolly. "So I'd take it that you are into manly men?"

Amy was stopped as she considered Trevor's question seriously, albeit somehow amused with it. "Not really." She glanced back at him briefly before she turned her eyes to the road. "I don't think I have any preference on men. They seem to hate me anyway."

Trevor's grip tightened around her and she felt his hard chest come to rest against her small back as he shouted back at her. "Why do you say so?"

"You see, I've been called a feminazi and a miserable woman by men before. And of course, I'm a cat lady. Does that not mean that I'm just some lonely bossy b***h?"

"Well, you can be a hard-ass b***h sometimes, just like earlier, but I don't think you're that bad. I don't quite get the feminazi part though," the hotel heir replied as if he was making some methodical observation.

"Wow, thanks. I don't know if you're actually complimenting me or if it's the opposite, but whatever." She replied in sarcasm again. "I guess the feminazi part comes as part of my job as the HR Head and when I review the quality of work of our employees. It seems that some of our male employees think that I'm only criticizing them just because I think I'm better than them."

"But? I sense something more in your words." Trevor prodded her.

"But I don't think that makes me a feminazi. I mean, I don't criticize because I think men are dumb or whatsoever, but because the action is dumb, but I guess it looks that way because I am a woman who occupies a higher position criticizing a man," Amy explained.

I see your point," the man behind her said in his usual bland voice. In my defense though, I must say that I don't hate you."

"Yeah, you don't. You just think I'm a hard-ass b***h sometimes. I guess that's so much milder than what others think of me. So thanks… I guess." Amy said it in a joking tone. She wasn't exactly offended by his words earlier anyway.

"Hold on tight, Mr. Schwarz," Amy shouted over as she saw the shelter not too far away and set her determined sight on the road. "We are not far from our destination."

She then sped up across the slightly deserted road. She loved the feeling of the wind whipping against her face and it reminded her of her practice at the track. Trevor Schwarz heeded her words though and she even felt him rest his chin at the top of her helmet.

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Five minutes later, they were staring at each of the cage that contained the kitties. Amy was honestly engrossed at all the cats trying to get their attention. She was tempted to pet each of them as she really missed going to this place. It had been two months since she had been here as she got busy organizing their company outing.

She was crouching down and touching the head of one cheeky white cat over the gap when she glanced up the hotel heir who was silently observing the chaos in front of him. She decided to prod him. "So, have you made your pick yet? As you can see, most cats here are very friendly."

Trevor did not answer and went around to closely observe all the cats who were trying to call on to him. The furry animals even tried to follow him inside their cages. She just watched silently, trying to discern what his next actions could be, until finally, he stopped in front of the cage at the edge, the only quiet one on the row. Interested, she followed to see the cat that the hotel heir seemed to have chosen.

It was a big feral tortie cat, obviously a battle –scarred lady (because tortoiseshells are almost always girls), but dignified and stern looking. The cat must be new because she didn't remember it when she last volunteered months ago. The cat also seemed aloof, because when it saw them looking at her, she turned her back on them and groomed herself without any care for them at all.

With a crease on her forehead, she looked up and asked Trevor. "Is this the one that you like?"

Trevor, who was still observing the cat, just nodded without glancing back at her. Amy nodded at herself as she considered his response.

"Are you sure? She seemed quite aloof. You might need more time and effort to earn her trust before you can pet her. For a first time cat owner, you might find her a bit overwhelming," Amy added.

"It does not matter. I like challenges," Trevor quipped.

Amy shrugged her shoulders after hearing his answer. "Alright. If that's what you want, then we'll go tell the volunteer so that you can adopt this kitty." She glanced at the man in curiosity. "Why this cat though?"

This time, Trevor finally stared right into her with his cold eyes, telling her: "Because beautiful things don't ask for attention."

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Amy and Trevor were sitting side-by-side at the bench outside while waiting for the adoption papers to be processed, a comfortable silence between them. Amy was busy cuddling the white cat that she petted earlier and was not paying the man much attention, when the hotel heir spoke.

"Why do you like cats so much?" He asked her as he stared down at the cat she was playing with. If someone heard his tone though, they probably would think that he was disinterested at her answer, but Amy had grown used to his impassiveness.

She continued on rubbing the cat's tummy as she went on to answer his question. "I don't know… It's just that I admire their independence so much. They're self-sufficient and don't need our help to survive. And their intimacy with people is usually on their terms, not ours. It's just refreshing how our relationship with them is one area where the human does not call the shots."

She couldn't contain the smile on her face as she turned to the man who was closely listening to her. "I truly believe that cats are one of the few creatures who enjoy true freedom in this world." Her tone turned wistful. "I hope I could be as free as them someday… have a life where no one could dictate you no matter how hard others try."

Trevor was silent for a few moments as he absorbed what she said. He commented after, saying, "You sound as if you don't have freedom at all. Is that something related to the Ledesma clan?"

Amy snorted. "Nah. It doesn't matter. Don't mind me when I'm trying to sound emo." She tried making her tone sound lighter. "So, what did you really talk about with my brother?"

Trevor did not comment at her obvious changing of the topic and seemed to be reading her actions hard. In the end, when he saw that she was not revealing anything, he turned his eyes in front and finally answered her question.

"We didn't talk about many things, as I'm the one who needed something from him."

"What did you need from my brother?" There was bewildered curiosity in Amy's voice.

"I needed his permission so that I could propose marriage to you."

Amy just blinked at Trevor when she heard his words.

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Chris arrived early that Monday in the office. He did that intentionally because he wanted to talk to Ms. Amy without most of their colleagues noticing. When he got in front of the HR Head's office, it surprised him to see it closed. It seemed that Ms. Amy was not in yet, which was unusual because everyone knew how punctual she was, even though there were rare times when she arrived later than her usual time of 8: 30 AM.

As he stood outside thinking about his options, the secretary to the director passed by him, so Chris decided to ask the older woman who frequently passed in this hallway.

"Ma'am Chai, do you know what time Ms. Amy would come in today?"

The woman stopped walking and answered him right away. "Oh, didn't you know? Ms. Amy wouldn't be coming from now on. She resigned last Monday, so last Friday was her final day in the company."

Chris' heart stopped beating in shock as he heard the secretary's response. "What? Why didn't we know about that?"

The woman just sighed. "Well, you know Ms. Amy. She's a bit aloof, so she probably didn't want any farewell parties to be held." Her voice turned conspiratorial suddenly. "I'll tell you though: the director was really disappointed with her resignation. I just hope that Mr. Schwarz would continue his investment to our company even if Ms. Amy is no longer with us.

Chris was not listening anymore as he realized that he wouldn't be able to apologize to HR Head now that she was gone… and to think that he had left her with hurtful words on her last day in the company.

"She said she was going to manage their small pharmacy, but you know what? I think she didn't want to work anymore because of Mr. Schwarz. Hell, if I had such a rich boyfriend, I would also stop working. I just really wonder how Ms. Amy landed such a fine man…" The secretary kept on yapping, not knowing that Chris was not paying attention any longer.

Chris decided to say goodbye before Ms. Chai talked his ears off. The woman graciously let him go back to his cubicle. However, there was really only one thing in his mind… How would he tell Ms. Amy that he was sorry now that she resigned?