For Richer, For Poorer （To Have or To Hold, Book Two）

CHAPTER 6 – Old and New

　　Standing at the entrance to my apartment block, I watched as Jace pulled away in his car. I should have been on cloud nine after tonight, yet thanks to his incessant mood swings and an inability to give me a clear cut answer, the only sensation I could feel was the hurt flooding through my veins.

　　Turning away from the sight of Jace’s car driving away, I made my way into the building and trudged my way up the stairwell to my apartment. Once at the top, I stopped and could feel the weight of my body, pulling me down like never before. I had a distinct knack of meeting men who could never commit, in their own unique ways.

　　Realising that my shoes were starting to rub my feet, I released them from the confines of the suede straps, and carrying them in my hand, dawdled along the corridor to my front door. Breathing out a deep sigh, I reached into my bag and pulled out my key. Getting to the door, I went to place the key into the lock, when I noticed movement near my feet. Looking down, there was a little black p***y cat there, wheedling its way around my ankles and purring up at me.

　　“Aw, Kitty, where did you come from?” I soothed, bending down to stroke the cat.

　　Standing up, I looked around and wondered how in the world the cat had gotten in. It probably belonged to Drew – they both had the ability to get in where they didn’t belong. I seemed to be attracting all of the waifs and strays.

　　Opening the door a little, I watched as the cat was trying to get in – yet if this cat wasn’t a stray, then someone somewhere was missing their pet.

　　“No, no, you can’t come in here,” I lightly urged, trying to shoo the cat away.

　　It seemed Miss. Kitty wasn’t having any of it, and no matter how much I tried to shoo her away, she was insistent on coming in. Giving in, I bent down and picked her up. She had no collar on, and I was too tired to do anything about the cat tonight.

　　Wandering inside with my new companion in my arms, I was worn out after tonight’s antics, and I figured it would be nice to have a bit of furry company, instead of any of the male variety messing with my head.

　　Then I thought about the contract I signed for the apartment, stating that I couldn’t have any pets. Letting out a snigger of defiance at that thought, he could shove his contract where the sun doesn’t shine. I was pretty sure that having s*x with him would be against his wonderful terms and conditions, and he always wanted to bend and change the rules to fit his own whims, so I didn’t see the harm in doing that myself. Me being allowed to keep a pet would be the least Jace could allow me.

　　Walking into the kitchen area with Miss. Kitty in my arms, I filled up a small bowl of water, and found a tin of tuna in the cupboard. Laying them out for her, as she tucked into the offerings, I figured I would get her checked out at the vets tomorrow, to see whether she was microchipped, and if not, would find a pet shop to buy her some things.

　　I’d heard that cats chose their owners, and as I dragged my weary backside to bed and watched Kitty curl up on the bed as I got changed, I was inclined to agree. Maybe she’d had enough of males as well, and had decided to find a single woman to hang out with. It was much safer.

　　She was already a smart cat. I liked her style.

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　　The next morning I awoke with Kitty rubbing herself along my cheek – which was not how I thought I would be woken up at the weekend. Smiling in agreement that I was awake, I sleepily wandered into the bathroom to get a shower and wake up for the day ahead. For some bizarre reason, I was now nearly a cat owner, and I had to get her sorted out.

　　Drying off and getting dressed, I grabbed me and Kitty a bit of breakfast, noticing that she had gone poopy on my lovely floor which I had to clean up, and then decided I had to get her to the vets.

　　Obviously, being totally unprepared for a cat to be lumped on me, driving whilst she was let loose in the car was a real bundle of laughs, and apart from nearly swerving the car on a number of occasions, I got us both to the vets in one piece.

　　After being checked out by a vet, it turned out that Kitty hadn’t been microchipped, and even though she was in good shape, it seemed I was to be having a new tenant in my apartment. Later on, after stopping off at the pet shop to get some much needed supplies, I made my way back home with my new best friend, to get her settled in and chill out for the rest of the day.

　　That afternoon, even though it was unexpected, it was quite nice to have a companion around the place, and I wondered why I’d never thought of getting a pet before. Then again, I’d never had the opportunity, because I was too busy getting engaged to morons and running away to Barbados.

　　Settling down on the sofa, watching a film with Kitty on my lap, it was a perfect way to be spending the day, and I already preferred her company over any men in my life. She liked to be stroked behind the ears, and was quite content with curling up on my lap, and other than that, apart from the odd bit of cat food, she didn’t demand anything else from me.

　　Relaxing and watching on as the film played out, Kitty suddenly sat upright on my knee, and it snapped me out of the trance of watching the TV.

　　“What is it, Kit?” I asked, as if the cat could answer me back.

　　All of a sudden, she leapt off my lap and flew over to the balcony doors. Feeling on edge, I followed her on, and warily looked out of the doors with her. Stood with her back arched and hissing at the balcony area, my nerves were officially standing on end along with hers, and taking hold of her as she glared with her mint green eyes in the direction of something I couldn’t see, I backed away from the French doors to go and sit back down.

　　“Shh,” I soothed to her, as I sat her back on my lap and stroked her to calm her down.

　　But she was right – that feeling of being watched was back again - and perhaps with the reaction of my new pet being what it was, my suspicions of somebody watching me weren’t that unfounded.

　　For the rest of the day I couldn’t relax, and even though after a while Kitty settled again, I couldn’t help but feel on edge for the rest of the day. That night, I made sure that every single lock on the windows and doors were firmly closed, and was glad when I was back in my bedroom, where I shut the drapes and closed the door, meaning that I had some privacy, instead of being surrounded by floor-length windows.

　　I was probably being stupid, and I hoped that the feeling would pass in time, as it was a ridiculous notion that anyone was watching. The apartment, right next to the Thames, was hardly in a position to be overlooked.

　　Closing my eyes and willing myself to go to sleep, Kitty settled next to me, and I was glad of the company. Willing my mind to turn off from anymore stupid thoughts about being watched, I eventually fell into a shallow and disturbed sleep. I had work in the morning, and being worn out and half asleep was going to be no fun at all.

　　Dragging myself out of bed for a second morning was a hard task. Clocking my reflection in the bathroom mirror, I had bags under my eyes and could’ve easily gone back to sleep for another few hours. But, Mr. Morgan was strict about punctuality, and mentally rolling my eyes at that thought, I fed Kitty and got myself ready for the day ahead.

　　Fixing my hair into a French plait and donning one of my best suits, I was looking presentable, so leaving my new pet at home and praying that she would be a good housecat, I left for work to see what the day ahead would bring.

　　Pulling up in the carpark of Morgan Estates, I usually looked forward to going into work, but today felt different. I wasn’t sure whether it was because of what had happened with Jace, or whether it was because I felt like a bag of nerves at home, or whether it was because I hadn’t slept well the previous night, but I wanted to curl up in a ball for the day and not do much else.

　　Knowing that that certainly wasn’t an option, I grabbed my bag from the passenger seat and got out of my car – locking it behind me and making tracks toward the entrance of the building.

　　Stepping through the automatic doors, I was stopped in my tracks by someone calling my name:

　　“Becca! Becca!” came the familiar voice in the backdrop.

　　Turning around in the foyer near to Monica’s workstation at reception, I wondered whether I was hallucinating from lack of sleep, as none other than Scott was bounding up to me.