Fergus came back in from the balcony and sniffed my boots. Then his back arched, and he started making pukey noises.
“No!” I yelled. “No no no! Stop!”
Hurk! Hurk!The big fat cat was right over my nice boots. My shirt was half over my head, and I shrieked as it caught on my earring as I tried to rip it off so I could grab Fergus and throw him into the sink.
Hurk!
“No!”
Crack!
The door to my condo blew off the hinges and banged against the opposite wall, rattling the shoe shelf behind the door. I screamed and picked up a decorative metal pencil cup and threw it at the man in the doorway.
“Help! Murderer! Intruder!”
“Where?” the huge man shouted.
“Evan?” I shrieked. “What are you doing here?”
“Where is he? Did he go out the fire escape?” Evan demanded.
“You’re the intruder!” I yelled at him. “You broke my door.”
Evan was in the little space between my bed and my desk wall, trying to get to the window at the fire escape. I picked up the glass of water on the desk and threw it on him.
“What the hell, woman?” he sputtered. “I’m trying to help.” Evan grabbed me by the bare arms.
“You’re not helping!”
My shirt was off, and the cat looked up at me. The surprise of Evan’s bursting through the door seemed to have shocked Fergus out of his indigestion. Instead of attacking the man who had just interrupted our sad little evening, the cat hissed and attacked my feet. Evan scooped up the cat, and Fergus immediately went limp and purred in his arms.
“Get out of my apartment, and take that cat with you,” I ordered.
“I was trying to save your life,” he retorted, setting Fergus on the fire escape to swat at moths.
“You’re trying to ruin my life. You broke my door!”
“It’s not broken,” Evan said defensively, shutting the door with a creak. “See! It still closes!”
“What are you even doing here anyway?” I demanded.
Evan looked slightly guilty. I narrowed my eyes. He smiled at me. It promised a lot of things, including a repeat of last night.
“No,” I said flatly. “I’m not helping you cheat on Camilla. That is not who I am.”
“Camilla,” Evan scoffed. “I’m not back with Camilla! You should know me better than that, Ivy.” Evan approached me, eyes dark. “I would never get back with her. You’re the only woman I want.”
“I am?” I squeaked. Then I forced myself to not let my inner sex goddess hijack my brain. If she had her way, the bills wouldn’t be paid and I’d just lie in bed with Evan all day.
Sounds like a good plan.
Wrong! Sounds like a terrible plan!
“The thing with Camilla is just…” Evan shrugged casually. “I’m trying to evict her out of my other condo. I need to sell it. She, however, insists we’re getting back together.”
“Oh,” I said, deflated.
“I’m simply trying not to burn bridges in the business community.” He gave me a wry smile. “It’s a small world. I don’t want Camilla’s father to ruin my hedge fund. Someone has to pay for the imported cigar bar at the reception.”
