“What’s that?”
“Okay, so the community center is trying to raise money for charities around town, but Miss Lina will need some volunteers to help organize it. Miss Diem is letting people use the Willowbrook Inn once they’re finished renovating the event space.”
“Okay…”
“So, I was thinking maybe we could sign Gia up to help plan or host an event! She’d have to work closely with us, and the two of you would have to set aside your differences to make things work. Plus, we’d raise money for charity, so it’s a win-win!”
Compared to his plan, which involved kidnapping Gia and keeping her hostage in a secluded cabin until she developed Stockholm syndrome and fell in love with him, this was a much better idea.
“I like this idea?—”
“Oh! And you remember the cat I’ve been trying to trap at Griffin’s garage?”
“Yeah…” He was almost scared to hear what she had to say.
“She’s feral. We could do that thing where we trap and spay it while raising funds for the animal shelter!”
“I’m afraid to ask this, but…” He paused for dramatic effect. “You’re not planning on keeping the cat, right?”
“Pssh. Of course not. Just trying to be a good Sumerian.”
“A Good Samaritan?”
“Yeah, that’s what I said,” Marley continued, hands gesticulating excitedly in front of her as she talked. “Anyway, before I was rudely interrupted, I was saying I think it’s perfect. Who doesn’t like cats? Who doesn’t enjoy helping a helpless teenager whose parents abandoned her?”
“Marley—”
“I don’t think Gia is one of those celebrity actresses who is only nice on camera and is a raging super bitch?—”
“Marley! Language!”
“Sorry. I meant a raging superdiva. I think she’s actually a really nice person.” Marley paused in her tirade as if a thought hadoccurred to her. “Well… maybe not to you. Because she seems to like really,reallynot like you. You never told me why.”
“And I’m not going to because it’s nonya.”
“Nonya? Seriously? How old are you?”
“Old enough to know you should be doing your homework,” Jake retorted.
“I already finished it.” Marley was quick to respond. He took her word for it. Despite her tendency to get in trouble sometimes, she was an outstanding student. If she wasn’t doodling in her journal, he’d find her reading a book she’d borrowed from the local library instead. “You know what this calls for?”
“What?”
“Research.” Marley whipped out the smartphone Jake bought for her. It was an older refurbished model, but it had all the capabilities she needed to be a normal teenager.
“Research, huh?”
“Yeah, you know, find out what to call our mission.”
“Right. Of course.”
“Hmm… How to socialize feral cats…”
“Operation Feral Cat sounds fine to me.”
“No, vetoed.”
Chuckling, Jake got up and strode over to his desk. He had a mountain of paperwork to get through. According to his calendar, he didn’t have any more clients to meet for the rest of the day. Grabbing the first stack on his desk, Jake plopped into his seat with a sigh.
