“Wait. Who did what?”
“He could ruin my business, Bay! I've built it from the ground up, and it’s going to be ripped from my fingers.” My nervous energy has my hand shaking.
“Your mate? You really think he's capable of that?”
“I don't know what he's capable of! He's the head of a huge corporation.”
“Oh. Oh no!” Bay's cheeks turn pink. “Wait, you work in tech, don't you? Some kind of programmer?”
“Why?”
Her face gets serious as she walks around the counter into the customer space. “You should really talk to my fiancé.”
Confused, I diligently follow her into the cat sanctuary room, where, sitting there in the middle of the floor, is a very large, very familiar, very grumpy Bigfoot. He has a handful of kittens scrambling across him while he cleans out a litter box.
“Sacha?” I squeak without intending to.
He looks up, his big brown eyes finding me.
“Ms. Hamilton?” He acknowledges me with a nod. A kitten in his lap yells loudly for his attention, and he lifts a huge hairy finger to scratch under its chin.
"What are you doing here?" I ask, backing away.
“Sacha is my mate.” Excitement flashes through Bailey’s eyes as she says it.
"What is going on, Beast?” Sacha asks.
"I was just leaving." I turn for the door.
"Wait! Please!" Bailey steps into my path. "I promise I didn't realize until just now! You never said! I didn't make the connection! But it makes so much sense! You and Pontius are perfect for each other!"
"You can’t be serious.” I shake my head.
“Beast, what are you talking about?” Sacha frowns in Bailey’s direction. Their eyes meet and they silently communicate, the way that really close couples can.
"She's Pontius’s mate.”
Sacha’s eyes narrow, he looks from me to his fiancé and then back again.
“If Pontius had a mate I’d know about it,” Sacha disagrees, leaning back on his haunches carefully to not disrupt the kitten pile.
“No he wouldn’t,” Bailey says to me conspiratorially. “He’s completely clueless.”
“Who told you? Pleasant?” Sacha asks.
Bailey shakes her head subtly.
“Was it Magnes?” I cross my arms over my chest.
She sighs.
“Ness?” Sacha asks.
“We text sometimes.” Bailey shrugs. “He loves the Kardashians.”
“Ness knows? And I don’t?” Sacha asks.
“Because you’re totally clueless,” Bailey reiterates.
