20. WARREN

ONE WEEK LATER

I couldn't get him off my mind, like a song played over and over. His smile, his touch, the way he clung to me like I was a large teddy bear in a claw machine.

Alexi was a treasure and together, nothing could get in the way of our happiness.

Marcus cleared his throat from the head of the boardroom, pulling me from thought. "I haven't seen your assistant around."

Back to the marketing meeting, rather than the morning of cuddles I got while he begged for me to let Sugar cuddle with us. The kitten still needed to grow before it could climb in bed between us. "Yeah, he quit. Not a good fit for him."

"First I'm hearing of it," he grumbled back, flicking through paper on the table.

I looked at Nick, Gareth, and Jane. They were all whipping through the pages to figure out what Marcus was going to question next. It was a report analysing the impact of the food festival.

"I think it's safe to say the festival was a success," he grumbled, clearing his throat once more. "You're lucky, I was having serious doubts."

"Are we done?" I asked. I used to live for work, I used to live for talking about tactics and techniques. But now, all I lived for was my personal life, and a way to find more freedom. It was also nice to think about living for the way Alexi felt on top of me too, hammering his thumbs into the console control, trying to distract me while beating my character in the game.

Marcus sighed. "Just the detail about how much those shot glasses cost, and we were giving them away, for free?"

My team looked at me. They seemed frightened to respond. The order came directly from him, but of course, he'd forgotten that. "As you said," I reminded him.

"No, no, I would remem—"

"At our meeting on the 20th," I said, picking a date from thin air and stubbing a finger at a random part of the page. "You mentioned, very enthusiastically about wanting shot glasses. You wanted the logo. I said the merchandising angle would be great for marketing, but—"

"A-ha, so, you said it was a great—"

"Would be," I interrupted once more, "if this were an alcohol company, but it's soft drinks. Sure, they're great for branding and we still have stock, but you signed off on it." Something he'd made sure to do; sign off on everything.

Marcus slapped the file shut. "I'm too hungry to continue this," he said, "after lunch, I might have a few more questions."

Lunch. Currently, my favourite word. Alexi had been making lunches, and each lunch had been a surprise. I told him to order out, but he insisted he wanted to help. He had his talents, other than being a good cream puff. He was great at taking care of the kitten, and he had a knack for always wearing the cutest clothes.

It was a short drive back to the apartment, and I was starving. I didn't mind coming home for lunch. It would've been easier to eat out, or to meet him in the city centre, but Alexi was only just recharging his batteries after all the overwhelming change.

"Oh no," Alexi called out as I walked through the front door. "I'm not ready!"

I immediately shut my eyes and carefully kicked my shoes off. "Let me know when you're ready."

He chuckled. "I still have to put Sugar in those little booties you got him."

"I don't know what's going on, but I'm excited." I loved how enthusiastic Alexi got about things. "And those booties were for your teddy." He loved dressing them up, in fact, since he'd moved his things in, I'd never seen such a large pile of stuffed animals. They were taking over the bedroom.

"Keep your eyes closed," he said.

"So, what's for lunch?" I asked.

"It's my favourite."

"I'm your favourite," I said, feeling around as I stepped slowly forward. "Can I uncover my eyes yet?"

"No, no," he said, "sit down and I'll give it to you on a plate."

He took my hand. I nearly flinched from the sudden contact. I was in front of the sofa, being told to sit down slowly. The sound of Sugar's tiny claws on the laminate at my side. I had many questions.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Always."

"Open your eyes!" Alexi stood in front of me, the tiniest pair of shorts on and a crop top. He presented a plate on my lap. There was a ham sandwich with the crusts cut off, a packet of salt and vinegar crisps, and a juice box. "Ta-da!" He didn't like to eat at the dining table, it was only a small one, and used mostly when I was working from home.

"For me?" I asked, smiling uncontrollably. "And what are you having?"

He walked back to the counter. "I got the same," he said. "It's like a picnic, but without going outside and getting flies on you."

"I love it."

Alexi took a seat beside me, snuggling himself up to me. "I didn't want to use the stove or oven without you here, it just gives me too much anxiety."

I wrapped my arm around his back. "You can use them, but I don't mind you waiting for Daddy's excellent supervision." I kissed his forehead. "So, what have you been up to this morning? Besides trying to get Sugar into a pair of socks."

"I had to choose an outfit to wear," he said, counting on a hand. "Outfit, then I took pictures of Sugar, then I had some ideas about what I wanted to do—"

"Oh, you did?"

He nodded. "And then I made lunch."

"Whatever you want to do, I'll support you."

"I set up an Instagram for Sugar, and he already has two-hundred followers," he said. "So, I have taken loads of pictures and I want to do one of those things where it shows him grow."

"I think that's a good idea," I said, raising a hand up his back to ruffle through his hair. "And nice work on finessing the algorithm."

"I did a good job, right?"

"Amazing!"

With a wide grin, he looked at his food and picked at the corner of a sandwich. "And also, I think maybe Sugar should have friends."

"Friends?" I asked. "You want another kitten?"

He shook his head. "No, no, I mean, I want to take him to that café again. He can meet everyone. I wonder if he has brothers and sisters there."

I was sure he had the name of a cat picked out for the second, but we'd need to wait until Sugar was house trained first. "We can visit, I'll talk to my friend who works there."

"And—and—maybe they'll have a job," he said. "I think it would be ok, I'd be around cats, and they'd make me happy."

It wasn't the worst idea. He loved cats and he'd worked in a café before. I just didn't want him to take a job because he thought I wanted him to have one. "I can ask," I said. "And maybe you could help with their Instagram too." I knew my friend did their marketing, and he was already on social media, but it didn't hurt to make Alexi feel like he would be an asset.

"Soon Sugar will have so many friends."

"Alexi," I said, "you know most of them are there to be adopted. Sugar might not see them again."

"So, he'll have friends all around the country." He gasped. "That sounds exciting, doesn't it?" He snapped his fingers, trying to get Sugar's attention. "Maybe he can have cat pen pals. Oo cat pals. And they can send each other letters with their paws."

"That's a great idea! Maybe Pink Paws have something like that in place. Like an update centre on the kittens and cats they've adopted out."

His eyes lit up. "Or maybe I could help them do that!"

"Maybe!" It was the first time he'd gotten giddy over the idea of work. "I'll talk to my friend about you. But you are ok here, alone, right?"

"I'm not alone," he chuckled, stuffing his face with the corner of the sandwich. "I have Sugar."

"Remember," I said, "good boys eat with their mouths closed."

He snuggled his head into me. Lifting his feet onto the coffee table, his toes curled, rubbing together. This is what coming home for lunch was all about. Feeling Alexi's love rub against me. It made me forgot all about work, even if the clock was ticking on me to return.