9. Kitty

9

KITTY

I hadn’t planned on confessing all those thoughts and feelings to Rook two days ago. I’d been looking for a safe way back into the house and a way to cover for the fact that I had been out looking for someone, but the way he looked at me had triggered something. Suddenly, I needed him to know the truth and understand that I wanted him. Really wanted him.

I needed him to understand that the strange distance between us hurt, and I hadn’t expected him to bring up so many reasons we shouldn’t be together.

Looking back, I understood. He saw the world differently than I did and had more on his mind that he had to consider. There had even been a few moments when he almost persuaded me, but I wasn’t going to give up until I knew for a fact that he was completely uninterested.

It was safe to say that he was as hungry as I was, and that warmed me inside. I was carrying this little secret that was just for me and him, and no one else would ever get to know.

“Are you alright?” Rook locked eyes with me as I climbed out of my father’s car, pulling me from my wandering thoughts.

“Yeah.” I nodded and quickly smoothed out the rumples on my skirt and blouse. “Just thinking.”

“About?”

I glanced past Rook to the building we had parked in front of. Just ahead of us, my mom and dad hurried up the steps flanked by the security team. From the other cars dotted about the parking lot, most other people were already here, making us the last ones.

“Just…” I sidestepped Rook as he closed the car door. “I guess trying to think of what more I could say to persuade my father how dangerous this deal really is.”

“He’s not shifting?”

“Not even a little.” I tucked some loose strands of hair behind my ear as we headed up the steps. “I don’t even fully understand the details of this meeting, but I think they’re moving on to the next steps of which part of the forest to tear down next. Did you know those trees had been untouched for longer than anyone could count?”

Rook shook his head. “I didn’t know that.”

“Even the people who settled here and built this town saw the importance of the forest and preserving nature. Never mind the beauty for the tourists, and now we lose it all because some rich fucks want to get from one boring gray city to the next faster.”

“From what I’ve seen,” Rook said as he held open the door and I ducked under his arm, “a lot of people in town mirror your passion for stopping this.”

“Yeah, but most folks are caught between feeling like they couldn’t do enough and their voices don’t matter, or they still have some misplaced respect for my father and what he used to be like.” As we walked, the clack of my heels echoed in the hall and I winced slightly. “I won’t stop trying, but I’m just aware, I guess, of the limitations.”

“I can’t offer much in the way of advice,” Rook said, stopping outside the door to the meeting room, “but standing up for what you believe in is always the right way to go.”

I flashed him a wide smile and nodded, then took a deep breath and walked inside.

The room was filled with various different CEOs and construction planners all deep in personal conversations. My dad took a few minutes to introduce me, and I had to dance around comments about what I thought of the highway, how proud I must be of my father and how I’m surely too young to be involved in such discussions.

Those pleasantries faded when my dad called the meeting to order and silence fell. I took my seat and braced myself for what was sure to be a tough afternoon.

It started slowly, with talks of money saved by switching to a different construction company at the last minute, to using cheap labor and dodgy contracts that sounded like they offered no benefits to the employees. To my father’s credit, he did have a few questions about that, but they were quickly brushed away when the talk of profit came to the table. Through all the mind-numbing talk of these businessmen blowing smoke up each other’s asses, my only comfort was Rook. He stood nearby, watching over everything, and it warmed my heart to have him so close.

Especially knowing what he was packing in those pants.

I started to speak up when the conversation turned to the town and how the highway would benefit all the residents. I raised my points of the increased flooding, the contaminated water, the loss of business and livelihood. Those who treated me as if I didn’t know what I was talking about because I was a woman were only overshadowed by those so wrapped up in the money speaks for itself that it felt like I spent two hours talking to a brick wall.

Even my father grew more and more irritated every time I spoke up, which only fueled me on to stand up for the town. Until my mother started to pull me back into my seat and scold me for talking out of turn, as if every other man in the room wasn’t talking over one another.

“This is ridiculous,” I hissed to her quietly when the conversation turned to the best place to build the new gas stations. “There’s going to be no town left. Don’t you care at all?”

Mom took my hand and patted the back of my knuckles. “It’s the cost of progress, dear. You know this. Things can’t stay the same forever.”

“Sure, I understand that. But destroying this town and forest for some soulless cement road and ten gas stations isn’t progress. It’s greed. All this money could be used to repave the roads that are already here or invest in tourism or something .”

Unfortunately, my mother simply patted my hand once more and smiled, then she returned to her magazine and let the whole thing wash over her.

I bet she’d have something to say if the construction got in the way of her Yuletide Ball.

I rolled my eyes and slumped in my chair just as my phone buzzed to life. Fishing it out of my purse, a message from Anton flashed on the screen.

‘Showtime’

Shit. They were here already?

I glanced around the room as a sudden pulse of nerves wormed through my gut. Rook was distracted, deep in conversation with one of the other security team members. Since he was watching me like a hawk, this was my only chance.

“I have to pee.” I patted my Mom’s leg, then slid from my chair and hurried out of the room as quickly as I could. One outside, I waited for a few seconds, then peeked back inside. Rook was still deep in conversation and no one else seemed to notice that I’d left.

Perfect .

In hindsight, heels were not the best shoe choice today, and I cursed my past self for dressing to look good for Rook rather than the practicality of running down a hallway at top speed. The sound of my heels clacking on the floor was deafening, so when I reached the corner of the bathroom, I immediately took them off.

Shoes in hand, I hurried down the next corridor with my bare feet slapping against the cold linoleum floor. I ran all the way to the fire exit at the end. Just as I reached the door, I was about to open it when a thought struck me.

What about the alarm?

Returning to my phone, I hit Call on Anton’s number.

“What is it?” Anton answered immediately.

“I’m at the door, but what if it sounds the alarm?” I asked quickly. “If I open this, won’t everyone be alerted?”

“Don’t worry, we’ve already taken care of that,” Anton said, “so hurry up and open the door!”

Rolling my eyes, I did as he asked and leaned on the push bar. The fire door swung open, and just as he said, no alarm was triggered. “How did you do that?” I asked Anton as we hung up the phone.

“The less you know, the better,” Anton said, pushing past me to get inside. He kept one hand on my arm as the rest of his group flooded through the door. I caught glimpses of banners, paint pots, and water pistols, but there were more people than I expected, so it was hard to keep track.

“You’ll keep to your promise, right?” I asked Anton. “Because I am not against spilling the beans if someone gets hurt.”

Anton smirked and shook his head. “Listen, we’re professionals. We know how to scare the suits.”

“Professionals?” I frowned, trying to think of how many other situations in town could have called for action like this. “How can you be a professional protestor?”

“Listen.” Anton moved his hand to my shoulder, and I immediately shrugged it off. “It’s all part of the plan!”

I wanted to ask more and decide whether to follow them or not, but those questions never came.

As Anton stepped back, Rook suddenly came into view right there, sprinting around the corner with fear on his face that quickly melted into anger.

“Kitty?” he barked, grabbing Anton by the collar and hauling him out of the way. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”