Page 13 of Rebel

Looking down at the object I caught, sure enough, it was a laser pointer. I ran one hand over my now throbbing temple. This was just great. I didn’t know a single thing about cats, had never held one a day in my life and now I was practically a full-time cat sitter.

I really didn’t like the smug expression on Benny’s face and had a vague suspicion it was because I had turned him down for that one-night stand a couple of nights ago. “I’ll update the partnership agreement, and we’ll sign off on it in front of Harvey. He’s a notary. That should make it all legal.”

“You mean enforceable in a court of law, right?”

Damn this man. He was pushing all my buttons this morning. I took a deep breath and pretended like I hadn’t heard that last question. “Just give me a few minutes.”

“I’m gonna go out and get Katy’s stuff from my truck.”

“I’ll buzz you out. We keep the door locked outside of business hours.”

“Great, don’t forget to add the section on Katy Purry. It’s a big part of what makes this partnership work for me.”

“I’ll bet it is,” I muttered under my breath as he walked out of my office. Damn, damn, and double damn. When I said I’d do anything to save my family business, this asshat just had to test my limits. I got the distinct impression this whole cat thing was some kind of power play, one that I clearly had lost. One thing was for certain, I was going to have to be on my toes whendealing with Benny. I wasn’t going to let him get one over on me again.

I got to work amending the agreement, buzzing Benny out and back in again. At least he was planning to stick by my side when dealing with the terminations. I wasn’t afraid of either of the men involved but I wasn’t looking forward to doing it alone, just on the off chance that one of them became irate.

My phone buzzed again. A quick look told me it was another text from Mr. Edwards with yet another incentive to get me to come back to LA. I’d stopped responding to them after the first one. It felt uncomfortable having to tell him no multiple times.

Chapter 6

Rebel

Imade short work of setting up Katy’s litter box in the private restroom attached to Lacey’s office. I did feel a twinge of guilt about dropping the whole cat situation on her, but she was a good sport about it. Hopefully, Dusty’s friend would turn up soon and it would only be a temporary arrangement. I gave her head a scratch, after only three days I was getting quite used to my redheaded feline companion. I never admitted to my club brothers that I still got anxiety sometimes when I heard loud noises, but I’d found that when Katy was sitting on my lap things didn’t seem to bother me half as much. I put her food and water bowls on the tile near the back exit because I was told that door was never in use. After dumping a small basket of cat toys near her desk, I sat down just in time for Lacey to pull our paperwork off the printer.

Since I’m not stupid, I carefully read every single word. To her credit, Lacey had added the parts I requested and what she wrote was a fair and accurate representation of our conversation. The doorbell chimed and after checking the front door security camera on her desktop computer, Lacey buzzed her employees in. A quick glance at my watch told me it was nearing ten o’clock.

All three of them barged into her office without knocking. The first one stopped dead in his tracks and demanded, “What the hell is going on here?”

“Mark, could I get you and Sherman to take a seat in the lobby for ten minutes, I’d appreciate it.”

“Look here, missy. You’re in my seat and I need you to move your pretty ass.”

“I’ll talk to you shortly, Mark. Go out and wait for me in the lobby.”

Instead of following directions, he took two steps closer to her. I growled in my not fucking around voice. “Mister, you can either go out to the lobby like Miss Livingstone asked or I can carry your ass out and sit down in a chair myself.”

“Who the hell are you?”

Lacey didn’t give me time to answer and said, “I know this is a confusing situation, Mark. But I need to talk to Harvey privately first. After that, you’ll be the first person I talk to.”

“I don’t know who you think you are, but while I’m out in the lobby, I’ll be calling your dad. He’ll be real interested to know you’re strutting around here like you own the place.”

“Hold off on calling him until after we talk. He’s not having a good day.”

Mark snorted a laugh and was already pulling out his cell phone as he walked back out the door. Sherman scurried out behind him.

Harvey shut the door and turned back to Lacey. “Is this what I think it is?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m taking over the business both legally and hands on moving forward. After having a look at the condition of the business it’s clear that some changes need to be made. I’d like for you to notarize a partnership agreementbetween Livingstone Electrical and Mr. Benjamin Ross. He’ll be working jobs right alongside you moving forward.”

“Your old man kept my notary seal in the bottom right desk drawer. He paid for me to become a notary and most all my notary work was for Livingstone Electrical.”

Lacey ratted around the drawer and found it. It didn’t take long for us to show ID, sign off on the agreement and for him to affix his seal and signature. Lacey made a copy for me and handed Harvey his assignments for the day.

Harvey’s eyes lit up. “Wow, we’re back to business as usual. Mark hasn’t given us a written work order in months.”

She told him proudly, “I plan to run this office just like my mom did. If it was good enough for her, it’s good enough for me.”

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