Page 84 of If You Give a CEO a Chance

When I get to the living room, I’m shocked to find Harrison surrounded by wooden planks, a mess of screws and a manual tossed to the side. Walter kneels beside him, shaking his head.

“Why are there so many pieces?” Harrison grumbles.

“You’re doing it wrong,” Walter points out. “You’ve got the base upside down. Did you read the instructions?”

Harrison frowns at the half-assembled cat tower that looks more like an abstract piece of art. “I don’t need them.”

“Are you hearing this, Cat?” Walter asks, gesturing toward the mess. “He’s putting the climbing post where the perch is supposed to go, unbelievable.”

Cat glares from his spot on the couch, clearly offended by the disruption.

“Does it matter?” Harrison mutters.

Walter arches a brow. “Only if you want Cat to survive his first climb.”

Harrison’s eyes light up with mischief. “Well, in that case—”

“You better end that sentence with ‘we better get it right,’” I interject as I step into the room.

The little demon has wormed his way into my heart, and I can’t help but feel protective of him.

“Good morning, Miss Fallon.” Walter grins.

“Good morning,” I say with a smile. “What are you doing?” I ask Harrison.

“I did some research, and based on what I found, I ordered a climbing tree to give Cat a dedicated scraping post. It was supposed to come assembled, but they mixed up the orders and it arrived like this.” He gestures to the jumbled mess. “Assembling furniture isn’t my forte,” he begrudgingly admits.

“I can tell,” I tease. “Please tell me you didn’t force Walter to come up and help you.”

“He didn’t,” Walter chimes in. “Another delivery came shortly after this one, and when I brought it to the penthouse, I saw Mr. Stafford struggling.” He covers his mouth to stifle a laugh. “I’m training a new doorman who’ll be working the night shift, so I was available to stay and assist, butsomeoneis being stubborn and not following the instructions.”

Harrison sighs, tossing Walter a playful glare before reluctantly sliding the unrecognizable cat tree his way.

“Let’s see you have a go of it,” he challenges.

“Certainly,” Walter says, not hesitating to take over assembling.

“I’m going to the kitchen to whip up some breakfast,” I tell them. “I’ll make something for you to take with you when you’re finished, Walter. We really appreciate your help.”

He nods, keeping his focus on the task at hand. “Always, Miss Fallon.”

I turn away, not wanting Harrison or Walter to be alarmed at the tears in my eyes. It’s hard to hold back the emotion when someone shows me kindness, especially after years of learning to fend for myself. Even something simple like setting up a climbing tree for a mischievous cat I’ve grown to care for, even though he causes more trouble than anything, means a lot to me.

My circle has always been small, and I’m closest to Theo and Lila. But with one living far away and the other being my boss until recently, I’ve had to learn to handle things like assembling furniture on my own.

Getting a glimpse of what it means to have a reliable support system is making me emotional, and the fear that it could all be gone tomorrow has me fleeing to the kitchen to pull myself together.

After preparing breakfast, I’m whipping up a batch of red velvet cookies to thank Walter. He left a few minutes ago, but I plan to bring them down to him later.

I glance down to find Cat rubbing against my legs, meowing.

That’s new.

It’s the first time he’s shown me any affection since he got here, and I’m not going to lie, I’m thrilled. It’s a welcome change from being hissed at or given the cold shoulder.

“Hungry?” I coo. “Must have been exhausting supervising this morning.”

“Seriously?” Harrison says from the doorway. “I put blood, sweat, and tears into building his climbing tree, and he rewards you instead?”

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