Becoming a House Cat

Becoming a House Cat Part 3

I appeared at the café for a minute to see how things were coming along. After that, I drove to the Steakhouse to drop the basket of apples, telling my chef in charge of deserts to make the apple crumble with them tonight. The current mayor had dinner with a very rich couple who just moved in. They were interested in investing in our small local high school as there weren't any private ones less than four hours away.

Another pressing matter was to make sure my house was in order before bringing Cece in. I cleaned up the hallway to the main bedroom, hiding all the construction materials inside. My cleaner was supposed to come by in two days, so there was a week's worth of dust on everything. Willa's cottage was worst sanitation wise and Cece didn't seem to mind.

I made a quick inspection, putting away all the dirty laundry, lining up the cushions on the long couch in the downstairs living room. I placed the dried dishes in the cupboards and made sure all the appliances were in place. I changed the bedding in the guest room I picked for Cece, the one right across my office. I switched the cotton for silk, then my assistant, Jared, arrived with the electric blanket I added to the wooden box of extra quilts at the foot of the bed.

I made sure the closet was empty. Thinking back to the amount of clothes we bought, I dragged in an antique commode from my other smaller guest room next to my office. It was a tight fit, but she would be able to open all the drawers. It would be a good temporary room.

By the time I got back to Athena's Haven it was past noon. I was a bit late, but Cece was well surrounded. Stepping in, I found her sitting on a styling chairs chatting. She shot up when she saw me, running until she reached me and spun on one foot. Her bangs were cut shorter and her light amber eyes were finally on display. Her gaze was down right regal.

"Aphrodite cut my hair." She pushed up her afro, which now rested under her shoulders. "I even got my nails done!" They were longer and had black cat ears with a white background. "They're acrylics." She wiggled her fingers under my nose.

Athena bore a big, big, grin, guiding us to the cash register where a bag filled with her most expensive products was waiting for us. She knew I wanted to spoil Cece and took full advantage of it.

"Was there anything else?" I smiled challengingly at the parlor's owner.

"Did I get too much?" Cece sunk her kitten eyes into mine, tilting her head.

"I'm a man of my word. Anything and I'll pay for it."

She gave me an underarm hug while I paid for everything with my credit card one-handed. My other arm had fallen around her waist.

As we exited, the nail technician near the door waved at Cece.

"Come back soon Rapunzel." She winked, stinking her head out from behind her client.

"Sure!" Cece's cheerfulness was melting my heart.

As we settled back in the car, my stomach growled.

"I'm hungry too," she laughed. "All the time."

"Good thing I know the best place in town."

The Camerise was my HQ and my biggest purchase yet. My first businesses, though, were the restaurants. Two, to be exact. I brought Cece to the Italian one open for lunch and dinner. The Pausa Pranzo. We arrived at one and a half in the afternoon. The restaurant had plenty of empty tables. That would change in the evening, where all would be booked. The town's people preferred the more casual spots at lunch time like big chains and cafés. That was the reason I was investing in one.

"Good afternoon boss, and miss?" the head server Alanis welcomed us as we came in.

She was hiding behind me again. She hadn't done that in all the human run shops we went to. This place smelled like many shifters at once, no matter how good the ventilation was. Most of the active staff were part of the community. The one Cece was to join.