Hellcat

Chapter Seven

It's been a few days since Matt and I rescued Claire. We hadn't talked about that night when he held me. When he let me cry myself to sleep in his arms. In fact, the whole thing was embarrassing to me and I was glad he hadn't brought it up. I dressed and got ready to go to the office. When I arrived, after stopping to grab some coffee, Karen was yelling at the copier. "Ugh! Oh my God! You don't make any sense!" she snapped at the machine. Foggy was standing at the door to his office, laughing silently at her predicament. Karen had bought the office some equipment, I guess. I wasn't going to question it – just yet. It got here a couple days ago and we hadn't discussed the financial obligations yet.

Foggy noticed me enter and gave me a small nod before looking longingly at my coffee cup. He hated to say it, but we both knew it was true – Karen makes a terrible cup of coffee. Karen slammed down the top of the copier and Foggy finally spoke. "Whoa, be nice to it," he said, perching on the edge of her desk. "You know, for when the machines take over," Foggy continued. Karen glanced at him over her shoulder with a frustrated smile.

"I can't get any of this crap I bought to work," Karen said before turning her gaze onto me. "Which, I was meaning to talk to you about," she told me, looking a little nervous. Actually, she looked like a student who did something she probably shouldn't have and was hoping the teacher wouldn't be mad. "Later," I told her with a small nod and a half smile. She nodded, relief on her features.

"Bad time to mention the phones?" Foggy asked. Karen sighed. "All I hear when I try to dial is a bunch of clicks. Could be the machines plotting, but I don't speak computer overlord," Foggy tried to joke. "No, it's the rats," Karen replied simply. "The who-what-now?" I snapped, snapping to attention. "They chewed through the, uh, main line. Phone guy's working on it now. Exterminators Monday," she told us, sounding as if she was trying not to think about it. "We have rats now? I'm never sleeping here again," Foggy said as I felt the front door – and a hand – bump into my backside.

I don't like surprises, and this was definitely one. It took everything in me not to grab whoever opened the door and throw them over my shoulder. So, when I jumped away, I felt my whole body tense before I saw it was just Matt. "Oh, sorry Allison," he muttered as he entered the room. Karen and Foggy both looked at Matt with confused eyes, while mine simply widened. "How did you know it was Allison and not me or Foggy?" Karen asked, clearly confused. Matt raised his eyebrows, his mouth hung open as he tried to come up with an answer. Thinking fast, I smirked.

"Cause he touched my ass," I told them, crossing my arms while being careful of my coffee cup. "You can tell people apart by asses?" Foggy asked, looking both impressed and terrified. "Only ones that I'm familiar with," Matt said, tossing a smirk to them. His comment would have been fine – if I hadn't been taking a drink of my coffee. I choked on the drink, barely keeping it trapped behind my lips. Gulping it down, I coughed, gasping for air. Both Foggy and Karen looked at me with shocked concern as I felt a hand rest between my shoulder blades.

"You okay?" Matt asked, his voice soft – and right next to my ear. When I finally stopped coughing, I nodded. "Oh, God. Yeah, I'm good, I just didn't expect you to dignify what I said with a comeback," I told him, forcing myself to relax as I heard his smooth laughter. I glared at him but a smile crept onto my lips. "Says the queen of inappropriate comebacks," Matt replied. His hand was still on my back. "Yeah, public inappropriateness and indecency are my thing, not yours," I said, lightly slapping his chest. He just chuckled softly, shaking his head.

"Looks like the Catholic made you blush," Matt teased, remembering my comment from not too long ago. I rolled my eyes. "I didn't blush. You did nearly kill me with coffee though," I quipped before stepping back from the door. His hand slipped from my back, fingertips brushing against my hip as he turned and closed the door behind him, leaning his cane against the wall.