My Girlfriend, My Pet.

Chapter 23

Maggie stirred in bed as she reached over for Mike only to grab fistfuls of empty sheets. Sitting up in bed, she couldn't help but wonder where he disappeared to as the clock on his bedroom wall showed ten minutes to seven in the morning. On a Sunday. 

Just as she tossed her blanket aside as opened the door, she heard noises coming from the kitchen. Then she caught a scent of what was happening - Mike was cooking breakfast. Deciding to give him a hand, Maggie approached only to find a completely naked Mike, except for an apron, standing in front of the stove. 

She swallowed hard as she said, "You know that's one way to get a nasty scar should an accident happen." He whirled around and grinned at her. "You're supposed to be in bed, Maggie. It's a Sunday morning." 

"I can't see that's not the case for you, then," she said as she approached him. "Maggie, go back to bed," he said in a serious tone - as serious as it could get coming from a naked man wearing an apron and holding a spatula. 

"And if I don't?" 

Mike inhaled as he turned down the flames until it died out. "I'll make you." 

Dropping his spatula and apron, Maggie choked back a gasp as he chased her around the house only for  her to end up beneath him on his couch. Before they could sneak another quickie in, Mike lifted Maggie in his arms as he brought her to bed. 

"Now. You stay in bed, okay? I'm supposed to bring you breakfast in bed. So, you relax here and let me get back to work. The next time I catch you outside, you're gonna' regret it," he said as he tucked her in. 

"Keep standing there without your clothes and I might make you regret it instead," she grinned at him. Mike lowered himself and planted a deep kiss onto her lips, lightly nibbling her lower lip and pulling away just before she could immerse herself in it. 

"There's more of that if you be a good girl and let me finish cooking." With that said, Mike sauntered out of the room, giving Maggie an unobstructed view of his carefully toned gluteus maximus. 

Maggie laid in bed, smiling and wondering where did it all go so right for her. 

~~~

"Where did it all go so wrong for me?," Elizabeth wondered aloud to herself as stepped from the bedroom into the hallway of her new apartment. It wasn't as upscale as what she was used to but still far beyond the reach of anyone with an average paycheck. 

With millions in savings - in her personal account where her father couldn't get his hands on - Elizabeth knew that despite being thrown out, she was more than capable of taking care of herself. After all, she was a big girl and she knew exactly how to earn her money. 

"Anything else I can help you with?," said one of the movers who unloaded most of her kitchen utensils.

"No, that'll be all. Thank you." Elizabeth handed him and his partner their fees, along with a sizeable tip. Nodding, the shorter of the two eyed her longer than necessary before they closed the door behind them. Settling herself onto the couch, Elizabeth was about to turn on the television when her phone went off.

An unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Hi Elizabeth. It's Mike, Raiden's partner in his company. Apologies for contacting you for the first time on the phone but I figured it was the only way."

Brushing formalities aside, Mike had called Elizabeth to ask her to meet him for coffee as they wanted to discuss the direction of the company and how the two of them would fit in. When she asked about Raiden's presence, Mike laughed before commenting that there was no way to separate him from Iona ever since they made their relationship official. 

Well, that's good for him. Elizabeth thought to herself before agreeing to meet Mike the following day for a chat. 

Disconnecting the call, she laid back onto the couch. As much as it was clear that she and Raiden would never be together - a fact she herself had come to terms with - Elizabeth still felt a hint of sadness. Thankfully, most of her was happy for him. 

~~~

Mike had just placed the two cups of coffee for Maggie and him on the table when Elizabeth walked through the door of the cafe. Waving his hand at her, she caught his gaze and made her way towards the table, smiling and nodding at Maggie the moment she spotted her seated next to Mike.

"Hi Elizabeth. Thanks for joining us, I believe you two have already met?", Mike said as Maggie stood to shake her hand again. It was justified for Maggie to feel a tinge of apprehension towards her since they barely knew each other and Maggie herself had heard a number of horror stories from Raiden and Mike. 

A light nudge from Mike's feet as he sat down reminded her to remain on her best behaviour - he had explained to Maggie during the drive down that Raiden was confident that she had turned a new leaf. Maggie made a mental note to herself to ask Iona on whether she could just shadow Elizabeth to see whether or not he was right about her. 

Ordering a latte for herself, Elizabeth was unusually reserved as Mike explained what could happen the minute she stepped into the company. When Elizabeth spilled the beans on what her father had done, Maggie edged closer to believing Raiden that she had indeed learned her lesson. No one deserved to be thrown out of the family business just because she couldn't marry who her father had picked out for her. 

"Well, you know what? You can tell your father to go suck-"

"Maggie? Please.", Mike interrupted. 

Letting out a chuckle, Elizabeth agreed to whatever Maggie was going to say. "Yeah, he was a bit of a jerk to do that but it's okay. I don't need his money to survive." 

By the end of the day, it was agreed that Elizabeth would take Mike's position in the company while Raiden was planning to make Mike a partner and possible successor. Over the past few days, Raiden had dropped hints that he was approaching a decision to leave behind an active role in the business, instead opting for a passive role on the board. 

"That sounds pretty good to me," said Elizabeth as she called for the bill. Now all that was left for Mike to do was grab hold of Raiden for a few minutes and let him know what was discussed. Maggie - as much as she wanted to believe Elizabeth - would give Iona a ring just to make sure that all is well for everyone's sake.