The Empire State Cat’s Christmas Gift

CHAPTER THREE

By Friday morning, cabin fever, or rather hotel room fever, had set in. Tish hated living out of a suitcase and couldn’t wait to get to Madison’s house for the weekend. Her friend had offered her the chance to stay there all the time, but the commute would take too many valuable hours away, especially in light of her lost client. She needed every minute to dredge up new business and work on her big case if she was to get her law practice back on solid ground. The only good thing about living in a hotel was that it was very close to her office. She determined the only way to make the next few months livable was to spend as little time in the hotel as possible.

The early morning jog along the river had brightened her spirits. She had fallen out of an exercise routine and though she had maintained her one hundred and forty pounds on her five-eight frame, she had gotten a bit soft and out of shape sitting at a desk or in a courtroom all day. Time to get toned again and getting away from the hotel was a good incentive. Besides, it was a pretty fall morning, sunny and unseasonably warm. She finished her run, out of breath and soaked with sweat, hair matted to her face. She was parched as she spotted the soda cart in front of the hotel. She made her way over to get a cool drink, finding herself behind a man in a suit who was talking on a cell phone.

The burly, fiftyish guy with salt-and-pepper hair operating the cart handed a cup of coffee to the man as she moved forward. He gave her a warm smile. “Can I help you, young lady?”

“Thank you for calling me young.”

“No charge for compliments.”

“You got a cold club soda, or sparkling water?”

“Sure.” He reached into the cooler, pulled out a can and handed it to her. “Dollar.”

She reached into her pocket. Empty. “Damn it. I forgot some money. I’m in the hotel, I’ll be right back.”

The man in the suit apparently overheard. “Hang on a minute.” He put the phone against his chest, reached in his pocket and handed the guy a dollar bill. “I got it.”

She turned to face him. “Thank you, that’s very kind of you—”

And then it hit her.

Her eyes went wide as she looked into the face of the white knight from the restaurant.

She had called him awfully cute, but up close he was beyond cute.

And here she was looking like absolute crap in the paint covered sweatpants and old t-shirt she kept in her car.

“No problem,” he said, flashing her a smile. “Excuse me.” He turned away and went back to his phone call as he looked at his watch. “I’m back. Anyway, I’ll see you Saturday night but I gotta go.” He started to walk away. “Love you too.”

Tish shook her head. “Well, damn. Can this week get any worse?”

The soda cart guy studied her face. “Something wrong, Miss?”

“My luck just needs to change, that’s all.”

*

Spencer waited until Ariel left the office for a deposition. She’d be gone an hour or so, more than enough time for him to follow through on her idea.

Finding out the identity of the lawyer who had seriously kicked ass in the courtroom the other day. Ariel was right about the woman being his type. Intelligence trumped everything with him, and that woman was off-the-charts brilliant. Her combination of street smarts and knowledge of the law was impressive. Toss in some New York City spunk and her appeal skyrocketed.

And she was quietly beautiful with those spectacular eyes.

He logged into the New York City justice system database and called up the docket for the new judge, then clicked on the case that had been scheduled for her first morning.

A quick read reminded him there was a female attorney for both the plaintiff and the defendant. One of the names was somehow familiar. “Where the hell do I know that from?” He paused a minute, but couldn’t place it.

He opened another window on the laptop and logged into the New York Bar Association website, then typed in the name of the defendant’s lawyer, Jolene Davis.

He drummed his fingers on the desk as he waited for her bio to load. Then shook his head as the screen featured a photo of a brunette in her fifties. “Nope, not her. Gotta be the other one.” He typed in “Tish McKenna” and waited.

There she was.

His pulse quickened a bit as he started to read her bio—

Which stopped him dead in his tracks. His jaw dropped as he saw the name of the law school and the year she’d graduated.

“You gotta be kidding me. She was in my class? How the hell did I miss someone like that?”

Because you were young and stupid. And into flashy bimbos back then like most men of that age.

He simply couldn’t remember her at all. Next stop, the website for his law school’s alumni association. He pulled up the photo of the graduating class, read the caption to find the name and her place in the photo. When he saw her face he instantly remembered the woman.

“Oh.” His eyes narrowed as his jaw and fists clenched. “Her.”

There she was, middle of the picture in a cap and gown standing next to the Dean of the law school. She was the valedictorian, her grades so far ahead of the other students it wasn’t even close. The one person who had kept him in second place. Known back then as Mrs. Spock, nicknamed after the Star Trek character who had no emotions and was driven by pure logic. She had been all business, all the time. Never socialized with any of the other students. Never smiled, cracked a joke or made any comment in class regarding anything other than the law. Didn’t go to any of the parties. As far as anyone knew, she never dated. It was like having a nun as a classmate. She sat in the first row, her hand always shooting up like a rocket a nanosecond after the professor asked a question. Answers always perfect. Able to cite obscure legal precedents in a single bound. The woman was a walking law library who got a perfect score on every single exam.

Everyone had hated her. Part jealousy, part lack of personality.

Okay, mostly jealousy.

He’d admired her performance in the classroom and actually tried to strike up a conversation with her in the law library during his first year, just to be nice since he knew she hadn’t made any friends. He sat down across from her and slid a cup of coffee next to her book. She’d told him, “No offense, and don’t take this the wrong way, but I prefer to study alone.” She’d picked up her books and moved to another table, leaving him with two cups of java. She was the most driven woman he’d ever seen.

Her.

But the graduation photo didn’t remotely look like the woman he’d seen in the courtroom.

The law student with the long, stringy blonde hair who had always looked like an unmade bed in cargo pants and bulky sweatshirts had blossomed like the proverbial ugly duckling into a swan.

“Okay, where is she now?”

Spencer did a search for her firm and his eyes bugged out.

“She’s in this building? On this floor? You gotta be kidding me!”

He stared at the photo on her website, the same woman he’d seen in the courtroom.

Actually smiling a bit.

The website was nothing fancy, pure business. No surprise there. She apparently ran a one-person firm. No surprise there either, as he couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to work with her and the attitude that came with it.

Back to the justice system website for a search of her cases. “Let’s see what kind of clients she likes.”

The list was impressive. Tish McKenna obviously wasn’t in it for the money—he used to be the same. All her clients seemed to be on the side of good. Lots of pro bono work for charities. A few high profile cases he remembered.

And she won almost every time. Just like law school.

“Bus-ted! Again!”

He swung his chair around and saw Ariel smiling at him. “What happened to your deposition?”

“Canceled. Much to your dismay.” She pointed at the laptop. “Ah, stalking the classy attorney, I see.”

His face immediately flushed. “I was just curious since, uh, you know, you said we should hire her.”

“Oh, gimme a break, Spence, you’ve got a thing for her. We’ve been friends too long for me to miss the signals. Those glasses came off and it was game over. If we’d stayed in the courtroom any longer you would have needed a drool cup.” She pulled up a chair and sat next to him. “So, what’d you find out about the mystery woman?”

“You’re not going to believe this, but we were in the same class at law school.”

“You gotta be kidding.”

“Nope.”

“Let me get this straight…you’re hot for this woman and you spent three years in law school with her? Why didn’t you go after her then?”

“She wasn’t exactly the same person.” He clicked on the laptop and brought up the graduation photo, then pointed at the woman.

“That’s the lawyer we saw in the courtroom? Damn, I want some of what she’s drinking. Talk about getting better looking with age.”

He patted Ariel’s hand. “Just like you.”

“Awww, you’re such a sweetie. I really do have you trained and ready for a wife.” Ariel leaned forward and pointed at the photo. “And apparently she’s not the only one who gets more attractive. Is that really you?”

“Yep.”

“Doesn’t even look like the same person. But could you not afford a razor? That is one sorry looking beard. You look like you’re trying out for Occupy Wall Street.”

“Yeah, it seemed like a good idea at the time. I got rid of it right after graduation. My adviser said it wasn’t good for job interviews.”

“Anyway, back to your infatuation with the young lady who has the great eyes. May I remind you about the last time you dated a lawyer.”

“I would rather you didn’t. I’ve tried very hard to forget her.”

“You’re not the only one. Dinner with you two was like a trip to the Supreme Court. All you did was argue, and half the time it was over what to order from the menu.”

“That doesn’t mean all lawyers are like her. Thank God.”

“Well, tread carefully. So, what was Miss Spectacular Eyes like back then?”

“She wasn’t friends with anyone. I tried being nice to her once in the law library. Brought her a cup of coffee. She picked up her books and walked away. Totally focused on school. Zero personality. Remember the woman I told you about who beat me for valedictorian?”

“That’s the woman who kept you in second place?”

“Yep. And it wasn’t even close. Then she gets the number one score on the bar exam for the entire state of New York. Smartest person I’ve ever met.”

“Which, when you add it to the features she already has, makes you want her even more.”

“Hey, I like brilliant women. That’s why you and I get along so well.”

“You’re just full of compliments today. Of course if she still has zero personality the point is moot.”

“Very true. But she didn’t show that kind of spunk in law school when we had mock court. She was more like an android. Since then she’s developed an attitude.”

“Honey, we all do as we get older.”

“Oh, one more thing.” He pointed at the monitor. “Check out the address of her firm.”

Ariel’s jaw slightly dropped. “She’s down the hall?”

“Yep. And I’ve never run into her. I’d remember a woman like that.”

“Well, we’ve only been in this building for a year. So, you gonna walk down to her office and say hello?”

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Why not? You’ve got a great excuse. You saw her in court, and we could use another lawyer for the firm to take things off our plate. Go pay her a visit, tell her she impressed the hell out of you and see if she might be interested in joining us. Even better, ask her to lunch but call it a job interview.”

“Yeah, like that situation couldn’t blow up in my face. Dating someone I work with.”

“You have a point. Hey, wait a minute.”

“What?”

“Since you two went to the same school, I’ve got an idea how you can meet her.”

*

Tish tore into her plate of ziti and meatballs while Socks and Bumper were busy batting a ball of aluminum foil around the living room. “Madison, I cannot tell you how great it feels not to eat in a restaurant or be in a hotel room after work.” She looked at her plate. “Oh my God, this is fantastic. Did you make this?”

Rory rolled her eyes. “Get real. You know her specialty of the house is burnt toast.”

“Nick cooks for her every night,” said A.J. “She’s one step away from being a kept woman.”

Tish took a bite of a meatball and washed it down with some wine. “Damn, Madison, you’re gonna be three hundred pounds by your first anniversary.”

“Trust me, they work it off,” cracked A.J.

Madison slapped her on the shoulder. “A.J.!”

“Hell, Madison,” said Rory. “We all know you can’t keep your hands off him.”

Madison blushed. “Fine. We have an…active lifestyle.”

Tish laughed. “Yeah, you hit your target heart rate without leaving the bedroom. Thank God he’s not around to hear this. Where is your darling fiancé anyway?”

“Poker game with the guys from his precinct.”

“Ah.” Tish dabbed her mouth with a napkin. “Speaking of men, I, uh, ran into our white knight from the restaurant.”

Conversation stopped. Madison leaned forward. “Really. Do tell.”

“Well, I went for a run before going to work and on my way back to the hotel I stopped at a soda cart to get a drink. He was there talking on his cell phone. Anyway, I go to pay for the soda and realized I’d forgotten to bring some cash. He notices, stops talking, pulls out a dollar and pays for it.”

Rory locked eyes with her. “And…then what happened?”

“I thanked him, he went back to his phone call and walked away.”

A.J. frantically waved her hands. “Whoa, hang on. You just let him walk away?”

“Well, for one, I was soaked with sweat and looked like crap wearing some old clothes I keep in the trunk of my car and he’s in a thousand dollar suit. Then I hear him on the phone say, ‘I’ll see you Saturday night, love you too.’” Her face dropped. “So you were probably right about that babe he was with in the restaurant. He’s obviously taken and the woman he was with was stunning.”

Madison shrugged. “He could have been talking to his mother.”

Tish shook her head. “Oh, come on. What single guy goes out with his mother on a Saturday night?”

“Could be a sister,” said Rory. “Or a close platonic female friend. Or maybe he was going to a party.”

“Stop it,” said Tish. “Guys like that always have someone.” She leaned forward and rested her chin in her hand. “But I tell ya, that guy had the most spectacular olive green eyes I’ve ever seen. If you thought he was cute from across the restaurant, you should have seen him up close. This great thick hair and he filled out a suit like a model. A real boy next door look, on the line between cute and handsome. The kind of guy you want to take home to meet your parents. And you know your mother will fall in love with him.”

Madison stopped eating, pointed her fork at Tish and talked through a mouthful of pasta. “You. Are. Smitten.”

Tish’s face tightened as she sat up straight. “Pffft. I don’t get smitten.”

Rory laughed. “Yeah, she’s got that dreamy look she had freshman year over that guy in the dorm. Haven’t seen it since, but it’s back. Schoolgirl crush. Definitely smitten.”

“I am not…smitten! And this is not a simple crush. I don’t even know the guy.”

A.J. patted her on the shoulder. “It’s okay, sweetie. You’re not on the witness stand. Just admit you’re attracted to the guy and wanna jump his bones.”

Tish waved her hand in disgust. “Pffft. Like it will make any difference. The odds of running into him again…and of him being unattached…that’s a wild daily double with some pretty long odds.”

“Serendipity happens,” said Rory. “But sometimes you gotta give it a little help. Look at Madison and Nick. I mean, if their ending up together wasn’t a wild turn of events…well, you still have hope.”

“What do you mean, give it a little help?”

“Tell you what, next time we all go out to eat we’ll hit that restaurant again. The waitress said he was a regular. If he’s there we’ll ask to get seated next to him. At least if that woman is with him we can eavesdrop and see what the story is and if she’s his significant other.”

Madison nodded. “And you should go jogging at the same time on the same route. If you ran into him near your hotel and he was in a suit, chances are he works in the neighborhood. He’s not going to walk ten blocks to get coffee.”

“So, what, I just run up to the guy and hit on him?”

“Geez, for someone ruled by logic you sure miss the obvious,” said Rory. “You offer to pay him back for the soda. Then you buy him a cup of coffee. Only make sure you don’t look like crap this time.”

“Pretty hard to do after I run two miles.”

Madison rolled her eyes. “Duh. Again, missing the obvious. You stop at the drink cart before you run.”

Tish shook her head and sipped her wine. “Wow, the things a girl has to do to get a date…”

*

Madison entered the guest room just as Tish pulled back the covers. “Nick and I are going to turn in. So, you need anything?”

“I’m good.” Tish gave her a strong hug. “Can’t thank you enough for this. Really nice of you, though I feel like I’m putting you out.”

“Hey, what are friends for? By the way, hope you didn’t mind us yankin’ your chain on the smitten thing. But, to be honest, you’ve got that look.”

Tish shrugged as she sat on the corner of the bed. “I guess it’s been so long since I had a decent boyfriend it shows.”

“Yeah, your choices haven’t always been the best. When’s the last time you dated a guy more than once?”

“Probably three years ago. I dunno, Madison, I guess I’ve reached the point where I can tell right away. I’ve become an expert on spotting red flags after those poor choices you referred to. Subconsciously I guess I’d given up.”

“You’ve been like me, too obsessed with a career to take time to smell the roses.” Madison slid next to her and patted her hand. “Well, when you least expect it, the right guy will show up in your life. I mean, look how I met Nick.”

“True. Talk about serendipity. You guys had it in spades.”

“Well, maybe it’s your turn. You certainly had enough bad luck this week. Things can only get better.”

Just as she said that, Socks jumped onto the bed and started kneading the comforter with her front paws. “At least I have someone who wants to sleep with me on a Friday night.”

“Oh, stop it. So why all the interest in a guy all of a sudden?”

“I dunno. I guess I see you and Nick, how happy you two are, how much he’s changed you in a good way…how this house has turned into a home. I’m jealous of what you have and lately I want it for myself.”

“Yeah, he has made me a better person. And a very different person. Of course, the kittens got the ball rolling on that.”

“Socks seems to be doing the same for me. I look at you and how you used to be so obsessed with your work and now you balance your job and your love life so well. You’ve got it all. All I’ve got is a career. It’s all I’ve ever had.”

“You have good friends, Tish.”

“I didn’t mean it that way. Now I want it all too. Maybe I need someone to show me there’s more to life than a law practice, y’know? And since the fire I’ve been thinking about where I live. It’s not really a home, but just a place where I sleep and work on my cases. It’s really been no more than a second office. You two have made a real nest here.”

Madison wrapped one arm around her. “Yeah, I must admit life is a lot better now that I take time to enjoy the little things. But don’t worry. The fact that you realize there’s more to life than a career is a big step. Actually, you already took the first step.”

“Huh?”

Madison reached over to pet Socks. “You adopted a cat. You’ve already started making yourself a home. Remember, a home without a cat is just a house.” She stood up. “Anyway, get some rest, we gotta get up early since you and Socks are on the Saturday morning show.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Tish couldn’t help but smile as she held Socks while the Saturday morning show anchor began to interview her. “Today we’re joined live from Staten Island by Tish McKenna and her cat Socks to share an amazing story. Tish, welcome to the show. So tell us why you’re talking with us this morning.”

She held up the cat. “Because of this little fur baby. Earlier this week my house was struck by lightning and caught fire. The smoke alarm never went off. I’m a very heavy sleeper but Socks obviously knew something was wrong. She jumped on me and woke me up. Once I realized the house was on fire I grabbed her and headed out the door. And about thirty seconds later the storm knocked over a huge tree that crushed my bedroom. Without my cat waking me up I’d be dead from the fire, the tree or both.”

“That’s an incredible story,” said the anchor. “Now our viewers have met you and Socks before as the cat is from reporter Madison Shaw’s famous litter of orphaned kittens. Can you tell us why you chose this particular cat to adopt?”

“I needed a smoke alarm.” She saw the anchor laugh in the monitor. “No, seriously, she’s a sweet cat and since I’m kind of a formal person and Socks looks like she’s wearing a tuxedo, I thought we were a good match. But actually, she chose me rather than the other way around. A cat chooses its person, you know. Humans really have no say in the matter.”

“I didn’t know that about cats. And I assume she has been rewarded for her heroism.”

“Oh, she’ll never be without her favorite cat treats. And she absolutely goes wild over salmon. I have to share it with her whenever I have it for dinner.”

“Is Socks your first cat?”

“The first in several years. We had cats when I was a kid but I haven’t had a pet since I got out of college. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed having one around and this cat is a wonderful companion since I live alone.”

“We all know how the experience taking care of the kittens changed Madison, so what has sharing your life with a cat done for you?”

“Well, it’s very special getting unconditional love from an animal. And cats are very perceptive creatures. This one seems to know when I’m down, and to be honest this has been a very stressful week. It’s been great having her to help me get through this ordeal. She seems to know that I’m the one needing extra attention.” Tish smiled lovingly as Socks nuzzled her hand and purred.

*

Spencer was half asleep as he carried his coffee and the morning paper to the den. He plopped down in a reclining chair, placed his coffee on the end table and unfolded the paper in his lap, then turned on the television. He was bleary-eyed and barely paying attention as the screen cleared, revealing a woman holding a cat. The bottom of the screen read Cat Saves Owner’s Life From Fire.

“And remember, a home without a cat is just a house,” said the woman. “So go to a shelter and adopt one today.”

“Words to live by from a cat owner,” said the anchor, as the story ended.

Spencer began to nod, his thoughts going to the little cat that had visited him in his office. He realized he missed seeing the kitty on the weekend. “Yeah, I need to get a cat once things slow down. It’s too damn quiet around here.”

He turned back to his newspaper, not having noticed anything in particular about the cat on television or the owner.

*

Spencer was greeted by several looks of surprise as he walked into the annual law school cocktail party on Saturday night.

“Whoa, look who’s here!” His old study buddy Jim Hartselle quickly moved in his direction, hand extended.