Built to Serve: A Catgirl Harem Adventure (Build-A-Catgirl Book 3)

by Simon Archer

  “That is the kind of lunch that makes a man want to find a recliner instead of heading back out to his shovel,” he said with a smile on his face. Bev looked over at him and grinned.

  “Do you want another sandwich, love?” She was poised to restock his plate.

  “No, thank you, babe. I’m good for now,” he answered. He winked at her and smiled. She smiled back and then turned to me.

  “You?” she asked, motioning towards the wraps.

  “I appreciate it, Bev, but I am good as well. Ellie sure knows how to make a satisfying wrap.” I stood up, walked out from in front of my chair, and picked up my plate. I reached over and grabbed Theo’s as well. I headed to the kitchen, put the plates in the sink, and went back to the dining room to retrieve Bev’s dish as well. I reached over her shoulder, and she leaned sideways to make room. Just as I was lifting her plate, a ringing sound came from the kitchen.

  “That’s mine,” Bev said and pushed her chair back. She followed me into the kitchen and found her phone sitting on the island. She answered it as we returned to the dining room.

  “Hello,” Bev said, then waited. Her brow furrowed a tiny bit which got Theo and I’s attention. We watched her while she listened to whoever was on the other end of the line. “Okay. How much damage is there?” Theo and I looked at each other worriedly and waited. “I see. Hold on a second. He is actually here now.” Bev looked up at me and held the phone across the table to me.

  “Who is it?” I reached over and took the phone from her and covered the mouthpiece.

  “It’s the bartender from the Sagebrush Grill,” Bev started. “She said that one of her re-built CGs glitched and started a fire.”

  “How the hell?” I started, but Bev just turned her palms towards me and sat back in her chair. “Why did they call you instead of the store?”

  “I have known Mindy since she was in diapers, Clark. Ever since her mother passed, I’m the one she calls for absolutely everything,” Bev informed me. It made sense. Theo and Bev had lived in Elko so long that you could tell who was new to town by the fact of whether or not a person knew them. I shrugged and put the phone to my ear.

  “Mindy? Hi, it’s Clark. What’s going on?” I said into the phone.

  A slightly frantic voice on the other end of the line launched into an explanation. “My rebuild, Ayla, was standing over the fryer, lifting out a batch of fries when something happened. She just stopped. I kept saying her name, but she wouldn’t respond,” Mindy spat out. “She was dripping grease on the grill from the fries, and I couldn’t get the basket out of her hand. The oil went up in flames!”

  “Okay, Mindy,” I said softly, trying to calm her panic. “Take a deep breath. Was anybody hurt and did you get the fire put out?”

  “No, and yes. And the fire department is on the way to check it out too,” she answered.

  “Did Ayla wake back up?” I prodded gently.

  “She did, but she doesn’t seem to know where she is.” Mindy’s voice shook.

  “Okay, Mindy. Grab a drink and go sit with Ayla. Let the fire department do their job. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” I calmly instructed her.

  “Okay, Clark. Please hurry. What if Ayla is being damaged more inside, and I can’t see?” Mindy had calmed a little, but the pitch in her voice started to rise again.

  “I will take good care of Ayla the very moment I get there, Mindy. She will be fine. Keep the phone by you and call Bev if anything significant changes, okay?” I used as soft a tone as I could while still being able to be heard on the other end. I heard Mindy take a deep breath and exhale loudly.

  “Alright, Clark. See you in a minute,” she breathed. I heard the line go dead before I had a chance to say goodbye. I looked up at Bev, and then over to Theo.

  “The Sagebrush had a grease fire caused by Ayla, one of our rebuilds. She glitched while holding grease over one of the grills,” I quickly recounted as I stood up. I turned to Theo. “I’m sorry, but I have to go. I’ll get back as soon as possible to help you finish with the corral.”

  Theo stood up with me. “Don’t you spend another minute thinking about the corral. Just go do what needs to be done. It didn’t sound like anyone got hurt, though, right?”

  “No, Mindy said no one was hurt, thank goodness.” I was endlessly thankful for that at the moment.

  “Clark,” Bev started. “Why don’t I go with you? I’ll be able to help keep Mindy calm for you.” I thought it over for a second and started nodding my head.

  “That would be great, Bev.” I walked around the table and started heading out of the dining room when I remembered that the passenger seat of my 4Runner was loaded down with tools. I stopped and turned back around.

  “Actually, Bev, I won’t be able to take you. I have a full load in the car,” I told her. Theo pushed in his chair and started walking toward me.

  “No worries, Clark. I’ll drive her. Come on, babe, let’s get going,” he said without a pause in his step.

  I turned and walked down the hall to the front door, Theo and Bev following. Theo and I stopped long enough to put the boots we’d left on the porch back on. Bev had washed them down for us at some point, so they weren’t covered in dirt any longer. That was probably a good thing since we were going to a public place. Once our feet were clad, I headed to my 4Runner, and Theo and Bev walked over and climbed in Theo’s quad-cab pickup truck. We got in and started our respective vehicles without a word. Minutes later, we’d pulled out of the drive and were speeding down the main road toward town. Bev and Theo’s property was on the rural outskirts of town, so it took a little extra time to get anywhere, but the road was almost never busy.

  I pushed a button on my steering wheel and said, “Call Kennedi.” A second later I heard the ringing of a phone over my stereo speakers. Three rings later, Kennedi’s voice came on over the speakers.

  “Hi, Clark! I wasn’t expecting you to call! How are things going with Theo!” She was obviously in a good mood. I didn’t want to spoil it for her, but I could really use her help with Sam.

  “Hey, Kennedi. I have a situation I’m going to need your help with,” I started. “The Sagebrush just had a fire that was supposedly started by one of our rebuilt CGs, Ayla. I’m going to need you to meet me there so you can check her out. Can you get away right now?”

  “Of course. Samuel and I are just making embellishments for the new serving dishes that will be released soon. I’ll meet you there right away,” Kennedi answered, her voice serious and growing in urgency.

  “Perfect. See you in a minute.” I hung up the phone after I heard her say ‘goodbye,’ and pushed my gas pedal to the floor. I needed to get to the Sagebrush before the news did. Those damn sharks, otherwise known as reporters, would pounce on the opportunity for some negative press surrounding my rebuilds, and about CGs in general.

  Ten minutes later, Theo, Bev, and I all pulled into the parking lot of the Sagebrush grill. Bev jumped out of the truck and waved over at me.

  “I’m going to go get Mindy calmed down!” she yelled as she bustled off towards the front door of the place. I nodded to acknowledge that I had heard her. Theo started following Bev while I popped the back open to grab a CG toolkit that I kept with me. I glanced over at him, and he waved as he approached the door.

  “I’ll meet you in the kitchen. I’m going to make sure they have everything disconnected properly,” he shouted.

  “Perfect. See you in there,” I replied. Both he and Bev disappeared through the front door as I closed the back of my car. I pushed the button on my keychain to lock it and glanced around. I was hoping to see Kennedi, but her showroom wasn’t super close to the Sagebrush. I also didn’t see any reporter vans, which was a relief. I decided not to wait for Kennedi and walked across the lot to the entryway.

  4

  I pushed the outside door open and walked into a small breezeway lined with benches for when the place was too busy, and customers needed seating while they waited. There were two double d
oors, saloon-style, at the other end that led into the main restaurant and bar area. I pushed both doors open at the same time and blinked against the dark interior. As soon as the doors were swinging closed behind me, the entire place lit up like someone had just turned the sun on.

  “SURPRISE!” a room full of familiar faces yelled in unison. The greeting was so unexpected that I jumped back a little. Party poppers started sounding off, and streamers were being thrown in all directions. Then the singing began.

  “Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you…” I saw Kennedi out of the corner of my eye as she strolled towards me. She had on a tiny, dark purple mini-dress that hugged each of her perfect curves. Her hips swayed back and forth as she approached, and her tail danced behind her. When she reached me, she slid one hand across my chest and up the side of my neck and face. She gently turned my head to look at her before she gave me a quick kiss and a wink.

  “Happy Birthday, my Clark,” she mouthed.

  The noise of the room was almost deafening between the singing and the party favors. I took a better look around as my eyes adjusted to my now-bright environment. I saw Leah, Charlie, Theo, Bev, Macy, and Krysta standing directly in front of the large group of singing people. Just off to the side, Ellie was standing with Rosie, Mindy, and Reina. Reina had come to us a couple of months prior after being abused by an executive’s wife and thrown out on a curb. Beside her was the man who found her, Clint. On the other side of the throng of people, Samuel, Kennedi’s glass-blowing business partner, and Sally, the weathered woman who ran the Army Surplus store, were standing and clapping. I looked back to Kennedi and started shaking my head.

  “I didn’t even tell you it was my birthday!” I shouted into her ear. She smiled up at me and shrugged.

  “I know a lot of things that you haven’t told me!” she joked.

  I smiled down at her as she took me by the hand and started leading me toward the crowd. I was still stunned. I’d never had a surprise party thrown for me before, and I was in a damage-control headspace when I walked in, so the quick shift in circumstances had me a little lacking for words. I let Kennedi lead the way over to where Bev and Theo were standing. Theo offered his hand as I approached, and the singing finally died down.

  “I take it you hadn’t actually planned on finishing the corral today?” I said, still shaking my head in disbelief that my friends had pulled the hoax off.

  “Nah, just needed a tiny distraction,” Theo grinned. As we shook hands, he patted me on the back and looked over at his wife. “You can thank Bev for her plan to get you in some clean clothes before coming here!” He winked at his wife. I looked down at the clothes I was wearing that she had insisted I change into so that I ‘didn’t get her dining room dirty.’

  “Holy shit, I didn’t even think of that! You are one damn sneaky woman, Bev!” I shouted as I leaned down to hug her. “Thank you for not letting me show up looking like a field hand amongst suits!”

  “Happy Birthday, Clark. You’re welcome.” Bev’s light blue eyes danced with self-satisfaction at a job well done. A hand clapped down on my back and turned to see Charlie Lindy standing behind me.

  “You realize we got your face on camera coming through the door, right? That will make significant entertainment later!” Charlie laughed. “Happy Birthday, friend!”

  “Thank you, Charlie. I’ll be deleting that video later!” I shook his hand and laughed with him. Leah showed up at his side.

  “Come on, boys. We have a table set up,” Leah said, grabbing Charlie’s hand. As Kennedi and I followed Leah and Charlie, I looked around the Sagebrush to take in what my friends had done with the place.

  On a normal day, the Sagebrush was a live-entertainment bar with a railed-off dance floor, high ceilings, and tables littered throughout the place. There was a DJ booth hidden off to the side of the stage, and a long bar opposite it. Today the place was transformed. Traditional birthday decorations such as streamers, balloons, and banners hung everywhere, but my friends had taken things a few dozen steps further.

  As we wound our way through the crowd of people that I recognized as different business acquaintances, suppliers, and locals, who’d come out to celebrate with me, multi-colored lights danced all over the room. Fabric had been hung for fabric dancers, and between the strips of brightly colored material, hammocks swung high in the air. The normal tables and chairs had been replaced with leather loungers and individual trays on wheels so that people could move their food to them without ever having to stop reclining. Leah led us to a large gathering of loungers in the center of the room, directly behind the dance floor. A platform had been built under the grouping of chairs so that the stage could be seen even if people were dancing.

  Leah went up two small stairs and stepped to the side, motioning us to walk past her and choose a recliner. There were just enough loungers for the major people in my life, and soon we were settled in. Ayla, the rebuilt cat girl that I was told had been glitching, showed up to take our drink orders.

  “You look fine to me, Miss Ayla!” I joked with her.

  “Happy Birthday, Mr. Watkins,” she smiled shyly. “The glitch was Ellie’s idea.” I looked across the way at Ellie, who was giggling to herself. I nodded and pointed at her as Ayla walked away. As I lowered my hand, I heard a guitar start doing a sound check from the stage. All of us looked over at the same time to see a band tuning up.

  “Who’s playing?” I asked Kennedi. She smiled sweetly and shrugged a little.

  “It’s the Walkers.” She looked down at the floor and then back up to me.

  “Why does that name sound familiar to me?” I asked her.

  “The first time we came here, they were scheduled to play that night,” she recounted. I thought back to the first lunch I’d eaten at the Sagebrush. It was shortly after arriving in town. Sally had recommended the place, and the food had been excellent, but there was no band playing at lunchtime. I did remember the poster at the door, however, that advertised the band would be playing later that evening.

  “That’s right! The posters were yellow, right? You just don’t miss a thing, do you?” I smiled at her and reached across my recliner to squeeze her hand.

  “I might’ve brought the band, but Leah suggested we do the party here,” Kennedi told me. I glanced up at Leah. I noticed she had jeans on. I was positive I’d never seen her wear anything other than business attire.

  “What made you think of this place?” I wasn’t sure if Leah even knew that I’d been there before.

  “Originally, I picked it because it is so different from most of the places that we end up hosting parties or events at,” she started. “But then, when I told Kennedi my idea, she told me about you coming here once. We both knew it would be perfect after that!”

  “Well, you both were one-hundred percent correct. This is perfect,” I said, looking back and forth between them. “Thank you!”

  “Oh, it wasn’t just the two of us by any means.” Leah was quick to spread the credit.

  “Alright then,” I said. “Tell me how you all got this past me.” Charlie looked over at me.

  “Well, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, the party itself was Kennedi and Ellie’s idea,” he started. “Of course that was partly because you’d never told anyone when your birthday was. So, the two of them had us all go to Belavi to meet and put together a plan. Kennedi, Ellie, and Rosie have been decorating the place for days. Theo had to come up with a project for you to keep you busy, and the emergency with Ayla was Ellie and Macy’s idea. Bev had the forethought to get you somewhat cleaned up before you came, and Krysta and Leah handled the guest list.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the intricacy of their plan.

  “So, Charlie, you are telling me that you were an innocent bystander while all the scheming was going on?” I joked with him.

  “Oh, no, I didn’t say that. But I did take the easy way out. I just paid for it.” Charlie busted up laughing, and so did I. He and I were a lot alike. Neither of us wanted to
deal with hype, but we still wanted those we cared about to feel special.

  Ayla returned with our drinks, and I stood up. I raised my glass and glanced around the circle of friends I was surrounded by. I appreciated each and every one of them.

  “I can’t thank you all enough. This is the first time I’ve had any sort of surprise party and the first time in a long time that I have celebrated my birthday at all. I’m the luckiest man in the world to have all of you in my life.” They all raised their drinks to toast, and Kennedi stood with me.

  “Want to make a round so people can tell you happy birthday?” She smiled up at me and took hold of my hand.

  “I guess I’d better!” I turned and set my drink down and followed her off the platform. At the bottom, we were instantly greeted. As Kennedi moved me slowly around the place, small lines would form for people to say hello and wish me a happy birthday. Many of the guests were people I’d helped with their CGs, while others were vendors and local business owners that I frequented. We were on the far side of the dance floor when a more familiar face came through the crowd.

  “Hey, Clark! Another year older, yeah?” It was Abe Gunther. He was holding his wife’s hand. Gretchen was a quiet woman and gentle in nature. She nodded to convey she seconded her husband’s greeting.

  “That’s how it goes, I guess!” I shook Abe’s hand and slapped him on the shoulder. The two of us turned to face the stage where the band was now playing while Kennedi and Gretchen struck up a conversation amongst themselves. “How is the distribution business going?”

  “Things are operating like clockwork. When you start shipping your nano-glass creations nation-wide, I’m ready,” Abe reported.

  “It may be sooner than later,” I told him. “Rosie is doing R and D like a madwoman. Last week was a new skillet. This week it’s a heating pad.” I chuckled.

  “Oh, I bet Ellie is in heaven with the cookware products,” Abe commented.

  “You know she is!” I confirmed. I felt a gentle tug at my hand. It was Kennedi indicating that we should keep moving. I turned to Abe and held out my hand. “Well, Abe, we’ll see you at Belavi soon, yes?”