Catgirls Can Do It! (Build-A-Catgirl Book 2)

by Simon Archer

  “Leila!” we said in unison.

  “Look here,” I said and slid the file over to Charlie. “Leila asks Alan what he thinks Omnicorp should do to stop the possible threat. He says they should and most likely would ‘sick a Jaguar on them.’ After that, Leila made some offhanded joke and changed the direction of the conversation.”

  “So this is bigger than just VGS,” Charlie pondered.

  “We have to assume this Jag wants to take all of us down,” I said. “The question is, how does he plan on doing it?”

  “I have no idea,” Charlie said, looking up when his wife walked into the room with Kennedi. “Hey babe, how are things back there?” Charlie tipped his head in the direction of the spare bedroom.

  “They are both settled,” Leah reported. “Macy and Ellie are going to stay in there with them for the night.”

  I turned to get Leah’s attention. “Would you like Kennedi to stay and help as well?” I didn’t want Leah to have to take full responsibility for CGs that weren’t hers.

  “No,” she said, shaking her head. “The best thing any of us can do right now is get some sleep. We can regroup tomorrow.”

  “Don’t you have your event the day after tomorrow?” I remembered.

  “Yes,” Leah answered. “The event itself is pretty set. Tomorrow is all about getting food prep done and setting up the venue. There is one thing though, Trevor bought an entire table to the event.” Charlie and I looked at each other.

  “Okay, that is definitely a thing, and we will deal with it, but let’s put that on tomorrow’s list,” I told Leah. “We are going to head home now, but we will see you at breakfast?” I looked at Charlie and raised an eyebrow.

  “We’ll be there,” Charlie answered.

  “Better yet,” I said. “I’ll bring breakfast here. I know Kennedi and Bev are going to want to see Krysta, and it’s the least I can do for you two housing Krysta and Rosie.”

  “That sounds like a plan, Clark.” Leah yawned as she spoke. I stood up, shook Charlie’s hand, and walked over to Kennedi. I still had the court file in my hand, so I handed it back to Charlie.

  “I’ll look at this more tomorrow,” I told him. “Goodnight, Charlie, Leah.”

  “Goodnight,” they said in unison. It felt odd to walk out of their apartment, knowing that Krysta was still there. Rosie was another factor. Where was she going to fit into all of the craziness that had started to ensue?

  Leah was right about one thing for sure. It would be a lot more productive for all of us to get some sleep and meet tomorrow.

  32

  The next morning came quicker than I would have liked. I woke up feeling like I hadn’t slept. Kennedi was already out of the loft. I looked over at Krysta’s cot, and my stomach sunk. I had complete confidence that I could get her back to normal, but I wasn’t sure how long that would take. Even with Charlie and I talking about rebuilding and repairing CGs, it was a project that wouldn’t be ready for at least six months. I didn’t want Krysta to have to be restricted that long, and I’m sure she didn’t want that for herself either.

  Bev, Theo, Kennedi, and I were going to take breakfast to the Lindys, and by the time I got dressed and over to the house, Kennedi and Bev had the food packed up.

  “You ready?” Theo asked me as he passed me in the hallway.

  “Yep, let’s go.” Theo and I grabbed the coolers full of food, and the four of us walked out, got in our vehicles, and headed to Charlie and Leah’s apartment.

  When we walked in, everyone was gathered in the living room. I remembered the first time I’d walked into their living room and thinking how luxurious it was. The walls were painted a light beige color but had a sheen to them that I was sure was from some sort of metallic additive. They had dark hardwood floors that were completely free of any scuff marks or scratches. The majority of the furniture they’d selected was brown leather with gold stud accents. The room was instantly inviting and relaxing at the same time.

  “I’ve got breakfast here,” Bev hollered into the room. Kennedi took the coolers from Theo and me and immediately headed to the kitchen island with Bev to unpack the food. Leah got up from her seat in one of the loungers and headed to the kitchen to help them.

  Theo and I found seats in two loveseats that were facing each other. To our right was the full-length couch where Krysta, Rosie, and Ellie were sitting.

  Rosie looked like a completely different cat girl. She’d obviously been showered and groomed. Her medium-length, light brown hair was the shade of honey, and her eyes were a brilliant amber yellow. Her tail was the blackest-black, and she had porcelain-smooth milky white skin. The contrast between her skin, tail, and hair was stunning, but somehow, it all accented how tiny she was. She was very shapely, from what I could see of her sitting there, but couldn’t have been taller than five-foot-one. She was curled up on the cushion next to Krysta, trying to make herself even smaller. She may be cleaned up, but she was still scared. I looked over at Krysta, who had her arm resting on the couch behind Rosie’s back.

  “How are you feeling?” I asked Krysta.

  “I feel normal again,” she answered. “Makes it difficult to just sit around.”

  “Make sure that is exactly what you do, though,” Theo piped up. He wasn’t an outwardly affectionate man, but it was clear he had a special place in his heart for the cat girls in his life.

  “I am,” Krysta said. She looked over at Ellie, who was on her other side, and scrunched up her face. “I don’t really have a choice with this one patrolling me.” Ellie smiled and tipped her chin up in the air, mocking snobbiness.

  “As long as you know you're not going to get away with any tomfoolery, I am happy!” she joked. It was refreshing to see some lighthearted banter going on. While the mood was more relaxed, I decided to try to get to know Rosie a little better.

  “Rosie,” I said softly. “I want to thank you for what you did for Krysta. From what I understand, you are the reason she is still with us today.” Rosie shrank back a tiny bit, but Krysta put an arm on her shoulders, and she relaxed.

  “You are welcome, Clark,” Rosie said quietly. At least her voice was above a whisper now. I smiled at her.

  “How are you feeling? Getting a little more comfortable, hopefully.” I was hoping she’d volunteer a little about herself before I resorted to outright prying.

  “I feel much better, thank you,” was all she said.

  “Rosie, where is it you are from?” I guess prying was going to be the way to go. She looked at me for a long moment before answering.

  “I came to Elko from Vermont,” she said. I smiled at her to try to put her at ease. The more she did say, the more I could see the intelligence in her eyes.

  “I have family lineage from Vermont,” I volunteered. “They were in Burlington around the time of World War II.”

  “I was near Burlington, closer to Lake Champlain,” she responded quicker than before.

  “I’d love to talk to you about the area someday soon,” I put out there.

  “Mmmhmm,” Rosie replied. She shrank back into the couch a little, and I knew our tiny conversation was over. I looked at Ellie.

  “When are you going to Belavi?” She and Bev had to get food prepared for Leah’s Gala dinner tomorrow.

  “She is going now!” Bev had walked up behind me, Leah at her side. They both had worried looks on their faces. “Ellie, I just got a call from Lynn at the restaurant. The entire shipment of muscles we ordered for the appetizers, along with the scallions we were going to use for our reduction sauce, tested positive for salmonella.”

  Ellie’s eyes widened, and she sat forward. “How is that? Those are coming straight from the supplier. We’ve used them multiple times without issue!” Ellie got louder with every word.

  “That’s just it,” Bev said. “Lynn said the packing slips showed the order was shipped out over a week ago, not two days ago like it should have been.” Ellie just stared at her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Charlie scoot
forward in his chair.

  “Bev,” he said. “Who did you go through for delivery of that order?”

  “ABG Distribution, why?” Bev snapped.

  “I’m going to call Abe. I’m almost positive that is one of the companies that subcontracts for him.” Charlie got out of his seat, walked a few feet away from the crowd in the living room, and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Bev looked at me, exasperated.

  “What the hell good is it going to do for him to call Abe?” She was nearly yelling now.

  “Don’t worry about that until he gets off the phone,” I told her sternly. “You and Ellie need to get to the restaurant. Whatever meal you had planned, come up with two or three alternatives, and make a list of what you would need delivered today to make it happen.”

  “Will you be able to do that?” Leah was ghostly white in the face. She had sold tens of thousands of dollars worth of tickets to her dinner. The thought that dinner may not happen was horrifying her. Bev put her arm around Leah as Ellie got up and joined them, as they started walking her back to the kitchen.

  “We can, and we will,” Bev told her reassuringly. “The menu may have to change, but Ellie and I promise, your guests will not be any the wiser.” I saw Leah’s shoulders relax just a little as Charlie returned to his chair.

  “What did Abe say?” I had a feeling I already knew. I was positive that Trevor had something to do with the botched shipment. The timing was just too coincidental.

  “That shipment was not only submitted early, but it was rerouted to be traveling for over a week before arriving, just like Lynn said it had.” Charlie was shaking his head.

  “Abe said it was indeed one of the suppliers that Trevor had been working with to increase efficiency. The company gave him all their records for him to do the analysis he claimed he had to do.”

  “So, Trevor has an end game that’s bigger than any of us thought,” I said. I looked at Krysta. “Do you know what he wanted with you?” The time for gently easing into things was over.

  “After they damaged my nano-wire, Leila ran a series of tests that she recorded,” Krysta started. “All of them led to the same result… Me being severely damaged. I don’t know any more than that.”

  “So Trevor is recording you being damaged, ruining the food for Leah’s event…” There was something at the corner of my mind telling me there was a connection that was just out of reach. “We know he works for Omnicorp. How would it serve Omni to have Krysta damaged, and Leah’s event ruined?” I was asking myself more than anyone else. No one in the room had an answer, anyway.

  “Clark,” Kennedi said softly, walking in from the kitchen. “Your cast cracked.” I looked down at my arm, and sure enough, my cast had a crack in it from my thumb to my wrist.

  “How the hell did that happen?” The last thing I needed was a medical worry.

  “You gripped the chair too tight just now,” she whispered. I hadn’t even noticed that I was holding on to the chair, but when I looked again, my knuckles were still white.

  “I’m not worried about it,” I said. “My arm feels fine. Dr. Davis did a great job patching it up in Tokyo.” Suddenly, it was like a light switch had been turned on in my mind. Kennedi was watching my face, and she raised an eyebrow.

  “What is it?” She knew me too well.

  “Trevor is trying to take down all three of our businesses at once in order to save the nano-glass contract between Murai Gurasu and Omnicorp!” I yelled, shooting up out of my chair. “Think about it! The event would be ruined, and Belavi’s reputation, as the food sponsor, would be tarnished. I bet you anything he plans on getting up at that event to show Krysta’s damage.”

  I looked from Charlie to Kennedi, and Charlie started nodding his head.

  “That makes sense. The whole reason we wanted to talk to Isamu about his glass was to make a better way to do cat girl modifications… so that we wouldn’t have to worry about the crack in a mod’s nano-wire expanding. So we’d decrease our liability, even though it has never happened,” Charlie said what I was thinking.

  “In one fail swoop, he would discredit VGS, Belavi, and the UsForThem Foundation,” I reiterated. I sat back down. Now that Trevor’s plan was clear, we needed our own plan to ensure he didn’t succeed.

  33

  I took my seat at our VIP table in the front of the room. Bev, Theo, Charlie, Macy, Kennedi, and Ellie sat with me. The table was round so, between the seven of us, we could see everything in the room. We were just feet from the stage, and I could see Leah waiting in the wings for the opening slide show to end.

  The show featured the UsForThem Foundation’s accomplishments in the fight against inhumane treatment of cat girls. Leah was up next to kick off the dinner, thank the guests, and announce the items up for silent auction. After her, there would be a variety of entertainment for the guests to enjoy while they ate. Cora’s catering company servers were in the process of serving food from Belavi, and everything seemed absolutely normal. I glanced over at Charlie, whose eyes were on his wife as well. Our table appeared normal enough, but each of us was on high alert. Then I saw Trevor walk into the room. My blood started to boil. Kennedi laid her hand on mine.

  “Just remember, he has to think you are still friendly with him,” she reminded me.

  “That is going to be harder than climbing Mount Kita was,” I hissed.

  Charlie looked over at me.

  “You ready?” He started buttoning up his suit jacket as he stood.

  “If I have to be,” I snarled under my breath.

  I stood and took a deep breath to calm myself before Charlie and I made our way through the room to the table Trevor was sitting at. We’d stopped at several other tables to greet people Charlie knew so that it wouldn’t appear we were singling him out.

  “Trevor!” Charlie said, faking civility better than anyone I’d ever seen. “My wife neglected to mention that you were attending this evening. It’s good to see you.”

  “Hey, Charlie! Hey, Clark!” Trevor said, offering his hand to each one of us to shake. I felt like snakes were crawling up my arm when he touched my hand.

  “We would’ve combined tables if we’d known,” I said, trying to channel Charlie’s gift for social pleasantries.

  “That’s too bad,” Trevor said. “I’ve been really looking forward to this dinner.” I studied his face. This man was an expert con artist. At no point did he show any sign that he was something other than a socially awkward guy attending a charity dinner.

  “We have, too,” I replied. “I see a couple of other people I want to say ‘hi’ to before Leah gets up on stage. We’ll catch you for drinks after the auction. Sound good?” I tried not to choke on the idea of spending even one second longer in his presence.

  “That would be great!” Trevor sounded genuinely excited. Damn, he was good. Charlie and I shook his hand once again and went about socializing until we’d circulated through the entire room. When we were back at our table, we both took our seats and looked at each other.

  “Did you see who was at his table?” Charlie asked me.

  “Yep,” I said disgustedly. “A purple-haired cat girl right by his side.” I saw Ellie shift in her seat. “Ellie!” I whisper-yelled at her. “Don’t turn around!”

  We needed Trevor to think we were going on about life as though nothing was wrong. Ellie scowled and relaxed back into her seat, which was facing the stage.

  “I saw her too,” Bev said. “She’s the same one that was with him at the community event.” Her face was nearly murderous. I’d never seen Bev angry like that before. Even though I was a full-grown man, she scared me just a little.

  “Here comes Leah,” Kennedi whispered. We all turned our attention to the stage. Leah was walking out to the microphone stand at center stage. The slide show had finished, so the screen behind her was dark. She looked just as confident and poised as she always did when she was about to give a speech. She plucked the microphone out of the stand and took a moment to look
over the crowd.

  “Ladies, and gentlemen,” she started. She waited for a hush to fall over the room. “‘Thank you’ is not a big enough sentiment for what you are all doing here tonight. ‘Thank you’ doesn’t begin to express the appreciation felt by those whom the UsForThem Foundation has helped. Take a look. Here are just a few examples of what your charitable contributions are doing.”

  Leah walked to the side of the stage and held her hand up toward the screen behind her. The lights in the room dimmed, and an image showed up on the screen. It was a before and after picture of a cat girl who had been mistreated and then placed with an owner that would treat her properly. Then another image came on. That one was of abandoned cat girls making toys and furniture for underprivileged children at the community event.

  Several more images showing the impact the foundation was making shone onto the screen. Each time the picture changed, a new round of ‘ooo’s and ‘ahhh’s broke out as the guest continued to clap. When the slide show went dark, Leah stepped back to the center of the stage.

  “We have a lot in store for you tonight, ladies and gentlemen,” she said into the microphone. “Our goal is to use tonight as a way to show our appreciation to you, our supporters, because ‘thank you’ just isn’t enough! Enjoy the show, enjoy the food, bid on the silent auction, and know that YOU are the reason UsForThem can make the impact that it does!” Leah calmly placed the microphone back on the stand and smiled at her crowd.

  One by one, the guests stood up as they clapped. Hoots and hollers rolled through the room. She bowed, humbly, and started walking off the left side of the stage. Her walk was cut short by a voice on the microphone she had just left.

  “One more thing before you all go making your evening merry,” the voice boomed. The room quieted, and the guests started looking around, confused. Everyone at our table snapped their heads toward the stage only to see Trevor standing at the mic.