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“I never told Dante he couldn’t see you.”

“You don’t have to! You’ve got him on such a tight leash he’s turned into one of those pod people. A zombie. You’ve poisoned his mind against his best mates and now I don’t even recognize him anymore!”

“And here I thought only women could make a scene,” Gran whispered.

“Oh, men can do it better,” said Angela. “And Damien is not the only one. Plenty of Dante’s old friends are annoyed he doesn’t hang out with them anymore. And they all blame Tessa, of course.”

A security man must have been alerted by the noise, for Damien now said,“All right, all right! I’ll go. You don’t have to—ow! You’re hurting me!”

“Please leave now, sir,” said a deep voice.

“It’s all right,” said Dante. “Damien was just leaving, wasn’t he?”

“No, I wasn’t!”

“Call me, yeah?”

“Fat chance!” cried Damien. “And don’t you dare call me, unless it is to apologize for your appalling behavior and that of your dreadful Goon McGoon.” And just before he slammed the door, he added, “See you in hell!”

“Ouch,” said Gran. “Looks like another candidate for our list of suspects.”

“Oh, this one just hit the top of the list,” said Angela. “And now for a more important question: who’s going to shower first—you or me?”

Chapter 18

I’d escaped the living room when the brawl with the former friend of Dante’s began to get loud. Dooley had joined me, while Harriet and Brutus had presumably taken a different route and were checking out some other part of the house in search of some peace and quiet.

Cats don’t like loud. We like it when humans don’t raise their voices or shout down the house. We don’t like loud music either, or loud noises in general. Cars backfiring, fireworks or explosions: big no-no’s in our world.

“This looks like a nice and quiet place,” said Dooley.

“Yeah, I hope so,” I said as we walked into what looked like an office of some kind. It was empty, which was a plus after the ruckus we’d endured.

“Who knew Dante had such obnoxious friends?” said Dooley.

“Not me.”

We glanced around and to our elation found a nice and comfy-looking couch waiting for us in the office. Dooley and I shared a look of pleasant surprise and headed for the couch. We soon made ourselves comfortable and were enjoying a nap when loud voices approached.

“Oh, no,” said Dooley without opening his eyes.

“Maybe they won’t come in,” I said.

The voices grew louder, and then Tessa walked in, accompanied by a stern-looking woman with glasses, hair pulled back in a painful-looking bun.

“Maybe they won’t stay,” I said.

The two women settled themselves at a table next to the desk.

“Maybe they’ll meditate,” said Dooley.

But of course they launched into some kind of business meeting. The woman obviously was Tessa’s assistant, for she had a whole list of stuff for Tessa to do. And as she read it out, Tessa was giving comments and adding her notes.

“Maybe we should find another place to nap,” I said.

But then the assistant suddenly raised her voice.

“I’m not sure how much more of this I can take, Tessa. Please forgive me but I feel like I have to speak up now or I’ll simply burst!”

“Please don’t burst,” Dooley muttered.

Tessa seemed taken aback.“But, Sherri,” was the only thing she could think of to say.

“It’s too much!” the woman practically squealed. “When you hired me away from the institute I was over the moon. But now I realize I was rash. I should have stayed put instead of rushing into this position without thinking.”

“I think you’re doing a great job. And I’m very happy with your work.”

“Well, you certainly don’t show it,” said the woman prissily. “In fact you seem to relish every opportunity to criticize my work, tell me that what I’m doing doesn’t give you satisfaction, and generally behave as if you know everything best and I’m just an annoying superfluous sidekick!”

“I’m so sorry you feel that way,” said Tessa.

“Well, I do—and have for some time. Remember when I told you it would be a good idea if you and Dante launched your own Instagram? And you told me it was too soon? And then you went ahead and did it anyway. Without telling me? And you hired Sammy to handle the account?” She pressed a hand to her chest. “That was like a dagger to the heart, Tessa. A dagger to the heart!”

“I—I didn’t mean to, Sherri. I just wanted to hire the best person to—”

“I’m the best!” said Sherri, wiping away tears. “And you treat me like dirt! That’s how I feel anyway.” She took a tissue from her sleeve and pressed it to her nose. “That said, I think we can both agree this has to end now.”

“But, Sherri…” said Tessa feebly.

The assistant abruptly rose to her feet.“I bid you adieu.” She stuck out her hand. “And I wish you well in all your future endeavors.”

Tessa shook the woman’s hand. She looked stunned.

Sherri gave a sad smile and touched Tessa’s cheek. “I adored you—from afar—but now that I’ve come to know you, I can see you’re a wonderful human being, and a terrible boss. Goodbye and good luck.”