Миранда Джеймс - No Cats Allowed

TWO

That—as Aunt Dottie used to say—flew all over me.

I was ready to storm downstairs and have it out with that jerk Reilly, because I had no doubt whatsoever who’d made the complaint. It was exactly the kind of underhanded, childishly vindictive action he would take. All because Diesel wouldn’t have anything to do with him. And, I realized, because he knew I’d seen him leering at women.

I forced myself to take a couple of deep breaths so that I could respond in a civilized manner to Penny.

“I’ll be over in a few minutes,” I said. “Diesel will be with me, and I hope there won’t be a problem with that.”

“No, not at all,” Penny said.

I said good-bye and put down the receiver, still in a fog of rage. Diesel sat up on the window ledge and meowed at me. He had picked up on my distress. I forced myself to calm down and give him some attention to keep him from getting upset as well.

“We’re leaving work now, but we’re not going straight home,” I told him as I stroked his head and down his back. “We’re going to talk to a nice lady for a little while, and then we’re going home.” I continued stroking for a few moments, and he relaxed.

Diesel stood patiently while I put on his harness and attached the leash. I powered down the computer, gathered up my backpack and a bottle of water, and we left the office. I made sure the door locked securely behind us. After an unpleasant incident in the fall, I had been overly conscious of the safety of materials in the archive.

As the cat and I made our way downstairs, I prayed that we wouldn’t encounter our nemesis. The last person I needed to see right now was Oscar Reilly, because I was still way too angry with him.

My prayer went unanswered, however. Diesel and I made it halfway to the front door from the foot of the stairs, and then I heard Reilly call out to me.

“Leaving early today, Charlie?”

I turned to see Reilly consulting his watch rather ostentatiously. He leaned against the door frame that led into the outer office where Melba worked. I wondered briefly where she was, because I was afraid she would go after him herself for that remark.

I stared at Reilly for a moment, careful to keep my expression neutral, while I longed to walk over and punch that smirk off his face. I seldom had such strong adverse reactions to people, but there was something about Reilly that brought out the worst in me.

Instead, I consulted my own watch, making a grand gesture of it. “Why, no, Oscar, I’m not,” I said in a tone that I might have used to respond to a toddler. “My normal hours are eight to three, and it’s now nearly twenty past. So actually I’m leaving late. I won’t claim overtime, though, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

Diesel meowed loudly, and Reilly’s face darkened, whether at my tone or at the cat’s timely contribution, I had no idea. I had to suppress the sudden urge to laugh.

Before Reilly could respond, I said brightly, “Diesel and I have an appointment with the head of HR, Penny Sisson. So if you’ll excuse us, we’ll be on our way.”

I didn’t wait to gauge the effect of my statement on Reilly. Instead I turned and headed for the door, and Diesel trotted beside me.

The mid-March afternoon had turned cool, but not unpleasantly so. I could have used a light jacket, but the walk to the building that housed HR would warm me. Diesel had his own coat to keep him warm. The thick ruff around his neck had started to thin out as the spring and summer loomed.

The Athena College campus had never looked lovelier—leaves on the trees beginning to show new canopies of green, the buildings basking in the glow of the afternoon sun, the whole scene one of solidity and respectability. The college had been founded before the Civil War, and a few of the original buildings remained. I sometimes fancied that, if I closed my eyes and listened intently enough, I would hear echoes of students and faculty of generations past as they went about their business on this historic campus.

I smiled at my own whimsy and realized that my mood had lightened. Good for my blood pressure .

The few students and faculty we encountered during our brief walk to the HR office all smiled and nodded pleasantly at Diesel and me. I knew I had a reputation around campus as an eccentric because I was often seen walking a large cat on a leash, but Diesel and I had not encountered anyone unfriendly in the several years since I’d adopted him and started bringing him to work with me.

The building that housed the human resources department occupied the corner of a street a couple of blocks past the main part of the campus. Though designed with a nod to harmonizing with the older architecture, the structure looked too square and boxy to be anything other than what I called municipal modern. Diesel and I headed up the walk to the front door and stepped inside, where a blast of frigid air greeted us.

I shivered from the onslaught, having warmed up from our walk over. I consulted a directory on the wall to find the number of Penny Sisson’s office, and I hoped that her space would be warmer.

“Down the hall this way,” I told Diesel, who stood sniffing the air and staring in the opposite direction. He trotted obediently beside me as I strode toward the correct office.

I identified myself to Penny’s administrative assistant. She smiled at me and the cat and told us to go right in. I thanked her, and we moved around her desk. Penny awaited us in the doorway with a welcoming smile.

After an exchange of greetings, Penny invited me to have a seat. Diesel settled on the floor beside me, and I glanced around the office. Sun streamed in the windows, helping temper the cold air from the vents. Colorful photos and posters of various scenes in Mexico decorated the walls, and I recalled that Penny’s husband was a distinguished anthropologist who worked extensively in Mexico.

“I appreciate your responding so quickly, Charlie.” Penny smiled again, a bit nervously this time. She ran a hand through her thick, black curls, and then pushed her horn-rimmed glasses up her nose. “As I mentioned during our phone conversation, there has been a complaint about your bringing Diesel to work with you.”

I nodded. “The previous library director gave me permission to have Diesel with me, and it was approved by the president.”

“Yes, I’m aware of that.” Penny laid her hand on a folder on her desk. “I have copies of both letters in your file. The issue at hand is that the complainant claims to be highly allergic to cats and that having Diesel in the building is making him sick.”

My blood pressure rose drastically, but I held on to my temper as I spoke. “I am assuming that the person who lodged the complaint is Oscar Reilly. Is that correct?”

“Yes,” Penny said.

“Then he’s a liar.” I saw no reason to hold back. “I saw him when I left to walk over here, and he displayed no signs of an allergic reaction of any kind. No sneezing, no tearing eyes, no blotchy skin. No sign at all. Surely if he were truly allergic, I would have seen signs of it before now, and I never have in the entire time that he has been working in the building with Diesel and me.”

“Oh, dear.” Penny’s eyes widened. “That’s a serious accusation, Charlie.”

“I will stand by it,” I said. “I am truly sorry that you have been put in the middle of this. I have no idea what game he’s playing, other than trying to harass me enough to make me quit. It’s not going to work, however. If he wants to keep Diesel out of the building, then he’s going to have to prove that he is severely allergic.”

“I will note your response.” Penny opened the folder, picked up a pen, and started writing. After a few moments, she looked up. “Do you want to lodge a countercomplaint?”