“The very active three-legged cat you adopted last night?”
“Oh, right. He’s getting acclimated.”
“In other words, he’s hiding?”
Preston stared hard at the mug. “Yes. I mean, no, he’s only hiding occasionally. He’s eating and his litter pan definitely got used, so he must be okay so far. Have to say that whole cleaning it out thing was a rather unpleasant start to my day.”
“That’s good to hear.”
His eyebrow winged up. “That my morning started unpleasantly?”
“I meant about Smoky doing all right. The unpleasantness is just a side benefit.”
He grunted, still examining the mug as if it contained toxic waste.
I sat down across from him and smoothed out the skirt of my dress, closing my knees and tucking one ankle behind the other in the primmest of poses. I took my pen out of the twist of my hair. “Now what letter did you need me to take care of?”
He was still staring at the llama.
I pressed my lips together. “Mr. Shaw, you needed something?”
See, I could do this whole professional thing. Sort of. And there was only a small amount of sarcasm in my tone.
He touched the mug with a fingertip. “I need to know precisely what this is if you expect me to drink it.”
Oh, for goddess’s sake.
“It’s a mug of tea. Highly caffeinated tea, to be exact. It’s actually better for you than coffee. I picked a blend that is infused with vanilla for sweetness. Though not to your usual level, I imagine.”
“Yes, but what is that?” He pointed at the metal figurine standing in the middle of his mug.
I looked down at my pad and desperately tried not to laugh. “It’s an infuser.”
He peered down at it. “It has a face.”
“It’s a llama. The little neck and head makes it easier for you to take it out of the mug.”
“There’s a llama urinating tea in my mug.”
I barely stopped the snort of laughter. The K-cup burned a hole in my thigh with every laugh I suppressed. “I suppose you could see it that way. Now you have a deposition at eleven and—”
“I know my schedule, Miss Moon.” He sounded exceptionally pissy.
I shouldn’t take such pleasure in bringing it out in him. Obviously, there was something wrong with me. Luckily, tomorrow was my last day, and I wouldn’t have to worry any longer about why I so enjoyed tormenting him.
And kissing him senseless.
“Right.” I had my pen at the ready. “So, how can I assist you?”
He lifted the mug and set it at the edge of his desk like it was contaminated and pulled his keyboard forward. “You’re sure you can’t find the coffee box?”
I heard the hope in his voice and almost reached in my pocket. “Sorry. Not yet.”
He huffed out a near growl. “Fine. I’ll just have to make do. I don’t have time to go to the bakery on my way across town.”
I barely resisted rolling my eyes. Only PMS could make missing coffee pods seem like a calamity.
That they weren’t really missing was neither here nor there.