He meekly nodded. It was perfectly clear. The only problem was: how was he ever going to explain all this to Maisie?
[╩α≡≥ΦφΩα: img_2]
ôI donÆt get it,ö said Maisie as she used a cotton pad to remove the makeup from her face. ôWhy do you have to go on a training weekend?ö
ôNot a weekend,ö Eric patiently explained, seated on the bed. ôItÆs a training month.ö
ôIÆve never heard such nonsense in my entire life. Why does a warehouse worker have to go train for a month? What are they going to teach you? How to print labels?ö
ôItÆs because of my promotion, Maisie,ö said Eric. ôI already explained this to you.ö
ôAnd IÆm telling you I donÆt believe a word youÆre telling me. So try again, and this time please donÆt insult me and tell me the truth for a change.ö
ôIt is the truth, sweetheart. Norm called me into his office today and said IÆm being promoted. From now on IÆm going to be team leader. And all team leaders have to train for a month in Garden City. ItÆs standard company policy.ö
Maisie made a skeptical noise as she studied her face in the mirror. She was a large woman, with coarse features and a square doughy face. But even though she wasnÆt exactly pretty, she was the apple of EricÆs eye, and had been since the day they met in high school. It wasnÆt so much that theyÆd fallen in love at first sight and had become high school sweethearts, but more that one day Maisie decided Eric would make a suitable husband and father to her kids and told him that from now on she was his girlfriend. And Eric, meek as usual, had simply accepted her dictum. Not that he had a lot of choice in the matter. When Maisie made a decision, that was the way it was, no back talk allowed.
She now fixed her husband with a curious look.ôYouÆre lying to me, Eric.ö
ôNo, IÆm not,ö he said weakly.
ôI can tell from the way your nose is twitching. ItÆs your tell.ö
ôMy nose isnÆt twitching,ö he said quietly, as his hand surreptitiously traveled to the traitorous appendage and took a firm hold of his schnoz.
Maisie planted both hands on her hips, a clear sign she was fed up with this nonsense.ôEnough of this, Blandine. You better start telling me the truth in oneùtwoùthreeàö
ôAll right, all right!ö he finally cried. ôMr. Karat and his lawyer were in the office today, and they told me I have to pretend to be Cotton Karat for a couple of weeks, while Cotton is off to some clinic somewhere to get cured of his sex addiction. They donÆt want anyone to find out aboutit since it might sink the stock price even further than itÆs already sunk and because I look so much like Cotton they chose me to be his double.ö
Whatever Maisie had expected, it clearly wasnÆt this. But the story was so unlikely, so outrageous, so crazy, that it simply had to be true. ôWell, IÆll be damned,ö she finally said.
ôTheyÆre giving me stock options,ö Eric said, not meeting his wifeÆs gaze. ôA lot of stock options. And if I manage to pull this off, and make the stock go up again, IÆll be a rich man. Or so they said.ö
ôHow much?ö said Maisie curtly. She wasnÆt the kind of woman to hem and haw, but as usual went straight to the heart of the matter.
ôTen stock options at five hundred dollars a share. If the stock starts trading at last weekÆs price again, theyÆll be worth ten thousand.ö
ôAnd if they keep sinking, theyÆll be worth zilch.ö She thought for a moment. ôWhat about Ebony Pilay?ö
ôSheÆs out of the picture. They bought her off.ö
Maisie uttered an incredulous laugh.ôOf course they did. And IÆll bet they offered her a lot more than ten measly stock options.ö
Eric shrugged.ôIt wasnÆt a negotiation, sweetheart. It was either this or I wasnÆt going to have a job anymore. Plus theyÆd blackball me. Make sure I wonÆt find a job elsewhere.ö
She thought for a moment, then finally nodded, her black eyes glittering.ôYouÆll go through with this, and when youÆre halfway through the assignment youÆll ask for another ten options.ö And when her husband started to protest she held up her hand. ôDonÆt you see? They need you more than you need them. How many Cotton lookalikes do you think there are in this country? They must be desperate to hatch such a ridiculous scheme.ö She rubbed her hands. ôThis is our chance to make some serious moolah. Lots and lots of it.ö
Eric sighed and let himself drop down on the bed.
He had a feeling his troubles had only just begun.
Chapter 3
I was peacefully sleeping at the foot of OdeliaÆs bed and dreaming of some prime kibble when suddenly a loud scream brutally tore through the gossamer cobweb of my dream. The scream seemed to come from somewhere close by, and when I opened my eyes and lifted my head, I saw that it was actually Odelia herself who was screaming!
Immediately I rose up and padded across the bed to find out what was going on. Was the baby she was carrying kicking up a fuss? Had Odelia had a nightmare and had it thrown her for a loop? When you live with a human you soon realize anything is possible.
But when I joined her, I saw that she was staring at something on her pillow in horror. It wasnÆt Chase, for he was now supporting himself on one elbow and staring at the same spot, his face also contorted in abject shock.
And then I saw it: a mouse, placed neatly on the edge of OdeliaÆs pillow.
Dooley, whoÆd been resting alongside me, now also came trotting up. He was smiling, and when I glanced over to him, he gave me a wink!
ôItÆs a mouse,ö said Chase dully. As a detective, that was some quick thinking on his part.
ôI can see itÆs a mouse,ö said Odelia. ôBut what is it doing there?ö
ôIt looks dead,ö said Chase, as he gave the critter a gentle nudge with his finger.
ôI donÆt get it,ö said Odelia. ôSo it crawled up onto my pillow in the middle of the night and then died?ö
Both she and Chase now looked in my direction, as if expecting an explanation from yours truly. I could see why, of course. IÆm a cat, you see, and cats are well known for being in the habit of catching mice and depositing them wherever takes their fancy.
ôI didnÆt put it there,ö I assured them. ôIn fact IÆve never seen this mouse before.ö
To be absolutely honest, IÆm not one for all this mouse-catching business. I always say live and let live, and that goes for every living creature under the sunùeven mice.
ôI put that mouse on your pillow,ö suddenly Dooley piped up, and he even looked proud as he spoke these immortal words.
ôDooley!ö Odelia cried. ôWhat the hell!ö
DooleyÆs smile faltered. ôI thought youÆd like it,ö he said in his defense.
ôYou thought IÆd enjoy finding a dead mouse on my pillow?!ö
ôWellàö he said. ôMost humans seem to like it.ö
ôOh, Dooley,ö Odelia sighed as she stared at the offending dead animal some more.
ôDid Dooley put it there?ö asked Chase.
ôHe did. He thought it was a good idea.ö
ôHave you been watching the Discovery Channel again?ö I asked my friend.
Dooley nodded, looking a little shamefaced now.ôThere was a documentary on last night. About how cats always bring their humans little presents. Like mice and birds andà and worms and such. And the humans in the documentary seemed to like it.ö
ôIÆll bet they did,ö I said, shaking my head.
Odelia regretted her harsh rebuke when she saw DooleyÆs discomfiture. So she patted my friendÆs head and said, ôItÆs very sweet of you to bring me a present, Dooley, but you didnÆt have to do that.ö She eyed him more closely. ôTell me you didnÆt kill that mouse?ö
ôOf course not!ö said Dooley, horrified at the idea. ôIt was dead when I found it.ö
ôGood,ö said Odelia. Clearly she didnÆt like the idea of her sweet cats turning into a couple of nocturnal predators all of a sudden.
ôWhere did you find it?ö I asked, curious.
ôIn the field behind the house,ö said Dooley.