I Unintentionally Became Her Kitten

Chapter 94: The Interview

I entered the Starmaid’s dining room, trying to project the same impeccable grooming and confidence Alisha held herself with, but finding it difficult to fully embrace since I simply didn't know what I was doing. I asked at the front counter about the interview, a couple staff looked between each other and then pointed to a deserted high top and told me they'd fetch Charlotte.

I followed their directions and sat down. I waited. Outside one of Alisha’s security, one that wasn't allowed to know her routine, was watching me through the windows. The vague prickle of awareness was under my skin. Butterflies were fluttering in my stomach and I checked the time.

I had walked in precisely at 9am, the scheduled time for this. It was now ten minutes after.

I fidgeted. I wouldn't use my phone more than a brief time check but the waiting was dragging out. When Charlotte came through the door to the kitchen, I saw her pause and make a final remark at someone, laugh and then move on to address me.

I swallowed, then gave her my best pleasant smile and unfolded my hands on the table, instead pulling them into my lap, wiping any residual sweat off before Charlotte had the chance to offer a handshake. I was left still expecting one as she sat across from me with a sigh and an exasperated, “okay,” as she paged through my resume. “[XXXXXX], correct?”

“I go by ‘Kit’ now,” I informed her. I tried to hide any displeasure at getting dead-named. I had anticipated it, at least.

“You'd make your own name tag if there's an offer so whatever you like,” she informed me.

I nodded, unsure how to read the strange mix of casualness and professionalism in her voice.

Her eyes continued to scan the resume. “I see you have a gap in your work history from the last ten months. Is there a reason you'd like to explain?”

“Uh… well there was some important family stuff going on,” I explained, somewhat truthfully. Running away from my parents seemed to fit under the ‘family stuff’ umbrella 

Charlotte continued through a multitude of questions. ‘Any health problems? Any availabilities? Anything else that might affect your ability to work here?’

I held back any response that might paint her image of me undesirably. Most of it was the truth. I didn’t have health problems. My schedule was wide open, though I told her mornings would be preferable, that way I could still help Alisha unwind at the end of the day so she could sleep properly and vice versa. Of course, the ever-present PTSD and instability of always being there for Alisha when she needed me meant I could easily miss shifts or generally be exhausted even before getting to work, but Charlotte didn’t need to know that. As far as she needed to know, Starmaids would be my life blood for the foreseeable future.

“Alrighty,” she said definitively at the end. “I think we can move forward with this… can you start tomorrow?”

I nodded. That was it? No background checks? Not even any discussion of my previous experience, just ‘you can make coffee? Good, you’re hired.’?

“Alright, be here at five-thirty– well, actually it's best to always show up a little early so come at like five-twenty.”

I nodded again. “Thank you, I appreciate the opportunity.”

“See you tomorrow,” she flashed me a smile before scurrying back off into the back, getting her phone from her pocket.

I hesitated. I didn’t want to look like I was in a hurry to leave but at the same time, I wanted to be gone already, to shed the outer persona of control. I caught one of the existing barista’s eyes briefly. They had curiosity, I could tell, but it was short lived and they quickly turned their focus back to wiping down the counter.

I was silent in the back of the car. It was another one of those ‘non-descript’ cars I was learning was common for Alisha’s enforcement to drive. This time it was a black sedan, nothing particularly noteworthy about it. There was an air freshener hanging off the rear-view mirror, which swayed back and forth as the car moved. I did my best to stay chill. My heart was beating a bit too fast with a bit too little force and I had t been able to ignore the demanding urge to put my seatbelt on. The driver offered no conversation, a complete stranger to me, but a compromise I had to be willing to make right now. Tye had his own work to do, and Matteo was out of commission for a few more days. He wasn’t severely injured but Alisha made a valid point that getting a head injury severe enough to knock someone out was substantial, and he couldn’t risk a second one.

This left the next best people they had, but still weren’t trusted enough to know where Alisha’s house was and had been pulled aside by Tye to get a severe warning about the consequences if anything were to happen to me.

Instead of going home, I was going to the monitoring center since I’d have to spend quite a bit of time there before or after shifts, depending on Tye and Matteo’s availability. It was supposed to be a safe space, where people like Sara and now Lili worked.

It was also another one of those office buildings that looked completely mundane from the outside. The lower floor was empty. There was an over-sized lobby and a secretary, probably watching camera feeds, and a security guard standing by as I was led through the open space. Then my guard got the elevator and we went up a couple floors. They reopened to a shockingly normal space. I could hear keyboards clicking away and the occasional sigh from one of the few people there. I was led to a closed off room with large glass windows, and offered a comfortable couch, which I accepted and got settled on. It was quiet. Probably a half dozen people total were in cubicles out in the other room. They almost never talked and the smell of stale coffee was pervasive. Across the break room was a pretty sophisticated looking machine with several boxes of various flavored and strengthed coffee.

My guard didn’t relax, he remained silently standing, watching at the doorway as if someone might actually try something here. I didn’t know exactly what Tye said to him, but it was enough to make the poor man way too serious in such a safe space.

There wasn’t anything I could do about that though, so I took my phone out and scrolled boredly for a solid hour and a half. My brain was starting to rot when one of the employees dared enter the room. My guard did let him, but put himself between us as the dude made himself a large mug of coffee and then slipped back out of the room in a scurry. I went back to scrolling, realizing I needed to bring something to entertain myself if I was going to be spending a lot of time here.

After what felt like an eternity Alisha came with her own guard. I sensed the shift in people's attitude as she walked through the office space and then sat next to me, using her own phone. I didn't speak, simply letting her presence be close to me. This was another one of those times I couldn't be sure how much affection was acceptable.

When she finished her message and put her phone down, she finally reached over and draped an arm over my shoulders, pulling me closer.

I let this happen, enjoying the subtle warmth from her.

“Hi Kitten,” she said softly. “How did the interview go?”

“She said I can start tomorrow,” I told her. “If it's not too much trouble.”

“It should be fine. In the morning?”

“Five twenty,” I nodded.

“Okay good. I'll have Tye drop you off.”

I nodded. We sat together a while until Tye came through the door. He was in his professional demeanor still but I could see the dark flickering of exhaustion and fatigue behind his eyes.

Alisha and him didn't need to exchange a word. She stood and shouldered her purse, dismissed the other guards that had been hovering and then the three of us left together.

Tye relaxed a little once we were in his car. It was clear holding the business together was starting to tear him apart, but he didn't complain.

“Are you alright, Tye?” Alisha asked.

“Fine. Just tired,” he answered.

“Do you want to crash on my couch?” she asked. “Save you the drive home?”

He shook his head. “I'll be fine.”

Alisha took a deep breath, but didn't push.

I tried not to feel guilty for being part of the problem. Adding on giving me a ride to and from work was another burden for him.

“Is it possible for Lili… to give me a ride? I know she's not the most trained but…” I trailed off.

Alisha shook her head. “Shes not ready. She is highly trained but not desensitized so she's still going to freeze or panic when situations come up. And as you know, situations will come up.”

I nodded. “But I mean. The commute from here to there is low risk, right?”

Alisha was quiet.

“Lili isn't ready,” Tye reiterated.

I nodded. It was their decision ultimately.