Flirting with the HR Girl

Chapter 47

Both Zack and Kelly greeted them at the door. Zack meowed at Austin but after a few quick sniffs, started to rub his long tawny body against Austin's legs. Jennifer giggled as Austin bent down to pet Zack, and Kelly rammed her head into his other hand. He smiled and pet both at the same time.

"He's so sweet," Austin said as he stroked Zach under the chin. "Are you enjoying your new lease on life, little guy?"

"He'll be that way until it's time to give him his pill," Jennifer said as she went to the kitchen to get the medicine. "Then he'll turn into the devil cat!"

Jennifer grabbed a throw blanket off the couch. The cats were still snuggling Austin.

"What are we doing with that?" Austin asked.

"Wrapping him up like a burrito and shoving this pill down his throat," Jennifer said sounding tougher than she felt about the whole situation. Her hands were already scratched up with bite marks from her beloved pet. On more than one occasion that week, she had looked at him and wondered if he was worth the installment payments, she was playing on his emergency bill. She quickly threw the blanket over the cat before he had a chance to run. She wrapped the whole thing around him, trying to pin his arms and legs down. He was yowling from underneath. She moved the blanket back so just his head was popping up.

"He looks so cute!" Austin said with a laugh.

"Yeah, this is about to not be cute," Jennifer said as she reached into the pill jar. She thrust the cat into Austin's arms deciding that as long as he was there, he needed to be useful.

"Whatever you do, don't let him out of the blanket." She reached for Zack's mouth and was prying open his jaws, when all of the sudden, a paw sprung free and grabbed her hand. Surprisingly strong, the cat gripped onto her and popped free of the blanket, launching himself out of both of their arms.

"Holy shit!" Austin said looking embarrassed he'd been bested by a cat. He ran after Zack, but the feline was up over the couch through the dining area and into the bedroom. Jennifer and Austin chased after him and ended up on either side of her bed. They both looked under the bed skirt and could see each other with the cat directly in the middle at the top.

"I'm going to flush him out," Jennifer said grabbing the baseball bat she kept beside the bed for protection.

"How about I flush him out, and you try to catch him? I obviously can't hold onto the little critter," Austin said pointing out the better plan. Jennifer slid the baseball bat under the bed to him. He took it and gently nudged the cat, who promptly hissed at him. All the goodwill from their earlier bonding evaporated. "Hey, dude, I'm just trying to help her save your life."

"Get out here, Zack Morris," Jennifer said getting embarrassed and frustrated that her cat was such a pain in the ass. Austin pushed a little harder and Zack finally shot out and thought he was going to run again. But Jennifer dashed to the end of the bed and quickly threw herself right on top of him. Pulling the pill from her pocket, she forced open his jaws and stuffed it inside. She held his mouth closed until she saw him swallow and then finally released him, rolling onto her back in exhaustion. Incensed, Zack ran off.

"Wow, that was impressive." Austin bent down and offered a hand. Pulling her up, he added, "You could have played football on top of softball."

"Nah, I'm just an HR girl, remember?" Jennifer said as she sat down. He sat next to her, and she suddenly became acutely aware of where they were. On her bed.