Sighing, Dani nodded as Emma helped her to her feet.
* * *
Hearing the gentle rapping of knuckles on her door, Emma looked up from her tax records to see Stevie. “What’s up?” she asked.
“Hey,” Stevie replied, coming into the office. “I just wanted to know how it went with Dani this morning. She’s moping behind the register like a five-year-old who popped her balloon.”
Emma laughed. “She’s just a little upset that I made her come to work.”
“Ah, Anna hates to work with a sore backside too…” Stevie trailed off, noticing the look in Emma’s eyes. Suddenly groaning, she shook her head. “What did you do? I know you didn’t paddle her. She was sitting just fine on the register stool.”
Emma smirked. “No, I didn’t paddle her. I bought her a kitten.”
“You what?” Stevie exclaimed. “Emma Renee, you can’t let her get away with…” Stevie again trailed off her lecture as Emma began to laugh.
“God, Stevie. You should see your face.”
Stevie wrinkled her brow in confusion. “Please tell me you didn’t reward her behavior by actually buying her a kitten.”
“Don’t worry about Dani. She and I will be having a long discussion tonight, before bed. I did fold, however, and we did buy a kitten. She named it Matilda, after the book character.”
Stevie groaned. “You’re going to regret this.”
“I don’t think so. She once told me she always wanted a cat, but was never allowed to have one. Besides, since last weekend when we found out about her god-family, Dani has been a little down. I think surprising her, in this case, was a good choice.”
“Maybe so, but I still say you’ll regret this.” Stevie shook her head. “In fact, I’d be willing to bet on it.”
“Oh?” Emma eyes twinkled. “And just what, my dear friend, would you be willing to part with?”
Stevie raised an eyebrow. “You wanna play? Let’s see, say if you can go one week and honestly say you didn’t regret getting her a kitten, Anna and I will treat you and Dani to dinner.”
“Alright, and if I can’t, we’ll treat you.”
“No,” Stevie shook her head.
“No? That’s fair, isn’t it?”
“No,” Stevie repeated. “If you can’t, during our next session, I’ll add six strokes with a cane.”
Emma paled a bit, her confidence all of a sudden not so sure. “I don’t know…”
“So you admit that it wasn’t the best idea,” Stevie taunted.
“No, I stand by my decision,” Emma insisted, not willing to let Stevie intimidate her into submission. She held out her hand, inviting Stevie to shake. “It’s a bet.”
“A bet,” Stevie repeated.
Emma then raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t Dani out there alone?”
“Ah, yeah,” Stevie answered.
“Then maybe you need to get back to work.”
Stevie rolled her eyes. “Yes, boss,” she chuckled before leaving Emma to return to her taxes.
* * *
Dani opened her cell, groaning as she checked the time. It was only three; she still had at least three hours before the store closed and she’d be allowed to go back upstairs. She didn’t have anything pressing to work on, and even if she did, her mind kept wandering to the kitten upstairs. Emma had been kind enough to give her five minutes, exactly, to check on the kitten an hour ago, but she hadn’t really had time to play with it yet.
“Hey, Dani,” Will interrupted her thoughts. “Ah, Emma must be in the back. I just wanted to let her know that I just relieved Stevie.”
“She’s up in the loft with the tax books. Too crowded for both of us to work in here at once and that way she can help if she’s needed. I’m off duty,” she added with a wink.
“Ah, great, I’ll go find her.”
Dani nodded to Will as he slipped back out of the office. Turning back to her laptop, she checked her mail for anything new before her thoughts again returned to the upstairs apartment. Getting up out of her chair, she peeked out the door, noticing that Will was dusting some shelves and the store was empty at the moment. Knowing that Will probably wouldn’t notice, much less care if she left, and Emma couldn’t see the back of the store from the loft, she decided that if she was quick, she could check on the kitten and be back before she was missed.
Taking the stairs two at once, she made it to the apartment in record time before making a beeline for the bedroom. Opening the door, she smiled at the puff of gray fur curled up on the foot of the bed. Not being able to resist picking it up, she kissed the top of Matilda’s head, and smiled as the kitten started to instantly purr.
Lying back down on the bed, she let the kitten curl up on her chest as it continued to purr. “I should have named you fur-puff, cuz that’s all you are,” Dani cooed to it, scratching its head and making the kitten purr even louder. Letting the kitten settle, she continued to stroke it gently as she let herself get lost in thought.
A short time later, she reluctantly sat up, replacing the kitten back on the bed. With a sigh, she closed the bedroom door once again before heading back downstairs. At the back door to the store, she paused, peeking around the corner stealthily. Last thing she wanted to do was accidently run into Emma or Will on her way back. Seeing that the coast was clear, she managed to get back into the store and Emma’s office without being spotted. Giving a huge sigh of relief, she sat and pulled out her cell. Checking the time, she smiled. Twenty minutes, and no one was the wiser. Putting her cell down, she had just pushed the button to refresh her e-mail when the cell buzzed. Looking at the screen, her heart suddenly got stuck in her throat; it was a text message, which simply read: How’s the kitten?
Panic suddenly set in, and she wasn’t sure if she should reply, when she got a second message: You have 30 seconds to get up here.
Frowning, Dani fought the urge to flee, and instead willed herself to answer the summons. Exiting the office, she managed to drag herself up the stairs to the loft, only to be met with the eyebrow and a finger pointing to one of the overstuffed chairs. Flopping down with a huff, she crossed her arms over her chest.
Not getting a verbal affirmation, she started to squirm almost instantaneously. Not being able to stand it any longer, she whined, “Emma.”
“Not a word, Danielle,” Emma replied evenly, not bothering to look up from her records.
Dani frowned. “But you can’t make me sit here all afternoon,” she couldn’t help returning.
Emma looked up. “I can, and I believe I told you not to talk.”
Dani huffed again as Emma returned to her books. She managed to last another two minutes before interrupting again. “Come on, Emma, I’m bored.”
Emma grumbled and looked back up. “Do you have anything pressing that you need to do for Ryan’s Events?”
Dani pressed her lips; she was half tempted to say yes, but wisely decided not to dig her hole any deeper with a lie and shook her head.
“Fine, you can work the store until we close. But,” Emma emphasized, pointing a pencil at Dani, “unless you’re with a customer, if I see you leave where I can’t physically see you from up here, I will close the store, and we will go upstairs. Understand?”
Dani paled, but nodded. “I understand.”
“Good, go on. And I better see you being productive.”
Dani frowned, but was glad of the release, regardless of the conditions. Anything was better than being forced to sit still and be bored out of her mind all afternoon.
* * *
The rest of the afternoon dragged by, but Dani tried her best to appease Emma. Maybe if she worked extra hard, Emma might show her some mercy. Six o’clock came too soon, and before Dani knew it they were locking up, and then heading upstairs. As they crossed the threshold to the apartment, Dani hesitated for a moment, waiting for Emma to give her directions. When nothing was forthcoming, and Emma went about her normal routine, Dani became uneasy.
“Emma?” she asked, follo
wing her into the bedroom. “Do you want me to put on my pajamas?”
“You can change if you want to, Dani,” Emma replied, slipping into a t-shirt and a pair of sweats herself. “I’m going to go see what I can rustle up for dinner.”
Watching Emma leave, Dani shifted nervously. Trying to blink back the tears, she decided to go ahead and change. Not sure what else to do, she spied the gray ball of puff in the middle of the bed. With a small smile, she picked Matilda up and scratched behind the kitten’s ear.
Lying back on the bed, she continued to stroke the little ball of fluff. “Hey, Matilda. I really screwed up today. Emma’s really mad at me.”
The kitten only answered by increasing her purr, and pushing her head into Dani’s hand.
“I guess you don’t care, huh?” Dani couldn’t help but smile before her face grew dark once again. “Sometimes I feel like that too. All lost in your little world, only caring about what feels good at the moment. I envy you, little Tilly.” Stroking the cat again, Dani noticed Emma standing in the doorway.
“Thought you’d come out to help me with dinner.”
“I didn’t know I was invited,” Dani returned.
“Dani,” Emma started. Crossing the room, she sat on the edge of the bed, before reaching across Dani to stroke the kitten. “She is cute.”
“Yeah,” Dani agreed. “Just like you.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “Sweet talking will not get you out of trouble, Danielle.”
“I know, but at least it got you to talk to me again.”
“I wasn’t ignoring you. I was just a little too upset to deal with your behavior.”
“Was? Does that mean that you aren’t anymore?” Dani asked.
“Yes. I guess we need to talk. Sit up, Danielle.”
Dani frowned, but did as she was asked.
“Why did you feel the need to sneak out today?”
“Honestly?”
“I always want you to be honest with me, Danielle.”
“I didn’t think I’d get caught.”
“Ah, well, I guess that’s pretty frank.”
“How did you find out?” Dani couldn’t help but ask.
“Phone rang while Will was with a customer. I came down to get it, and then checked on you.”
“Oh.” Dani hung her head a little sheepishly.
“How long were you gone?”
Dani shifted. “About twenty minutes.”
Emma shook her head at Dani’s response. “All right then, I’m still planning on spanking you before bed, but I think we need to deal with this separately.” She paused for a moment, as Dani shifted again. “Now,” she continued, taking the kitten away from Dani and setting it safely on the floor, and then taking Dani by the wrist and adjusting both of them so that Dani was over her lap. “Why don’t you tell me why I’m going to spank you, Danielle?”
Dani chewed her lip before sniffling. “Because I’m still grounded, and snuck off without telling you.”
“And?” Emma prompted. “How many times has this happened today?”
“Twice,” Dani squeaked.
“Right,” Emma accented her comment with a sharp smack. “Perhaps I should have just paddled you this morning like Stevie suggested.” Dani whimpered as Emma punctuated her statement with a half-dozen swats. “Maybe I made a mistake in letting you get that kitten?” Emma asked with two more hard spanks.
“Please, Emma, don’t take it back,” Dani suddenly pleaded.
The despair in Dani’s voice was apparently too hard to ignore, because it forced Emma to pause. “Dani,” she said quietly, resting her palm on her backside. “I may regret the decision of getting the kitten, but I won’t take it away from you. It’s not a thing; it’s alive and we’ve made an agreement to care for it.” She tapped Dani’s backside. “Besides, she is kinda cute. I always was a sucker for big blue eyes.”
Dani looked over her shoulder, blinking the tears out of her own blue eyes. Sniffling, she managed, “Thank you, Emma.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” Emma smirked as she pulled back and gave Dani another solid strike. “I still plan on making sitting through dinner rather uncomfortable for you.”
* * *
Dani sniffled from her spot in the corner. Even though the earlier spanking was done over her pajama bottoms, her backside was still stinging. She’d been in the corner perhaps five minutes, and still had fifteen more to go. Emma thought it was a fair trade for the twenty minutes she’d gone missing earlier. She would have argued, but Emma had also stressed that any talking would result in her time restarting, and the last thing she wanted to do was have that happen.
Hearing noise coming from the kitchen, Dani knew that Emma was busy making dinner, but she also knew that from this corner in the living room, Emma could check on her at any time. Forced to wait out her sentence, she rested her forehead against the wall, and tried to think of anything but her current predicament.
Suddenly stiffening, she felt something furry rub against her leg. Looking down, she noticed Matilda had found her and was making herself quite at home loving up her ankles. Dani tried to stifle the giggle as the kitten tickled her bare feet with its whiskers. The kitten lay down and Dani moved slightly, rubbing its belly with her toes.
“Danielle,” Emma’s voice cut through her happiness. “Stand still.”
Dani groaned, and pushed the kitten gently away with her foot, returning her attention to the wall. The kitten, however, was having none of it. She reacted to the foot, deciding that it was now a threat, and proceeded to attack Dani’s big toe. Dani pushed her away again, trying to hide the toe behind her other foot, but the kitten was relentless. Now a game, Matilda pounced on the leg, grabbing on with her claws and making Dani suddenly yelp.
“Danielle!” Emma snapped.
Dani gulped and, using the distraction to shake off the kitten, straightened once again. Now wary of sneak attacks, Dani managed to catch the kitten out of the corner of her eye. At least if she could see it, she could be prepared if Matilda pounced again. Unfortunately for Dani, while she was concentrating on Tilly, she failed to see the attack coming from the other side. Suddenly out of nowhere, Atticus pounced. Matilda hissed and in a panic, decided that Dani’s head was the safest place in the room. Scaling Dani’s body, the kitten settled on her shoulder and hissed once again at Atticus.
Reacting to the pain, Dani spun, grabbing the kitten and dislodged its claws from her shoulder. Holding the kitten at arm’s length, she stomped her foot, scaring off Atticus, and then spun around only to be captured by green eyes.
“Mockingbird!” Dani quickly proclaimed her safeword. “It’s not my fault, I was attacked.”
Green eyes twinkled, before Emma broke down in a full belly laugh.
“It’s not funny!” Dani cried, putting the kitten down and watching as it took off back down the hall.
“God, yes it is,” Emma replied, wiping the tears from her eyes. “You should have seen your face.”
Dani crossed her arms over her chest before allowing her lip to stick out in a pout.
Emma shook her head, turning the pouting brunette back to the wall and giving Dani a little pat to her backside. “Dinner’s almost done,” she chuckled.
“Not funny,” Dani mumbled.
“Danielle, do you want your time to start over?”
“No,” Dani whined.
“Then no more talking.”
Dani moaned and put her forehead back against the wall. It had to be the longest twenty minutes of her life.
Chapter Seven
Emma looked up as knuckles rapped lightly on her office door.
“Hey, Emma. Dani said you wanted to see me?” Stevie asked.
Emma glanced at the clock, noting they still had ten minutes before opening. “Yeah, come on in and close the door.”
Stevie’s brow furrowed, as she was suddenly concerned. “Everything okay? It looks like you and Dani had a successful chat by the way that I saw her rubbing when I came in.”<
br />
“Yeah, we chatted twice last night, and once this morning. Oh, and sorry about cancelling your run last minute like that.”
“Hey, no problem. Although Anna might not be too happy with you. When I came back early, I caught her on her third cup of coffee.”
“Uh-oh,” Emma grinned.
“Indeed,” Stevie returned the grin. “So what’s up? What did you want to see me about? More trouble with Dani?”
“Not exactly,” Emma answered. “Remember that bet we made?”
“Yes…” Stevie drew out.
“I lost.”
“Emma, it hasn’t even been 24 hours yet.”
“I know,” Emma shifted.
“What did it do? Eat something? Worse?”
Emma couldn’t help the giggle. “Well, it did attack Dani when she was in the corner last night.”
“God, that’s too funny,” Stevie laughed.
“It was. But the cat isn’t the problem. It’s the way that Dani is reacting to it. You were right; I shouldn’t have gotten it for her. Almost the moment you left yesterday, Dani snuck up to the apartment to play with it, and then this morning…”
“This morning?”
“Let’s just say that Dani should be glad that I’m not a fan of writing lines, or else she’d be writing, ‘Kittens do not make good alarm clocks,’ about 500 times today.”
“You’re kidding?” Stevie laughed. “That’s too funny… and Anna is never getting a cat.”
Emma chuckled. “Funny now, maybe. Not at the time.”
“Ah, so I guess that means our next session is going to be extra fun then,” Stevie smiled.
“Yeah,” Emma squirmed. “I ever tell you how much I hate canes?”
“Hmmm, once or twice,” Stevie grinned evilly.
Emma grimaced. “Then I have a favor to ask. Think we can move it up? With the stress that I’m already under, I don’t think I can have this hanging over my head for another two-and-a-half weeks.”
The Art of Discipline: Running Toward Trouble (The Mockingbird Chronicles) Page 10
