CHAPTER ONE

       Socks the cat (full name: Socks Fifth Avenue) had endured an awful night. Fortunately, she had managed to awaken her person after the fire had started in the house. They’d gotten out seconds before lightning hit the large tree which fell and destroyed the bedroom. The storm was bad enough, but spending the night in the hotel with the constant slamming doors and voices from the next room had left her unnerved. The saving grace was that her person had lavished her with so much love and attention, thankful that Socks had saved their lives.

       To make things worse, she was now riding in her pet carrier—which all cats loathe—but was hopefully on her way to more peaceful surroundings.

      Tish McKenna entered her law office in the Empire State Building with a pet carrier in one hand while wheeling a large suitcase with the other. Her petite doe-eyed assistant, Shelley Downs, got up to greet her tall blonde boss with a hug. “Tish, thank God you’re okay. You could have been killed.”

      Tish held up the pet carrier to eye level. “It’s all thanks to this little one. I didn’t even know the house was on fire until she woke me and about thirty seconds after we got out a tree fell and crushed the bedroom.” She turned and looked at her fur baby, a young black-and-white tuxedo cat with four white paws. “Someone is going to be treated really well for the rest of her eight lives.”

      “Like you don’t already spoil her.” Shelley shoved her long chestnut hair behind her ears and poked her finger through the carrier grate. “Hey, Socks. You’re quite the little heroine. Much better than a smoke alarm.” The cat meowed and licked her finger. “So I guess you couldn’t leave her in the hotel.”

      “No, all the noise from the other rooms freaked her out all night and you know that she’d escape when housekeeping came through.”

      “So where are you gonna keep her?”

      “In my office, for now.”

      “Seriously, Tish? A cat in a law firm?”

      “Look, it will be months before my house is repaired and I can’t leave her there with all the construction going on. So I’ll be with her during the day and we’ve got the law student working here in the evenings to keep her company. I already talked to him and he loves cats. She can stay in my office and I’ll see clients in the conference room for now. And I’m staying with Madison and Nick on the weekends so she’ll come home with me every Friday and back on Monday morning. She can’t get out of this office because the cleaning crew only works on Saturdays and she’ll be with me then.”

      “Okay, but what if the landlord finds out you have a cat in the building? I would imagine that would be against the rules in your lease.”

      “You forget I kept his ex-wife from cleaning him out a few years ago. So the guy owes me big time. I could keep a family of ring-tailed lemurs in here and he wouldn’t say a word.”

      “Right, I forgot you were his lawyer. Hey, I just thought of something… the cat you named Socks Fifth Avenue actually gets to live on Fifth Avenue for a while.”

      “Yep. Monday to Friday anyway.”

      “Uh, one more thing. I have one obvious logistical question regarding something unpleasant as it applies to the care and feeding of cats. Specifically the care part.”

      “Litter box goes in my storage closet.”

      Shelley’s face tightened. “And who—”

      “Don’t worry, Shelley, you don’t have to scoop the litter box. I’ve got one of those battery powered gadgets that scoops every time she uses it. It’s got some sensor so it knows when she leaves. All I have to do is refill the litter and occasionally empty the thing.”

      “Damn, cats have it better than us.”

      “In some ways. But a lot of cats aren’t so lucky and need a home. You should get one.”

      “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it. It would be nice to have someone to come home to.”

      “Anyway, the automatic litter box is with her stuff in the suitcase.”

      “Socks has her own suitcase?”

      “Hey, she has her needs. Litter box, litter, food, dishes, toys, bed, it’s all in there. Luckily it was all in the part of the house that wasn’t damaged, so I went back in after they put the fire out and got her supplies. A cat can’t just leave home with the fur on her back, you know. What would the other cats think?”

      “So, no car seat? Video games?”

      “Stop it. Anyway, I’ve got to be in court in an hour in front of that new judge.”

      “That poor witness. Facing you in a bad mood.”

      “I can take out my frustrations. Anyway, if you can help me get Socks set up I’d appreciate it.”

      Tish and Shelley headed into her office and closed