Feline Fatale

Rowan smiled to herself happily as she stepped out into the cold Philadelphia morning air that was rolling in off the Delaware River. She pulled her red pea coat tighter around her tiny frame and headed off down the street, heels clicking against the pavement. About a block down the street was her favorite bagel shop in the city. She made her way into the already busy shop and stood in the long line, deciding what she wanted that morning.

The line moved rather quickly and she was soon face to face with the miserable looking teenage employee.

“Hi, welcome to Four Worlds, what can I get you?” He asked solemnly.

“I’ll have a plain toasted with strawberry cream cheese please...oh! And a medium hot chocolate too.”

He punched the order into the register in front of him; Rowan handed him exact change for her order and then stepped to the side where the pickup window was. But not before tossing a few quarters into his tip jar to hopefully brighten his day a little bit.

After receiving her order, she marched back out onto the street and headed off for work. She wished it wasn’t so cold this morning. On warmer days she was fond of making a pit stop at Love Park to eat her breakfast and watch some of the kids skateboarding there.

She stepped inside the warm office building, waving hello to Millicent who worked at the main desk.
She stepped into the elevator and rode up to the tenth floor. Once there, she stepped inside the office space that was owned by the company she worked for, Ruby Slipper Parties. As she walked to her desk she said hello to the many co-workers she passed. Smiling simply, she sat down at her desk making sure to place her jacket and bag in their rightful places. She started up the Mac that was on her desk and checked her emails.

“Oh, Rowan, you’re here!”

She turned to see her boss, Michelle Morrison, standing there. “I have a meeting at 12 with the Lowes Hotel people, do you think maybe you could take my 12:15 appointment?”

“Of course!” Rowan agreed nodding. This wasn’t something that happened often. Michelle never asked employees to take over her appointments.

“This is extremely important Rowan. It’s a very high paying client. I’ll email you the information.” Michelle turned briskly then and headed off towards her office.

Rowan couldn’t believe her luck. Maybe this would finally be her chance to prove to Michelle she could handle more than just bar mitzvahs and wedding showers.

12:15 came very quickly and soon Rowan found herself welcoming the client into a conference room.
Rowan took a seat at the head of the table inviting the woman to take the one next to her. Rowan glanced down at her paper work to quickly remind herself of the woman’s name so as to not embarrass herself.

“So, Mrs. Edwards….how are you today?” Rowan smiled organizing the papers in front of her and turning her eyes up to meet the woman’s.

Mrs. Edwards was by far not what Rowan had expected when Michelle had said “important client.” Usually the women labeled “important client” came marching in the room with six inch, patent leather Manolo Blahnik’s on their feet and a monogram Louis Vuitton bag stapled to their arm. Mrs. Edwards, however; fit the complete opposite of anything Michelle had ever bestowed “important” on before.
She had red hair that flew out around her head similar to a lion’s mane. She wore little makeup, if any at all, and none of her clothing matched. Eccentric colors, patterns, and materials made up her wardrobe. Rowan couldn’t help but think of Mrs. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus series.

“Please,” She said leaning digging through her purse. Coming across the item she was looking for, she grinned happily as she opened a pair of pink polka-dotted, cat-eye glasses. She set them on her nose, closed her purse with a snap and focused her attention back to Rowan. “Call me Cathleen.”

“Okay, Cathleen,” Rowan took a deep breath, ready to steer the conversation towards party planning and hopefully a promotion. “What kind of party are you planning on having?”

“Well, it will be Jasmine’s third birthday next month…” Cathleen purred.

“And is Jasmine your daughter?” Rowan asked grabbing a pen to start taking notes.

“But of course!” Cathleen cried out. “Whom else would she belong to?”

“I have no idea…” Rowan mumbled awkwardly, mentally cursing herself. “So did you have a theme in mind for Jasmine’s party?”

“Feline Fatale!” Cathleen jumped out of her chair, doing her best impression of Vanna White.

“…You want dangerous cats to be the theme of your three year old daughter’s party?” Cathleen was starting to seem farther and farther from an “important client.” Maybe Michelle had set Rowan up for failure by giving her this whack job.

“Oh but she’ll just adore it!” Cathleen was smiling wide as she took her seat at the table again. “She told me last night as she was curling into a ball next to my head.”

Rowan could not believe a word that was coming out of this maniacal woman’s mouth.

“Perhaps a picture of my precious Jasmine would help?” Cathleen asked reaching down into her purse once more and pulling out a small photo album. She slowly handed it to Rowan who took it gingerly trying her best to force a friendly smile onto her face.

Slowly Rowan opened the book and looked down to find pictures of Cathleen in various poses with not a little girl but a cat.

“She’s a Scottish Fold. How gorgeous is she?” Cathleen asked excitedly.

Rowan didn’t know if she should be happy or worried that this woman wasn’t treating her little girl like a cat or treating her cat like a little girl. Well this certainly wasn’t the first time anyone had thrown their pet a party, so she decided she’d go along with it.

“She’s adorable.” Rowan grinned handing the book to a now over joyed Cathleen. “Now, let’s talk budget!”

“I was thinking around $10,000, but I’m willing to spend more if necessary.”

Choking on her gum and coughing senselessly, Rowan forced it down her throat in a hard lump.
“$10,000?” She questioned rubbing her neck.

“Is that a problem?” Concern suddenly splashed across Cathleen’s features.

“No! Oh no, no, no, no!” Rowan assured her waving her hands. “No, you just surprised me. People don’t usually set that high of a budget on parties for their pets.”

“Only the best for my Jazzykins.” Cathleen explained brimming with excitement again.

Rowan forced another smile on her face and hoped for the best with this client. They spent another fifteen minutes talking about color schemes, possible venues, caterers, and the ever important guest list.

Cathleen was so delighted by the end of the meeting she jumped up and pulled Rowan into a tight embrace, promising that Rowan and Jasmine would meet soon.

Rowan made her way back to her desk her mind was in such a cluster, she had to take a moment to think through everything she had just experienced.

“You okay?” Her co-worker Jenelle asked with a polite chuckle.

“No.” Quickly glancing around to be sure no one was listening, Rowan leaned over to tell Jenelle about Cathleen in more detail.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Jenelle howled.

“Shhhh!”

They both shot worried glances over their shoulders hoping no one was eaves dropping. It was against Ruby Slipper Policy to talk about clients in detail with anyone who wasn’t working on with them.

“I wish I was…” Rowan mumbled once she was sure they hadn’t been heard.

Wiggling the mouse to her Mac, Rowan popped up Safari and began to surf the internet for places in Philadelphia that would be willing to host a party for Jasmine and her 30+ feline friends.

“Hi, yes. My name is Rowan Lawrence. I’m with Ruby Slipper Parties. I’m calling to inquire about the spaces you have available for parties…Um, well it’s a birthday party…yeah…um, well, uh, here’s the really crazy part…it’s for a cat and her 30 cat friends… No! No! Please don’t hang up! Ugh!”

“Another hang up?” Rowan’s boyfriend Austin came in from the kitchen with a glass of wine in each hand, set one down in front of her, and plopped down on the couch.

“This lady is absolutely insane! There is no place in Philadelphia that wants to have 30 fur-balls running around for five hours. That’s just a fact.”

“Have you tried anything outside of the city?” Austin asked.

“She won’t let me! She told me it has to be in Philadelphia. It can’t be West Chester, Downingtown…anywhere, has to be in Philly.” Rowan sighed desperately and took a large gulp of her wine.

“There has to be somewhere.” Austin shrugged. That was just like him, always staying completely optimistic no matter what hardship fell upon them. “What if you don’t tell them it’s cats, book a place, and then show up with the cats and surprise them!”

Rowan laughed shaking her head and tearing her gaze away from his warm brown eyes.

“You’ll figure it out.” He said wrapping his heavily tattooed arm around her shoulder and pulling her in against his body. “I have faith in you.”

“Hi, Cathleen!” Rowan was sure to add pep to her voice and a smile on her face, even though Mrs. Edwards couldn’t see her through the phone.

“Oh! Rowan! I’m so glad you called! And so is Jasmine! She wants to talk to you!” Cathleen cried dropping the phone in her excitement.

“What?” Rowan stopped dead in her tracks feeling the smile practically melt off her face.

“Jasmine! Talk to the nice lady who’s planning your party!”

“Meow.”

“Oh my god…” Rowan mumbled hardly believing that this woman had really put the cat on the phone.

“Meow.”

“Oh! Did you hear her?” Cathleen said coming back to the phone. “How cute is she? We’ll be in for the
meeting at two tomorrow! I hope you have a venue picked out! See you then!”

And with that she hung up. Rowan stood in the middle of the sidewalk with a look of complete shock on her face.

“Promotion Rowan…think promotion…” She said to herself as she straightened out her shoulders and made her way into the office.

Rowan spent the entire day calling everywhere in the city again. She was completely stressed out and in a last ditch effort, she tried calling one of the most expensive hotels in the city. Explaining the situation she was more than enthused when the manager said they would be able to work something out.

“Really?! Oh you are a life saver!” She cried into the phone and happily began exchanging number with the man.

The next day she met Cathleen happily in the meeting room, ready to share the good news. Cathleen was carrying Jasmine in her arms and handed her right over to Rowan as soon as she saw her.

“Here you go, meet my little poopsie!”

“Oh, okay…” Rowan said quickly grabbing the cat and making sure not to drop her.

“Well,” Cathleen looked Rowan up and down. “Say hi.”

“Hi, Jasmine.” Rowan said patting the cat’s head and shutting the door to the conference room. She took a seat and placed the cat on her lap, who jumped down and moved about the room happily sniffing.

“I hope you have good news…” Cathleen said pushing her red locks behind her shoulders and sitting up straight.

“I got you the Palomar.”

“The Palomar!” Cathleen gasped her hand clutching her chest.

“Is that bad?” Rowan asked quickly, her eyes going wide.

“No! Oh no! It’s perfect!” And with that, Cathleen suddenly burst into tears.

Rowan jumped from her seat, horrified, and grabbed a box of tissues. She handed it to Cathleen who took it gratefully.

Rowan stood there not sure if she should be comforting Cathleen or letting her sob. Cathleen blew her nose into a tissue violently before looking up at Rowan with an appreciative smile under her tear stained cheeks and puffy eyes.

“Rowan, dear…” Cathleen said reaching up and grasping Rowan’s hands. “I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect person to plan this party.”

“Thank you.” Rowan said blushing slightly.

Maybe that promotion wasn’t going to be as far away as she thought.

Rowan was bouncing around the apartment trying to put her heels on and her earrings in her ears.
She was already more than late for Jasmine’s party. Austin sat in bed on his computer chuckling at her.

“You’re going to a party for cats, not New York Fashion Week.”

“Ha. Ha.” Rowan said rolling her eyes at him. “I still have to look nice. I am working. Besides, this party is more mine than hers or the cats. I’m the one who put their heart and soul into this. Cathleen
just wrote checks and swiped credit cards.”

The month had gone by rather quickly and Rowan had found herself practically swimming in color schemes and menu options. Cathleen had made nothing easy throughout this entire process, often calling Rowan in the middle of the night with invitation changes and balloon cancellations. Finally it was the day of the party and she couldn’t wait to get it behind her.

“Bye!” Rowan called out to Austin as she threw a coat on and slammed the door of the apartment behind her. She quickly hailed a cab and was soon pulling up to the five star hotel. She made her way through the swank lobby and was directed by the concierge at the front desk to the second floor where the reception rooms were.

“Oh! Rowan!” Cathleen squealed upon seeing her. She was standing close to the door clutching Jasmine in her arms. Cats of all shapes, sizes, and colors were roaming the expansive room like it was their new kingdom.

The tables and chairs Cathleen had had Rowan set up, with silk tablecloths, were now covered in cats and their fur. Cats were laying across the plate settings licking themselves and the waiters were trying their best to make their way through the cats holding trays of catnip. The DJ was in the corner playing some remixed version of that old song, “What’s New, Pussycat?” Cathleen had been sure to pick out a completely cat related track list for him to play. There were cats sprawled out on the dance floor, cats lounging by the large glass windows overlooking Philadelphia, a cat had even clawed his way up the wall which Rowan looked at in wide-eyed horror.

“I’m so sorry I’m late Cathleen!” Rowan began to explain about her alarm clock that never went off and how she over slept, but Cathleen cut her off.

“I need you to go get me 25 cheesesteaks.”
“What.” Rowan said making sure she had heard this delusional woman clearly.

“I need 25 cheesesteaks from Geno’s.”

“But what about the salmon and shrimp we had on the menu?” Rowan questioned.

“Jasmine has changed her mind.” Cathleen shrugged.

“No, she can’t do that. She is a freaking cat! Cats don’t eat cheesesteaks!”

Cathleen gasped throwing her hands up to cover Jasmine’s ears. “Please don’t talk like that in front of the birthday girl!”

Rowan took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down. She was so close to flipping Cathleen off and storming out of the hotel. Gritting her teeth together she turned back towards the irrational woman before her. “Cathleen, we are in Center City. Geno’s is in South Philly. Not to mention the lines of tourists there at this time of day.”

“Well you better get going then.” Cathleen said scanning over the expansive room. “Oh, and get me some of that delicious green tea ice cream from that place too while you’re at it.”

Rowan turned on her heel and marched out of the hotel. Once out on the sidewalk she pulled out her phone, found Geno’s number, and dialed as she hailed a cab.

“I need 25 cheesesteaks, make them ‘wiz without, please. And I need that as soon as you can under Rowan. I’ll be there shortly to pick them up.”

“Yeah, just come to the fries window when ya get here.” The woman said before slamming the phone down.

Traffic was bad this time of day and her feet were tapping anxiously in the back as they slowly made their way across the city. Finally, Rowan could see the neon signs and the familiar orange awning letting her know they had arrived.

“Circle the block!” She yelled to the cabbie as she hopped out of the backseat and ran through the crowds piled up on the sidewalk to the fries window. She picked up the sandwiches, charged them to the business card, and ran catching her taxi again directing him towards Reading Terminal Market.

Cathleen’s name appeared on her phone but she hit ignore not wanting to listen to her last minute changes again. Rowan threw the cab driver some money and dashed out onto the sidewalk clutching the box of hoagies tightly. She made her way inside the building and ran towards where she knew the Bassett’s Ice Cream stand was. She grabbed a pint of the Green Tea, charged that, and sprinted back out onto the busy streets. The hotel was only a few blocks away. Rowan’s heels clicked feverishly on the pavement beneath them as she walked.

Out of breath, her arms getting tired from the weight of the food, she stumbled her way back up to the second floor and crashed into the party room.

“Here!” Rowan exclaimed placing the food onto a table.

“You didn’t answer my call. I need you to-“

“No. No, I am not going to do anything else for you. What I should be doing is calling Animal Planet and letting them know you’re absolutely insane and they should interview you for the new season of Confessions: Animal Hoarding.” Rowan screamed throwing her arms up in frustration. The DJ had stopped playing music and the waiters had all turned towards the door to see what the commotion was. The only audible sound was two cats that were hissing and fighting in a corner. “You’re crazy,
Cathleen. It’s one thing to throw a party for your cat but you’re literally never happy with anything and you make everything 1,000 times more difficult than they need to be. We could have had this party in your living room for a lot less money and time and effort. So you can go and get whatever the hell it is else you want. I’m done.” With that she turned on her heels and walked away from the horrendous cat party and the crazy woman who had put her up to it all.

As she stepped out onto the pavement, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It felt like the world had been lifted from her shoulders. She figured at this point there were other, less furry, ways she could earn her promotion. She put a smile on her face and strolled off down the street happy that she was done with Cathleen forever.

“Rowan, my office please?” Michelle didn’t even stop as she walked by the cubicle. She marched towards her office and took a seat at her desk shuffling papers.

“Oh dear god…” Rowan mumbled as she stood up. It was the Monday morning after the party and she had been worrying that Cathleen had called and complained and now she was going to lose her job over it. Maybe she should have just grit her teeth and done whatever it was Cathleen had wanted her to do.

She stood and straightened out her skirt before making her way towards Michelle’s office.

“Good luck!” Jenelle whispered.

Rowan smiled her thanks and with her nerves on end made her way towards the office.

“Sit.” Michelle said gesturing towards the chair in front of her desk as Rowan shut the door. She sank into the chair slowly, bracing herself for what was to come.

“So, you worked with Mrs. Edwards the last few weeks, is that correct?” Michelle asked not even so much as glancing up.

“Yes.”

“And you planned her a birthday party with a budget of $10,000?”

“Yes.”

“She called me yesterday to explain to me what happened.”

“Michelle, look. I know I screwed up and I shouldn’t have left the party but it was for cats and-“

“She had nothing but good things to say about you, Rowan.” Michelle finally looked up and met Rowan’s eyes.

“So the plot thickens…” Rowan mumbled looking down at her hands.

“She said she absolutely loved working with you and she had never met someone who was so capable of doing their job and doing it correctly. She said she’d love to work with you again in the future.”

“Really?” Rowan felt like she was dreaming. She couldn’t believe Cathleen had put her through absolute hell just to be nice to her.

“I’d like to offer you a promotion. If you decide to take it, you’ll be working with higher end clients and planning more important parties; such as weddings and the like.”

“Really!” The excitement was starting to boil inside of her. “I’d love to. I’ll take it.”

“Good. We’ll talk about it more tomorrow. You may leave.” Michelle said turning back to her paper work as Rowan stood and made her way towards the door. “Oh, and Rowan. Before I forget, Mrs.
Edwards left this for you…”

Rowan turned and saw Michelle was holding an envelope with her name scrolled across the front. She took it from her slowly and then exited the room, shutting the door behind her.

She slid her finger under the glued down flap and opened up the envelope. There was a dreadful picture of Cathleen holding Jasmine happily at the party. A birthday hat perched atop both of their heads and all of the party guests were crowded around Cathleen’s feet.

Rowan let out a laugh staring at the picture. She turned her attention back to the envelope, she pulled out a check that was addressed to her and written out for $2,500.

A note fell out of the envelope and she quickly bent to pick it up.

Rowan,

Jazzykins and I wanted to thank you so much for everything you’ve done for us. Please frame the picture as something to remember our time together by.

Love from,

Cathleen and Jasmine

P.S. Can’t wait to work together again in the future!!!

“Oh my god…” Rowan mumbled to herself as she made her way back to her desk. She placed the check and the picture down and just looked at them for a moment. She placed the check inside her purse and placed a piece of tape behind the picture, hanging it up on the wall of her cubicle.