Cat and Company by Tracy Cooper-Posey Read Free Book Online Page A

spread his hands on the table, feeling the coolness of the surface against his palms and the solidness of the structure. “You’re really going to agree to shifting a whole village, Lilly?” he asked carefully.
    Yennifer had nearly reached the table. She halted. “I should come back later,” she said, backing up a step.
    Bedivere glanced at her.
    Everyone else was shifting, uneasiness settling over the table like a low-lying mist. It cranked up the tightness in his chest once more.
    Lilly held her hand out toward Yennifer. “No, don’t go. We have lots left to do today.” She turned to face Bedivere squarely. There was a small furrow between her brows. “Not that I have to explain myself to you, but Nichol’s village is willing to pay a lot of money to move to the other side of the city.”
    “You’re taking taxes now?” He was almost breathless with surprise.
    “I’m thinking about it,” she shot back. “I have to generate revenue somehow and taxes are the simplest way to do it—”
    “The tethers were bringing in more than we could spend,” Bedivere said.
    “Sales of the tethers have almost halted,” she shot back, dropping the boards back onto the table. “Varkan want to buy a tether from you but you weren’t here, were you?”
    Her hand on her hip was white with the pressure she was exerting.
    Bedivere sat breathing heavily, adjusting to her sudden anger.
    “If you do let Nichol buy a premium position in the city, Lilly,” Brant said quietly, “you’ll be setting a precedent. Every village will be vying for favored positions, competing with each other. There’s only one sun side.”
    She rounded on him, her jaw tight. “You’re in no position to offer advice, Fareed Brant.” She looked at the three of them sitting at the table, a sweeping glance. “ None of you. You left me here to run this place. You didn’t even bother to check if I wanted to. You just left me holding the bag while you ran off on your adventures. You gave up any right to tell me how you think I should do my job.”
    Brant pressed his lips together, watching her. He looked at Bedivere then sat back in his chair, distancing himself. Bedivere understood what he was doing and why.
    That left it up to him. He tried again. “I’m not telling you what to do, Lilly. I’m just wondering if you haven’t lost sight of what I—what we were trying to do when we set up Charlton. An open economy, complete freedom for everyone including the right to get themselves killed in whatever way their stupidity dictates. Taxes are the old way of doing things.”
    “And the old ways worked for thousands of years,” she shot back. “I did the best I could and that’s what I’ll continue to do. I didn’t have the great Bedivere X to call on for his wisdom and guidance. You pushed Catherine at Devlin and fucked off yourself. I don’t know how you have the gall to even make a suggestion .”
    Bedivere froze. All except his heart, which skittered along unevenly. He watched, unable to speak, as Lilly swept up the boards again, stalked down to her desk and dumped them there. “We’ll work in your office,” she told Yennifer and both of them left.
    The door shut quietly behind them.
    “I’m sorry, Bedivere,” Brant said. “I know she doesn’t mean it.”
    Bedivere shook his head. “It’s Lilly. She meant everything she said.”
    Connell was watching him, his face unhappy.
    “And she was right to say it,” Bedivere added.
    Connell sighed.
    Neither of them tried to argue.
    Bedivere got stiffly to his feet. Tiredness was gnawing at him. It was the sort of total exhaustion that made him feel like he was made of lead. “Is anyone using that room?” He pointed to the narrow door behind the piano.
    “That? That’s a closet,” Brant said.
    “It’ll do just fine,” Bedivere assured him. “I’m going to print a bed then sleep for a week. Maybe more.”

Chapter Six
    The Hana Stareach. FY 10.187
    Catherine permanently erased