A Maine Coon lawyer meets a business CEO where they strike up a mutual agreement with each other.

Business Partners

Sitting at the table closest to the window, Tobi gazed out the glass, his blue eyes observing the city life before him. His ear twitching softly, the Maine Coon props an elbow to rest his head upon his hand, idly watching the buzz. The cat is waiting for his order to arrive while sitting inside of the local IHOP.

"When is it gonna come here? I'm hungry!" Tobi's ears flick briefly from his whining while he shuffles a bit in his seat to straighten up. He gazes out of the window again and he perks up a bit upon observing a white public transit Gillig Low Floor 35' pausing at a bus stop nearby to drop off and pick up some passengers before departing. One of these passengers happens to be a white female cat in a black business suit, something that held little attention to Tobi.

Tobi turns his attention away from the window when a dinner platter of buttermilk pancakes is placed in front of him, along with a couple strips of bacon, a pair of sausage links, and some syrup on the side. His mouth begins to water at the sight, leaving him to muse, "Oh man, I completely forgot about this! Might as well enjoy myself before leaving for work!"

While Tobi digs into his breakfast, he pauses to observe his surroundings occasionally when he notices the white female coming inside the restaurant. Thinking nothing of it, the tomcat resumes eating. However, the male Maine Coon freezes upon hearing her addressing him, "Excuse me, sir. Mind if I sit with you? Is this seat taken?"

A rosy tint lines Tobi's face when he fixes his blue eyes on the female cat before him. He hadn't anticipated anyone sitting with him, so he reluctantly obliged, "Um, sure. Go ahead."

A mug of fresh hot chocolate is set on the table by Tobi's food when the female cat sits across from him, waiting for her order to come. To pass the time, she attempts to engage in conversation with the Maine Coon.

"So, what's your name? You look quite handsome in that business suit of yours!" While the female cat attempts to talk with Tobi, the tomcat is analyzing her features. When he finally picks up on the conversation, Tobi rears back in shock, nearly knocking over his hot chocolate!

"Gwah! I'm sorry! I didn't know you were speaking to me until now! I'm really sorry!" Heavily blushing, the tomcat can only apologize for staring, hoping that the female cat won't lash out. Instead, she snickers at him and comments, "Took ya long enough to even register what I was saying!"

Taking a moment to sip his hot chocolate, Tobi begins to refocus on the conversation. The female tries again, "So, handsome, what is your name? You gotta have a fancy job if you're looking this sharp."

Meekly, Tobi explains, "Lawyer. I am a criminal defense attorney. Better than being a prosecutor, at least. My name is Tobi Blackburn. What about you? What's your name and what do you do?"

The female cat giggles and introduces herself, "Zoey Waterpaw. I'm a ragdoll accountant. Aren't numbers fun?" Seeing the deadpan expression on his face, the female ragdoll makes a pouty face and grumbles, "What? Isn't working in an office fun?"

Tobi blankly rebuffs Zoey's statement, bluntly inquiring in an emotionless mutter, "What could possibly be fun about working in an office as an accountant? Doesn't that involve data entry or something?"

"Well, there is data entry, paperwork, numbers, basically organizing and keeping track of things like records and profiles." Zoey meekly rambled on. She seemed to be a little annoyed at Tobi's blank reaction upon her working as an accountant. She decides to flip the script on the tomcat. "So Tobi, what's being a lawyer like? I'm sure it's not that hard and fun for you!"

Tobi snickers and catches himself to avoid bursting into laughter, though there is a subtle smirk on his face. He explains in reason, "Being a criminal defense lawyer is not as easy as you think. In fact, it's more complicated and intense, as I'm beginning to slowly come to grips with. It's not easy pickings being a defense attorney or a prosecutor."

Tobi's voice wavers during his revelation and he stares down at his plate in shame, crestfallen. Zoey reaches out to him, attempting to rest a hand on his shoulder. Upon hearing the wavering voice, the ragdoll quietly whispers, "Did something happen that left you questioning your choices of employment?"

The Maine Coon nods in return but stays silent, hesitant to speak out. However, Zoey insists, "I don't bite, honest. You seem to be experiencing some sort of flashback or something." She directs him to his hot chocolate while coaxing him, "You can talk to me, Tobi. I'm all ears."

By the time Tobi sips from his hot chocolate, which has now been cooled down to his liking, he sees Zoey's ears wiggling, emphasizing her attention. A rosy blush lines his face and he begins to giggle unexpectedly at the display. Seeing the quizzical expression on Zoey's face, Tobi excuses himself and apologizes, "Ah, sorry. I find it really funny when someone does that with their ears. I wasn't trying to be offensive or teasing - it's just entertaining to me." Clearing his throat, he adds, "I also understood what you meant when you said you're 'all ears' before the ear wiggling."

Satisfied with Tobi's reasoning, Zoey's smile returns where she remarks, "Clearly, anyone with half a brain can understand that part easily. And you're one of those smart types. So, how did you become a lawyer and what made you decide to become one?"

Oblivious to the rapidly deteriorating situation, Zoey is expecting an answer. But in Tobi's case, he clams up in complete terror. His fearful ice blue eyes hold enough reason to signal Zoey that something is amiss. Seeing the tomcat turn fearful again, Zoey assures him, "As I said before, I don't bite. I'm not gonna rip your head off if you don't want to talk."

Tobi's repeated struggle to say something only ends in silence and once again, the tomcat is downcast. Even when Zoey's own platter of food comes, the ragdoll cat is more focused on the black / white furred cat before her, rather than her own food.

This time, Zoey initiates the lead, "Tobi, I want you to talk to me. Staying silent isn't going to– are you crying??" When Tobi creaks his head to meet Zoey, the ragdoll notices a single tear running down the left side of his face. Worried, Zoey whispers, "Did something happen to you?"

Tobi sniffles and turns away, waving a hand to dismiss the concern. He instead insists, "Let's just finish up and we can talk in my car."

The rest of their mealtime is spent in awkward silence, and after Tobi finishes his side, he withdraws from the restaurant and briskly makes haste for his car. By the time Tobi rushes into his car, Zoey is left running out of the restaurant to catch up to the young man. And when Zoey reaches the car, she notices the Maine Coon inside, crying.

Pity is what swells up in Zoey's heart from observing the tomcat. Sighing softly, the ragdoll rounds the front of the vehicle and gently taps on the window to get his attention.

Tobi's lost in his own mud, having experienced a horrible flashback. He jumps, freaked out from the sudden tapping. While initially oblivious to Zoey's good intentions and startled from the window tapping, Tobi bristles up at the female and hisses at her. But after recognizing her form, the tomcat drops his guard. Still, he keeps his head down after unlocking the car, allowing Zoey to slide into the passenger seat next to him.

Between sniffling and hiccuping, there is just awkward silence. Then Zoey gently maneuvers herself closer to Tobi, pulling him into a gentle side embrace. The tomcat then begins sobbing profusely on Zoey's shoulder. Reluctantly, Zoey cradles the crying tomcat, even though she hates her business clothes getting wet. To herself, she inwardly ponders, 'What could have happened to him to make him end up this way? He's a good kid, and I can tell he's smart too. What's going on here?'

Tobi's crying subsequently recedes after a short time and the tomcat begins wiping his eyes following his meltdown. Taking a shaky breath, he guiltily apologizes, "I'm sorry, Zoey. I didn't mean to hang you like this. You don't have to say it 'cause I already know, I'm a horrible person."

There is a scoff from Zoey where she dismisses Tobi's self-assessment of himself, "As if. You are not a horrible person, Tobi. You're handsome, talented, and smart. A guy like you deserves extra credit."

"Y-you think I'm not bad??" Tobi squeaks through his sniffling.

"Far from it! You need to work on your self-esteem more." Zoey gently wipes his face. And to relax him more, she nuzzles him gently, causing him to melt directly against her. Once again, he buries his face into her, sniffling.

"How about I take over and drive somewhere more private? That way, it's just us two." Zoey offered. Something in the back of her mind implies that something moderate is off; only now does she realize and see what's going on.

"Ok… I think that would be better." The squeaking tomcat mindlessly removes himself from Zoey and the two swap seating positions. And when Zoey slides into the driver's seat, she turns a little nervous upon finally picking up on what car this is.

"Um, a Ferrari Portofino?? What led you to get this type of high-tech sport anyway??" Zoey wondered in a low mutter. Beside her, Tobi reveals, "My sister and my friends pitched in. Actually, come to think of it, it was a gift from my adoptive dad. All you have to do is just start it up and start driving."

"Is there some kind of keyless entry for this thing? I don't see any ignition slot– oh…" A sudden wave of unease overcomes Zoey when she notices a START/STOP button below the steering wheel. Realizing her mistake, she snorts and turns on the car with the button, firing up the 3.9L F154 BE Twin-Turbocharged V8.

~~~~~

The drive to the park was a short ride, about a mile and a half from the restaurant. A light breeze blows throughout the landscape, welcoming cool air to the normally sunny weather and atmosphere.

After his meltdown and subsided crying, Tobi had fallen asleep on the way. This leaves Zoey gently waking him up to announce that they're at the park. And after a dragging journey to a private bench, Tobi flops himself on Zoey's shoulder, wobbling on the verge of another meltdown.

While Zoey wraps her arms around the tomcat, she not only feels pity for the cat but also fury; pity because of what's going on with Tobi, and absolute fury for whoever brought about his meltdown.

The whining tomcat suffers another breakdown, afterwards wiping his face from crying his eyes out a second time. Through his subsiding crying, Zoey invites him a third time to open up, her concern evident on her face. "Tobi, talk to me please. What happened?"

Coughing mildly, Tobi squeaks, "Horrible childhood. Abusive father, no friends, just complete loneliness and hopelessness."

While the ragdoll female bristles at hearing the statement, Tobi recounts his traumatizing past, "My dad - he was a horrible person. He was vicious, mean, and abusive. Plus, he was a corrupt prosecutor too, and he would bribe others to keep quiet about his conduct. For a long time, no one saw how fake he really was until that day…"

Drawing a shaky breath, the tomcat resumes, "Living at home was a nightmare - all the physical torture, the beatings, the mental and emotional torture. He hated me; When I was later diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, the hatred only intensified and the abuse only got worse."

"Did you have to go to the hospital?" Hearing Tobi's revelation leaves Zoey pale, her concern and worry for him leaving her horrified. However, Tobi hesitantly nods his head and slowly explains, "Yes, but it was because I tried taking my own life multiple times. I just couldn't go on anymore."

Shivering from a chilling spine, Zoey squeezes Tobi gently and nuzzles him. She encouragingly coaxes him, "Tobi, you are far too precious to die. We may have only known each other for a short time but you are too young to die! Reach out and talk to someone if you're feeling blue!"

Guiltily, Tobi meows apologetically, his blue eyes shimmering in complete sadness. He squeaks again, "I have my sister to thank for saving my life."

"You have a sister??" Zoey blinks at him in question.

Tobi nods and describes her, "We're actually half-siblings. She's a blue and ivory Norwegian Forest Cat while I'm a black and white Maine Coon. Different mothers, same father."

"I'll bet the tyrant that brought both of you into the world is a big time cheating dirtbag. That's what he is." Zoey hisses in contempt, "He doesn't even deserve to be alive after what he put you through, most of all."

"He's in jail for life, so he won't be seeing daylight anymore." Tobi shivers and nuzzles Zoey in return for warmth and comfort, earning him a few head pats.

Silence ensues with the feline pair against each other. After some time, Zoey offers, "We should partner up sometime."

"An accountant and a law firm?? How is that gonna work?" Turning inquisitive, Tobi gives Zoey a pondering expression.

In return, Zoey gently pinches his cheeks, "You're real silly, you know that? Basically if something comes up that needs to be settled or taken to court, we'll contact you. Simple as that."

"So you want our law firm to partner up with your accountant work. Isn't that pretty complicated?" The tomcat remains unconvinced until Zoey mentions, "Whatever criminal acts happen in the business will be brought to you guys. Crimes against the staff or lawsuits or whatever, they'll be brought to you guys."

Rubbing a clawed finger against his chin, Tobi ponders the offer for a moment when he lights up in satisfaction, "I'll like that very much. I'll run it by my friends and we'll get back in touch with you."

"Why can't I just go to your firm to meet them in person?" Zoey suggested instead, "Are you well enough to drive now?"

"Well…," after a drawn-out sigh, Tobi removes himself from the ragdoll cat, lightly kicking his legs out, "after my double meltdown, I'm feeling better; I'll be fine driving."

~~~~~

Zoey Waterpaw belongs to Borgelorge_art from Instagram; Tobi Blackburn belongs to me!