For a second, Thomas stared.
Then he started laughing.
Not politely.
Deep, helpless laughter.
He loosened his tie.
“I’m sorry.”
He wiped one eye.
“I have been in meetings since six-thirty this morning.”
The cat turned toward him.
Thomas reached carefully forward.
The animal sniffed his fingers.
Then pressed its forehead into his hand.
Thomas’s whole face changed.
“Oh.”
The laugh disappeared.
He scratched gently behind the cat’s ears.
A low purr filled the taxi.
Tessa heard it clearly over the air conditioner.
It sounded like a tiny engine idling.
“That is ridiculous.”
Thomas smiled.
The cat leaned harder into his hand.
Tessa checked the mirror.
“Rough morning?”
Thomas watched the cat.
“Rough year.”
She did not ask.
A few seconds later, he said it anyway.
“My company is laying off seventy people.”
Tessa kept her eyes on the road.
“I have to tell seventeen of them myself.”
She understood the expression now.
Thomas looked toward the window.
“I’ve known some of them for ten years.”
The cat climbed over the center console.
Tessa almost protested.
Then watched him move into the back seat.
He settled beside Thomas.
Thomas put one hand on his back.
The purring resumed.
Neither of them spoke for the rest of the trip.
When they reached the office building, Thomas paid double the fare.
“That’s too much.”
“I know.”
He looked at the cat.
“For him.”
Tessa glanced toward the back seat.
“I don’t think he accepts cash.”
Thomas smiled.
Then his expression became serious again.
“Thank you.”
She knew he was not thanking her.
The cat returned to the front passenger seat after Thomas left.
Tessa looked at him.
“What are you?”
He began washing his shoulder.
The answer apparently did not concern him.
The next three passengers loved him.
One little girl squealed so loudly that the cat jumped.
Her father apologized repeatedly.
The girl whispered afterward.
“Sorry, kitty.”
The cat forgave her immediately.
Another passenger spent the entire ride trying unsuccessfully to convince the animal to look at the camera.
An older couple debated whether black cats were lucky or unlucky.
Tessa learned far more about European superstition than she had expected before noon.
Then the man in the crisp polo shirt opened the door.
He took one look at the cat and stepped back.
“Absolutely not.”
Tessa’s stomach tightened.
“Sir?”
“I’m severely allergic.”
“Oh.”
She immediately understood.
“I’m sorry.”
The man looked angry.
“This is a public taxi.”
“You’re right.”
“You can’t have an animal riding around in here.”
“He climbed in this morning. I’m trying to figure out where he belongs.”
“That’s not my problem.”
“No.”
Tessa kept her voice calm.
“It isn’t.”
She reached toward the dispatch screen.
“I’ll request another car for you.”
“I already am.”
The man pulled out his phone.
“You should know better.”
Tessa felt heat rise into her face.
He was rude.
He was also correct about one important thing.
Passengers had a right to expect a vehicle without an unknown animal inside unless they had agreed otherwise.