Butter's whole attention narrowed down on the word: again.

Had his mistress met Salvador already? Had she bumped into him here, or was she referring to when she was at work, fixing the mess his existence created?

Butter inched closer to his mistress with all four paws tucked under him and searched her eyes. He needed more information, but he couldn't just come out and ask her, could he? Nope.

The kitten waited; his efforts paid off when Pepper sat up and placed him on her tummy. Stroking under his ear, she snapped her fingers. "Dress."

A long, flowing magenta evening gown with sleek curves hovered over them from behind the door, followed by a pair of shiny black, uncomfortable-looking six-inch heels.

Pepper looked at the shimmering gown and then back at her kitten. "Beautiful, is it not?"

"It is, my lady. When did you buy it?" He was sure his mistress had not bought it on her recent shopping spree.

"I did not. This is a gift"—she lowered her eyes—"from Mr. Hart."

Butter was rendered speechless. Even his head emptied out...thoughts and all. That lasted for about five seconds, after which he jumped off his mistress and onto the floor, admiring the satin beauty by giving it a three-sixty-degree inspection.

His mind was still a blank page, though.

"I know what you are thinking," Pepper said, eyeing the dress.

Butter wondered why his mistress looked woeful. The dress was lovely.

"Why did I accept the dress, B? I should have refused. Maybe I still can!" Pepper snapped her fingers. "Phone."

"Wait. I think I am missing something here. Why did Sal...that jerk, give you a dress? Wait, how did he know where to find you? No. First, tell me-"

"B, take a breath." The witch ran her fingers through her disheveled locks. "So, here's the thing..."

Ten minutes, three grunts, a couple of 'How-stupid-am-I?', and one 'What-the-heaven-have-I-gotten-myself-into?' later, Butter had all the deets his absence had made him miss.

Apparently, a couple of days before leaving for their trip, Felicity had called his mistress, pressurizing her to bring a date for the wedding. "If you don't bring one, they will call us names behind our backs, Sis. But if you do, they will not bug me about getting married before you and stop butting their nose into your non-existent love life. It's a win-win. Please, Sis, you are my sister and my maid of honor. You still have a few days before the wedding to find someone. Maybe a guy from work, you know? At least give it a thought. Pleeeeease."

For his mistress, getting a date was easier said than done. Pepper was not antisocial, per se; she just wasn't much of a party person. It was not her fault. It was her job...really. Cough.

Pepper was sure she wasn't going to find a wizard or a human at such short notice (or at all). Not wanting to be the cause of her cousin's unhappiness, the witch had, in a moment of weakness, decided to summon a demon to keep her company for the entirity of their trip. It was a great plan, for demons were no-mess, no-fuss fix-its. They were like puppets that could easily pass off for humans if instructed to function correctly, vanishing once the purpose was fulfilled. The only problem was that the ingredients were hard to come by and expensive.

Despite that, the young witch had bought everything required to cast a spell for creating a demon from WandWmazon. "It cost us a month's salary, B. I am so stupid," the witch had confessed, adding that she was afraid he would try to stop her if she consulted with him first, so she had kept it from him.

"Then what happened?" Butter had asked. Which was when his mistress had admitted how she had waited for the demon to appear for a couple of hours before thinking that the spell had not worked and returned home.

She had forgotten all about it until Mr. Hart had appeared at her door asking her to be his date. "That was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard, B. Why would he think that I would go out with him? I am not his type."

With a glimmer of hope rising in his heart, the familiar had asked, "Why do you think that?"

He wanted to believe that maybe what the world knew about Salvador Hart was just a persona he had created to appear cold, rude, and distant, like a Wattpad bad-boy, who looked like a red flag but was actually a forest of green ones.

Well, one could hope, right?

"Because I have been on duty enough times when he was out and about, causing unnecessary stir everywhere he went. Also, he said he just found himself in Whistling Greens and then at my doorstep. Isn't it suspicious that I summoned a demon, but instead, this devil shows up, looking for a date!" Pepper's angry breath caressed the top of her kitten's head. "See, I am even beginning to sound human." She shook her head. "Look at what the jerk made me do!" Lowering her eyes to the floor, she prayed. "Lord Satan, sorry for taking your name in vain. Obviously, Mr. Hart could never be compared to you. Please, overlook my slip of the tongue."

"Oh..." Pepper's conclusion and her prayer for forgiveness had killed Butter's hope. The spell had probably failed to work as it should have. Pepper wasn't skilled at transitional dark magic. She had never put her heart into the subject which was more often than not what gave witches a bad name. In Butter's opinion though, the technique wasn't as dark as it was light gray. Of course, what he thought didn't matter.

Given the facts, it was logical to assume that her lack of expertise in the area had somehow led to the spell backfiring and latching on to Salvador Hart instead, which would explain his unusual behavior and him ending up at the Pepper's door. There were, however, more questions plaguing the familiar.

"There is one thing I don't get," Pepper said. "Salvador Hart is as real as they get. He is definitely not a demon. And I am sure I summoned a demon, not a hot celebrity."

Butter's tail stood up straight, with the golden tip curled outward. All the questions he might have been entertaining left him.

Had he heard his mistress correctly? He glanced up at her. "You find him hot?"

"No. Absolutely not."

Oh, darn. I could have sworn she thought so.

"If you say so," the kitten said feeling dejected; Alas, looking away from the witch, made him miss her flushed pink cheeks. He returned his eyes to the stunning garment. "What did he do when he came here?"

"Nothing much. He was very polite. He handed me the dress, but I refused and showed him the door. On his way out, he asked me if I had a pet."

"He probably saw my cage," Butter offered.

"That's not what it's called, but yes, that's what happened."

"Did you tell him about me?"

"Yes. And good thing that I did, or else someone might have kidnapped you."

Highly unlikely. But of course, Pepper would think that; she had no idea that her familiar could perform magic. "Why?"

"Because Mr. Hart was the one who brought you back here. He said he found you wandering about the garden area. He wasn't sure if you were mine, but he thought to ask." Pepper sighed. "Frankly, if not for that, I would have refused him outright, but now I owe him. And that's why when he returned after bringing you back and offered me these again,"—she pointed at the gifts—"I couldn't refuse. By the way, he even asked me to call him Sal. Like we were friends"—Pepper avoided Butter's eyes and added in a small voice—"or more."

Butter felt torn. The wise kitten was sure that there was definitely more to the celebrity than met the eye, but time was scarce, the task he had to complete might as well have been called mission impossible, and the only option in sight was Salvador Hart, aka Sal.

Chapter word count: 1401