"Kara, schedule a massage for 5 o'clock tomorrow night after the quarterly board meeting" Cat demands through gritted teeth.
"Yes, Ms Grant. I will call Euro massage and see if Bianca is available," Kara replies.
"Not Bianca, she's vegan and it's all she talks about. Maybe call the Laya Retreat and Spa, see if you can get Josiah, he is really good and he doesn't speak english," Cat suggests before dismissing her with a slight wave and going back to her report.
Kara returns to her desk and begins making some calls. After the fifth one, she sighs heavily.
"Hey Kara, what's up?" Winn asks rolling over to her desk to check on her.
"Uh, Ms Grant wants a relaxing massage tomorrow night and there is no one available," she explains.
"Did you tell them it was for Cat Grant? I mean, who wouldn't want her for a client? She is a ball of anxiety," Winn points out.
"Yeah, which is why no one wants her for a client. She has probably gone through every massage therapist in town, there are only a few that will see her, but they won't come to the office, I don't know what I'm going to do," Kara replies.
"You'll figure something out, you always do," Winn quips positively before rolling back over to his desk.
"Did you get Josiah for tomorrow night" Cat asks after they review the layouts from the art department.
The blonde assistant glances up from her notes and hesitates, "Um, Ms Grant..." she begins wincing a little, knowing that her response is going to be unwelcome. "Josiah is no longer in National City, his visa expired."
Cat looks at her sharply so Kara continues to ramble nervously.
"I called Laya as you suggested and they are holding a 6 pm appointment for you, but you, um, have to go there to the spa," Kara explains.
"That spa is 45 minutes away without traffic, unless Supergirl is going to fly me there after my meeting that won't work," Cat quips without looking up.
Kara shuffles nervously, but doesn't respond right away.
"That was a joke Kiera, I do not expect National City's heroine to escort me to a spa appointment, even if she was available to do it, I would never ask," Cat retorts, now staring at her assistant curiously.
"Oh right, of course, very funny Ms Grant," Kara replies and laughs awkwardly. "Supergirl doesn't fly people around like that, she isn't a Super Uber."
Cat can't help but laugh at the idea of Super Uber, but then she remembers there's no massage scheduled for her tomorrow night.
"Call Laya back and inform them that I will pay for a hotel room at the Plaza if they can spare a masseuse tomorrow night," Cat informs her before the usual dismissal wave.
"Yes Ms Grant," Kara replies quickly, relieved when she is shooed away.
The board meeting ends and before Cat can leave the room, her phone buzzes.
"The table is set up in your ensuite, the masseuse will begin as soon as you are ready."
Cat quirks an eyebrow and glances around before exiting the room and heading for her private elevator.
"Who is it? It better not be that Nancy person, she sneezed three times during the massage," Cat types quickly.
Kara doesn't respond, but a moment later the elevator doors open. Cat steps out, but Kara isn't there. Instead, Winn steps up and hands her a cup of tea.
"Y-you're supposed to drink this now," he stammers nervously.
"Hmm, so she went with the Ayurveda therapist," Cat quips taking the tea from him and sipping it slowly. "At least it doesn't takes like grass," she adds.
In the ensuite, Cat undresses and slips on the robe that she keeps for just this purpose. She is pleased that the room is perfectly staged for her to relax; the massage table is set up, candles lit and the small space heater is purring softly.
She lays down on the table face down and a moment later a soft sheet is fluttering over her body. She reaches under her body to untie the robe but before she can try to remove it, soft fingers deftly slide it over her arms and down the length of her body.
"Oh," Cat gasps a bit surprised, she didn't hear anyone come into the room.
"I didn't mean to startle you," a soft voice replies.
Unable to place the voice, Cat doesn't respond. Instead she folds her arms in so that her head is resting on them.
The masseuse begins to lightly press and pull, assessing Cat's shoulders and neck muscles, then across her back, her glutes and then each leg.
"You can start anytime," Cat quips over her shoulder. "My neck is tight, I've just spent three hours in a meeting, so there's stiffness in my lower back too."
"Hmm," the masseuse murmurs before beginning to lightly work on Cat's taut neck muscles.
Feeling the woman starting to relax, the masseuse continues to lightly work her way across tight shoulder muscles and by the time she gets to the lower back, she can hear the soft snore of her perfectly relaxed client.
Cat opens her eyes slowly, she is on her back now and she has no idea what just happened. As she begins to sit and notices that she feels wonderful. She must have fallen asleep during the massage, she worries. But then she realizes that all of the tightness in her neck and shoulders is completely gone and there is no soreness. Curiously, she slips out from under the sheet, not bothering to slip the robe on, she takes a quick shower and dresses in her work out clothes. She is much too relaxed to put the suit back on.
When she re-enters her office, she is surprised to find her assistant lightly dozing on one of the sofas, she clears her throat softly, but it doesn't seem to wake the girl. Curious, Cat makes her way over to the couch and sits down lightly.
"Kara, Kara dear why are you still here?" Cat murmurs softly to her.
"Five more minutes," Kara mumbles, but then her blue eyes open wide. "Oh my gosh, Ms Grant. I-I didn't mean to fall asleep, but I didn't want you to wake up alone."
"Kara were you monitoring my massage?" Cat questions, a little turned on by the thought and then she realizes what she's said and how she's said it. Good lord, am I suddenly flirting with my assistant, she wonders to herself.
"No!" Kara blurts out, before realizing that the woman isn't mad. "No, um, the masseuse, she, um, she wondered if you usually fall asleep during a massage. So I, um, I decided to wait for you here," she adds quickly, blushing a few different shades of red.
Amused Cat smiles or rather smirks, she couldn't exactly be caught smiling at her assistant, no matter how adorable she finds her.
Hoping to break the spell, she stands up. "Kara, do whatever it takes to ensure that I can have another massage next week with this masseuse," Cat replies before walking over to her desk to get her things together.
"Uh, okay," Kara responds hesitantly. "It's just, this might have been like a one time thing, she is super busy and not taking on new clients. She just happened to have had a cancellation today."
Cat frowns and Kara darts over to the bar and quickly pours her a glass of water and some M & M's.
"I won't take no for an answer, if you can't make it happen, then give me her information and I'll arrange it myself," Cat retorts dismissively.
"I-I will see what I can do first thing tomorrow," Kara adds nervously before backing out of the room and dashing for the stairs.
Cat ignores the water sitting on the desk, picks up a couple of the candies and then walks over to the bar to pour herself a drink. Glancing at the time, she downs the first one in one gulp and pours herself another. She needs to find out who the hell that masseuse was and she isn't taking 'not available' for an answer.
One week later.
"Kara, have you arranged my appointment for tonight?" Cat asks her assistant as she picks over the lettuce wraps that have been carefully placed before her.
"Um, I think that she will be here at 5:30 Ms Grant," Kara replies.
"I believe that I requested the Penthouse at 6 pm," Cat responds firmly.
"She was only available at 5:30, so I scheduled it here Ms Grant. It was the only way that I could get you on her schedule today," Kara adds in her rambling way.
"Fine," Cat states flatly. "I suppose that will work, but no tea this time, I don't know what was in it, but I don't usually sleep through massages.
"The tea has many health benefits, it was tailored for you specifically," Kara explains.
"How on earth would she be able to tailor make a tea for me, I've never had so much as a conversation with her?" Cat questions.
"I may have filled out the questionnaire for you," Kara replies nervously.
"Hmm, well obviously it wasn't very good, it practically knocked me out," Cat retorts, rubbing her chopsticks together. "Give me the questionnaire and I will fill it out myself," she adds before dismissing the taller blonde with a flick of her wrist.
Kara backs away watching Cat begin eating her lettuce wraps by picking everything out of them with chopsticks.
"Crap," she mutters to herself as she sits down at her desk. How the hell is she going to send a non-existent questionnaire to Cat. Quickly she picks up her phone and heads out to the employee balcony.
"You were right," she says as soon as her sister answers.
"Of course I am, so what's up?" Alex asks with a chuckle. Yes, she may have mentioned that her sister's massages are beyond incredible, but she did not suggest that Kara give Cat a massage. And if she did, she never would have told her to lie about it.
"I told her the tea was therapeutic and designed specifically for her. She thinks that it was too strong, because she slept through most of the massage, so now she wants to look at the questionnaire that I told her that I submitted for her," Kara explains in a huff.
"Have you googled Ayurveda massage therapy to see if any practitioners use any sort of questionnaire?" Alex asks trying to help.
"Yes, but they won't tell me anything because I am not a client," Kara snaps. "What am I going to do?"
"I think that you need to come clean, I mean, she loved the massage, right?" Alex retorts.
"Yeah, except that I gave her a massage without her permission. Oh Rao, she might feel violated. Alex..." Kara's brain begins to spiral out of control.
"Kara, Kara," Alex shouts into the phone. "You didn't violate her, I mean, she asked you to arrange a massage for her and you did. She didn't ask who the masseuse was, so technically you had her permission to provide the massage."
"I should have just told her that no one was available," Kara huffs into the phone.
"I think I suggested that," Alex reminds her sister.
"Okay, well there is only one way to get out of this," Kara replies decisively. "Thanks Alex," she adds before ending the call.
"Wait, Kara what are you...?" Alex blurts out but the call has ended.
At promptly 5:20 pm, Cat gets up from her desk and heads into her ensuite. She was hoping to get a glimpse of the masseuse but Kara promised her that she would be here in a few minutes and that Cat should just go ahead and get ready.
A few minutes later, there is a light knock on the door and Cat murmurs that she is ready.
The door opens and Kara steps in wearing the typical loose fitting garb of a masseuse.
"Kara, is this your way of telling me that the masseuse isn't coming?" Cat questions craning her neck from a prone position.
"Um, not exactly. This is my way of telling you that I, um, I was the masseuse last week. But, I can explain... Ms Grant, I have studied Ayurveda massage and no one was available last week, so I sort of, well, I stepped in," Kara explains hesitantly.
"You are trained in Ayurveda massage? So that tea, that was something that you cooked up to knock me out so I wouldn't know?" Cat questions, struggling to keep the small robe in place.
"No, the tea was simply to help you relax, I just didn't realize how effective it would be along with the massage," Kara admits carefully, blushing slightly.
"You stepped in," Cat remarks unable to decide if she should be angry with the girl, who has managed to fulfill her every request for over two years now. "What made you decide to study massage therapy?" She asks surprising herself with the question.
Relaxing now that it appears the woman isn't angry with her, Kara walks a bit further into the room. "I needed help relaxing after everything that, um, everything that happened with my family, so my foster mother took me to this clinic," she answers carefully. "I'm sorry that I wasn't honest with you about this."
Cat can't believe what she is hearing. "How long?" Cat asks her throat catching a bit. "How long have you known how to do this type of massage?"
"Quite a while now," Kara answers, wondering if she should apologize again.
"So this whole time that you've been my assistant, you've know Ayurveda therapy and you've never mentioned it?" Cat questions.
"It never really came up," Kara replies a bit defensively.
"I see," Cat remarks and begins to settle back down into a prone position.
"What are you doing?" Kara asks not comprehending what is happening.
"Oh, we can work out the details tomorrow, but right now, I am getting another massage." Cat quips over her shoulder.
Kara bursts into a huge smile, silently looking up and thanking Rao.
"Of course, Ms Grant," she replies happily, before lightly tossing the sheet over her client and then carefully removing her robe.