Vlad sat in his office, the scratching of his pen echoing in the dimly lit room. He'd been stuck in his home office all night, staring at the same folders of paperwork. His eyes were strained, and he was unsuccessfully hiding his yawns in his third cup of coffee. He hadn't even left the room to eat, forcing himself to squint at the fine print. He would have grabbed his reading glasses, but he couldn't remember where he'd put them last and he was certain Maddie had knocked them around anyway.

He leaned back, stretching his arms over his head. He was almost done, he promised himself. Then he could go to bed for what remained of the night.

Skrtch, skrtch.

"Mrr?"

"No, Maddie," he called out with a yawn. He didn't even glance to the door where his cat waited on the other side, scratching at the thick wood. He hadn't installed a cat door for his office so as to prevent these kinds of interruptions. "Go away."

"Whrr-lur."

More scratching. She was bound to destroy the wood at this rate. He stood with a sigh, cracking his back. Perhaps he had been sitting for too long.

"Just for a moment, Maddie."

The cat poked her head through the crack in the doorway, purring as she sauntered into the office. She rubbed luxuriously against Vlad's legs, squeaking loudly. Vlad smiled, reaching down to pet her behind the ears before returning to his seat. Her company would help him finish up.

The sound of his pen started up again, this time accompanied by the jingle of Maddie's collar as she sat next to his feet and scratched under her chin. She padded across his feet, twining her tail around his leg. At her chirps, he would let one hand fall, to boop her on the nose or scritch at the base of her tail, but he would always pull away to resume his paper work.

Maddie sat, watching Vlad ignore her. Her ears twitched and her whiskers quivered. With a loud trill, she bunched her legs up under her and leapt into Vlad's lap. The man sputtered, dropping his pen as Maddie purred, kneading into his thighs.

"M-Maddie! Your claws!" Vlad grabbed the cat, ready to put her on the ground, but she twisted, crawling up onto his shoulder and huddling close to his chest. She squeaked happily and stuck her nose in his ear with a happy huff.

He laughed, her whiskers tickling him, and he hugged her close. Her warm body rumbled and he nuzzled into her soft fur.

Somehow, paperwork didn't seem so important right now.