His Fifty Thousand Dollar Pet Bird

When a fever of 107.6 degrees leaves Weston Perry, the feared CEO of the Perry Group, convinced that his executive assistant Mona is a rare green cockatiel, her life becomes a gilded cage. He installs her in his Gold Coast penthouse, replaces every window with bulletproof glass, hangs sterling silver bells and crystal chimes, and pays her a fifty-thousand-dollar nutritional stipend to keep her close.

At the office, a rattan swing nest hangs beside his mahogany desk, where he reads quarterly reports aloud and coaxes her to repeat that quarterly revenue grew by thirteen percent year-over-year. Mona endures the macadamia nuts, the cubed organic fruit, and the ninety-five-degree water until she finally snaps and declares she is quitting.

Weston is only delighted by her outburst, and when she insists she is Mona, the assistant who once pulled three all-nighters for him, he answers with a diamond tennis bracelet meant to band his bonded bird so she cannot fly away.