There I was, standing face to face with an elliptical machine. I’d just pulled my red sweatband over my ears when my phone started buzzing. Way I see it, that elliptical machine got lucky—it was my boss calling from out of state. He sounded uncomfortable on the other end of the line. He paused and umm-ed his way through the call and I began to get curious. I decided to walk it off on the treadmill as he hashed out what the woof was going on. Bottom line: I had to fly to Seattle to meet an up-and-coming celeb. Okay, I thought, no big deal. I upped my speed to a faster-slow walk. But then he said: “There’s something you should know: You need to come on a secure leash and you need to bring your mother…unless she’s allergic to cats?”