Chapter Eight Lorenzo
CHAPTER EIGHT
Lorenzo
W illow paces behind me while I watch the focus group through the one-way glass once again. Things between us are a bit tense, but hopefully she doesn’t hold the Eros app situation against me for long.
“What are key traits you look for in a politician?” our campaign volunteer asks the group seated at the conference table.
I brace myself for their responses.
“Honesty,” one man says.
“Kindness,” another adds.
“A good sense of humor,” the town’s paid-by-the-hour party clown replies, earning a mixed reaction.
The volunteer allows a few more people to answer before asking, “When you hear the name Lorenzo Vittori , what’s the first thing that comes to mind?”
The responses are mixed, ranging from casinos and fancy cars to charity fundraisers and Julian Lopez’s nemesis .
“Lily.” Nura, a woman I recognize from my time volunteering at the animal shelter, speaks up.
Someone goes “ Aw .”
“What do you mean?” a person near the head of the table asks.
“I was at Last Call the other night when Lily got sick and Lorenzo took care of her.”
A few people nod and make confirmatory noises as if they know what Nura is referencing.
Someone raises their hand. “I was there too. It was sweet of Lorenzo to hold Lily’s hair back.”
“Talk about doing the bare minimum,” a woman replies in a sarcastic tone.
“Actually, he wiped her tears, cleaned her mouth, and ran inside the bar to get her some water, so I’d say he did way more than that.”
“Has anyone texted Lily to see how she is feeling?” a woman fidgeting with her pearl necklace asks.
An older woman with white hair says, “She’s good. I brought her some soup after I heard what happened.”
Someone asks, “Am I the only one who’s confused? What was Lily doing with Lorenzo?”
The woman decked out in pearls replies, “I heard a rumor that they had dinner together before she got sick.”
Multiple gasps fill the room. I imagine it must come as a shock to hear that I, an alleged mafioso, was hanging out with the people’s princess. Based on their reaction, I bet someone might suggest locking Lily up in an ivory tower and throwing away the key.
Nura lifts her shoulders. “I don’t know, but I’m not surprised to see them together.”
“Why not?” the person at the back of the table asks.
“They both volunteer at the shelter, so they’ve crossed paths before.”
Everyone speaks at once, and it’s chaotic trying to absorb all their responses.
“Wait. Lorenzo volunteers at the shelter?”
“I didn’t know he liked animals.”
“Lily and Lorenzo? There’s no way. Julian hates him.”
My gaze flicks to the ceiling.
This is what you get for trying to be nice.
Willow halts her pacing and drops into the chair beside me. “I’m interested in seeing how this all plays out.”
“In what sense?”
“It’s Public Relations 101. If you—a man without any connections to the town—are seen with one of the most beloved residents, it’s bound to have a positive effect on your approval rating.”
“Are you suggesting I hang around Lily some more?”
She chews on the inside of her cheek. “I shouldn’t after the stunt you pulled on her.”
“But if it’s good for the campaign…”
She releases a reluctant breath. “Then I suppose it’s worth a try.”
“How much influence could a few encounters have?”
“They brought her homemade soup, Lorenzo. You know what happened to me when I got the stomach bug in January?”
“You got soup too?”
“No, I wish. I was stuck heating up a can of Campbell’s while Lily, the people’s princess, was given the royal treatment.
” She follows up with a laugh, so at least she isn’t bitter about the favoritism.
“It makes perfect sense why people would react so positively to you taking care of her. They adore her.”
The other night, I was reacting out of pure instinct when Lily got sick, so I’m surprised people care more about that than all the good deeds I’ve done on purpose.
Throwing a charity softball game to raise funds for a park? People were happy, and the polls reflected that, but it didn’t have a huge impact on my overall ratings.
Investing my personal time and injecting money into small businesses around town in exchange for company equity because I want them to flourish? Great for the town and venture capitalism, but no one talks about it because needing money is a sensitive topic.
But helping Lily Munoz when she’s sick? Now that interests people, and it cost me nothing more than a pair of thousand-dollar shoes, an extra dose of Vitamin C, and washing my hands until my skin was cracked and bleeding.
Great . I bite back a groan.
“I think we should do a little experiment,” Willow says once the focus group moves on to answering another question.
“Based on the smile on your face, I’m good.”
“What if I told you there’s a chance it could impact your polling numbers?”
“In that case, I’m a huge fan of the scientific method.”
When I call Nura the next morning to switch my time slot at the animal shelter, claiming I can’t make it for my usual shift, she laughs and says it’s no problem. After yesterday’s focus group, I had a feeling she would give me the same volunteer block as Lily, and my intuition was right.
The only issue? I had no idea Lily’s shift was taking place at the Park Promenade, where the shelter is hosting an event to encourage adoptions.
During the first hour of our shift, Lily hangs out with the dogs underneath the canine tent while I work the parking lot, encouraging people to stop by the shelter’s pop-up adoption center.
Thanks to the afternoon sun hanging over us, my volunteer shirt sticks to my back, and my nose and cheeks are getting progressively more burnt.
Despite volunteering at the shelter, I don’t interact with any animals. I prefer it that way, and I have a childhood trauma of losing my own dog to blame.
But if I want to see an impact on my town approval rating, I need to step out of my comfort zone, and doing so means ditching the clipboard and heading toward the crowded tent full of people, dogs, and Lily.
It isn’t fair for me to use her after I rejected her. I’m well aware of that, and honestly I’m ashamed by the idea, but not enough to stop myself. I have too much on the line and not enough time to come up with a better plan.
Lily catches me by surprise by waving at me. A few people turn to see who she’s looking at, including myself, only for me to curse when I don’t see anyone around.
After shaking off my foolishness, I dip my head underneath the tent and instantly notice the drop in temperature.
Lily walks over to me when my eyes are closed. “Here.” She presses a cold water bottle against my chest.
“Look at you caring about my well-being.”
“Well, unfortunately for me, you can’t become mayor if you’re dead,” she replies with a toothy smile.
“Since when do you care whether I win the election?”
“Since I realized you’re the best of two bad options.”
I place a hand over my heart. “Can I use that quote on an ad?”
“If you want my endorsement, I’m sure there are better quotes you can use.”
I consider that the green light to absolve my guilt and continue my experiment because I can’t think of a better endorsement than her company.
Someone standing nearby shifts a few feet closer to us, and I grin.
Willow will be pleased.
Lily’s gaze falls to my mouth. “What?”
“Nothing.” I crack open the water bottle she gave me and drink half of it in a few gulps. Her eyes drop to my throat before she quickly looks away, her cheeks burning like she was standing in the sun.
Clearly affection may come and go, but attraction is a lot more difficult to shake.
I would know.
She doesn’t look at me when she asks, “Don’t you have a parking lot to work?”
“Eh. I think I’ll hang out in here for a bit.”
“Just my luck.” She grimaces.
Nura walks over to us, a wide smile stretching across her face. “How’s it going over here?”
“Good!” Lily clasps her hands together. “I was meaning to come find you. I thought I could switch places with Lorenzo and give him a break from the heat.”
“That’s so nice of you!” Nura cradles her clipboard against her chest.
“It’s not necessary,” I interject.
Lily ignores me and stares straight at Nura. “Really. I don’t mind. I could use a little sun, and he’s been working the lot for an hour already.”
Nura sends Lily off with a new clipboard, ruining my plan to be seen together for longer than a few minutes.
Lily might’ve outsmarted me, but I won’t stop until I prove Willow’s theory correct. But first I need to make sure Lily can’t escape me so easily next time.