13. Avery
Avery
Cohen: What time’s the meeting?
Avery: In an hour. I’m freaking out over here. I’ve been sitting in my truck for twenty minutes, I couldn’t sit at home anymore.
I tossed my phone aside and drummed my fingers on the steering wheel of Nash’s car he let me borrow for this. They were trying everything they could so I didn’t lock myself away again.
“You’re prepared, Avery. You have everything you need,” I reminded myself, trying not to focus on the nerves bubbling in my stomach.
My last job interview wasn’t half as nerve-wracking as this. Maybe there was more to lose here because I was so passionate about this project.
I had a list of things for the family bar, but this one let me find my love for Rockwood Valley again. The interviews, mock up of the web page, and everything involved took pieces of things I’d learned in University and my old job and mixed it with home. It was familiar, but new and exciting, and gave me a sense of stability I was craving.
A knock on my window had me letting out a startled cry, wild eyes focusing on Cohen who gave me a sheepish smile.
I pushed open the door and stepped out, smoothing out the dress pants I was wearing.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” I asked, giving him a smile.
“Sorry, I just wanted to help you pass the time, offer some reassurance if you wanted. I can go,” he trailed off, taking a step back but I shook my head and reached out, gripping his arm in my hand and letting the feel of him steady me.
“No, stay,” I begged, closing my eyes and willing my heart to stop racing erratically. “I swear I’m not always a mess.”
“Avery, I don’t think you’re a mess,” he said calmly. The way he spoke, gentle and low, had my omega perking up. It soothed me in a strange, new way, and I clung to it now.
Breathing in his rosemary, herb, and citrus scent and feeling his warmth under my hand chased away the worst of my panic and I gave him a wobbly smile.
“They’re going to reject this entire thing if I pass out in the conference room,” I muttered, loosening my grip and shaking out my arms.
“This is how I felt when I took the first steps of opening my own shop,” he chuckled. “Terrifying on its own, but worse because you want it so damn bad.”
“Look how that worked out for you,” I said, clinging to something positive. “You’ve got an amazing shop now.”
“And you’ll land this amazing job.” He sounded so calm and confident that I couldn’t help but let the waves of reassurance wafting off of him sink into me.
“You’re good at this pep talk thing,” I teased. He hesitated for a second before pulling me into his arms. I nuzzled into his chest, breathing him in as his strength surrounded me.
It was too intimate for near strangers but I couldn’t find it in me to pull away. I needed this and he was willingly giving it.
I wished I could give him everything he deserved in an omega, open up and let him in on all my darkest secrets and share everything that makes me who I am, but I wasn’t ready for that.
For now, this was everything.
When I pulled away, it felt like I could finally breathe again.
“Don’t you have a shop to run?” I asked. “I didn’t mean to pull you away.”
“You’re more important than the shop. I put up a lunch break sign, it’ll be fine,” he said. “You needed me and I wanted to be here.”
“Thanks,” was all I could manage to say. Sidney had given me a lot of tough love at lunch the other day and since then I’ve found myself more eager to embrace this life and not hide away. Closing myself off from my friends and family wasn’t going to get me anywhere.
Cohen continued to wait with me until I had fifteen minutes to go. I gathered the portfolio I’d created and my laptop case before taking one last deep breath.
“Alright, I’m going in,” I said. “Thanks for being here.”
He stepped forward and brushed a kiss on my forehead. My chest warmed at the gentle gesture but he didn’t linger, stepping back and holding the door for me.
Town Hall was a stereotypical government building. All white walls, generic furniture, and tiled floors. They’d tried to spruce it up with some plants and artwork, but it was fairly clinical inside.
The lobby had a glass sliding window and a woman pushed it open as I approached.
“Hello, you must be Avery,” she chirped with a motherly smile. “Mayor Adams is expecting you. In fact, everyone is here a little early if you want to head straight in.”
“Thanks,” I said, not expecting to dive right in but refusing to get back in my head. She closed the window and a moment later a nearby door swung open and she beckoned me forward.
“Right this way,” she said as she took off down the hall. Her heels clicked on the hard wood as we moved deeper into the building. She stopped outside a room that had a plaque outside labeling it as the council chambers. She poked her head in. “Avery is here.”
“Send her in,” Mayor Adams answered, sounding excited. At least he was likely willing to hear me out.
She opened the door fully and I stepped inside, giving the alphas and betas around the table a smile. They were all older men, eyeing me skeptically, but I didn’t let it affect me. Instead, I claimed a spot and started to set up.
“Welcome, Avery. You know me, but this is our town council. Treasurer Samuels, Secretary Banks, and Councilmen Davidson, Klein, and Cooper.”
“Thank you for having me,” I said with a slight bow of respect. “I’ve prepared some materials for you and brought my laptop so I could show the extent of what I’ve created.”
“Mary will get you hooked up to the projector. We’re all too old to see a small screen.” One of the men laughed, losing the intimidating fa?ade they had. Some of them relaxed with him, though I still had some skeptics.
Mary, who had taken up post at the door, moved forward and wordlessly hooked everything up for me.
Then all eyes were back on me.
“Alright, Avery Whitaker, tell us why we should budget this in,” one of my skeptics said, his tone a bit harsh. I held back the wince that was almost involuntary when an alpha tried to be an asshole.
“Well, to start my name is Avery Whitaker.” Banks let out a small noise but was silenced by a glare from Mayor Adams. “I moved away to go to college and I have a dual degree in business and marketing. I’ve included my resume in this packet of information I’m passing out to you. I thought background would be important before diving into the full presentation.”
I passed out what I’d compiled, a separate packet of my resume and a few projects I’d worked on along with some statistics. It was something I’d compiled years ago after quitting, assuming it was only temporary.
“Very impressive,” Mayor Adams said. “Now tell us about what you plan for Rockwood Valley.”
“Well, sir, I want to use this new age of technology to our advantage. And I understand trusting blindly would be a bad choice, so I chose a business to showcase so you could see what I am capable of. If given the opportunity, I would work my way through the small businesses here in town, including our ranchers and farmers nearby, and show the world that we have plenty to offer.”
“Which business did you choose?” Samuels asked, leaning forward while curiosity filled his gaze. I focused on him with my smile still in place.
“Cohen’s Creations. He is fairly new and I thought it would be a nice one to start with,” I explained, handing out the rest of the portfolio, showcasing the pictures and a print off of his faux profile on the mock website page I’d created.
Once they were in hand I pulled up the webpage on my screen as well.
“This is what someone would see when they clicked on the business list and pulled his shop up. It would showcase some of the stills I showed you as well as some of what he has to offer. Outside of this, I would like to create a PackVlog page for Rockwood Valley, and I would showcase some of the shorter videos to gain traction. Then, if they wanted the full, edited interview, they would click the linked website and go here.”
I scrolled down to show them where to click. They didn’t comment as I went through a few of my favorite shorts then started the long video, letting the intro play before I paused it and turned back to the group.
“That is what I accomplished in a week, I think in several months I could effectively showcase some of our amazing hidden gems and bring life back to Rockwood Valley, and in turn, revenue.”
Mayor Adams’s smile was wide and he let out a booming laugh and clapped his hands.
“I had faith in you, Avery, but you blew me away with this. The care you took to create the website, that frankly is worlds better than our current one, and edited the video to bite size and longer pieces, is above and beyond.”
“Thank you, sir,” I grinned back.
My attention shifted to Banks, who looked like he sucked on a lemon. His shrewd eyes were no longer skeptical, but almost annoyed.
“If you could gather your things and wait for us in the lounge across the hall, we’d like to discuss everything we saw,” Mayor Adams said before he could say anything.
“Of course, and I’d like to thank you for the opportunity,” I said as I did as he asked, packing my things up and heading out of the room. Mary was still in the doorway and closed it behind us.
“For the record, that was impressive. Don’t mind the old crabby ones, they’ll come around,” she said before leading me to the lounge. It was just a stiff couch, a few tables and chairs, and a row of vending machines.
I put my things on the closest table and let out a breath. My phone had vibrated on and off in my pocket but I refused to check it, afraid I’d lose my composure that I was clinging to right now.
This felt so pivotal, a turning point in my life, the first step of taking back my life.
The minutes dragged by and Mary tried small talk but gave up when I couldn’t keep the conversation going. I appreciated her kindness in this moment but I just needed to know their verdict.
Finally, the door opened and Mayor Adams slipped out. His face was set in a neutral mask until he stopped in front of me.
“Let me just say how impressed we all are, even if a few were skeptical, we can all admit that everything looked so clean and modern. If we want to thrive, we have to embrace new things, and we have voted in a majority vote to offer you a position here. We have some logistics to discuss and sign off of, but we will be in touch. Once you accept, as I truly hope you will, then we can move forward and change this town for the better.”
Coming from anyone else it would seem like a cheesy speech, but Mayor Adams was practically beaming with pride.
“Thank you, sir, I can’t wait to hear back from you,” I said, shaking his extended hand. He gave me a wink and went back to the council room, hopefully to fight for fair pay and benefits.
Either way, I did it.
Mary let out a squeal of excitement and rushed forward to give me a hug.
“Sorry, I’m a hugger, I’m just so happy for you! That was amazing work. Now go celebrate! Mayor Adams is on your side, you’re in good hands.”
“Thank you,” I said, grabbing my stuff and following her back to the front doors. I gave her one last wave before stepping outside and stopping, stunned to see so many people waiting for me.
Cohen was still there, getting more than a few glances from the others. So was Sidney, Grace, my mom, and all three of my brothers.
“Well?” Cameron demanded in his harsh way of speaking. “Did you get it?”
“I did,” I said, laughing as they cheered. Nash and Mama rushed forward to crush me in a hug.
“Good, now let’s go celebrate. First round is on Cameron!” Sidney cheered. She turned to Cohen. “All friends are welcome, you joining us?”
He turned my way, silently asking for my permission. I knew right then if I said no he’d leave without holding it against me, and that was why I said yes.
I had so many people who cared about me, and right now I wanted to embrace everything I had… including him.
“I’d love for you to come.”