CHAPTER THREE #2
Another customer approached the door. Melanie moved to the side to let her by, and Chase opened the door. “Good to see you, Mrs. Martinez. Have a nice day.”
Melanie wanted to follow the woman out of the bank.
Chase was pleasant, charming even, and so different from how he’d been in high school when she’d found him self-absorbed, even mean on occasion.
But if she and Addy wanted to belong to the community, she needed to put in the effort to make friends.
“What brings you back to Sisters?” Chase asked. “You’re probably used to the big city, and as much as I love my hometown, there’s not much to do here.”
“I have a daughter. We wanted to live near my mom and stepdad.”
Chase’s gaze sharpened. “Are you married?”
He was certainly more direct than Rhonda.
“No. Adelyn’s dad and I aren’t together.” She gave herself a mental push. She knew how to be social. “What about you, Chase? What’s been going on in your life besides earning the impressive job title of bank president?”
“How much time you got?” He gave an aw-shucks laugh that seemed forced. “Just kidding. Why don’t you come to my office and we can catch up. I’ll even spring for a cup of coffee.” He gave her a wink.
In high school, Chase had run with the jock crowd.
She’d found his behavior erratic. On one occasion, Greg and another football player had been mocking Thad Stimson, a boy with a stutter, and Chase intervened to shut them down.
Then days later she turned into a nearly empty hall to see him body check Thad into a wall of lockers and walk away.
Maybe he’d matured. Most people weren’t the best version of themselves in high school and worked to be better as adults.
“Sure, that sounds nice.”
She followed him to his office where he stood aside for her to enter.
He started to close the door.
“Leave the door open, please.”
Something flashed in his eyes, but then he smiled and it was gone. His tone was laced with concern. “I’m sorry, did, ah, what happened make you nervous around men? Perfectly understandable, if that’s the case.”
Maybe it had, but no way was that something she’d discuss with Chase. “I prefer the door open. Thanks.”
He motioned her to a chair while he walked around his desk to sit. His gaze traveled over her, and she shifted in her seat.
“Sorry. If you don’t mind me saying, you really are beautiful. Other pretty girls from high school? Most of them lost their looks by the time they hit thirty. But not you. You’re as gorgeous as ever.”
She kept her expression neutral even as she cringed internally. “Your comment makes me uncomfortable. Maybe this is a mistake.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Damn, you’re right. I need a filter. How about we start over?”
She nodded slowly when he looked at her expectantly. “Would you like coffee? I can ask Doris to put on a fresh pot. I can also offer soda, if you prefer.”
“No, but thank you. I can only stay a few minutes.”
He folded his hands over his flat stomach. “You asked what was going on in my life. I won’t bore you with college. My time there mostly revolved around football and classes. I did public service with my fraternity. Chased girls.” He gave a boys-will-be-boys shrug. “Typical college life.”
“College can be an exciting time,” she said noncommittedly. Melanie’s experience included working as a night clerk at a motel and commuting from home to minimize student loan debt.
“True. I graduated with a degree in finance and then was fortunate to be hired right here at Sierra Valley Bank. As vice president I oversaw our expansion. We’ve got four branches now serving our corner of the Sierras.
I was fortunate. When Dad retired a year ago, the bank’s search committee recommended hiring me to replace him.
” He shrugged. “So, like you, I’ve come back to my roots.
Folks must like what I’m doing here because there’s a local group encouraging me to run for public office. ”
“Is that something you’re interested in?
“I am,” Chase said smoothly. “Filed papers last week to run for county supervisor in the March election. I’m always looking for new ways to serve my community.”
He leaned back in his chair, all ease and confidence with his tailored suit and expensive watch. His gaze swept over her, slow and assessing, and Melanie felt her shoulders tense.
“If I win, some folks suggested with a few years’ experience, I’ll make a good candidate for Congress.”
“Congress?” she echoed. “That’s a big step.”
He smiled faintly. “We need leaders who’ve worked their tails off, who value integrity and understand what it takes to succeed. Voters want to know that their elected representatives will work for them. Having a good head for finance doesn’t hurt.”
A flicker of something harder entered his eyes. “Of course, there are always obstacles. But I’ve never been afraid to play rough when I need to.”
There it was, the gleam of steel beneath the gloss.
She had to hand it to him, Chase sounded like a politician, on the one hand polished and unabashed about singing his own praises, and on the other, ruthless and determined.
She guessed the best politicians believed whatever narrative they’d created about themselves, and Chase’s would probably present well to the voting public.
He also benefitted from the privilege of wealth and the social standing of his family. Odds were, he’d been hired as bank president because of his father, and George Bradford would likely bankroll his son’s political campaign. Chase hadn’t climbed the ladder of success. He’d started at the top.
She spoke carefully. “Serving in public office can be a noble endeavor. I hope it works out for you. You never married?” He wasn’t wearing a ring.
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Divorced. It gutted me, splitting up with my wife. Things don’t always work out. Wife got the kids. Better that way. They need to be with their mother.” Anger wound through the clipped phrases.
A gray-haired woman poked her head into the office. “Mr. Herrada is here for his meeting, Mr. Bradford.”
Chase gave a nod of acknowledgment. “Thank you, Doris.”
Melanie rose to her feet. “You’re busy and I still need to stop at the grocery store. It’s been nice catching up, Chase.”
He stood, his sharp gaze feeling too personal as it traveled over her face.
“I’d like to see you socially, Melanie. We only talked about me. I want to hear what’s happened with Melanie Brennan since she moved away all those years ago.”
Her instinctive response was to decline. But even though the entire conversation made her wary, he might have useful information. “Oh, sure. I’d like that.” She smiled in an effort to sell it.
“How about Friday? If you’re free, we could go to Easy Money. It’s small-town but has a decent ambience and the food’s reasonably good.”
“That sounds fine, though I’ll need to check with my mom and stepdad to see if they’re up for babysitting before I can give you a firm commitment.” Did her upbeat tone sound forced?
“Great. Let’s exchange contact information. I’ll pick you up.”
“It’s better if I meet you there since I’ll have to drop my daughter off. I’ll text you if there’s a problem with childcare.”
“Okay.” After swapping numbers, he said, “I’m looking forward to it.”
Stepping out of the bank and onto the sun-warmed boardwalk, Melanie reminded herself people could change. Fifteen years had passed, and Chase wasn’t the same person he’d been in high school, and neither was she.
Maybe he deserved the benefit of the doubt.
But the truth was, she wanted to uncover anything he knew and had only agreed to meet him as a first step into her investigation.