Chapter 6
six
LYDIA
Lydia: OMG. Some asshole just bumped into me at Brewed Awakening and I dropped my phone and there was a text from Dylan on the screen and HE SAW IT.
Autumn: Saw what? Dylan’s dick? Surprised it wasn’t too small to see.
Lydia: Not a dick pic. But it may or may not have mentioned me choking on something…
Autumn: It’s big enough to choke on?!
Lydia: Rude.
Autumn:
I’m still seething as I enter the library office, sipping my coffee and trying to regain my sense of composure.
I power walked the whole way from the coffee shop, barely even aware that I was on the steps until I nearly tripped over them.
My heart’s still pounding, and the caffeine in this latte probably isn’t helping.
I’m trying so hard not to think about what just happened at Brewed Awakening. My focus needs to be on this stakeholder meeting—not on some jacked douchebag who couldn’t even watch where he was going.
The truth is, this meeting has been on the calendar for weeks.
But, given that Nancy—my boss and the head librarian here in Hawthorne Bay—never uttered a single word about extensive modernization being included in the restoration plans, I wasn’t very fussed about it.
I guess I figured if whoever the board chose as architect had planned something that would upset me, Nancy would have said something.
Now I’m not so sure, and I’m really fucking antsy. If the board really is talking about making extensive changes, I’ll have to get up and say my piece. Luckily, I’ve done my research. I think I can dissuade them, pull them over to my side.
At least I hope I can.
The board members are filing in now, along with the mayor and a couple of people I recognize as being on the city council.
A few of them wave to me, and I nod back, flashing what I hope is a charming smile.
Even Ethan Wilde, who’s known around town for being the stereotypical brusque businessman ever since he lost his wife, shoots me a crisp nod.
I’ve lived in Hawthorne Bay my entire life.
These people know me. I read to their kids every Monday during story time.
And they knew my mom, how much she loved this place when she used to work here.
They know how important this historic building is to our town. I need to relax.
I take a long sip of my coffee. It’s lukewarm by now, and the lack of sweetness is disappointing.
Not only did that jerk at Brewed Awakening succeed in making my already shitty morning just a little worse, but he also ruined my latte by shaming me out of the place before I could add any sugar to it.
He really was a piece of work. Imagine. Picking up a total stranger’s phone, reading their text message, and then proceeding to make a snarky-ass joke about it.
Honestly, I should’ve tried to get a photo of him so I could out him on the internet for being a pretentious dick.
I would’ve taken great joy in deleting that photo, too. Erasing his dumb face from my memory.
Ugh. I need to quit thinking about this dude.
It’s not like I’ll ever have to see him again.
Right now, what I need is to get my head in the game, figure out how I’m going to sweet talk whatever architect they’ve hired and get them to scale back a little on their plans.
There’s got to be a way for the library to get its glow up without compromising the—
“Hey, Ethan. How’s it going?”
I hear the voice even before the face of the speaker registers, and it jolts me awake.
No. Fucking. Way.
Every shred of thought that might’ve been in my brain a second ago has gone straight out the window, because the guy who’s standing in the front of the room shaking hands with the director of the board? It’s Mr. Coffee Shop himself, in all his scruffy, muscled glory.
You have got to be shitting me.
“I’ve got the projector all set up for you,” Ethan is saying. “So once you’re settled and everyone’s got a seat, I’ll get us started. Looks like we’re pretty much on time.”
Projector? Once he’s settled? What the fuck is he doing here?
“Good morning!” Nancy chirps as she slides into the seat next to me. She shoots me a chipper smile, then beams across the table at the rest of the board.
The guy from the coffee shop turns toward us with a polite smile, then stops, his eyes landing on me. His smile falters for a second, and I can tell he’s struggling to piece together why the hell I’m here, but he recovers quickly.
“It’s a lovely morning out there,” he says, deep voice booming through the conference room. “Great weather.”
I sniff. Nancy shoots me a glance, her brow furrowed.
“Lydia,” she says, “Have you met Will Holloway yet? He’s our architect.”
An icy wave of horror floods through my bones. No. No way. This is not how this meeting was supposed to go. This cannot be the architect. God fucking help me.
As the guy from the coffee shop fixes me with his blue-eyed gaze and gives me a polite nod, there’s no way the expression on my face is anything but one of abject horror. But I snap my gaping mouth shut and try to pull it together.
“Um,” I say, pasting on what I hope is a smile. “I think we’ve met once, yeah.”
“I think you’re right,” Will says, something like a smirk playing on his lips. As he leans across the conference table and holds out a hand, I catch a whiff of his sweet, spicy cologne, and I hate it. He has no right to smell that good. “Either way—Will Holloway. Nice to officially meet you.”
The last thing I want to do is shake this jerk’s hand, but I’ve got no choice. Standing up from my seat, I pull my lips into a prim smile and return the handshake. His whole fucking hand about swallows mine.
Will’s blue eyes are on me as I pull away. “Yeah,” I say stiffly. “Nice to meet you, too.”
“Alright,” Ethan Wilde booms. He claps his hands together, and everyone settles into their seats.
“Let’s get started, shall we? By now, I’m sure you all know Will Holloway, and given that we’re well on our way toward the pre-construction phase of the project, I’d imagine you’re mostly familiar with the design plans, too. ”
A murmur of agreement ripples around the table, which I find a little concerning. Nancy’s got her gaze fixed on Ethan, quite conveniently not looking at me.
“So following all that,” Ethan continues,” I’m happy to announce that the board has officially voted to approve the designs Will presented at the last meeting—with a few minor adjustments, which he’ll walk you through in a few minutes.”
Ethan turns to grin at the faces around the table, and it’s only when the room erupts into polite applause that his words fully register. Did he just say the board has approved the designs? As in, past-tense, done-deal, that’s-it approved whatever changes this Will character came up with?
If I thought I was frozen before when Will walked in, I’m sure as shit frozen now. Like, icicle status.
“I’m sorry,” I hear myself blurt out. “You’ve already approved the designs?”
Every head in the room turns to look at me, including Ethan Wilde, who’s not looking very pleased about being interrupted by the assistant librarian.
“We have,” Ethan says, his voice curt. “The board voted last week.”
“But I didn’t…” I look helplessly at Nancy, but she’s scratching at something on the table, still not looking at me. “I didn’t know that was happening.”
Ethan’s smile is dangerously close to a sneer. “Well, you’re not on the board, are you?”
The room’s quiet. My face burns like he’s slapped me, but I shake my head. He’s right. I’m not on the board, which is exactly why I’m here at the stakeholder meeting—because as assistant librarian and a resident of Hawthorne Bay, I’m a damn stakeholder.
Will’s eyes land on me, and I swallow hard.
He’s in on this shit. The man who just made a joke about me sucking cock is also the one who’s going to gut the place that served as my only haven, and it makes me want to puke.
Or throw my pencil at his stupid, chiseled jawline.
He and Ethan Wilde can both suck ten dicks for all I care.
Ethan sits down at the table, his open laptop in front of him, and pulls up a presentation on the projector screen. He hands a clicker to Will. “Here you are. Take it away, Will.”
Opening the sleek black binder he’s placed on the table, Will smooths the pages and clicks his pen. He looks up at the screen, where a bulleted list has appeared.
“Alright. As you know, when the board first met to discuss the objectives of the project, our main aim was to preserve the integrity of the library while updating it to serve modern needs. To that end, our goals are threefold.” Will counts off on his fingers.
“Structural reinforcement and safety upgrades. Improved accessibility and space utilization. Expanded technological resources, meaning the new computer lab.”
Everyone at the table nods as Will clicks through to the next slide. A large blueprint fills the screen, and Will gets up from his seat and strides over to it. He taps the screen with a large hand, and I crane my neck to get a look at the proposed layout. This is the first I’m seeing any of this.
“While the safety upgrades will include things like reinforcing the foundations, re-roofing, and updating the wiring and HVAC, you can see the main differences here in the floor plans are the wheelchair ramps and, of course, that new computer lab, which we’ll actually be building on from scratch.”
They’re adding a whole new room onto the original structure? I frown, racking my brains to remember how much the area of a building can differ from its original floor plan to qualify for historical landmark status.
Suddenly, I feel my hand shoot up in the air like I’m a freaking high school student.
“Um…” Will says, nodding to me. “Lydia? You have a question?”