CHAPTER 11
“So…” India said.
“Yeah, so,” Maisie replied.
“I can park here, right?”
“Better not. The cops patrol around here, and it’s twenty-minute-parking-only on this street.”
“Oh, okay,” India replied. “Is there anywhere else I can park, then? I’d like to walk you up.”
“You don’t have to, but thank you,” Maisie replied and opened the passenger door.
“This has to be the weirdest first date I’ve ever been on.” India smiled over at her.
“Maybe we shouldn’t call it that, then,” she suggested.
“What?” India asked, looking concerned.
“I didn’t mean it like that. Just that, since it started at the bar, with a group of people, and after you and I had argued, maybe we should have a first date another time and consider tonight a hangout that made us consider the date thing.”
“Okay. But where would that date be?”
“God, can we do this part tomorrow?” Maisie laughed. “I’m going to suggest a cool place where they have place mats for kids to color on, and you’re going to suggest a place with cloth napkins that cost more than my shirt.”
India laughed and said, “Deal. Tomorrow. I can stop by, if you want.”
“Yeah, do that.” Maisie smiled at her. “Night, India.”
“Good night,” India said.
Maisie got out of the car and walked briskly to the door of her building.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want India to come upstairs.
She wasn’t a prude. She could kiss a woman on a first date or do something more if they both wanted those things, but like India had said, it had been a strange date.
It had been a surprisingly good one, though, once they’d sat down to eat their food.
India had hated the beer but loved the catfish and the chicken.
Maisie considered that to be a decent compromise.
She didn’t invite India up because her apartment was a mess.
She hadn’t known what to wear and had tossed things around her small studio, and it hadn’t exactly been clean before that.
They’d talked a lot on their date, but mostly about Maisie, which was a little odd to her, but she chalked her unanswered questions about India’s family up to the fact that Maisie had made such a big deal about the whole rich person thing.
She guessed that if they continued, she would have to find ways to let India know that it was fine with her that she was wealthy. She’d just overreacted today.
As Maisie changed for bed, she wondered if this could really be a thing, her with India Sheridan.
India was all class and ate her catfish with a fork and knife, even though everyone else picked it up with their fingers, and when Maisie had done that, she had gotten grease on her sweater.
They were certainly an odd pair, but she couldn’t help it; she liked India.
She liked that India had told her what had been going on at the bar and called Maisie out on what an asshole she’d been for no reason.
She hoped that India would stop by the shop so that they could arrange another date or, at least, talk about the potential for one again.
◆◆◆
“How was it?” Lainey asked the moment she walked in.
“Hi, Lainey. How are you?” Maisie laughed.
“I’m good. How are you? You left me at a bar with people I don’t know and didn’t reply to my texts.”
“I replied to your texts,” she argued.
“You said you were home safe. I asked how the night went with India. I was expecting details.”
Maisie closed her laptop and asked, “Did you put up the posters for me?”
“Yes, I did. I woke up early, went to practice, put up the posters, and drove here. Oh, and I had sex with Paige, too. Did you need a play-by-play of that as well?”
“Before or after practice?” Maisie joked.
“Technically, it was after, but we were in the ball storage closet, so there’s that.”
“You had sex in a closet where you store soccer balls? What if someone had walked in?”
“The girls were gone already, and Paige surprised me. There’s also a lock on the door. What was I supposed to do? Turn her down?”
Maisie laughed and said, “Thank you for the posters.”
“You’re welcome,” Lainey replied and sat down in the chair next to her at the back table. “Now, tell me.”
“It was fine,” she said.
“Fine? You both looked like you might kill each other when you left. I was taking bets on either that or hot sex. I now know you’re alive, but I have not seen India yet. Is she alive, too?”
“Yes, she’s alive and at work,” Maisie said, laughing a little.
“So, was the sex hot, then?”
“There was no sex.” Maisie laughed louder. “We went to get food. Then, she took me home.”
“How’d that go?”
“She ate it and told me she liked it, but that woman does not like beer.”
“It’s not for everyone.”
“I know. It was funny. She tried it, at least. She almost spat it out, which was the funny part.”
“I would have liked to have seen that,” Lainey said.
“She’s nice.” Maisie shrugged a shoulder. “She said she would stop by today.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. We might go out again.”
“That’s cool.”
“Hey, what happened after we left? Did you stay?”
“Yeah, I ordered a burger. I ate mine and took yours home. I gave it to Paige to have for lunch today.”
“At least, someone ate it.”
“Molly got India’s drink, and she shared it with Finley. I took a sip. It was really good.”
“And, like, fifty dollars, probably.”
“I think it was twelve. That was what Logan said. Not bad, though, because it was in a big glass and tasted amazing. I almost ordered one for myself, but I drove.”
“Sorry, I left you there. I didn’t mean to. I just felt really bad after India…”
“Said all that shit and made you feel bad because you were being rude?”
“Yes, thanks for pointing that out, like I didn’t know,” she said sarcastically.
“Excuse me?”
“Customer,” Lainey said. “I’ve got it.” She stood quickly and headed to the front of the shop. “Uh… Maise?”
“Yeah?”
“You have a visitor.”
Maisie smiled, stood, and headed down the center aisle, expecting to see India standing there.
“Oh. It’s you,” she said when she saw Colter.
“Yes, me,” he stated, looking impossibly smug. “Can I talk to you about something?”
“What? A debate before the election?”
“No, something else,” he said. “Alone, please.”
“Back office.”
“Keep the door open,” Lainey said. “I don’t trust him.”
Colter only laughed and followed Maisie into the office. Maisie left the door open, but with Lainey up front and no customers in the shop, they were, for all intents and purposes, alone.
“What do you want, Mr. Stone?”
“It’s not about what I want, actually. It’s about what I know you want.”
“And what do you think that is, exactly?”
“You want landmark status for this building.” He motioned with his hand. “And I can get it for you.”
“Sorry?”
“That’s still what you want, right? You want to protect this place?”
“Yes. But it’s been denied twice, and if I had to guess, you’re the reason for that.”
“It’s true that this plot of land would sell for a pretty penny. You’d probably never have to work again, and I’d get credit for moving a new business in here.”
“Then, why are you offering me landmark status?”
“I met with… an advisor… yesterday, and she suggested that if I get this for you, you’d drop out of the election.”
“What?” Maisie asked. “Why do you care about that? Just the other day, you were in here telling me about how–”
“I’m trying to be a nice guy here,” Colter interrupted. “I get you what you want. You drop out of the race. This place is protected.”
“Where is this coming from? I can’t believe that some advisor just suggested this out of the blue, and you came running over here. You have too much to gain by getting someone to buy this land or having the city buy it and reselling it yourself.”
“Does it really matter? Just be honest. You’re only running for city council because you wanted status for this place. It gets harder for you to do that if you’re on the council. Bias. You’d be compromised.”
“I have a plan for that. I’m not worried,” she said.
It had crossed her mind that if she joined the council, they might have a problem with her trying to get her business and land protected, but she had tried twice before, so she at least had that precedent.
Maisie didn’t have a specific plan to help with the bias argument, but she’d deal with that if she actually won this thing.
“Well, if that’s so, good for you,” Colter replied. “But this would solve that before it becomes a problem for you. If you drop out of the race, I’ll get your building that status.”
“You can’t guarantee that. Each councilor would get a vote.”
“I can get them to vote my way.” He casually shrugged a shoulder.
“It’s not that hard. You need four. I’m one.
One owes me a favor. Another likes a particular brand of very expensive bourbon.
I have a case ready at home to give to him.
That’s three. Then, there’s Ramirez, who wants her district to get funds for roads.
I can vote on her side and get this pushed through for you.
I don’t care if she gets the money for roads anyway, so it’s no big loss to me. ”
“What I don’t understand is why,” Maisie said.
“Maybe I just want to wrap this whole thing up so that I can focus on something else. Without you, I’m running unopposed.”
Maisie nodded, trying to think about why he’d suddenly want her out of the race. It hit her then, and she smiled.
“The polls,” she said. “New polls come out today. Not until this afternoon, though. You or your people are worried, aren’t you? Or, you got them early.”
“We ran the polls. It’s not the presidency, honey; no one cares about a city council race. There aren’t polls unless one of us runs them, and by the looks of things, your campaign is buttons, posters, and a phone bank. So, yes, we ran the poll, and yes, I have the numbers.”
“I’m up, aren’t I?” she asked.
“You put posters up over my ads. Don’t think I didn’t see the one at the bus stop before I came in here. It won’t work. It’s just temporary.”
“I’m up,” she repeated. “And you’re worried.”
“You’re up, but you’re not up on me,” Colter told her. “Just up a few points. It’s not a big deal.”
“If it’s not a big deal, why are you in here trying to get me to drop out of the election?” she asked.
“To save myself the time, money, and stress of an election. Just drop out. You won’t win.
Even if the polls being up by a few points gives you some confidence, it won’t happen.
Just like I know all those things I’d need to get your building the status, I know ways with a lot of other people to ensure that I win the election.
All are strictly legal. I want to stress that before you file some ethics complaint, or in case you’re recording me right now.
That’s just politics. It’s all favors and money, and you haven’t earned any favors yet, and you don’t have any real money. ”
“If that’s true, so be it, but I’m not in this just to get the landmark status anymore. Now, I’m in it to beat you because you should not be in any kind of public office. You’re supposed to help people, but you only care about helping yourself.”
Colter laughed and replied, “Maisie, I know you’re not that na?ve.
This is politics. That’s how it works, and you know it.
I’m in this position now, but I’ll be higher up next cycle, until eventually, I’m governor or in the state senate.
I’m also young enough, so I can go even higher than that.
I’m from old money. I have the connections.
If I want to be president someday, I can make that happen.
You want this building to be here forever.
You want it to be protected and have some plaque on the wall outside, talking about how it’s important to the city’s history.
It’s not, but that’s your deal, and I respect it, I guess.
If you end this stupid attempt to take something you won’t get, I’ll guarantee that for you.
I’ll even sign something right now that you can hold on to until our first meeting after the election, where I’ll get you on the agenda again. ”
She shook her head and said, “No deal. I might lose this, but I’m not sacrificing my integrity. The reality is, this is still my land. I’m not selling it. And as long as that’s the case, the shop is still protected.”
“You know the city can take the land, right? All I have to do is suggest we put a new freeway on-ramp right through this property. The city just gives you the property value, and your little store gets bulldozed.”
“You wouldn’t put an on-ramp here.”
“No, but I could put something else. We’ve been looking for another place for a police station.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No, it’s just a fact.” Colter turned around. “And I’ve got to get back to my office. Call me if you change your mind. I’ll leave the door open, so to speak, for a few days. Then, it closes for good, and you can kiss your landmark plaque goodbye.”
He walked down the center aisle, paused to take a look at books, for some reason, and walked out the door.
Maisie was fuming. She wanted to kill this guy.
He was such a pretentious asshole and didn’t care about anything outside of his own ambition.
Why did men like that always seem to get what they wanted while women like Maisie had to work ten times as hard and, somehow, always came up short?
“I couldn’t hear. How did it go?” Lainey asked when she walked back to her.
“Not great. I can’t stand that guy,” she said.
“I doubt anyone can stand that guy. I bet his parents hate him, too,” Lainey said. “But I have something that might put you in a better mood.”
“What?” she asked. “The poll numbers?”
“Huh? No,” Lainey said, looking confused. “Your girl got here a minute ago. She saw you were talking to Colter, so she said she’d just go to the bathroom and wait for you.”
“India’s here?” Maisie asked, smiling and knowing that was giving her away.
“Yeah, you don’t like her at all,” Lainey teased. “And that’s the bathroom door opening, so I’ll head back up front.”