10. Miles
10
MILES
T wo months later…
The pretty librarian sat across from me, her mouth pinched into one of those sneering smiles. The expression said, ‘I don’t like you but I’m going to be pleasant about it so if you’re rude, you look like the bad guy.’
And in her eyes, I was definitely the bad guy. She sat next to the mayor. He had no recollection of having met me before. His smile wasn’t forced or fake. But he didn’t like me, either. It was too bad. They had both been so nice the first time I had met them when they had no idea who I was.
“I believe there is one more we are waiting for?” I asked.
“My co-chair isn’t joining us today,” she said.
“I’d like to present to them. Maybe I could arrange to meet with them at a convenient time?” I suggested.
The librarian shook her head. “That won’t be happening,” she said with that fake, sweet smile on her face.
“Shall we begin, then?” I suggested.
Jackson pressed the keys on his laptop and spun the device around so that our presentation was displayed to the mayor and the librarian.
“I’d rather not,” she said.
“Evie, we agreed to hear them out,” Mayor Breaker said.
“Why? He wants to buy up the town for profit.”
“I want to revitalize Brookdale,” I countered. “I want to show you how bringing in an upscale hospitality property can breathe new life into this town.”
“By getting rid of our historical heritage,” she snapped.
“No offense, Miss,” Jackson began, “but your historical buildings are falling down. The ones that are standing are doing so out of spite and determination. It would take a Herculean effort to restore several of the properties in question. This town doesn’t have that kind of money in reserve.”
“What makes you so certain about that?” she snapped.
“Because if you did, Brookdale would have already begun the restoration processes that are so obviously in need,” I answered.
“So you’ll just level them instead? Where is the integrity in that?”
“Evie, let’s hear them out.”
“Thank you, Mayor. What we are proposing is to bring in a resort-level property. It will provide jobs and bring tourist dollars back into Brookdale.” As I continued to present the images and maps on Jackson’s laptop, the librarian, Evie, seethed. I swear, she even growled under her breath like a threatened animal.
She managed to keep her calm for about fifteen minutes before she was ready to lunge at us again.
“Do you see that map, Dan?” She pointed at the computer. “That’s where the library is, the post office, and all those houses on the east side.”
She didn’t mention the inn, but it was in the middle of the highlighted area.
“We aren’t touching any of the thriving businesses downtown,” Jackson pointed out.
“Maybe not businesses, but those are people’s homes. The library is my home.”
“With the revenue from the sales of these properties, Brookdale would be able to put in state of the art facilities for the public library and the post office,” I pointed out.
“The library is state of the art enough,” Evie snapped. “It’s a library. It doesn’t need all the bells and whistles.”
“And the post office? Wouldn’t it be nice to ear-mark funds for additional equipment, or more employees, instead of replacing the roof or the floor?” I asked. “What’s the next major repair? Does the town have twenty thousand in reserve when the HVAC system needs to be replaced?”
”How did you know we had to do that recently?” the mayor asked.
Had these people never heard of doing research?
The rest of the meeting went much the same. Jackson or I would present a feasible plan with recommendations. We even focused on the job creation aspect of this project, both in the construction phase and after it opened. Our proposal was all about potential and growth opportunities. But Evie was like a viper, ready to strike at any flaw, any hint of contention.
The mayor simply nodded and listened. I figured I could get him to see reason. He was a thinker, while the librarian was reactionary. It was always going to be an uphill battle with her.
“I told you, these women around here are like pit vipers,” Jackson said as we left the meeting.
That Evie woman had not gone easy on us.
“At least her co-chair hadn’t shown up. I can’t imagine we would have been able to get a word out with two of them constantly on the attack,” he said.
“Yeah.” I agreed. “Next time, let’s see if we can get Mayor Dan alone. He seems easily swayed. Maybe if he doesn’t have his little bodyguard with him, we could get through.”
“She is like one of those little yappy dogs,” Jackson joked.
“Well, I’m sure in her case, her bite is as bad as her bark. She’s a librarian. She’ll be looking up all the laws and legal precedence to keep this from going forward. We have to win her over.”
“You aren’t going to send Harris up here to seduce her too, are you?”
I laughed. “No, he’s got a grandma to work on,” I joked. “I wouldn’t wish seducing her on anyone.”
“Sure.” Jackson nodded. “We get a cute one with some spunk, and you back down.”
I already had someone I was interested in seducing again, but that wasn’t any of Jackson’s business.
I looked around at the town. The last time I had been there, it had been cold and covered in snow. It was pleasant out. The weather was warm without being overbearing and hot. We hadn’t yet turned the corner on summer. It would be unbearably hot in the next few weeks, and then the heat would turn to fall. Brookdale would be charming in all the oranges and reds of an Upstate autumn, so much tourism potential.
Jackson looked at his watch. “If we leave now, we can be back in the city in time for dinner.”
“You go ahead, head on out. I want to stick around a bit, give this place a good look while the weather is good.”
“Oh, that’s right, you got stuck here during that freak snowstorm. Weren’t you trapped inside that old hotel?”
“I wouldn’t exactly say trapped, but yeah, I was there.”
Jackson shuddered. “Looks like a fire trap. Glad it was you and not me. How will you get back if I take the car?’
“There’s a shuttle to the airport. I think if I can work the tourist attraction angle, maybe that will let them hear what we’re saying. So I want to get a visitor’s perspective.”
“I thought you hated small towns,” Jackson said.
“I hate the one I came from. This one has potential. Maybe I can get a better feel for the local atmosphere. I’ll be able to devise a plan to get the mayor on our side. Or even win over the librarian without compromising my personal morals.”
“So you don’t want to seduce her like some kind of super spy?” Jackson chuckled.
“Not my type,” I admitted. She was cute enough, but I preferred more curves on my women. I preferred someone like Lydia, and it had been entirely too long since I had seen her.
“Seriously, you expect me to leave you here?”
I nodded. I didn’t want him around when I went back to the inn. “Let’s have lunch at the diner. How bad can it really be? Then you can take off. I’ll follow in a day or two. I packed extra clothes.”
“You’ve been planning this the whole time?” he asked.
“I don’t tell you everything, Jackson. Come on, lunch. I’m buying.”
“Of course, you are.”
There was something nostalgic about the diner. Every town must have a place like it. The food was greasy but good. They had a selection of pies for dessert, and the coffee was, well… it was bad. But the coffee in places like that was always bad. Part of the atmosphere.
I certainly wasn’t going to call it charm, because charming it was not. It was dirty, the waitress had an attitude, and the only reason no one got sick was the grill was run hot and overcooked any germs that might linger.
Jackson was rubbing his chest and complaining about heartburn when he got up to leave. “You aren’t going to fire me for abandoning you?”
“Go before I fire you for not leaving me alone!” I said. I might have been only half joking, but he took it as humor and left.
I asked for another refill on my coffee and ordered a slice of cherry pie. The crust tasted like it was made with real lard. I may have hated the town I was from, but damn, did I miss a good cherry pie.
My eyes were closed and I was enjoying my pie of dessert when I heard a tapping on the plate glass window next to me.
I opened my eyes to see Lydia staring at me. “What the hell, Miles?”
A grin took over my face and I waved her in.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
At the same time, I said, “I was going to head over to the inn as soon as I finished.”
We laughed and gave each other awkward hugs. I would have preferred a passionate welcoming kiss, but maybe that would have been too much in the middle of the diner.
“Sit. Can I buy you anything? The pie here is excellent. No one ever told me how good it was.”
She laughed more. The gentle sound wrapped around my gut and went straight to my cock.
“Damn, I’ve missed you,” I admitted.