“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’syou,” 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 whatIwant, actually. It’s about what I knowyouwant.”
“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,whyare 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.
