Ithadcrossed 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.”
“Weranthe 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 onme,” 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 buildingthe 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 becauseyoushould 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 naïve. 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 doubtanyonecan 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.
