"I've lived in town my whole life," I say, leading the way. "And the fifth graders come here on a field trip every year." He nods, seeming to trust me, but when the elevator doors open, and I press level three instead of two—where the zoning office is—he gives me another puzzled look.
“It says the building administration department is on the second floor,” he says. “Shouldn’t we?—”
“Trust me,” I say, looking at him with a small smile. “I know what I’m doing.” Behind my back, I cross my fingers, because while I have anideaof what I’m doing, nothing is foolproof. I’m kind of moving on a wish and a prayer, if I’m being honest. When he eventually nods and lets out a tense breath, a thrill moves through me, feeling like I won something as fragile as Graham’s trust.
I’m still thrumming with that feeling when the elevator dings and I lead us toward my destination. My steps slow as we approach the Mayor’s office, and Graham looks at me, confused. “June, this is the mayor,” he says in a low voice. “We need the—” I turn to him, my stern look in place.
“I know you’re like, a genius businessman who can flip a business in six months, but small-town politics is my domain.Let me handle this,” I say in a fierce whisper, and his eyes widen like he didn’t expect that.
“I just—” he starts, but just then, ten feet ahead of us, a man steps out of an office. My heart pounds as I realize somehow, some way, my plan is falling into place, luck on my side once again.
“Oh, my goodness, Mayor Mosely, I didn’t expect to see you here!” I say a bit too loudly as I walk faster toward his office. His steps falter, and he turns to look at me before smiling wide.
“We’re outside his office, June,” Graham mumbles, thankfully low enough so only I can hear, and I elbow him, hard, but keep a smile plastered on my face. If he doesn’t stop, he’s going to ruin this.
"Well, if it isn't June Taylor," Mayor Mosely says with a friendly tone. "What a pleasure to see you."
“You too!”
“Let me guess, you’re here about the mural? You’d be the perfect candidate,” he says. I give him a tight smile and shake my head. I wonder if maybe Claire and Maggie mentioned it to him, too, hoping they could get the mayor on their side to guilt me into applying, which leads me to worry about what other ears they’ve been whispering into.
“No, no, not that. I’m actually here for work.” I turn my body, bringing Graham into the small circle we’ve created in the hallway, “This is my boss, Graham Hawthorne. He’s the project manager at Daytrip.”
“Oh, Maggie did tell me you were working over there!” Well, that confirms one theory. “How exciting. Great to meet you, Mr. Hawthorne. We’re so excited that Daydream chose our little town to settle into.” He reaches out and shakes Graham’s hand.
“We’re happy to be here. I believe June has already reached out to you about a ribbon cutting?” Mayor Mosely nods excitedly.
“Yes, Fran has it in my calendar. So what brings you over to city hall today?” I speak before Graham does.
“We’re actually hoping that Chet would talk to us about a permitting issue, but silly me, I forgotyou’reon the third floor, and building admin is thesecond.” Graham lets out a small cough, and once again, I elbow him in the side.
“A permitting issue?” Mayor Mosely says, ignorant of our silent argument, brows furrowing. “I thought that was all already figured out.” I nod, biting my lip, trying to seem solemn and not smile smugly that things are going exactly as planned.
“Yes, well, originally, Daytrip was using a different contractor, but things weren’t working out, so they ended up working with Taylor Contracting. There seems to have been a mix-up with the permits and who filed them. Grant says everything is in line on his end, and Daydream Resorts' legal team filed the permits themselves, but you know how paperwork can be.” I give a girly shrug, trying to sound upbeat and unaccusing, and the mayor nods. “Anyway, I came here hoping it’s something that will be an easy fix.” I lift my fingers and cross them. “I find it’s always better to have these kinds of conversations in person so there’s less back and forth. Plus, I wanted Graham to meet our great little town’s diligent public servants.” Mayor Mosely nods eagerly.
“Oh, of course! The best in the great state of New Jersey! You know, I believe Chet is in the office today. I was just talking to him this morning. Let me bring you right to him! We don’t want there to be any hang-ups with that opening day: I already have my big scissors ready!”
Hook, line, and sinker. I smile at Graham as we follow Mayor Mosely to the second floor.
A few minutes later, the three of us are standing in Chet’s office, Chet trying to maintain a neutral face, but it’s clear he’sannoyed with me if the lasers he’s shooting in my way are anything to go by.
“As I’m sure you know, we’re so excited that Daydream chose our town for this new venture, and we really want things to move smoothly. It seems that they changed contractors, and there was a mix-up with the permitting,” Mayor Mosely explains to Chet, clearly oblivious to the turmoil in the room. “Can you make sure that they have an inspector out there next week to keep the opening day? I’m going to be attending the ribbon cutting.”
Chet’s jaw goes tight before he tries to explain.
“Well, you see, the issue is the permits were filed by the initial contracting company,” Chet starts, and I don’t miss how he leaves out that it was hisson’scompany. “And the company retracted them when they were removed from the build, so?—”
I lift a hand, a pleasant smile on my face.
“Actually,” I say, pulling out the folder I brought and showing Chet the permitting paperwork. “Daydream Resorts filed personally,notStevens Contracting, which would mean that if his firm did not complete the work, there was no reason even to report that. The permits were the sole responsibility of Daydream to confirm, complete, and have inspected.” I pull out a few more papers and place them on his desk, fighting the urge to slap them down. “And these are the reports of the work having a projected completion date of next Tuesday. I’msurethat now that you have these in front of you, you’ll be able to schedule the building inspector to come out and perform the final inspection. Right?”
Chet’s face gets a bit red, and I let a full grin take over my face.
“I suppose,” he says through gritted teeth.
“Great, perfect! I’ve got a meeting in ten, but June, make sure you tell Fran what time you want me there on opening day!” Mayor Mosely says.
“Of course. It was so great seeing you!” I say with a cheery wave. He bids everyone a happy goodbye before leaving, and the second he’s out of sight, whatever threads of pleasantness that were on Chet’s face die out, leaving an angry, irritated one in their place.
