“Good morning, this is Maria Martinez, the mayor of Galveston.”
“Oh, good morning, Mayor Martinez. I’m Mindy Espinoza, Mr. Hale’s executive assistant. How can I help you today?”
I don’t look up, but I can feel Serena’s full attention on me.
“I was wondering if it would be possible for me to speak with Remington.”
“I’m so sorry. He’s on a conference call right now, but I can get him to call you as soon as he’s done.”
“No, no. I understand,” she says kindly.Unlike some other people who shall remain unnamed. “Mr. Hale has been selected to receive an award for outstanding contributions to our revitalization project on The Strand. I’m trying to set a date for the awards ceremony, but I wanted to make sure our guest of honor is available that evening.” She chuckles a little after that. “Would you be able to help me nail down a Saturday that would work for him?”
“I certainly can,” I say. “Let me just pull up his calendar.”
We chat while I search some dates, and it turns out she knew my father before he died. They actually went to high school together.
“Ah, I found a couple of available Saturdays in March,” I inform the mayor. After rattling them off, she selects one.
“Fantastic,” she says. “I’ll send over a fax this afternoon with all the information. It will include a meal selection for Mr. Hale and his date.” She pauses. “I do hope you will be his date, Ms. Espinoza. I would love to meet you in person.”
“I would love that too. I’ll ask him what his plans are,” I say diplomatically, not wanting to assume anything. “May I ask what the dress code will be?”
“Black tie.”
“Great. I’ll make sure his tux is ready,” I say, making a note in my ever-present notebook. I adore notebooks almost as much as I love pens. There’s just something satisfying about handwriting things instead of making a note in my phone. Also, notebooks don’t ever run out of battery power.
“Not to be indelicate, but I saw the news today.”
“Oh,” I say, wincing a little at what’s going to come out of her mouth next.
“I just wanted to tell you I think you and Remington make a beautiful couple, so keep your chin up. This, too, shall pass.” She laughs a little, and I do too. “Probably when some celebrity breaks up with some other celebrity.”
“Thank you for saying that,” I reply gratefully.
“The press hounded me relentlessly when I was going through a divorce during the last mayoral election. For some reason, they think my personal business is fair game for public consumption. I was just ready to get rid of my asshole ex, and they wanted to splash every little detail online.”
“I couldn’t imagine,” I lament. “I went through a divorce last year too, but thankfully it wasn’t a big deal to the press. And I understand about being ready to get rid of the dead weight. It feels so much better now that Tw—” I clear my throat. “Now that my ex is gone.”
I can hear the smile in the mayor’s voice. “What were you going to say there?”
“Just a little nickname I have for him,” I mumble.
“And what is that?” she prods.
Jesus help me. Are we really doing this?Blowing out a breath, I lower my voice and admit, “I call him Twatface.”
To my surprise, Mayor Martinez roars with laughter. “Oh, that’s fantastic. Can I use that?”
A giggle escapes from me. “I haven’t trademarked it yet, so go ahead.”
“Excellent. I will implement that posthaste. I might even make an official mayoral declaration.”
“I would love to see it,” I say with genuine affection. I really like this woman.
“I like you, Mindy,” the mayor says, mirroring my sentiment. “I hope I get to meet you in March.”
“Me too, Mayor. And thank you so much for calling. I know Mr. Hale will be thrilled to receive this award.”
We say our goodbyes, and when I hang up, I almost jump out of my skin when I see Serena is standing directly in front of my desk.
