Page 57 of Call It Serendipity

“We don’t have to make copies this time?”

“If you’re looking to piece together the little details, you’ll need to read the whole thing.”

“And you trust me?” This feels like a real honor, and I don’t bother hiding the surprise in my voice.

“I trust that you’re willing to put in the work for the right reasons.” She narrows her eyes, assessing me. “Aren’t you?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Then collecting the books, I add, “As someone whose seen plenty of potential projects come through this office, do you think the hotel will get built?”

Her smile turns sly. “You were correct when you said this place is special. In my experience, I’ve learned Ellicottville makes certain that the projects that should be here, are the ones that do in fact get completed.”

“You mean the people here make sure?”

“No.” She shakes her head, putting her glasses back on and returning her attention to the paper before her. “I mean the town.”

“You say that like it’s alive.”

“Oh, Mr. Carpenter, pay closer attention to the magic of this place.”

Of course, I understand Laurie wasn’t referring to Ellicottville as actually having magical properties. But her words stick with me as I walk back to my apartment.

There is a certain atmosphere around here—like maybe the unique characteristics of this town are in fact enough to make it feel like its own living, breathing entity.

By the time I’m home, I almost hope she’s right.

“Hey, boy,” I say to Charlie when he greets me at the door.

He had looked so confused when I left without him this morning, growing accustomed to joining me for the day now that we’re in this town. And a twinge of sadness catches in my chest as I think about returning to the city and having to leave him behind for work once more.

I spend a minute longer than usual scratching behind his ears.

“Let me call Tad then we’ll head outside for some light reading,” I assure him, holding up the town ordinances as if he’s interested in what I’ll be reading. Then I cross into the living room and grab the cordless phone from its dock.

Tad answers almost immediately. “Hey, speak of the devil,” he says. “I’m standing here with your father. He came to my office asking for an update on your project.”

To Richard, his words would sound perfectly casual. But I hear them for what they are—a warning. And it doesn’t take long for me to be put on speaker phone, my father’s voice joining the conversation.

“Jake, I’m glad you’re checking in with someone regularly.”

“We talked yesterday,” I remind him.

“Quarterly review meetings don’t count. What updates do you have for us?”

I perch on the end of my coffee table and stifle a sigh. This is not how I planned to discuss the ordinances I acquired.

“Did Tad tell you that we got great results from the water and sewage studies?”

My father grunts his awareness, and if I’m not mistaken, it’s the noise he makes when he’s pleased.

“That’s the only update I’ve got for now,” I say. “But I plan to study some ordinances this afternoon.”

“Well stay on it, we need to nail this one. It will open up a whole new market for the company.” His words are chased by the distinct rap of Italian shoes on the executive suite’s granite flooring. Then a door finally clicks shut.

“How are you actually spending your day?” Tad asks over the groan of his chair, as if he had been standing at attention for the duration of my father’s time in his office and is finally settling back in.

“I really am looking through ordinances—I got my hands on some of the lesser-known ones.”

“You think they’ll try to pull those out to stop the project?”