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“I see. And who approved the line items?”
“Me. I have limited budgetary authority; it’s outlined in the prospectus that the council approved last year. And I’m sure you’re aware that much of the building is paid for by the grant money I brought in. Thankfully the burden of paying for the entire project isn’t on the city council or the tax revenues which are needed for other things.”
“I’m glad to hear you’re aware that this isn’t the only project going on. We’re also re-sodding the high school football field after the rains last spring tore up some of the dirt work.”
“Yes, I’m excited to see how that turns out and go to games there this fall, obviously. If you had the impression that the community center was some kind of vanity project or all I cared about, I apologize if I gave off the wrong idea. I’m very single-minded with my goals, as you know. In fact, we’d already discussed the budget adjustments. I can’t imagine you called me here to go over that.”
“Remind me why you chose the highest bidder for the build,” he said.
“Noah Jeffries produces superior work. His builds haven’t been plagued with the structural problems that Ray Forrester’s have caused in recent years. It wasn’t prudent to hire a cheaper contractor to do shoddy work.” I reiterated it, growing uneasy.
“And there was no other reason?”
“Of course not, no,” I said.
He shuffled through some papers and then handed me one. It wasn’t a form or a budget sheet. It was a photo. A little dark, but I could make out myself and Noah kissing by my car. Shit. I shut my eyes for a second and then looked at the mayor.
“What about it?” I asked evenly.
“It’s a picture of you and the contractor who was awarded the build on the project despite his bid being higher than his competitors’. Surely you see the problem.”
“I’m afraid not. My personal life is separate from my job. I admit to kissing him, the proof is right here. It would be foolish to deny it. However, that has no impact on the way I carry out my job duties as city planner. Is there some way you think I have failed to bring this ambitious project to fruition in exactly the way the council approved it? Because I don’t see any evidence of neglecting my job duties or any way in which kissing a coworker one time off of city property has damaged my job performance in any way.” I said it coolly, defensive but reasonable, hoping I could back him down. Wishing I could throttle whatever busybody had taken that picture. I felt sick.
“There is no impropriety going on with regard to the community center project,” I insisted when he didn’t reply.
“There’s going to be an investigation, Nicole. I’m sure you know how this appears.”
I was devastated. There it was, exactly what I’d feared would happen. Only it wasn’t because of my hidden pregnancy. It was one careless kiss. That was all it took to wreck my career. I swallowed hard, determined not to cry.
29
Noah
I was going to put it all behind me, this drama with Nicole. I’d just do my job and forget about it. I wasn’t going to fixate on her just because she was the best sex of my life and I was on the brink of obsessed with her. With hearing her opinion and making her laugh and all kinds of things I shouldn’t.
So, I was surprised to get a call from her that evening saying we needed to talk.
“Sure, I’ll meet you somewhere. The diner?”
“No, we can’t be seen together,” she said, sounding anxious. It was a strange thing to say, that we couldn’t be seen together.
I gave her my address, the house I’d fixed up on the edge of town. She showed up faster than I thought possible. As soon as she was at the door, I opened it and she rushed inside. She’d been crying, her face puffy and eyes red.
“What’s wrong?”
“I had to go to the mayor’s office today. I figured he was just bitching about the budget again, but he had a picture of you and me kissing last night. There’s going to be an investigation about corruption. I’m under investigation, Noah,” she said, her voice small and worried.
I pulled her into my arms and hugged her tight, surprised that she was letting me hold her. Then we sat down on the couch, and I let her tell me all about it.
She said he grilled her about the build and the budget before he pulled out the picture, that he insinuated I’d gotten the job because I was bribing her with sexual favors.
By the time she was finished telling me, I was beyond pissed. I wanted to beat the crap out of the mayor. I wanted to track down whatever creep hung around watching people kiss and taking photos and I wanted to pound him into the dirt. In fact, I had a pretty decent idea of who I would be looking for. It sounded like a Ray Forrester move, slimy and cowardly. He wasn’t man enough to confront me, to say he thought I stole his job. So he snuck around spying on me. Which meant he’d been watching Nicole, too. That made me grind my teeth. The idea of Ray Forrester or anyone else stalking her and taking pictures of her, watching her without her knowing—it made me sick. I took her hand and held it, just for comfort. Just to let her know I was listening, and I wanted to support her. I wanted her to know I was here for her. And that I was going to do my damnedest to protect her. I wished I’d done better all along, that maybe I’d have spotted the guy and busted his phone for him if I had been on the lookout.
