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Truth was, either one of us could be on top and it would be incredible.
That was exactly the kind of thing I had to stop thinking about immediately. It wasn’t appropriate. It wasn’t convenient. It was wrong and very, very tempting.
Temptation was not in the plan.
6
Nicole
It should be a great day. We were breaking ground on the community center. The project was off and running. I’d worked so hard for this, and it was finally happening. Even if the city council was a little unhappy about the bid I accepted. A few of them would have preferred to cut corners and have Ray Forrester hired instead. They were short-sighted, and I had told them so as politely as possible. While the initial bid might be cheaper, the long-term costs were substantial when it came to repairs, fines, lawsuits even. It was too risky. I’d rather buy quality up front than pay for shoddy work down the road.
I stood off to the side as the mayor posed for the photo op with Noah. A couple of reporters were there, and a TV station from Overton did a segment on it as well. I’d written the talking points for the mayor myself.
Ray sidled up to me. I crossed my arms instinctively.
“You know, it’s not too late to pull the contract and award it to me. I happen to know a few guys on the council that wanted to save money. Jeffries is all right, but he likes to do things the old-fashioned way—slower and more expensive. Guess he never heard of efficiency,” he gave a dry laugh.
I didn’t answer. I dipped my chin to show I was listening, not quite a nod. I wasn’t giving him agreement, wasn’t encouraging him to continue talking. I was bordering on rudeness, which was a line I didn’t like to get near. I was employed by the city. I was elected to county board. But I was still from out of town, and insulting a hometown boy and small business owner, particularly one who had friends on the council, was courting career suicide. I held back a sigh.
“I understand your disappointment that someone else was awarded the bid. I’m just grateful that you’re such a devoted Rockford Falls boy that you support the development by showing up for the groundbreaking. It really was good of you to come out and show your support,” I said, sweetness in my voice.
“I mainly just came to give you one last shot at changing your mind.”
“The builder for the project has been hired. As you can see, they’ve started the job. I look forward to seeing you at the opening picnic though. I’m always happy to see a local success story lending his name and presence to an event that’s important for the town. This center is going to mean so much to Rockford Falls. I appreciate how committed you are to wanting to be part of it. We’ll be sure to keep you in mind for future projects as well,” I said more graciously than I felt.
“You’re missing the point, honey,” he said. I smiled, tight lipped and with my teeth clenched because he was calling me honey. I waited for him to enlighten me, as I knew he was dying to do.
“You missed out on hiring the best man for the job. I was even a nice guy and gave you a second chance to make that right cause I like you. I might even take you out for a fancy dinner to celebrate.”
“That’s very kind of you,” I said through gritted teeth. “But the decision is final.”
I sort of flounced off. I wanted to stomp. But I had on nice boots. I wanted to put distance between myself and the egotistical reject builder. When I glanced toward Noah, he was glaring at me. Lovely. I just defended my choice to award him the bid and he’s staring at me like I’m shit on his shoe. At least the creep offered to buy me some fried shrimp if I gave him the job—Noah hadn’t even bothered to be polite, much less provide a thinly-veiled bribe out of gratitude. I rolled my eyes at myself.
The guy didn’t like me. And probably didn’t like Forrester so he was killing two birds with one glare of disgust. If I’d been under the impression he liked me at all, if he’d been the least bit civil, I would’ve thought he was jealous, that he was shooting eye daggers at Ray Forrester for talking to me. Fortunately, I was a grown woman who knew when an arrogant guy found me completely annoying. Maybe back on the playground I’d believed boys pulled my hair because they liked me, but I had outgrown that idea. Men weren’t mean because they liked you. They were mean because they were intimidated or unhappy or just garden-variety assholes. I shrugged it off.
