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“You sure? Did you eat breakfast? You look kind of pale. Maybe you should sit down.” She ran her hand down my upper arm as if I needed to be steadied. Maybe I did.
“I’m sure. Big meeting today, right? Last one before things kick into high gear. Are you excited?” I lobbed the barrage of questions at her in an effort to get her to stop scrutinizing me.
Kobie let out a small sigh and her shoulders dropped. She glanced at the conference room door, then back at me. “About that. They want to talk about the Valor King issue some more at the start of the meeting.”
“I thought they agreed to Ned Elledge.” Kobie had found a replacement the committee eventually accepted after a lot of grumbling. The valiance of Ned filling a giant pothole on Apple Ridge Road with his own gravel and sand when everyone agreed the city was taking too long to deal with it wasn’t going to take anyone’s breath away, but it was the best they could manage on this time frame.
“Yes,” she rolled her eyes, “but now they’ve got stipulations about the costume and opening ceremony.”
“And that part is still considered top secret?” I lowered my voice. “The way news travels in this town, don’t you think everyone already knows Ned is the replacement?”
“Of course they do, but you do not want to get between these old ladies and their traditions.” She shuddered. “It’s always been closed door and it will remain closed door.” She spoke the words in a dead-on impression of Eloise Malone, the blue-haired, no-nonsense woman who not only chaired the Valor King selection committee but ran roughshod over most of the other meetings I’d witnessed.
“All right.” I looked around for somewhere to park myself. “I’ll wait out here.”
“It could take a while.” A small, sympathetic smile painted her face. “You sure you want to stick around? You could head home and take a nap or go grab a bite to eat instead.”
“Wow, I must look worse than you said.” I laughed, but my insides were shriveling up like a slug someone had poured salt on.
“Even though I roped you into this, I don’t want you to feel obligated to stay.” Kobie meant well, but she continued to remind me I didn’t belong here.
Where else would I go? The idea of going back to Drew’s place this morning held zero appeal. And ten a.m. on a Saturday seemed a little early to get drunk. Although that was definitely on the docket for later today. “It’s no problem. I’ll wait out here until you get to the business us common folk are privy to.” I flashed a smile I doubted reached my eyes and made myself at home outside the doors on a wooden bench that was about as comfortable as an iron maiden.
She nodded as she opened the conference room doors. “I’ll do my best to hurry things along.” She slipped through the door.
I sat there, numb, staring at the wall covered in oil portraits of past mayors of Kelly Bay. There wasn’t any sense in cracking open the laptop in my bag, because I knew in my heart of hearts that I had no intention of writing the Axel Everett piece Eirin wanted.
What I didn’t know was what I was going to do about that fact.
