Читать книгу Winning Her Love - Harmony Evans - Страница 12

Chapter 3

At 8:00 a.m. the next morning, Gregory angled his car into an empty parking spot on Ocean Avenue in front of city hall and slowly got out. He half expected an angry mob to be waiting there to carry him off to the gallows. But except for a few seagulls strutting about as if the world owed them a meal, the wide stone steps were empty.

He slammed the door, exhaling a breath he wasn’t even aware he was holding. Clutching his briefcase, he quickly jogged up the stairs, sending the birds squawking and scattering into the cool salty air.

His eyes crinkled behind his sunglasses. How could Vanessa have turned down his offer to be his campaign manager? He still couldn’t believe it, nor could he believe how much she’d changed physically.

Back when he was a prepubescent nine-year-old, somewhere in his psyche, where he involuntarily noticed these things because he was a boy and she was a girl, Gregory had thought she was cute. Yucky, but cute. She liked making mud pies, and that was beyond cool.

But somewhere along the way, when he was off at college and then working at his father’s law firm, she’d grown up to be beautiful. A fact that he’d always known, since he saw her from a distance around Bay Point quite often. Her flower shop was only a few minutes on foot from city hall. However, he’d never truly realized how absolutely stunning she was until yesterday, when he was in the same room with her.

It was everything—her lustrous brown hair, streaked in gold, the hint of the curve of her breasts, the innocent pucker of her nipples covered by the silky fabric of her blouse and the long legs well hidden beneath her skirt, which might as well have been a nun’s habit.

His groin tightened painfully again, as it had been doing ever since last night each time he thought about her.

Vanessa Hamilton was as dangerous to his career as raising property taxes, but she was also necessary to it. He’d spent a long, restless night attempting to figure out a way to change her mind. Instead he’d awoken with a massive hard-on and no solid ideas.

The shouts and screams of toddlers broke through his yawn-sodden thoughts. He turned around and frowned.

Directly across from city hall, the Bay Point Carousel beckoned him like an aging beauty. “Ride me! Ride me!” it seemed to urge. Although the paint on the horses was dull and chipped, the mirrors cracked and the jewels dusty and worn, the carousel held an undeniable fire of mystery. One that he was happy to extinguish. So much so that razing the carousel was in phase one of his downtown redevelopment plan.

He shook his head, recalling how Vanessa had gotten all bent out of shape that he was going to tear the ancient structure down. Although he didn’t know for sure, the carousel seemed to be more to her than just a relic of Bay Point’s history. A small part of him wanted to know why, but the other part of him couldn’t wait to get rid of the town’s “legacy,” which held nothing but bad memories for him.

Besides, politics always trumped preservation. Everybody knew that, he told himself, and promptly dismissed the guilt that suddenly bubbled within him from out of nowhere. The carousel would be replaced with a beautiful garden, a contemporary fountain and green spaces that would be free of insurance liability issues and high maintenance costs.

“Everyone’s going to love it, including Vanessa!” he muttered to himself. With or without her, somehow he’d have to convince the citizens of Bay Point that his plan was the right thing to do.

He turned away and entered the building through the revolving doors. The cool air engulfed him, and he shivered a little as he nodded at the security guard. Then he took the elevator to the fourth floor, where his office was located.

“Good morning, Mariella.”

“Morning, Mayor.” She jerked a thumb toward his open door. “Mr. Stodwell is here to see you, and he’s in your office.” She dropped her voice low. “I’m sorry. I told him that you prefer visitors to wait out here, but he ignored me and barged right in.”

“It’s okay,” he assured her. “How was soccer practice?”

Mariella’s face beamed with surprise. “Great. It was only a scrimmage match, but Josh scored his first goal of the season!”

“That’s great. Maybe he’s another Beckham in the works, and we’ll finally have a winning team in Bay Point.” He put his fingers to his lips. “But don’t tell Coach Perkins I said so, because he thinks the only ball that should be in play in this town is a football.”

Mariella giggled. “Your secret is safe with me. There’s fresh coffee. Want some?”

“How many cups has Mr. Stodwell had?”

Mariella held up two fingers, and he shook his head. “Then I’d better ace this one alone—without the help of caffeine.”

Gregory opened his office door. Mr. Stodwell gestured toward the window with his coffee cup. “Those kids out there. Where do they get their energy?”

Gregory laid his briefcase on his desk and snapped it open, revealing the rose from Vanessa’s shop. He’d forgotten he’d put it there, and he quickly closed the briefcase before Stodwell spotted it. He still didn’t know why he’d kept the now-wilted bud, other than the fact that the petals had once touched her skin. He wished it had been his fingers instead.

“I’m sure the sugar fixes don’t help,” Gregory offered.

Ruby’s Tasty Pastries, located on the other side of Ocean Avenue and across from the carousel, was known for its doughnuts that were shaped like lions, tigers and bears for kids, and other rich, butter-laden delights for adults. The organic coffee and beverages were also quite popular among the townspeople.

Mr. Stodwell grunted and patted his belly. “Ruby’s doughnuts just make me even fatter. But I love them and eat them anyway.”

He took a handkerchief out of his front pocket. Like a cold glass of water in the hot sun, the man always seemed to be perspiring. He wiped his brow before plopping his large frame down on the wooden chair in front of Gregory’s desk.

Gregory sat down, and as usual, his chair squeaked noisily. He couldn’t wait until the new city hall was built. The first thing he was going to do was buy a new chair. Until then, to save costs, he put up with the old one.

“I don’t think we had a meeting scheduled, but now that you’re here, I have to tell you how disappointed I and the rest of the planning commission were to see the news about the redevelopment project in the Bay Point Courier yesterday.”

Mr. Stodwell shrugged. “I called in a few favors—so what?” he replied, sounding quite pleased with himself. “Besides, it’s not like folks didn’t know that this was coming. Small towns run on rumors like these.”

Gregory wrinkled his brow in annoyance. “I thought we’d talked about waiting to announce the redevelopment plan until I’d had a chance to discuss the proposal with the stakeholders.”

Stodwell coughed, and a bit of coffee sloshed on his shirt, but he didn’t seem to notice.

“What’s the big deal? Now the news is out and in the open. Folks that have businesses downtown know that their time is almost up. Bay Point, as we know it now, will be forever changed.”

Gregory abruptly stood and leaned over his desk. “The big deal,” he replied curtly, “is that you blindsided me. And now the town thinks I blindsided them.”

Including Vanessa.

“I grew up with some of the people affected. Need I remind you that I am up for reelection in a few months?”

Stodwell shrugged. “I don’t see the problem. You own the land. You have all the cards here.”

“The city owns the land,” Gregory corrected. “Not me.”

“Minor detail,” Stodwell said, waving two fingers. “Anyway, I’ve got some good news.”

He paused and swabbed his handkerchief over his cheeks. “I’m ready to sell the buildings I own downtown to you—I mean the city of Bay Point.”

Gregory raised his eyebrows in surprise. Stodwell had been on the fence for months about releasing his properties, even though Gregory had hinted that the city might be interested in purchasing them. Now it looked as though they would get the chance.

“That’s good to hear. You own most of the buildings alongside Ocean Avenue, except for a few owned by Mrs. Barnell. Why did you decide to sell now?”

Although his buildings were old, they were still valuable. If the downtown redevelopment plan was as successful as Gregory hoped it would be, the buildings and the land they sat on would eventually be worth tens of millions of dollars.

Stodwell edged his body forward. “It’s the right time for me, and for the city.”

Gregory nodded. The man was right. If the city owned the buildings outright, it would make the redevelopment process a whole lot easier.

Stodwell leaned back in his chair. “Besides, some of my tenants haven’t paid rent on time, or at all, in months. Because of that, I can’t make repairs or upgrade the buildings or the apartments upstairs.”

“Why didn’t you ever sue the tenants for the money?”

“Are you kidding?” Stodwell widened his eyes in mock horror. “I gotta live here, too, Mayor. I could have shook ’em down for the money, but that’s not my style.”

Gregory barely held back a smirk. “So now you want us to do it, is that right?”

Stodwell opened both palms, his grin like a swath of grease on his tanned face. “I have to assume if they’re not paying me, they’re not paying the city, either. Am I right?”

Gregory frowned and didn’t respond. As in most cities, businesses had to pay a yearly tax to operate in Bay Point, although some exemptions did apply.

Six months ago, he’d had an independent audit conducted of Bay Point’s finances. The third-party firm had discovered that there was nearly a quarter of a million dollars in unpaid business taxes that were not in the city’s coffers, which was one reason why the city was in a financial mess.

“Once the city owns all the properties, you can call a lien on each one of them.” Stodwell clapped his hands. “Problem solved.”

Gregory immediately thought of Vanessa. “I can’t do that. There has to be a better solution.”

Stodwell shrugged. “Threaten eviction, and people suddenly get very creative about paying up.”

Gregory held back a gasp. Throw his fellow residents out on the streets? He could never live with himself. He’d grown up with most of the store owners.

It would be difficult enough collecting back taxes from them. In light of the economy and the lack of tourists, Stodwell’s business tenants were having a hard time staying profitable. How would they come up with the extra money for back taxes and rent increases? He could never evict them.

“Neither I nor the city is willing to go that far,” he said firmly. “Besides, it’s—”

“Election time. I know.”

Stodwell slurped down the rest of his coffee and set it on the desk.

“You need me, Gregory. And I need...a very nice retirement. I am willing to sell the properties to the city. If you don’t want to deal with them, sell them to the developer.”

“I’m not even sure if he’d be willing to buy them,” Gregory said.

“That’ll be your problem, not mine.” Stodwell twisted a wide gold ring on his finger. “I left a report with your assistant of how much is owed to me by various tenants. Obviously, those monies will be included in the selling price, which the city can recoup however, and whenever, it wishes.”

Gregory thought for a moment. “I need time to review everything and discuss it with city council.”

“You have sixty days.”

Gregory quickly glanced down at his desk calendar.

Stodwell grinned. “Don’t worry. The deadline falls after the election. I’m doing you a favor, Mayor. I could sell outright to the developer.” He lifted his hands and shrugged. “Though I’d make far less money on the deal because—”

“They would be less likely to buy at your asking price because of all the repairs that need to be done,” Gregory concluded.

“Exactly. When I realized that you intended to keep most of the downtown buildings intact, that’s when I made the decision to sell and get out now, while I could still make a little bit of profit, and the city can still make good use of them.”

Gregory nodded, even though Stodwell’s comment irked him. He knew the man didn’t care a bit about Bay Point. He was just out to make a fast buck, and it was up to Gregory to make sure that he wasn’t going to do it at Bay Point’s expense.

“We’ll have to see if we can work your buildings into the development and construction schedule,” Gregory reasoned.

“Are you still going to tear the carousel down first?”

“Yes, plus, a few other buildings will be razed to make way for new condos and town houses, as part of the multiuse lifestyle center that will be built. The rest will remain, and the exteriors will be renovated. If the city buys your properties, we can perhaps schedule the renovations in phase two.”

Stodwell nodded. “This redevelopment idea of yours. It’s a good plan, Mayor. One that will far outlive you and me combined. I urge you and city council to consider my offer.”

Gregory leaned his hip against his desk. “I can’t guarantee that we will be able to purchase the properties at the price you want. I have to be mindful of the budget.”

“All I can do is ask, Mayor. If we can’t do a deal, I’m sure the developer will be interested in this opportunity. But if he buys it, you’d lose some measure of control over what happens with the buildings, other than what’s covered under existing commercial zoning regulations, of course.”

Gregory’s heart suddenly constricted in his chest. Stodwell owned the building that Vanessa’s flower shop was in, as well as Lucy’s Bar and Grille and some others in the same block. He knew the day was coming when he’d have to oversee the collection process of all the past-due business taxes, and he was dreading it. Plus, he knew that city council would likely want to raise rents to help cover the costs of purchasing Stodwell’s commercial properties.

Both would drastically affect his popularity with Bay Point voters.

“I just want to be sure that the residents and store owners will not suffer undue harm. I wanted to gain their trust before—”

Stodwell held up a pudgy hand. “Wait a minute. They elected you the mayor of Bay Point. You already earned their trust four years ago.”

“And I don’t want to lose it, either.”

The man laughed. “You’ve got a lot of things to learn about politics, son.”

“That may be so, but how to piss off my constituency is not one of them.”

“When they see the end result, they won’t be mad. In fact, I’m willing to bet that they’ll thank you.” Stodwell paused a moment. “Need I remind you of the donation made to your campaign by my company?”

Gregory clenched his stomach muscles in disgust. He hated being made to feel as if he could be bought. It was the one thing he despised about politics.

“Your support is graciously appreciated.”

Stodwell stood. “You know, Gregory, your father and I go back a long ways. It would be a shame if you lost this election.”

“I don’t plan on losing,” he said, forcing his tone to be relaxed.

He watched Stodwell wrest his chubby arms into his too-small suit jacket, a visual reminder of the dangers of eating too many doughnuts.

“Well, Mayor. I’m glad to hear you’re so confident. But sometimes the best-laid plans have a quirky way of going awry.”

The two men shook hands.

“I’ll be in touch,” Gregory said, and closed the door behind him.

He walked over to the window, pressed his forehead against the glass and stared down at the carousel. The damn thing never worked now, but it ran fine when he was a kid.

Back when he dreamed about riding it. When he thought just one ride would make his well-to-do family normal, not a constant source of envy or gossip.

He turned away from the window and punched the intercom button. “Mariella, please bring me the list of people who owe commercial-business-related taxes.”

When he’d originally received the list several weeks ago, he hadn’t paid very close attention to the names on it.

Now there was one name he hoped he wouldn’t see: Vanessa’s.