Downtown Billionaire

by Hannah Jo Abbott

  “The family business,” he said, as if that perfectly explained everything.

  She frowned at him. “But what does that mean?”

  “I oversee the properties and investments.”

  “Which are?” She felt her patience wearing as she tried pulling answers out of him.

  “Most of the buildings in downtown Pine Haven, and a few others around town. And some financial investments.”

  Lacey felt like she didn’t know any more than she did before she asked. But she gave it up.

  “You teach elementary school?”

  Why did he keep asking questions that told her he already knew the answers? “Yes.”

  He nodded again before coming around the chair to take a seat. Lacey watched as he blinked a few times and his lips pressed together forming a thin line.

  Lacey rolled her eyes. It was painful to see him trying to be polite. He must really dislike her to not be able to think of a single thing to talk about. No matter, she wasn’t here to make friends, she was here to save her library building. Thankfully, at that moment other committee members began to file in. The Head Librarian, Mary Jernigan, took the seat next to Lacey and the two chatted non-stop. Lacey could feel Andrew’s eyes on her, but only once did she glance his way. The disapproving look on his face was enough to make her keep her eyes on her friend until the meeting started.

  * * *

  Andrew wanted to kick himself underneath the table. That had been his chance to talk to her, and all he could do was ask terrible questions about her job. But then he couldn’t help watching her as she spoke with the other woman. She spoke so animatedly. She was striking, and even when he told himself to look away, he couldn’t quite pull his eyes from her. He liked watching her as she talked and moved her hands, as if that was the only way she could do it. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and a headband sat near the crown of her head, but as she spoke, her ponytail swished back and forth like a clock pendulum. He could feel himself smile on the inside, but he kept his expression stoic.

  When it was finally time, he cleared his throat and stood. “Thank you everyone for being here. Mr. Ramsey, thank you for serving on the committee and for giving me the opportunity to bring this idea to the table.” The councilman nodded and Andrew continued. “As you all know, we’re here to talk about the idea of building a new library.” He let out a deep breath before launching into the speech he had prepared and memorized.

  “A library is an important resource in any town. Not only is it a place for fiction books full of stores, adventures, and an escape from reality, but it’s also a place for educational resources and reference material for people of any age to learn and grow. Beyond that, libraries of today are a place where many people find the technology resources that aren’t available to them elsewhere. Computers, internet, printers, software; all of these things might not be in every home in our community. Most town libraries have this kind of technology available, but unfortunately, ours doesn’t. By building a new, updated building, we have the opportunity to add this valuable service and help our community grow.” He paused and looked around at each person sitting at the table. “I know when I was a kid, I learned a lot from books I read in the library. Times have changed since then, but our library hasn’t. My hope is to bring the library up to date and create the space and equipment necessary to have a fully functional library that offers the resources and services our community needs.” With that, he gave a little nod and took his seat.

  Around the table several people gave quiet applause. “Thank you, Mr. Hartley,” Councilman Ramsey said. He pushed the glasses up that had slid down the end of his nose and looked over a print out on the table. “I did some digging about the current building in the town records. It appears that your grandparents have owned the building for a very long time, and they leased it to the town for the purpose of building a library.”

  “Yes, sir.” Andrew nodded. “They started it before I was born, it was an important project to them.”

  Mr. Ramsey cleared his throat. “Yes, it appears that way. Pine Haven went through some financial hardships several years back, and according to the records they weren’t able to pay for the lease of the building, but Mr. and Mrs. Hartley let them slide on the payment. It seems that the town hasn’t paid for the building since that time.”

  A few small gasps were heard around the table. But Andrew only smiled. “I didn’t know that until the other day, but it sounds like my grandparents. Actually it sounds like my grandmother, and my grandfather was known not to argue with her when she made up her mind.” Laughter filled the room. “But that’s exactly the reason this is so important to me. My grandmother didn’t want the town to lose the library then, and I think she would want it to grow and improve for a new day.”

  “Yes, I think we can all agree that a new library building is a good idea,” the councilman said. “The question is how?”

  Andrew cleared his throat as he felt all the eyes in the room on him. He had thought long and hard about this, trying to decide how to offer to pay for the entire building without letting the cat out of the bag about how much money the family…he…had.

  “We did a building fundraiser for the community center a few years ago,” Mary spoke up. “And we raised part of the money for the new fire truck.”

  “Yes, but that took years,” Lacey said.

  “But if we did a concentrated effort, we could work more quickly. And the town has a budget for new library resources, we just don’t use much of it because we don’t have anywhere to put more books,” said Mary.

  Andrew spoke up. “The Hartley family would like to contribute financially to the project as well. Our family has been a part of the library since the beginning and wants to help with the cost of a new facility. And I think there are other foundations that would be interested in helping out.”

  “But fundraisers will help the town feel like they are a part of the process too,” Lacey said.

  Andrew glanced over at her. Which side was she on anyway? First town fundraisers won’t work, but now the town should be involved? Or does she just want to disagree with everything I say? No words came, so he simply nodded in her direction.

  “I agree,” Mary said. “The town will want to be involved. We could host a ‘Friends of the Library’ dinner, maybe have people do a book drive where they donate the cost of their favorite book. I have lots of ideas,” she smiled. “I guess I’ve been waiting on an opportunity to use them.”

  “That’s wonderful,” Andrew said. “If you don’t mind, I’ve taken the liberty of drawing up some very primitive plans for a new building. All of this is just in the idea stage, so at this point, anything is up for discussion, but after looking at models of other libraries in towns the size of Pine Haven, as well as bigger towns, this is something like what I would like to do.” He pulled out large color images of a two-story building. “The total space would be around twelve thousand square feet, on two levels. Perhaps even adding a basement floor as well, which would give more square footage. The first floor would hold much of the collection: children’s books, adult nonfiction and fiction, magazines, movies, etc. The second floor would be a reference collection as well as a technology center.” He flipped to another page showing an inside view of the drawings. “Several group study rooms would also be upstairs, this would help students have a place outside of school to gather for group projects, or extracurricular club meetings. And they could be used for book clubs, or really, small gatherings of any kind.” He took his eyes off the paper and looked around to gauge the reactions. Everyone looked pleased with the ideas. Well, almost everyone. “Like I said, it’s just a preliminary idea.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Hartley. I know you’ve thought about this for a while,” said Mr. Ramsey.

  “Why do we have to tear down the old building?” Lacey blurted out. Her words surprised him and Andrew turned to see her face. She stared at him, her eyes accusing him of an evil plot. When he didn’t respond, she threw h
er arms in the air and spoke again. “It just seems like a waste of a lovely old building. Couldn’t we work with what we have?”

  “I umm, I don’t know,” Andrew stuttered. “The building is just very old, and from what I’ve seen it would need repairs to the current space, and adding on would be problematic.”

  “So?” She challenged him. “Why can’t we do the repairs?”

  “I’m just not sure it’s worth it.”

  Her eyes grew wide and she seemed to throw darts at him with her stare. “Not worth it?” She practically yelled. “Not worth it? So we should just tear down town history because it’s a little run down?”

  Andrew felt his own fire building inside. “No, I’m a fan of town history. But this is purely logic. The building is old and small and to add on to it and bring it up to date would cost more than it’s worth.”

  “How do you know? Are you a contractor? Or an architect? Or a technology guru?” She looked around the table at the other committee members. “I think we owe it to the building,” she looked back at Andrew, “And the legacy of Mr. and Mrs. Hartley to consider the idea of updating the current building instead of tearing it down.”

  The tension in the room was thick and no one spoke for several beats. Finally, the councilman spoke up. “Is anyone else in favor of considering keeping the old building instead of starting from scratch?”

  Andrew watched and waited for someone to speak up.

  “I don’t think there’s any harm in considering it,” Mary said, giving Lacey a small smile.

  “Very well. Mr. Hartley, have you done any financial projections for the project?”

  “Yes, sir,” he reached for the papers in his briefcase.

  Mr. Ramsey held up his hands. “Let’s wait on that. Since the committee is somewhat divided, at our next meeting I would like for you to have a proposal for a new building, and one for repairing, updating, and building onto the existing building. This will give us ideas for our next step. I think that’s enough for our first meeting.”

  “But I brought notes…” Lacey began.

  “Thank you Miss Franklin, we’ll be happy to hear them at our next meeting.”

  He closed the meeting by setting the time for the next one and thanking everyone for coming. Andrew gathered his things and tried to smile at Lacey when he turned to go, but she had already wrapped her books in her arms and he watched her leave in a huff. Oh well, I can’t help it that she doesn’t like progress.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Lacey walked around her tiny apartment taking out her frustration on the laundry. She hurriedly stuffed one load from the washer to the dryer, then pushed the sheets from her bed, which she had ripped off with a flourish, into the washing machine.

  “Who does he think he is anyway?” She raised her voice to no one but herself. “Just because his grandparents had money and bought up half the town doesn’t mean he can just tear down whatever he wants.” Despite her ranting, she knew that his family owned the building and actually he could tear it down at his whim. But why? Why does he have to pick on the one place that has meant the most to me since childhood?

  She carried yet another load of laundry to the living room and dropped it on the floor. It was a lot of laundry for one person, but she knew it was her own fault since she had waited weeks until she was totally out of clothes to run the machines. Grabbing the remote, she flipped on the TV and planned to let her mind escape in a comedy while she folded the clothes. She sat on the floor and leaned her back against the couch as she began sorting clothes. But she was soon pulled out of her solitude when her phone rang. She picked it up and saw her mother’s name on the screen: Miranda Franklin. Lacey rolled her eyes and considered stuffing it under the laundry and pretending she couldn’t hear it. But she was always too afraid it might be an actual emergency, so she picked it up on the fifth ring. “Hi,” she said, her tone flat.

  “Hi, honey,” Miranda’s words slurred and Lacey knew that she had probably been drinking all morning. “How are you, sweetie?”

  “I’m fine. Is everything alright?”

  “Oh yes, everything is perfect. Just wonderful.” Her words dripped with dishonesty.

  Lacey rolled her eyes again. “Is there something you need?”

  “No, why? Are you too busy to talk to your own mother?”

  “No. It’s not that. I just wanted to know if you were calling because you need something.”

  “And that’s the only reason I call?”

  Lacey wanted to scream, “Yes!” But she held her tongue and sighed. “No. What’s up?”

  “Oh, nothing. I’m down in Florida right now. Just about to go out on the beach, laying in the condo right now.”

  Lacey couldn’t help the scene that filled her imagination. Her mother might want her to think she was in a lavish hotel enjoying the beach. But Lacey knew it was more likely a run-down condo where she was staying with her latest fling. “Oh, how long have you been there?”

  “Just a couple of days. Dave wanted to take a trip.”

  Lacey didn’t know who Dave was, and she knew she probably never would. “That’s nice,” Lacey said, even though that wasn’t close to what she thought.

  “So your sister is busy and your brothers both have work. But I thought maybe since you’re off from school, you might want to come down and visit with me.”

  Uh oh, here it comes. “Well, I don’t know if I can. I’m not teaching during the summer, but I’ve taken a part-time job at the library.”

  The sound of something crashing came across the phone as if her mother had thrown something. “Don’t give me that. You can take off from a part-time job to come see your mother.”

  Lacey sighed. “Mom, what do you need?”

  “Nothing!” She shouted, and Lacey heard the phone click. Against her better judgement she pressed the button to call her mother back. “What?” Miranda yelled.

  “Mom, just tell me. What do you need?”

  “I need someone to come down here and get me.”

  “Why? Where’s….what’s his name?”

  “Dave.” It sounded like Miranda spoke through clenched teeth. “He’s gone. He left me here with no car, and only the first night paid for.”

  “So you also need money.” Lacey’s voice was flat.

  “Yes, of course.”

  “I can’t come down there to get you. I have work. I still have bills to pay in the summer. Is there a friend you could call? I can wire you some money if someone can come get you.”

  “Just forget it. I’ll figure it out on my own.” Miranda hung up and this time Lacey didn’t call back.

  She didn’t turn the movie back on either, but let her head fall back against the couch. “Ugh. Why? Why do you do this to me?” She racked her brain to remember the last time she had heard from Miranda. It had to have been three months, maybe four. Where was she that time? “Somewhere in Georgia,” Lacey told herself. She didn’t remember the details, but her brother had gone to the rescue that time. Lacey had done her fair share, since technically Miranda still lived in Alabama, so Lacey was closer than her brother in Georgia, or her other brother and sister in Tennessee. They had all been smart enough to get far away. “But I can’t this time. She’s going to have to figure it out, or stop making stupid choices all the time.” Lacey stood and went to the kitchen to get herself a Diet Coke, knowing all the time that her mother would keep doing the same thing she’d been doing all of Lacey’s life.

  Later in the afternoon, when the credits rolled on the movie and Lacey had finished another load of laundry and eaten an early lunch, she rose from the couch and got dressed for work. She liked that the library was pretty easy going, but she still wanted to look professional. Slipping on a pair of skinny jeans and a sleeveless navy blue tunic, she felt confident and ready. She slipped her book and keys into her bag and grabbed another Diet Coke from the fridge before heading out the door.

  Lacey enjoyed the short drive to work, but thoughts of her mom plagued her mind
. It had been this way for a long time. Since Lacey graduated high school and Miranda lost the house Lacey had grown up in. Not that she missed that house, if anything she had done all she could to get away from it. As she pulled into the library parking lot, she stopped and stared at the building. Tears started to fill her eyes, but she brushed them away. Memories flooded her mind as she thought about herself at a younger age. She could see herself, shaggy brown hair falling in her eyes, and her worn clothes that had been passed down from her sister or her cousins. But the first day she had walked into this library, her life changed. A smile crept over her face as she remembered Mrs. Simmons, the librarian, who had taken her hand in hers and shown her to the children’s section. Lacey hadn’t known how to read very well, but Mrs. Simmons handed her book after book, showing Lacey the sounds the letters made and which words didn’t follow the rules. Lacey started finding more and more time to go to the library. After school, on Saturday afternoons, the only day she wasn’t there was on Sunday, when the library was closed.

  Lacey brushed at her eyes again, remembering how her mother would shout, “Where have you been?” when Lacey walked in the door. But Miranda would only roll her eyes and go back to her bedroom.

  “I won’t let anyone tear this building down,” she renewed her resolve. “That house is gone, any semblance of a mother I have is gone, and I don’t care. But they can’t take this away from me. They just can’t.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The sound of church bells ringing made Andrew’s spirit soar. He smiled as he thought how much he loved living in this small town where church bells still sounded on Sundays. His parents had pulled out of the driveway right in front of him, and now he parked beside them in the church lot.

  “Morning, Son,” Patrick Hartley said. He tugged his navy blue blazer and straightened his tie.

  “Morning,” Andrew returned.

  “Hi, Sweetheart.” Theresa Hartley came around the car to give her son a hug. He could smell the same perfume she had worn for as long as he could remember. Just breathing it in made him feel at home.