Philip kept his cool, though inside he felt like a hungry bear with a fine piece of meat within reach. “You don’t own this newspaper, Mayor Hanover.”
Hanover sucked in a breath, his eyes widening in shock. Philip wondered how anyone could be so consumed with power that they thought it was limitless.
“You obviously don’t know who you’re dealing with,” the mayor retorted, his voice hard but lower than the screaming level it had been before. “I have the power to put you out of business, young man.”
Philip picked up a paper on his desk and held it for the mayor to look at. He pointed at the number at the bottom of the first column on the page.
“Look at how many we sold, Mayor Hanover. Look at that number! We had to print through the day to meet the demand! I didn’t get to go to church yesterday! Your son and I worked the day through.”
As soon as he mentioned John, Philip thought he probably made a mistake.
And he was right.
The mayor puffed up with anger, his already large chest swelling up, the muscles along his arms bulging. Philip noticed he had balled his hands into fists. He tensed up at the thought that the man might take a swing at him. What about that article could possibly have stirred him up so badly?
“Mayor, what exactly do you find objectionable about the headline or the article?” Maybe he could distract the man from his anger over his own son’s involvement.
“From now on,” he said in a threatening voice. “You will run every article you plan to print through my office first.”
Resentment and anger flooded Philip’s body. “I don’t have time for that!” he exploded. “This is my newspaper! I will print the articles I deem worthy of printing!”
“Not without my say so!” The mayor’s face had turned a deep red, his round cheeks popping out like ripe apples. His salt and pepper mustache quivered as if it was angry, too.
“There is nothing wrong with this article, sir. You can file a complaint but the fact is, it has been printed and cannot be erased. We sold more copies than any other paper in the history of this town! Obviously, people want to read about things like this. And I’m quite sure the women’s theater will have sold out shows while they are here. What is the problem?”
“The problem, Jenkins, is that you didn’t say a word about it to me. I want to know what my people are reading out there.”
Philip’s eyebrows shot up. “Did you just say your people? Sir, being elected mayor does not make you a king. You can’t dictate everything. I need to sell as many papers as possible to keep my business going. I will write what the citizens of this town want to read. And apparently, they want to read about the women’s theater group.”
Philip went around his desk and through the door into the lobby. He didn’t stop until he got to the front door despite the mayor yelling at him from behind. “Where are you going? I’m not done talking to you!”
Philip turned around at the door. He glared at the businessman with disdain. “Please leave my office.”
The mayor was enraged but stomped out of the office, swinging one arm with a tight fist at the end as he went. He stopped directly in front of Philip when they were practically nose to nose. Philip resisted the urge to take a step back.
He shot daggers at the man with his eyes, mentally daring him to take a swing.
“You misunderstand, Jenkins. I know you are in debt on your back taxes. One word from me and they will be called in. Full amount. No extensions or payment arrangements. You will owe more than you can handle to spend, won’t you?”
Tingles ran over Philip. The fear of losing his printing shop and having it taken over by someone who would be at the mayor’s beck and call struck him hard, giving him chills that lifted up every hair on his body.
He couldn’t lose his business.
He couldn’t.
“You can’t do that,” he growled, finally stepping away from the vile man. “You don’t have the authority.”
Hanover let out a brief chortle. “Of course I do. I have it right here.” He tapped the breast pocket of his suit jacket. “And when you can’t pay, we’ll take your business, whether it’s worth more than you owe or not.”
Rage boiled up in Philip. He came very close to punching the mayor right in the face. He pictured himself kicking him, pummeling him, beating him down.
But he couldn’t do anything. He had to hold his temper. Being in prison wouldn’t be any better.
“Would you really do that to me?” Philip asked, barely able to speak.
Hanover tilted his head to the side. “You’ve tasked me, Jenkins. Make sure you don’t do that again. Run all of your articles through me first unless you already know they will be approved.” He lifted one arm and pointed at the paper still sitting on the desk in Philip’s office. “That kind will not be approved. You know what I want to read about and what I want advertised. And it’s not that!”
Philip swallowed hard. He couldn’t say anything. If he did, he might get himself in trouble. He didn’t nod or shake his head. He just stared at the hated man.
The mayor plopped his hat on his head and stomped through the entrance, stopping short when he nearly ran over a shocked Mary, who was standing there, her face white as a sheet, her eyes wide.
“Excu-” He stopped when he saw who it was. He grunted, turning his eyes from Mary to Philip, who was mortified to see Mary standing there. The mayor’s eyes moved between them several times before he took on a satisfied look and sneered. “It figures. I’ll thank you, Miss Ross, not to speak about matters that have to do with the school with people who will spread lies and make things worse than they really are.”
Mary opened her mouth but didn’t seem to find the words.
Philip found them for her. He stepped out on the small walkway in front of the printing office, forcing the mayor to move out of the way.
“The budget for the school is a matter of public record, Mayor Hanover,” he said in a cool voice, putting one arm around Mary’s shoulders and directing her toward the doorway. He walked behind her, putting both his hands on her shoulders, guiding her in. He kept his eyes on the mayor. “Seems to me a mayor should know that already. Wouldn’t you think?”
“I hope we are in agreement here, Jenkins,” the mayor said before moving on. “I don’t want to have to come here again.”
Philip watched him, his eyes narrow and angry, the fury inside him still threatening to boil over. He realized he might have been squeezing Mary’s shoulders too hard so he let go as soon as they were both inside.
Mary turned to look up at him, her face taking on a brand-new look. He could tell she was sympathetic toward him now but she had a different look, too. Her eyes were wider. She was focused completely on him.
“I think we should talk,” he said. “There are some things you need to understand about me and this business.”
How could he tell her he couldn’t publish the stories anymore? The one he’d published yesterday had nearly doubled his normal sales. But one more article like that and the mayor would surely pull the plug on his business. Once he lost control of it, Hanover would assign someone who would do his every whim.
The thought almost paralyzed Philip. The mayor would have control over what so many people thought. He could lie about anything and get away with it.
Mary nodded, her voice soft when she responded, “I know, Philip. I know.”
Chapter 19
Mary couldn’t believe the pain she was feeling on Philip’s behalf. She’d come to the printing shophearing loud voices in Philip’s office. She saw the two men arguing through the darkened window and slowed down, not to listen to what they were saying but because that’s where she was headed anyway. She was already behind schedule, which seemed to have been happening a lot in the last few weeks.
She’d wanted more time to get to the schoolhouse that morning, so she’d planned to leave early and come by the office, hoping Philip was there. Hearing their angry voices frightened her at firs
t, so she hung back and inadvertently eavesdropped on their entire shouting match.
She heard the mayor’s threat. She saw Philip’s enraged reaction. Her immediate instinct was to attempt to defend Philip. But what could she, a 20-year-old teacher, say to the mayor of the city she lived in? She was a nobody.
Of all the people in Glenwood, she was definitely a nobody.
So, when Philip came out and took her by the shoulders, guiding her inside, she felt the last of her resolve drifting away. Her heart had just been taken and when they were inside, all she wanted to do was throw her arms around him and kiss him all over his handsome face. She wanted to comfort him, to conspire with him to fix all the problems in their lives, to be a partner till the end came.
She’d fallen in love.
She didn’t realize before what pressure Philip had really been under. He’d had people breathing down his neck the same way she had and it was the same thorn that was in her side. The mayor.
Her dislike for the mayor grew tenfold. It seemed that every good person in town was held under this thumb of tyranny.
“Come into my office, Mary, if you will,” he said in his smooth voice. “I’m glad you stopped by. We should talk.”
She nodded, hoping she could contain her feelings now that she was sure what she was feeling for the man. “I’d like that,” she said.
He held out his arm toward the office and she walked through the doorway, taking a seat in front of his desk, smoothing out her skirt underneath her.
She tried to ignore the butterflies whirling in her stomach, the heavy pounding of her heart, the way her hands wanted to shake while she wouldn’t let them. She concentrated on the floor for a moment, trying to gather wits together and act normal. She didn’t want to look like a fool in front of him now that she knew her feelings were real.
“I’ve been thinking about writing articles that aren’t on the normal topics for some time now,” Philip started. She moved her eyes up to his handsome face and let him talk, admiring everything about him, feeling giddy as a school girl but still able to concentrate and appreciate what he was saying to her. He swiveled in his seat, looking through the darkened window. “I’m sorry you had to see that. How much did you hear?”
“I heard everything that was said in front of the door,” Mary admitted. “I heard you two arguing and I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but I was coming to talk to you and…”
Philip shook his head, stopping her by lifting one hand. “Please don’t apologize. It’s likely you would have found out about this sooner or later. His threats mean I can’t publish any more articles like that and I knew you would notice and I would hear from you.” One side of his lips lifted in a grin. “I know you well enough by now to know that.”
Mary decided to take that as a compliment.
“I asked him a long time ago to lift the restrictions he’d put on my newspaper. He’s in control of the loan I took out at the bank because he owns the bank. He holds the power over these people and if they say jump, he will jump. These taxes were levied against this building when they were collecting taxes after the war. I was unable to pay them when I took over the company, and they have been working with me so far because the government disbanded the taxes.”
Mary nodded. She’d been keeping up with the local and federal government changes as much as she could. It irritated her that there was no focus whatsoever on topics that would interest women, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to be as knowledgeable as possible about what she could research and understand. She wanted to be able to answer whatever questions her students had, no matter how far reaching and abstract they might be to the topic being discussed.
“Mary,” Philip’s voice dropped. “If I continue to print articles discussing the topics we want to talk about, I could lose my business. I can’t let that happen. I don’t know how to get around this.”
Mary’s mood darkened. She frowned, looking away from him. There had to be a way. It was Hanover that was the problem. He needed to be replaced.
“If there was a way to let people know,” she said quietly, moving her eyes back to the man in front of her. “If we could let people know how corrupt and controlling Mayor Hanover is, they would elect a new mayor. We’d have a better chance getting what we need at the schoolhouse. You could print whatever stories you wanted to. Your overdue taxes could be pardoned!”
Philip studied her face with a look that made the butterflies come back to Mary’s stomach. “That’s very logical, Mary. But unfortunately, what can we do? Print a paper exposing him? If we did that, how many other people would be at risk? How many families would be affected by this?”
“What do you mean?” Mary asked.
Philip turned in his seat, leaning back and locking his hands under his chin. “Just think about it. If we expose him, it will expose the people he’s been paying off to do what he wants. That would likely lose them their jobs, which means families might starve.”
Mary frowned. “There must be something we can do. There must be!”
Philip looked around the room thoughtfully. After a moment he sighed, turning his eyes back to her. “We’re just going to have to put our heads together and see what we can come up with.” He paused, looking directly at her. She could tell there was something he wanted to tell her.
She sat patiently waiting, not wanting to deter him from telling her by appearing to pry.
“I want to tell you something in confidence, Mary. You must not tell anyone, especially Sarah. I know she is your best friend.”
Mary colored but couldn’t deny that was the truth. She nodded. “I swear I won’t tell anyone.”
“My assistant, John, is the mayor’s son.”
Mary nodded. That was something she already knew. She didn’t say anything.
Philip continued, “He and his father don’t get along. He is nothing like his father and has a conscience. He has agreed to… look around… his father’s study and see if he can find any proof of wrongdoing.”
Mary’s eyebrows shot up. “He’s willing to give his father up to the sheriff if he finds this proof? Are you sure he won’t get rid of it so no one can prove anything?”
Philip shook his head. “No. John can be trusted. We need to keep this under the table. No one must know. Can you keep the secret?”
Mary nodded. “Absolutely. I wouldn’t do anything to subvert your plans. I hope he finds what we need.”
“I’m glad you’re on board with this, Mary. I… I was hoping my thoughts wouldn’t scare you off. I’m not trying to get anyone hurt.”
Mary couldn’t help feeling compassionate toward Philip’s plight. She didn’t know what it was like to face losing a business personally built up from the ground floor but she did know what it was like to fight for freedom and independence. Losing that would be a devastating blow to her. She didn’t want Philip to be destitute and without his passion – his printing press, his newspaper.
The church bells bonged that it was turning eight am.
Mary felt a streak of panic slide through her. She shot to her feet.
“Oh dear! I need to get to the schoolhouse. The children will be there in half an hour and I haven’t gotten anything done yet!”
Philip stood up at the same time as she and came around the desk quickly. “I’m so sorry I took up your time this way.”
Mary shook her head. “I’ve been late for everything these days, sleeping in when I shouldn’t. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
She knew exactly what was wrong with her. And it wasn’t really a problem. Her newfound love for the man in front of her was actually quite exciting.
His Rainbow After the Rain Page 12