by Judy Kentrus
“No comment. See you tomorrow night. I love you.”
The reply he was expecting was locked in her throat. “Night, Sean.”
She was more confused than ever, needing to do the right thing. There had to be a way to satisfy both Sean and the citizens of Beacon Pointe.
Chapter 14
Nancy took her seat at the long table in the formal meeting room where the town held its monthly meetings. They’d recently added a smart screen to the high-ceilinged room so that reports and events were easily presented to the citizens. Sean would be able to use the board to make his presentation to the combined council.
The wooden pew-like seats where the citizens usually sat were vacant. This was a hush-hush, closed-door hearing. It was a joke, because the entire town knew the importance of this evening’s session.
On her way into the meeting hall, she encountered more than two dozen people congregating in the lobby in front of the double entrance doors. She also noted representatives from the local newspaper and the company that provided the town’s cable television service. A reporter had thrust a handheld microphone in her face and asked her opinion on the significance of tonight’s vote. She’d replied, “No comment.”
Upon entering the chamber, she felt the eyes of ten men and five women follow her movements. She didn’t have to be a psychic to know the question that filled their minds. How was she going to vote? She hated that she had the power to make or break the future of the town she loved.
She’d dressed formally in a two-piece navy suit and a high-neck silk blouse. Her hair was confined at the back of her neck like an old-fashioned schoolmarm’s. A thin gold chain draped the front of the jacket, and she wore matching gold hoops. With her knee-high black boots, no one could see her gold ankle bracelet, a gift from Sean.
She’d been dreading this meeting and felt like a fraud. Sleep hadn’t come easy, but she was confident she’d made the right decision.
Heart-wise, she felt a great deal better having spoken to the man she loved. They needed to get through this session before they could even consider a future together. They’d both made so many mistakes, but their love had never waned and hopefully would be strong enough to conquer the next hurdle. George had been correct, loving someone wasn’t easy.
Everyone looked up when one of the tall chamber doors opened. Sean, dressed in a black suit, walked in, followed by two other gentlemen. Both were strikingly handsome and dressed just as formally. They were a number of years younger than Sean and looked familiar. It took a moment to recall where she’d seen them. She and Kaitlyn had attended Lincoln Adams’ wedding, and they’d been his best men. She recalled that they were the owners of a large architectural and engineering firm. She didn’t remember seeing their names on the initial building plans and silently questioned the reason for their presence.
Mayor Curtis had preened herself for the occasion and introduced Sean, Scott Landis and Russell Long. Nancy offered a tense smile to each man and shook their hands. Sean held her hand a little longer and gave her fingers a confident squeeze.
“Thank you for coming this evening,” the mayor began. “As a formality, I’m going to ask Mr. Harrigan and his architect and head engineer to make their presentation. Then we’ll put this all-important piece of business up for a vote.”
Nancy suffered the weight of the mayor’s eyes when she directed the last of her statement in her direction.
“As you all know, we’ve agreed to a unanimous decision. Mr. Harrigan, the floor is yours.”
Sean moved to the front of the table and carried his tablet. “Thank you, Mayor Curtis. I’m sure you’ll be pleased with what we have prepared.”
Do it now. Her palms were sweaty, and she used the edge of the table to steady herself when she stood. Her eyes settled on Sean and hoped he’d see the love she had for him in her eyes.
“Before Mr. Harrigan begins, I ask the council’s indulgence. Due to a conflict of interest, I am excluding myself from the vote as a member of the town council and head of the Planning Commission.”
She ignored the low murmurs and shocked expressions on their faces. She never looked back and hurried out of the chamber, using a side door. Her boot heels clicked on the old wooden steps and echoed in the stairwell.
The night wind cut right through her when she rushed toward the parking lot. She dug in the pocket of her suit jacket for her keys, pressed the button to release the lock and got in the cold car. “I’m not a coward for excusing myself from the vote. Legally and morally, it was the right thing to do,” she said over and over again as she started the engine.
She left the parking lot and drove through the deserted streets. Beams from streetlights shone on the curbs and snow-covered lawns of the aged Victorian homes, while huge trees slept under a winter moon. This was only part of the quiet beauty she wanted to preserve. She needed a tissue to wipe her runny nose, but realized she’d left her purse and phone in her office at City Hall.
It didn’t matter. She didn’t want to talk to anyone. She didn’t want to know about the vote. She wanted to be alone. She wanted to curl up on their ratty old couch and cry, but that wasn’t about to happen. She had no control of the tears of relief that ran down her cheeks, giving freedom to the tension that had been building these many weeks as she’d carried the weight of the town on her shoulders.
Would Sean understand that she’d changed her mind just for him? Walking away had been her only option. Tomorrow she’d submit her resignation from the council and Planning Commission.
It was after two in the morning when she returned home. Kaitlyn was working overnight, so the house was empty. She walked through the rooms of the old Victorian house and climbed the carpet-lined stairs to her bedroom that overlooked the front of the house. She stripped and crawled into bed naked, wishing Sean was there to hold her.
An hour and a half later, their presentation was over, and Sean received a unanimous decision to accept his proposal. The council members were ecstatic and had gone out to inform the citizens of their decision and talk to the reporters.
Sean looked at his two friends who had worked their asses off to make this presentation possible. “What the hell happened?” he asked. “Nancy Jean surprised the hell out of me, along with everyone else in the room. I spoke to her last evening, and she never said a word.”
“She must really love you,” Russell said, putting his iPad in his briefcase.
“What do you mean?”
“Sean, you can be very thick at times.” Russell smirked at his longtime friend and business associate. “Rather than vote against you, she excused herself altogether. That took a lot of guts.”
“Damn! I thought she didn’t want to hear our presentation. All this was for nothing.”
“No, you got your plan through and the support of everyone on the council,” Scott said. “You’re also going to make us a lot of money since you’ve accepted our exclusive bid to bring your dream to life.”
“I’ve got to find her.”
“That would be a good idea,” Russell said. “We were going to invite you to join us in Atlantic City to celebrate, but you’ve got bigger problems to solve. Our plane is picking us up in the morning.”
Sean shook hands with each of the men. “Thanks again for all your help with this.”
“No problem. We’ve both experienced how much being in love can mess up a guy’s brain. We’ll be in touch,” Russell said.
“Go find your lady!” Scott hollered as the men left the chamber.
The antechamber was empty when he exited the front of the building. Unfamiliar with the area, he pulled out of the parking lot and just drove down a deserted street. The beams from a string of streetlights highlighted snow-dusted sand dunes that bordered one side of the two-lane road. The opposite side of the street was a mixture of old Victorian homes and small trendy shops, closed for the night. The quiet was eerie, but the landscape was beautifully serene. This was what Nancy wanted to preserve.
He call
ed her twice, and when she didn’t answer, he left a hurried message. “Sweetheart, please call me back. I really need to see you.”
He’d been so occupied with leaving his frantic messages that he wasn’t aware of the flashing red and blue lights behind him. It took a short blast of the siren from the police car to make him pull over to the curb.
“No, not tonight.” He glanced into his side-view mirror and moaned. Of all cops to pull him over… He tossed his cell phone onto the seat and lowered his window.
“Well, if it isn’t the snake in sheep’s clothing.”
“Kaitlyn—excuse me, Officer Griffin. That’s supposed to a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I don’t believe I was going over the speed limit. What am I guilty of?”
“Other than breaking my mother’s heart and being a rat fink, you were talking on your cell phone while driving.”
“That’s really reaching, but the law is the law. I get that you don’t like me, but that doesn’t matter right now. I’ve been trying to reach your mother, and she isn’t picking up her phone.”
“Probably because she doesn’t want to talk to you. The scuttlebutt is everyone voted in your favor. Do you want to shove the decision down her throat?”
Sean’s patience had reached the breaking point, and he risked being arrested. “Officer Griffin, you can be a real bitch, and I mean that with loving affection. Where the hell is your mother?”
“You know, Sean, it takes a man with a big set of balls to call me a bitch. I respect that. She’s a big girl and can take care of herself. Now why do you need to get in touch with my mother?”
“It’s going to take more time than just a traffic stop to explain. Is there a place open this time of night where we can go for coffee?”
“I’m due for a break. Follow me to police headquarters.”
“Really?”
“Don’t sweat it. We’ve got a decent break room and a machine that puts out a great cup of coffee. Oh, and I’ll cut you a break and give you a warning.”
The next morning, Nancy avoided the coffee shop and people in general. She made a quick stop at town hall to get her purse and then drove straight to her law office. She was in a bitchy mood and decided to be antisocial. She’d even avoided talking to Kaitlyn. They usually had coffee together in the morning after she came in from working the overnight shift.
Her surprise actions of the previous evening had to be the hot topic of the day, even more than the decision the town council had made on the hotel. She also wanted to avoid being asked, What was the conflict of interest that drove you from the meeting?
She’d turned her phone off, anticipating an explosion of calls. Before exiting the council meeting, she’d caught the shocked expression on Sean’s face. She owed him an explanation, but she wasn’t ready to talk to him either.
Her law office was on the second floor of a restored Victorian home, along with the law library and office lounge. She made herself a cup of coffee before sitting at her desk to review her appointment calendar on her laptop. Evelyn, her admin of ten years, had scheduled interviews for a new law associate at ten and eleven and one this afternoon.
As far as anyone was concerned, she was unavailable. That included the mayor and other city council members. Kaitlyn had left a message with Evelyn saying that after school she would be going to the library. She’d catch a nap at her friend Lori’s house, and then would go directly into work.
The day progressed on a quiet note, especially since she wasn’t interrupted by pesky phone calls. The three applicants were young, eager and excellent candidates. Thinking back to when Nelson had hired her as a law clerk, she remembered having the enthusiasm of a wet noodle. Thank God he’d seen her potential.
The pounding in her head that had started the moment she’d awakened that morning had reached epic proportions by midafternoon. She’d decided to call it a day and shut down her laptop when her private in-house phone rang.
“Nancy, there is a gentleman out here who insists he has an appointment to be interviewed for the position as your new law associate.”
“There’s nothing on my schedule, so he must have made a mistake. Please reschedule him.”
“I already tried that, but he insists you see him this afternoon. He says it’s a matter of life and death.”
“I really don’t have time for theatrics, but I’ll give him an interview. Please do me a favor and ring my phone in a half hour.”
Nancy didn’t bother to refresh her lipstick, but ran a comb through her hair. She took a few extra seconds to put on her chocolate-brown blazer over her cream blouse. If the candidate was good, she didn’t want him to think he was going to work for a hag.
She stood up when her door opened, and her breath caught in her chest when Sean walked in, carrying a slim briefcase. Unlike her other candidates, he was dressed in a tailored gray business suit. His tie was a lighter blue than his shirt. He looked so good, it took all of her effort not to jump up and throw herself into his arms.
Before she could ask what he was doing there, he opened his briefcase and withdrew his résumé and placed it in the center of her desk. She didn’t know what game he was playing, but decided to go along.
“Thank you for seeing me on such short notice,” Sean began. “I feel I’m the perfect candidate to fill your law associate position.”
“I’ll be the judge of that. Please have a seat.”
Silently, Sean was praying his last tactic would work. She’d walked out on his surprise last evening. Come hell or high water, she was not walking out on him again. His talk with Kaitlyn had revealed Nancy had already started interviews for a new associate. They’d parted on very good terms, and she’d given him the green light to pursue the love of his life.
He sat in one of the armchairs in front of her desk and crossed one leg over his knee, trying to appear relaxed. Inside, he felt like he was sitting on a time bomb. It wasn’t his imagination that she appeared tired, but she was still very beautiful. All he could think about was holding her in his arms and making this torment go away.
She picked up his résumé, and he studied the different expressions on her face while she reviewed his qualifications. Normally, it was three pages long, but he’d eliminated all the bullshit. He was applying for a position that would affect both their lives.
When she finished critiquing his experience, she placed the résumé in front of her and folded her hands over the cream-colored paper. He relaxed a little when she gave him a friendly smile.
“Your résumé is very impressive, Mr. Harrigan, but I’m surprised you are currently unemployed. Why did you resign from your previous position?”
“I owned an investment firm and sold my interest to my partners.”
“Why?”
“Because it cost me the most important thing in my life. I lost the woman I love twice, and I’ll risk any and all that I have and own to get her back.”
Nancy bit back a grin. “Sounds like this woman is very special.”
“She’s risked a great deal for me, including her reputation and integrity.”
“Maybe she felt it was the right thing to do, but we’re digressing. What do you expect to bring to the job?”
“I’ve got a master’s degree in accounting and over twenty years’ experience in investment banking. I’d like to show you the deal I recently put together.”
Sean took his tablet from his briefcase and moved around to her side of the desk. “I hope this will be to your liking.”
Nancy didn’t know what to make of Sean’s performance. He’d actually sold his holdings in his investment firm and wanted to work for her. He was either crazy or very much in love. She prayed it was the latter. She forced herself to focus on his tablet and not the strength of his hip pressing into her shoulder as he leaned close to maneuver through the screens on the electronic device. He was so close she could feel his warm breath on her skin. Oh, how she wanted to press her forehead against his cheek.
“What do you think?”<
br />
She closed her mind to the things she really wanted to do and sat up straighter in her chair. Her eyes widened at the impressive PowerPoint presentation in front of her eyes.
“I love the unique, old-world design of these Victorian homes. Where are you going to build them?”
“There will be eight two-unit condos built on the land that was slated for the hotel, only they will be set back so the view of the beach isn’t disrupted. The architect designed the homes to meet the town’s strict building codes and zoning restrictions. There’ll be an indoor pool in the clubhouse as well as an outdoor pool.”
“They’re gorgeous and will fit right in with the surrounding homes.”
“I’m not done. I purchased additional property already zoned for commercial use to build quaint shops with a similar Victorian theme. There’ll be space for twenty specialty retail stores and a restaurant. The entire project allows for additional growth at a later date.”
“I am truly overwhelmed. What about your hotel and conference center?”
“Remember when we had dinner at the Turtle Club? You told me exactly how you felt about the idea of the hotel being built in Beacon Pointe and suggested it be constructed somewhere else. I took your advice. Arrangements are being made to establish it two towns over, and our investors won’t be losing a thing. This lets your mayor and the two councilmen who invested in the original plan off the hook, meaning there’ll be no conflicts of interest.”
Nancy shifted over when Sean perched on the side of her desk. “I’ve been busting my ass over this the past week and a half. Scott and Russell really came through for me. This is what I presented last night, and the vote was unanimous. The condos will bring in tax-paying residents, and the retail shops will provide jobs. My partners thought I was crazy, and I had them working day and night relocating the hotel. Will it become a casino? That’s not my problem, because I’ve withdrawn my financial backing. I’m concentrating my efforts and money on the condos and shops. This was your surprise.”
“I’m so sorry, Sean. When you said everything would work out, I should have had more faith in you.”