“I’m glad that you’re enjoying yourself.” Major tried to take her hand.
She anticipated his move and started digging in her purse. This stops tonight. She would be better off sitting home, alone, rather than continuing to go out with Major. There was no zing, no physical attraction between them. It wasn’t a romantic relationship and she really didn’t think they were friends. Maybe he was gay and so closeted that he was content to be the guy who accompanied her places. Christ, what did that say about her? Major wasn’t into her and Finn, if she had her way, would be in her in a heartbeat.
This was truly a fucked up mess.
****
At dinner last week, her old boss, Wes, and his wife, Ina, had seemed older and frail. She would always love them for giving her a job in their accounting business. Moe had stopped in for dessert and Wes asked for her help with the audit of the City’s books. He admitted that the work was taking longer than expected. His report was due in a month and a half.
There was no way that Hale would let Wes fail in his duty. He and Ina had given her such a gift when she was floundering. In those early years in Florida, they sent her letters filled with support and love.
Hale looked around the dining room table, these three people had sent her letters and made calls when she moved away. They had always supported her. She quickly tried to run through her calendar for the next month. She flashed a smile that told them that she was going to agree. “What’s this going to take?” She had heard Wes’s estimate, but she also wanted the others to share their thoughts. Most people had no idea how long a thorough audit could take. Working with government always added more time, typically there were extra steps, like employment approval involved.
“If you mean time wise, quite a bit, I fear.” Wes looked defeated.
“I’m used to putting in ten to fifteen hours a day going over financials, so the time doesn’t scare me. I have some software that Wes might not be familiar with, something I’ve worked with in the past that might speed up the process. I’m assuming there is some sort of vetting process before I can be hired?” Hale got up from the table to get a notebook from her bag so that she could make notes.
“Do you want some paper, honey?” Ina waived a steno pad and pen at Hale.
“Perfect.” Hale’s smile was genuine. In their town, it was cliché that the wife worked in her husband’s office, however Ina was an efficient assistant. Hale was certain that she could pass the C.P.A. exam on the first try.
Hale opened the cover and then glanced at Wes and Moe. “So, what are we talking about?”
“I think your C.V. will be fine, along with a letter from your former firm in Tampa.” Moe listed.
“Will you have any problem with your old firm?” Wes asked.
“No, I don’t think so. I had to sign a Non-Compete but it is very narrow. I can e-mail a copy to you, so you can look it over.”
“That would be good. Moe can decide if you need to include that in your packet,” Wes directed.
“Since I am coming on as an employee of Wes’s, I think it will be fine. I had Izzy go over the N.C., so he can answer any questions.” She continued to make notes on her pad.
“That was smart to use Izzy.” Ina smiled at Hale. “But you were always bright. When you were younger, you didn’t believe it, but we saw it right away.”
Hale felt her heart swell with love for Ina. “Working for you all, well, it helped me, especially when I moved away. I had a direction and I needed that at the beginning.”
“You’ll have to keep track of your hours, and we’ll combine them with mine and turn them in to the council for review and payment. Now on to the critical point, I can’t pay you anywhere near what you charged working for that big firm.” Wes looked full of regret as he finished.
“I assumed that. I won’t say that my time isn’t worth big money, but between us, I consider this my civic duty.” Hale gave a rueful chuckle. “I’ll survive on the established rate.”
“Unfortunately, Wes can’t show you the work until you get approval from the council. I think I can push this through with just an approval from the mayor and the council president. I don’t see why it would be necessary to wait for the next meeting.” Moe advised.
“I can pull most of the paperwork together tomorrow. Moe, I’ll think about the recommendations and touch base with you, so you can advise who’ll pack the most punch from Cantor Hart.”
Moe laughed. “I sense a little bit of your father in that statement. You can overwhelm them with your references and accomplishments. They may gossip about you personally, but they cannot touch your professional life.”
“Well, I am my father’s daughter.” Hale joined in the laughter but soon turned serious. “I haven’t heard either of you mention that you’ve run this by Finn.” She hit them with a laser stare.
Wes shifted on his chair. “I left that to Moe.”
“I spoke with Finn and Matt yesterday. They’ve been in the loop for about two months regarding Wes’s concerns about the workload. They had offered some suggestions, such as approaching a few other C.P.A.s in the area.” Moe admitted.
“I bet that wasn’t viable,” Hale interjected. “They’ll all be hustling to prepare for the end of the year and take time off before the tax rush starts. Plus, I can’t imagine Wes wants to share his work with his competitors.”
“They aren’t my competitors. I haven’t taken on any new clients in the last five years.” Wes shared.
“Even if that is the case, I can’t imagine you want to give the council any ideas about looking for another accountant,” Hale countered. “Why find your own replacement?”
“That is true.” Ina answered and slowly nodded at Hale as if she had given the correct answer in the schoolroom.
“I understand that you can’t show me the books, but can you give me an approximation of your time from last year? And where you stand this year? That way, I can start moving some things around on my schedule.” She was already making notes and at the top of the list was to text Ashley about this new job.
“I can do that,” Ina promised.
“So, once again, I’ll be working for you all.” Hale smiled at the group.
“I think it sounds like we have a deal.” Moe clapped his hands together.
“Not so fast, I have to get approval from the council and I need to know that this isn’t going to irritate Finn. I don’t want any problems with him.” Hale looked pointedly at Moe.
“You are doing us all a huge favor. I can’t imagine the mayor having a problem with that,” Wes answered.
“I’ll see to it that Wes speaks with the mayor, Hale. It’s good of you to be concerned about Finn’s feelings. Does that mean that you two are friendly?” Ina saw between the lines.
“Well, it’s hard to avoid one another, I mean with being close to Jasmine and Izzy. I would say that we can be in the same room.” Hale didn’t know how to answer this question. For years, she had blamed herself for choosing her emotional health over their relationship. Past boyfriends had never excited her like Finn did. She believed that he was “the one” and she had blown her chance of happiness.
Now, she didn’t know what to think. The sexual attraction between them was still there, but the past still stood between them. Finn might give in to the physical demands of his body, but he had not forgiven her. Without that, they couldn’t start again.
Where is he?” Hale asked under her breath as she tapped her toe impatiently under the table.
“Did you say something, Hale?” Wes’s voice boomed in the medium sized conference room. The City Courthouse had gone through a major renovation and the conference room was nicely appointed. The table had a strip for electrical plug-ins running down the middle, and the walls had two flat screens waiting for use during a presentation.
She leaned closer to the elderly man. “I was just saying that I don’t like these chairs. I feel like I have to work to stay still.”
“You know, you don’t
need to be nervous. This is just a cursory process, a hoop to jump through.” He reached over and patted her hand.
If only. Hale hadn’t heard a word from Finn in the five days since the encounter in his office. She told herself to ignore any feelings of disappointment. Today, she was to meet with the President of the City Council, Cecily Newton, Moe as the city’s attorney, Wes, and someone from the mayor’s office, or maybe Finn, himself.
The waiting was making her crazy. She fought the urge to check the time, again. She had tried to prepare by dressing in her new version of corporate wear. Today’s choice was a St. John Knit’s suit in a deep caramel with cream accents. She carried her prized, ivory colored Hermes Birkin bag and hoped to present a polished appearance.
The group was waiting for either the representative of the mayor’s office or the mayor to arrive. Cecily tapped her pen against her notepad. Wes straightened his binder and Moe tried to make small talk. Finally, the sound of footsteps sounded in the hall outside the open door.
Matt Weiss walked in alone. He had papers rolled up in his hand. He pulled out the empty chair to Cecily’s right and dropped into it.
“Now we can begin.” Cecily added extra emphasis to the word “now.”
“I apologize to everyone, something came up and I tried to wrap it up as quickly as possible.” Matt’s smile appeared fake.
“Will the mayor be attending?” Moe asked.
“Ah, no. He has reviewed the packet that Ms. Cameron submitted, and feels that she can do the work.” Matt sat back in his chair.
Hale caught his word choice, can do the work, not is qualified or well qualified. It was petty, but she knew, as did everyone in this room, that she was more than qualified to take on this project. She would be working for less than a quarter of her previous hourly fee, if she was approved.
“Thank you, Matt. I have just a few things that I want to go over with Wes and Ms. Cameron.” Cecily took over smoothly. “Ms. Cameron, I read your impressive C.V. and accompanying letters. I just want to make certain that you understand that this is a very important job.”
“Thank you. I would not have agreed to this position if I had not been sure that I have the time and the knowledge to do the job well. I take my work very seriously, and I feel that I can cover the necessary ground in an efficient manner.” Hale’s tone was confident.
“Good. You have my support. Although I am so very sorry for the reason for your return to Whitleysburg, I am thrilled to have someone with your credentials joining our team.” Cecily gave her a warm smile.
“Thank you,” Hale answered quietly. Her eyes turned to Matt.
“I have a few thoughts, one being that there is some concern that Wes did not offer any other names for consideration. We had discussed approaching several local accountants. Two, there needs to be a firm chain of command outlined and implemented. Lastly, I would recommend that her hiring be added to the agenda for the next meeting and scheduled for vote at the following meeting. We might want to offer our citizens the ability to voice their concerns.”
Hale made sure that she did not shift in her chair nor change her facial expression. She saw right through the requests. Matt, and quite possibly Finn, did not want her on the team.
Wes cleared his throat. “I wish Finn were here, because I would like to explain this to him, too. In my line of work, the next two months are the second busiest time of the year. I spoke to Norm Fox and he laughed, he doesn’t want any extra work. Hale is local and quite honestly, she is probably the only one in the entire area who would work for the hourly rate that you set for me.” Wes was getting agitated. “Plus, I imagine that Hale is the most qualified accountant in the county for this type of work.”
Moe smoothly took over. “Regarding the chain of command issue, while Wes is in town, Hale is to report to and run any questions through him. When he leaves for vacation in December, she will report to me.” Moe gave the younger man a steely glance, daring him to question the plan.
Hale’s heart swelled with affection. Moe was not going to let anyone take a shot at her.
Cecily cleared her throat. “It sounds like Wes checked with another accountant that he felt would do a good enough job and came up empty handed. The chain of command concern had been addressed and outlined. I’m sure that Ms. Cameron understands its importance.” Cecily glanced at Hale.
“Yes, ma’am.” Hale nodded.
“Now, onto the talk of adding this to the agenda for an open discussion, frankly, Matt, that would be a waste of time at a meeting and an unnecessary delay. Plus, I again will stress that Ms. Cameron is doing all of us a huge favor. I don’t think opening the council floor to our citizen’s questions is a worthwhile use of time.” She directed a frown in the Press Secretary’s direction. “It is Ms. Cameron’s work that we are considering and it is stellar.”
Hale bowed her head and pretended to look at the notepad in front of her, as she hid a small smile. She liked Cecily’s style.
“So, I believe we are agreed.” Moe was wrapping things up.
“That is my understanding. Hale? Any questions?” Cecily started putting away her tablet.
“No, Ms. Newton,” Hale answered and started gathering her things.
“All right then, see you all on Tuesday night.” Cecily stood and strode to the door.
“Ms. Cameron, a pleasure.” Matt gave a brief nod while rising quickly and exiting the room.
Hale put her tablet in her bag and started to stand. “Thank you, gentlemen, for your support.”
“I don’t much like that Matt fellow, he doesn’t know his place.” Wes stared angrily at the door. “He’s Finn’s assistant, I don’t like the way he spoke about Hale.”
Hale looped her arm through her boss’ arm. “I think he is being protective of Finn. He doesn’t like me because of our past. He thinks it reflects badly on Finn. He worries that Finn will be perceived as weak if he appears to be softening toward me.” Izzy had shared that tidbit with Hale last week.
“Well, it’s not like you are bad mouthing Finn or making a spectacle of yourself. I think this town needs to move on from that old story,” Wes groused.
“I support Finn as mayor, and I don’t want to cause extra work or worry.” Hale said.
“Hale, you won’t. Matt is just being a jackass. I think that he even has problems with me,” Moe teased. “He idolizes Finn and sometimes I think he gets a little territorial. He’s young and enthusiastic, we’ll get him trained eventually.”
Hale parked in The Mug’s lot, she had a standing date with Jasmine every Thursday evening for dinner. In Jasmine’s words, it got Hale “off the farm.”
Jasmine was already seated in what had become their booth. She stood as Hale approached, giving her a hug. “I see that you were prepared for serious business—you broke out the Birkin.”
Hale laughed at her friend’s honest summation. “I thought the meeting called for the big guns, plus it adds cachet.” She took her seat, finally starting to relax.
“So, was it terrible?” Jasmine watched her closely.
Hale chuckled. “Yes and no.” She tried to choose the best words to describe her feelings. “I’ve been approved. I’m meeting Wes tomorrow at ten, to start the job.”
“Did Finn attend the meeting?”
“Um, no.” Hale didn’t meet her friend’s gaze.
“Interesting.” Jasmine stared at her intently.
The server arrived with their drinks and a bowl of pretzels. “Thank you.” Jasmine took a sip of her drink. “So, have you seen much of Finn lately?”
Hale schooled her features before taking her eyes off the rim of her wine glass. “He’s busy, I’m busy.”
“Are you sure that you aren’t avoiding him?”
“Why would I be avoiding him?” Hale challenged.
Jasmine gave her that “really?” look. “Oh, I don’t know, could it be because you two were most definitely up to something in his office the night of the parade?”
Hale
felt her cheeks redden. “That was…nothing.”
“Really? After years of listening to your sexcapades, now you are going to attempt to play coy?”
“Shh, stop it, Christ, Jazz, not so loud.” Hale looked around. “Please don’t make a big deal out of this. I ran into Finn while I was waiting for you. He looked good, hell, he smelled really nice. Anyway, I enjoyed myself, he looked like he did too, end of story.” She tried to appear nonchalant, even though the memory of that night made her hot.
“We can make it known that you’re available. I’m sure your calendar would fill up quickly.” Jasmine raised her eyebrows as she studied her friend. “We might need to widen the circle, maybe include another county? There aren’t that many available men around here.
She didn’t want the hassle. Taking on another job was going to keep her busy. “Dating is hard work. I’m not really into it right now.”
“Might it also be a tiny problem because you are already interested in one special man?” Jasmine gave her that “gotcha” look and dared her to lie.
Hale shifted in her chair and leaned her elbows onto the table. “I don’t know what’s going on with Finn.”
“Talk to him,” Jasmine urged, as if it was all so simple.
“Jazz, it isn’t that easy,” Hale whispered. It was terrifying. If he knew that he still held her heart, he could do so much damage to her.
“You want him, he wants you. One of you needs to say something,” Jasmine stated matter of factly.
Hale rested her forehead on one hand, her heart beating rapidly. She had so many doubts and fears regarding her feelings for Finn. She was trying to think of a response when Jasmine’s phone rang.
“It’s Izzy, I’m going to take this outside. OK?” Jasmine stood and gave Hale’s shoulder a light squeeze.
****
Finn dropped into the chair in front of his friend’s desk. “Christ, Izz, how do you find anything in this mess?”
Izzy smiled sheepishly. “I know where everything is, Justine doesn’t touch anything. Plus, this isn’t your space, if it bothers you, go sit in your own office.”
You Only (Cameron Farms Book 1) Page 13