Vick looked around at all the people. “Are you really so naive you think it won’t pass?”
Cam skimmed the crowd, noting as many familiar faces as strangers. This would pull in people all over the county and beyond. They’d get ten times the number of applicants they needed for a store the size they proposed. Under those circumstances, GrandGoods could afford to be choosy and pay low. The supply of potential workers was sufficient that no one would risk complaining because any job was better than none.
“When are you going to realize that you’re out-gunned on this, Crawford? You and your coalition are on a little island all your own, where it apparently rains glitter and everybody shits rainbows. This is reality. This is the future. You’d better get used to it.”
“I will fight you and this until my last breath.”
“What do you think you can do in two days?”
Cam had no answer for that. Knowing there was nothing he could do to stop the job fair from proceeding, he turned to leave. “This isn’t over.”
“It was over before you started,” Vick called after him.
Cam stalked out, noting with disgust and disappointment a few members of the coalition standing in line. Dave Lautner and Jordan Linley deliberately shifted away as Cam walked by, as if to pretend they didn’t see him, but the flush of red creeping up their necks belied the innocent gesture.
Cam didn’t stop. In his present mood, he sure as hell wasn’t in the right frame of mind to play even-tempered representative. He couldn’t blame them for hedging their bets. Not really. But Christ, couldn’t they wait until the fat lady had sung and the war was over? Having the community see them playing both sides didn’t look good for their cause.
Slamming the door to his truck, he cranked up and called Norah.
“Hey Leonidas, you snuck out early this morning.”
Despite his agitation, Cam felt his heart lighten at the sound of her voice. “Sorry about that. I had a landscaping job to finish prepping for. I figured you needed the sleep, and you looked all cozy in my bed.”
“Imagine my surprise when I went to sleep with you and woke up with Hush.”
“She’s a bed hog.”
“She also snores.” Norah laughed. “Are you free for lunch or are you working through?”
“Working through. Listen, we’ve got a problem.” He told her about the job fair and his encounter with Vick. “It’s not good.”
“You had to know that they’d counter with something. They’ve been too quiet while we put together this Shop Local movement.”
“I assumed that was because they were cocky.”
“Well, you’re not wrong about that. But the fact is, they wouldn’t have to put themselves out there like this if we weren’t making a dent in public opinion. It’s a waste of their man hours to take applications for a store that isn’t built yet when they could’ve just as easily waited.”
“Please tell me you expected this and that you’ve got some genius plan up your sleeve.”
“As it happens, I just might. Finish up your workday, and I’ll be ready to tell you all about it when you get home.”
Cam said goodbye and disconnected, musing that whatever happened, he could get used to the idea of going home to her.
~*~
Norah was drowning in paper and wishing for the swanked out office Mitch had designed her, or at the very least, the series of boards where she could organize and spread out. The open concept of Cam’s loft left almost no blank walls for her to co-opt. Cabinetry, shelving, or windows covered almost all of it. So she’d resorted to ludicrous numbers of tabs open in the browser on her laptop and piles on every horizontal surface, except for the sofa, where Hush had been snoring since they came in from an afternoon walk.
A giddy excitement bubbled in Norah’s blood, mixed with a low-grade anxiety. This wasn’t the killing blow Cam wanted to deliver to GrandGoods and their plans. But like the idea of opening her own firm, this was an option for Wishful she was certain no one had considered before. And it was the only alternative she could think of that would not only maintain the integrity of the town but capitalize on the very things that made it unique.
She just had to convince them it was the right choice.
A truck door slammed below. Hush scrambled up and off the sofa, tail sweeping across the coffee table and upsetting several of Norah’s piles in the process. Groaning, Norah sank to the floor to retrieve her research. She’d just managed to gather up the mess when Cam came through the door. Hush gave a delighted bark and began to dance in front of him, wagging her entire butt before starting to bounce back toward Norah.
>
“For the love of all that is holy, keep her over there until I can get this sorted. That tail might as well be a wrecking ball.”
“Wow. Is there actually any paper left in Wachoxee County?”